A re-examination of the life and work of A.F.G. Kerr and of his colleagues and friends

Arthur Francis George Kerr’s life is reviewed and related to a previously published account. Kerr’s collecting activity is analysed using an expanded version of the Thai Biogeography Group’s database of collections. 8,666 of the total 48,970 collections are Kerr’s and 3,178 are those of his colleagues and friends. Therefore, the total number of collections made by Kerr and his acquaintances is likely to be larger and more diverse than previously believed. Mapping of these data using GIS show that Kerr’s collecting activities focussed on particular regions of Thailand at particular times. Also large areas of the country remained unexplored by Kerr and his acquaintances: a pattern that, to some extent, persists to this day. The large, but dispersed, archive of Kerr’s photographs, maps, living collections and correspondence indicate that he was a skilled photographer (taking at least 3,000 images), cartographer (producing many hand-drawn maps) and exceptionally acute, accurate and detailed observer (fi lling numerous notebooks and leaving other records). It is clear that digitising these collections to form an on-line dedicated website is highly desirable to further progress on the fl ora of Thailand and surrounding countries and would form an unique record of the social history of early 20thC Thailand

A re-examination of the life and work of A.F.G. Kerr and of his colleagues and friends

Arthur Francis George Kerr’s life is reviewed and related to a previously published account. Kerr’s collecting activity is analysed using an expanded version of the Thai Biogeography Group’s database of collections. 8,666 of the total 48,970 collections are Kerr’s and 3,178 are those of his colleagues and friends. Therefore, the total number of collections made by Kerr and his acquaintances is likely to be larger and more diverse than previously believed. Mapping of these data using GIS show that Kerr’s collecting activities focussed on particular regions of Thailand at particular times. Also large areas of the country remained unexplored by Kerr and his acquaintances: a pattern that, to some extent, persists to this day. The large, but dispersed, archive of Kerr’s photographs, maps, living collections and correspondence indicate that he was a skilled photographer (taking at least 3,000 images), cartographer (producing many hand-drawn maps) and exceptionally acute, accurate and detailed observer (filling numerous notebooks and leaving other records). It is clear that digitising these collections to form an on-line dedicated website is highly desirable to further progress on the flora of Thailand and surrounding countries and would form an unique record of the social history of early 20thC Thailand

Neotypification of Uvaria hirsuta Jack (Annonaceae)

Uvaria hirsuta Jack is one of the more common species of the genus Uvaria(Annonaceae)in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. The original type was destroyed in 1824, and any duplicates which may have existed are now lost. Wallich Herbarium Catalogue no. 6458b is proposed here as neotype for U. hirsuta. The specimen is of high quality, includes both flowers and fruits, and was collected at the type locality soon after Jack's original collection

Neotypification of Uvaria hirsuta Jack (Annonaceae)

Uvaria hirsuta Jack is one of the more common species of the genus Uvaria(Annonaceae)in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. The original type was destroyed in 1824, and any duplicates which may have existed are now lost. Wallich Herbarium Catalogue no. 6458b is proposed here as neotype for U. hirsuta. The specimen is of high quality, includes both flowers and fruits, and was collected at the type locality soon after Jack's original collection

Neotypification of Uvaria hirsuta Jack (Annonaceae)

Uvaria hirsuta Jack is one of the more common species of the genus Uvaria(Annonaceae)in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra. The original type was destroyed in 1824, and any duplicates which may have existed are now lost. Wallich Herbarium Catalogue no. 6458b is proposed here as neotype for U. hirsuta. The specimen is of high quality, includes both flowers and fruits, and was collected at the type locality soon after Jack's original collection

A revised taxonomy for Uvaria (Annonaceae) in continental Asia

This paper presents a revision of Uvaria L. (Annonaceae) in continental Asia and outlying islands, north of the Thailand–Malaysia border, on the basis of a combination of new morphological analyses and recent phylogenetic data. Two new taxonomic groupings are defined within the genus in Asia on the basis of detailed morphological character analysis in ~1800 specimens. Stamen and carpel structure are shown to be significantly more informative than calyx and corolla characters for subgeneric differentiation, and reliably discriminate basal and derived radiations when mapped onto recent molecular phylogenies for the genus in Asia. Thirty-three species and species varieties are recognised within Uvaria in continental Asia, incorporating taxa formerly assigned to Anomianthus Zoll., Cyathostemma Griff., Ellipeia Hook.f. & Thomson, Ellipeiopsis R.E.Fr. and Dasoclema J.Sinclair. Four new combinations are proposed, and outstanding taxonomic, nomenclatural and typification issues are resolved for included taxa. Keys for both flowering and fruiting material are included, and distribution data are provided for all taxa

Multivariate analysis of leaf shape patterns in Asian species of the Uvaria group (Annonaceae)

Multivariate analysis of leaf radian measurements was used to investigate variation in leaf shape among 34 Asian species of the Uvaria group, a large palaeotropical group of climbing Annonaceae characterized by imbricate petals and stellate hairs. Raw data were normalized by conversion into 15 ratio characters and using the log10 transformation. All species surveyed showed a unique leaf-shape ‘bauplan’. The ratio character with the greatest discriminating power in both the Principal Components Analysis and Discriminant Analysis (DA) results was a measure of the shape of the leaf base. Ratio characters with the highest factor loadings for principal components 1 and 2 clearly separated the sampled taxa when plotted against one another and provided support for the retention of several taxa as distinct species or varieties. Classification of cases into taxa using DA yielded a correct classification rate of only 52% for the ratio-transformed data; however, division of taxa in the dataset into smaller subgroups defined by discrete morphological characters significantly increased the accuracy of case identification to between 67 and 100% of cases correctly classified, depending on the group. Case identification using DA on log10-transformed data was higher than for the ratio values in the entire dataset (61.7%) and the larger subgroups. However, the rate of correct case assignment was lower in the smaller groups than for the ratio data

Anther diversity and function in Verticordia DC. (Myrtaceae)

Anther form and structure across the taxonomic groups inVerticordia were examined. The three anther types which were recognised — rectangular, oblong and saccate, accord well with the three subgenera into which the genus has been divided. The sporogenous part of the anther has a fairly typical angiosperm anatomy. However in many species there is a small or large gland in the upper filament/connective which contains lipidic contents. The anatomy of this structure is based on that of the oil glands which are ubiquitous in Myrtaceae primary tissues. However the gland is usually much larger than these and is schizolysigenous in origin. Evolutionary development of the anthers in the genus is related to pollination systems and the development of secondary pollen presentation from the upper style in some groups. Anther glands may have originally had a protective function for the sporogenous tissue. However in different groups the function has changed or the gland has disappeared. In some species in subgenusChrysoma (which does not have secondary pollen presentation) the gland contents seem to be an additional food source for pollinators. In other groups, with the development of secondary pollen presentation the protective function has become redundant and anther glands have either disappeared or produce contents which have become part of the process of pollen dispersal

Cayratia emarginata (Vitaceae), a new species from Thailand and Vietnam

The new species Cayratia emarginata is validly published. A latin diagnosis, a full description and an illustration are provided. Diagnostic characters for this species are 3-foliolate leaves, farinose hairless petals and a cuspidate leaf apex