John H. Wiersema

Phylogeny of Nymphaea (Nymphaeaceae): Evidence from Substitutions and Microstructural Changes in the Chloroplast trnT‐trnF Region

Nymphaea is the most speciose, phenotypically diverse, and geographically widespread (nearly global) genus of Nymphaeales. Phylogenetic relationships among 35 of an estimated 45–50 species of Nymphaea are presented based on an analysis of the chloroplast trnT‐trnF region. Because this is the first phylogenetic analysis of Nymphaea, monophyly of the genus had to be tested, and its status in Nymphaeales had to be inferred. Rooting was therefore extended to more distant outgroups (Amborella, Austrobaileyales). Monophyly of Nymphaea received weak support, with a Euryale‐Victoria clade appearing as sister. The three major lineages within Nymphaea are constituted by the northern temperate subg. Nymphaea that is sister to all remaining species, a subgg. Hydrocallis‐Lotos clade, and a subgg. Anecphya‐Brachyceras clade. The Australian genus Ondinea was nested at species level within Nymphaea subg. Anecphya. The pantropical subg. Brachyceras as currently circumscribed does not appear natural, with Nymphaea petersiana belonging to subg. Lotos. Microstructural changes are frequent and highly informative, exhibiting lower levels of homoplasy than substitutions. Reconstructing the evolution of microstructural changes shows a strong insertion bias in simple sequence repeats. Complex indels are often explained by mutational events that occurred independently in different parts of the tree rather than being the result of stepwise events at subsequent nodes. AT‐rich, satellite‐like sequence parts have evolved independently in the P8 stem loop of the trnL group I intron in Nuphar and in major lineages of Nymphaea. They seem to be conserved in sequence within species but are highly variable among species. Moreover, the trnT‐trnF region provides a signal that allows recognition (bar coding) of most species analyzed so far.

Pattern of Variation and Systematics of Nymphaea odorata: I. Evidence from Morphology and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSRs)

Abstract Nymphaea odorata, Nymphaeaceae, is the most widely distributed water-lily in North America. Disagreement exists on whether this morphologically variable species should be split into two species, N. odorata and N. tuberosa, or treated as one species with two subspecies. Morphological characters and markers from the inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) were examined to assess taxonomic status and elucidate patterns of genetic variation among populations. This study provides evidence against treatment of N. tuberosa at species rank. The principal component analysis of 26 vegetative characters underscores immense variability, but does partially segregate populations of subsp. odorata and subsp. tuberosa. Based on analysis of variance, a new set of morphological characters is proposed to distinguish the two subspecies: mean leaf blade length-to-width ratio, petiole striping, and lobe apex shape. Results from ISSRs show high polymorphism within and among populations. Genetic variation was found largely within geographical regions (89%) rather than among regions. Principal coordinate (PCOA) analyses and minimum spanning tree (MST) analyses based on ISSRs clearly distinguished Nymphaea mexicana and N. odorata. Within N. odorata, samples of subsp. odorata appear to be a distinct entity, whereas samples largely but not completely separated from samples of subsp. tuberosa. PCOA and MST showed linkage between most samples of subsp. odorata whereas this was less evident in UPGMA.

The unusual Ondinea, actually just another Australian water-lily of Nymphaea subg. Anecphya (Nymphaeaceae)

Abstract Löhne C., Wiersema J. H. & Borsch T.: The unusual Ondinea, actually just another Australian water-lily of Nymphaea subg. Anecphya (Nymphaeaceae). — Willdenowia 39: 55–58. — Online ISSN 1868-6397;

Bobgunnia, a new African genus of tribe Swartzieae (Fabaceae, Faboideae)

A new genus, Bobgunnia, is established in tribe Swartzieae for the African species of Swartzia. Two new combinations are made: B. fistuloides and B. madagascariensis. The new genus has seeds, unlike the remainder of tribe Swartzieae but like the other tribes of Faboideae. The systematic position of Swartzieae is reevaluated.

Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide

Research into the origins of food plants has led to the recognition that specific geographical regions around the world have been of particular importance to the development of agricultural crops. Yet the relative contributions of these different regions in the context of current food systems have not been quantified. Here we determine the origins (‘primary regions of diversity’) of the crops comprising the food supplies and agricultural production of countries worldwide. We estimate the degree to which countries use crops from regions of diversity other than their own (‘foreign crops’), and quantify changes in this usage over the past 50 years. Countries are highly interconnected with regard to primary regions of diversity of the crops they cultivate and/or consume. Foreign crops are extensively used in food supplies (68.7% of national food supplies as a global mean are derived from foreign crops) and production systems (69.3% of crops grown are foreign). Foreign crop usage has increased significantly over the past 50 years, including in countries with high indigenous crop diversity. The results provide a novel perspective on the ongoing globalization of food systems worldwide, and bolster evidence for the importance of international collaboration on genetic resource conservation and exchange.

Nuclear and plastid DNA sequences reveal complex reticulate patterns in Australian water-lilies (Nymphaea subgenus Anecphya, Nymphaeaceae)

Thisstudyrepresentsthe firstcomprehensiveanalysisofphylogeneticrelationshipswithintheAustralianwater- lilies,Nymphaeasubg.Anecphya.Our51-accessiondatasetcoversall10speciesofthesubgenus,exceptthenewlydescribed N. alexii, and includes information from the nuclear ITS as well as from thechloroplasttrnTtrnFregion. The results show that molecular data are consistent with morphology, because the subdivision of subg. Anecphya into two major clades, a large-seeded and a small-seeded group, could be confirmed. Within the large-seeded group, Nymphaea atrans and N.immutabilisseemtoformoneclade,whereassamplesofN.gigantea,N.georginae,N.macrospermaandN.carpentariae form another. Relationships within the small-seeded group, containing all samples of N. violacea, N. elleniae and N. hastifolia, are less clear, since the trees obtained from the chloroplast and the nuclear marker are incongruent. The samplesofN.violaceadonotformamonophyleticgroupineachofthetrees,but—atleastintheITStree—groupwitheither N. elleniae or N. hastifolia/Ondinea, respectively. Polymorphisms among ITS paralogues, i.e. substitutions at single nucleotidepositionsandlengthpolymorphisms,havebeenobservedinsomesamplesofN.violacea.Thisfactaswellasthe incongruent phylogenetic signal obtained from the chloroplast and the nuclear genomes point to recent hybridisation or introgression in this group. Remarkably, Ondinea purpureais resolved within the small-seeded group by both markers and seems to have a close relationship to N. hastifolia. Although incomplete lineage sorting cannot be fully excluded to explain high variability in N. violacea, molecular data potentially hint to a case of still imperfect taxonomy.

The Nomenclature of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench (Gramineae)

The currently used subspecific names for the annual wild and weedy relatives of domesticated sorghum either lack valid publication or have not had their priority established over competing names of equivalent priority. These problems are resolved with valid publication of the new combination Sorghum bicolor subsp. verticilliflorum and establishment of its priority and that of S. bicolor subsp. drummondii over competing synonyms.

Pattern of Variation and Systematics of Nymphaea odorata: II. Sequence Information from ITS and trnL-trnF

Abstract Sequence data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the plastid trnL-trnF regions were used to assess relationships among populations of N. odorata across its North American range, and to evaluate whether subsp. odorata and subsp. tuberosa form distinct taxonomic units. Nymphaea mexicana was included because of suspected hybridization with N. odorata. The trnL-trnF region provided a single informative site in N. odorata. In contrast, the ITS region was more variable. Phylogenetic analysis of ITS data supports the monophyly of the two species. Within N. odorata, two clades were resolved largely representing subsp. odorata and subsp. tuberosa, although a few individuals appeared outside the respective clades. Polymorphic sites were detected in ITS, indicating possible hybridization between the subspecies. The geographic location of these hybrids suggests a possible hybrid zone. Overall, molecular evidence supports the segregation of subsp. odorata and subsp. tuberosa, with limited gene flow between them.

XIX International Botanical Congress: Report of Congress action on nomenclature proposals

1 Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Königin-Luise-Str. 6–8, 14195 Berlin, Germany 2 United States Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Research Service, National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Bldg. 003, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC-West), Beltsville, Maryland 20705-2350, U.S.A. 3 Australian National Herbarium, Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research, GPO Box 1700, Canberra ACT 2601, Australia 4 Key Laboratory of Plant Resources Conservation and Sustainable Utilization, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, P. R. China 5 Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Southern Subtropical Plant Diversity, Fairy Lake Botanical Garden, Shenzhen 518004, Guangdong, P.R. China Author for correspondence: Nicholas J. Turland, n.turland@bgbm.org

Nymphaea tetragona and Nymphaea leibergii (Nymphaeaceae): two species of diminutive water-lilies in North America

Although all past floras of northern North America have recognized only one species of diminutive water-lily, actually two distinct species occur in the region. The circumboreal Nymphaea tetragona Georgi is largely confined to the northwestern part of the continent, extending as far east as Manitoba and occurring in the contiguous United States only in northwest Washington. A second species, N. leibergii Morong, is restricted to, but widely distributed in, northern North America, though it is absent from the extreme northwest. The two species are distinguishable from each other by several floral and foliar characters and the two species form a section, Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea sects. Chamaenymphaea, stat: nov. This is distinguished from the two other sections of subg. Nymphaea in a key, and Nymphaea subg. Nymphaea sect. Xanthantha, stat. nov., is proposed. Sect. Chamaenymphaea is described for North America, synonymy and nomenclature for both species are discussed, and a key including N. odorata Aiton is presented. A lectotype is provided for N. leibergii and the typification of N. tetragona is examined.