The Desert and Other Transmontane Plant Communities of Southern California

Transmontane southern California, less than one-quarter of the state\u27s area, has a rich, specialized flora and vegetation due to most varied topography, substrata, and climate. Of the perhaps 5075 species in 145 vascular plant (129 angiospermous) families indigenous in California more than 2100 species in 123 families, more than two-fifths of the state\u27s flora, are represented in transmontane southern California. About 935 species, of which 868 are in the south, 180 of the state\u27s 880 indigenous genera, and 18 families are exclusively or effectively transmontane. A table lists the number of indigenous species of various transmontane ranges and other areas. Numerous, diverse habitats have led to the recognition of 32 different plant communities and 10 subcommunities, or 42 of the 88 recognized for the state by the author. A table lists the communities arranged in a hierarchy according to decreasing altitude from alpine through subalpine, montane, and transition to desert and alkaline scrub communities. These are each discussed briefly with comments on distribution, dominant or otherwise characteristic plants, and outstanding environmental features of the habitats occupied. Many communities are illustrated

A Phylogenetic Classification of the Annoniflorae

A synoptical key to the three orders Annonales, Berberidales, and Nymphaeales of the superorder Annoniflorae is presented with discussion as to why these orders, the core of the histmical Ranales, are considered to be closely related to one another but divergent from the similarly plimitive Hamamelidales of the Hamamelidiflorae, and why the names Annonales and Berberidales are preferred to the names Magnoliales and Ranunculales. For each of the three orders detailed synoptical keys to the 33 families and 30 subfamilies (21 additional to the typical subfamilies) recognized by the author are presented. Also the included families of each order are discussed with explanation of their accepted alignment, circumscription, and geography. Finally, an extensive bibliography is listed to those publications that represent the documentation for the author\u27s interpretation of the Annoniflorae. Five new subfamilies are published by reference to their basonyms : Mollinedioideae of the Monimiaceae, Idiospermoideae of the Calycanthaceae, Peperomioideae of the Piperaceae, and Euryaloideae and Barclayoideae of the Nymphaeaceae

Notes on Rare Iowa Plants

Three years of field work in Iowa (1950-1952) have turned up many vascular plants that have been unreported previously from Iowa, that have not been collected in many years, or that have been generally considered rare in the state. For the information of botanists who might be interested in them, these collections are listed here in Englerian sequence with pertinent comments. Included with them are a few noteworthy species represented by old herbarium specimens that had been misidentified or otherwise overlooked heretofore. For some of the included species associated plants have been listed as being the best indicators of the type of habitat in which the species might be sought. Introduced species are indicated by an asterisk. Numbers not preceded by a collector\u27s name represent the writer\u27s collection numbers. All of the writer\u27s collections are deposited in the Herbarium of the State University of Iowa

An Updated Phylogenetic Classification of the Flowering Plants

This update of my classification of the flowering plants, or Angiospermae, is based upon about 800 pertinent books, monographs, and other botanical papers published since my last synopsis appeared in the Nordic Journal of Science in 1983. Also I have narrowed my family- and ordinal-gap concepts to bring acceptance of family and ordinal limits more in line with those of current taxonomists. This new information and the shift in my phylogenetic philosophy have caused significant changes in my interpretation of relationships and numbers and content of taxa. Also the ending -anae has been accepted for superorders in place in the traditional but inappropriate -iflorae. A new phyletic shrub replaces earlier versions, and attempts to indicate relationships among the superorders, orders, and suborders. One table includes a statistical summary of flowering-plant taxa: ca. 235,000 species of 12,615 genera, 440 families, and 711 subfamilies and undivided families in 28 superorders, 70 orders, and 7 5 suborders of Angiospermae. Three other tables summarize the indigenous distribution of the families and subfamilies of Angiospermae about the world