Anderson F. P. Machado

Amazon plant diversity revealed by a taxonomically verified species list

Significance Large floristic datasets that purportedly represent the diversity and composition of the Amazon tree flora are being widely used to draw conclusions about the patterns and evolution of Amazon plant diversity, but these datasets are fundamentally flawed in both their methodology and the resulting content. We have assembled a comprehensive dataset of Amazonian seed plant species from published sources that includes falsifiable data based on voucher specimens identified by taxonomic specialists. This growing list should serve as a basis for addressing the long-standing debate on the number of plant species in the Amazon, as well as for downstream ecological and evolutionary analyses aimed at understanding the origin and function of the exceptional biodiversity of the vast Amazonian forests. Recent debates on the number of plant species in the vast lowland rain forests of the Amazon have been based largely on model estimates, neglecting published checklists based on verified voucher data. Here we collate taxonomically verified checklists to present a list of seed plant species from lowland Amazon rain forests. Our list comprises 14,003 species, of which 6,727 are trees. These figures are similar to estimates derived from nonparametric ecological models, but they contrast strongly with predictions of much higher tree diversity derived from parametric models. Based on the known proportion of tree species in neotropical lowland rain forest communities as measured in complete plot censuses, and on overall estimates of seed plant diversity in Brazil and in the neotropics in general, it is more likely that tree diversity in the Amazon is closer to the lower estimates derived from nonparametric models. Much remains unknown about Amazonian plant diversity, but this taxonomically verified dataset provides a valid starting point for macroecological and evolutionary studies aimed at understanding the origin, evolution, and ecology of the exceptional biodiversity of Amazonian forests.

Atlantic forests to the all Americas: Biogeographical history and divergence times of Neotropical Ficus (Moraceae)

Ficus (Moraceae) is well diversified in the Neotropics with two lineages inhabiting the wet forests of this region. The hemiepiphytes of section Americanae are the most diversified with c. 120 species, whereas section Pharmacosycea includes about 20 species mostly with a terrestrial habit. To reconstruct the biogeographical history and diversification of Ficus in the Americas, we produced a dated Bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis of Neotropical Ficus including two thirds of the species sequenced for five nuclear regions (At103, ETS, G3pdh, ITS/5.8S and Tpi). Ancestral range was estimated using all models available in Biogeobears and Binary State Speciation and Extinction analysis was used to evaluate the role of the initial habit and propagule size in diversification. The phylogenetic analyses resolved both Neotropical sections as monophyletic but the internal relationships between species in section Americanae remain unclear. Ficus started their diversification in the Neotropics between the Oligocene and Miocene. The genus experienced two bursts of diversification: in the middle Miocene and the Pliocene. Colonization events from the Amazon to adjacent areas coincide with the end of the Pebas system (10 Mya) and the connection of landmasses. Divergence of endemic species in the Atlantic forest is inferred to have happened after its isolation and the opening and consolidation of the Cerrado. Our results suggest a complex diversification in the Atlantic forest differing between postulated refuges and more instable areas in the South distribution of the forest. Finally the selection for initial hemiepiphytic habit and small to medium propagule size influenced the diversification and current distribution of the species at Neotropical forests marked by the historical instability and long-distance dispersal.

Revisiting Mayacaceae Kunth towards to future perspectives in the family

Mayacaceae Kunth is an aquatic plant family that currently comprises a single genus, and four to six accepted species. Most of them are widely distributed in the Neotropics, with the exception of Mayaca baumii Gurke, which is endemic to Africa. This family still encompasses taxonomical problems involving mostly nomen- clatural issues and the positioning of the family within the Poales, which remains not definite, though several efforts have being made in this direction. Besides all this, the family also suffers from limited studies with different approaches, such as embryological, palinological, phylogenetic and ecological ones. Considering all this problems, the present work make an overview of Mayacaceae to show the main problems that still surround the family and to indicate some directions for future studies.

Interactions between Cecropia (Urticaceae) and ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along a longitudinal east-west transect in the Brazilian Northeast

Summary. Although the interactions (including mutualism) between Cecropia and numerous ants have been already well documented, biogeographic studies on the distribution patterns of Cecropia with its associated ants have never been conducted in northeast Brazil. This study evaluates: (1) the regional diversity of Cecropia spp. sheltering ants; (2) the diversity of the ants living in these trees; and (3) the species-specific relationships along a longitudinal east–west transect in southwest Bahia. The ants nesting at the apical stem of 521 Cecropia individuals, mostly C. pachystachya (Trécul 1847), were sampled; 437 trees were occupied by ants belonging to 40 species. The commonest ant species was Azteca alfari (Emery 1893). The abundance of Cecropia, as well as the relative frequency of tree occupation, ant diversity, and association between ant species, were higher at lower altitudes, where rainforest vegetation predominates. Cecropia proved to be an important nesting site for various ant species in this biotope.

Dorstenia triseriata (Moraceae) a new and endangered species from Brazil

Abstract A new species of Moraceae is described, illustrated and compared to its close morphological relatives. Dorstenia triseriata presents similarities with Dorstenia turnerifolia but distinguished by size of peduncle, diameter of receptacle, number of bract rows, color of marginal bracts, and by an indistinct fringe on inflorescence. A conservation assessment based on IUCN criteria determines the new species to be vulnerable (VU).

A New Sorocea (Moraceae) from the Atlantic Rainforest, Brazil

Abstract Sorocea longipedicellata (Moraceae) is described and illustrated as a species new to the Atlantic rainforest domain. The new species is related to the group of Sorocea species with completely spinulose dentate leaf margins. It includes Sorocea bonplandii and S. guilleminiana, but is distinguished mainly by elongated pedicels when fruiting. This species is known only from Bahia state, northeastern Brazil and is designated as a critically endangered species because its extent of occurrence is estimated to be less than 100 km2 in an extremely fragmented area.

Flora do estado do Rio de Janeiro: Ulmaceae

This study focuses on the Ulmaceae found in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Southeastern Brazil. It is based on a morphological analysis of herbaria collections, as well as on a review of the relevant literature and field collections. A total of two species were recorded for the state: Ampelocera glabra e Phyllostylon brasiliense, both critically endangered in Rio de Janeiro state. An identification key, descriptions, illustrations, habitat data, phenology, and species distribution are also provided.

(18) Request for a binding decision on whether Ficus chapaensis Gagnep. and F. chaparensis C.C. Berg & Villav. (Moraceae) are sufficiently alike to be confused

Ficus chapaensis Gagnep. () [Angiosp.: Mor.] Francois Gagnepain (in Notul. Syst. (Paris). 4: 88. 1927) published this name for a species from Vietnam. The specific epithet was derived from the original locality, the “Cha-pa” region in Tonkin (Bắc Kỳ) in northern Vietnam. Zhekun & Gilbert (in Fl. China 5: 55–56. 2003) cited this species from Vietnam and the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China.