Mary E. Barkworth

Nassella (Gramineae, Stipeae): revised interpretation and nomenclatural changes.

The taxonomic history of Nassella Desv. is reviewed and its circumscription expanded to include all species of Stipeae with strongly overlapping lemma margins; lemma apices that are fused into a crown; paleas that are highly reduced, ecostate, and glabrous; long epiblasts; and lemma epidermes with very short fundamental cells having silicified cell walls. The expanded genus includes 79 species, almost all of which are South American. Piptochaetium and Stipa sect. Hesperostipa are suggested as the closest extant relatives. Synapomorphies of the three taxa are: brownish callus hairs; fused lemma apices; bulbous-based lemma cilia; silicified lemma fundamental cells; and long epiblasts. A key to putatively monophyletic groups in American Stipeae and a synopsis of Nassella s.l., involving more than 60 new combinations, are presented. The transferred species include representatives from seven subgenera of Stipa L. described by Spegazzini.

Molecules and Morphology in South American Stipeae (Poaceae)

Abstract We conducted phylogenetic analyses of molecular data (ITS, trnH–psbA, trnC–trnL, and trnK–rps16) for 71 species of stipoid grasses. Of these species, 30 are native to South America, seven are native to Mexico and/or the southwestern United States, 15 to other parts of North America, 12 to Eurasia and/or the Mediterranean region, and seven to Australia. The outgroup was Glyceria declinata, a member of the Meliceae, a tribe that is in the same clade as and possibly sister to, the Stipeae. The purpose of the study was to evaluate alternative generic treatments of the South American Stipeae, all of which are based on morphological and anatomical information. Questions of particular interest were the merits of recognizing Amelichloa and of including Stipa subgg. Pappostipa and Ptilostipa in Jarava. Trees obtained from separate analyses of the ITS and cpDNA data were poorly resolved. The majority rule consensus tree obtained from the combined data provided strong support for the monophyly of only two currently recognized genera, Piptochaetium and Hesperostipa. There was strong support for a lineage comprising Amelichloa, Jarava s. str., most North American species of Achnatherum, and most samples of Nassella. Amelichloa was included within a poorly resolved Nassella clade that was sister to the Jarava clade. Austrostipa, with the exception of one sample, was monophyletic and sister to the poorly supported Achnatherum-Amelichloa-Nassella-Jarava clade. Stipa subg. Pappostipa formed a separate strongly supported clade if the North American samples of S. speciosa were excluded from consideration. None of the trees support including S. subg. Pappostipa in Jarava. For S. subg. Ptilostipa we obtained no ITS data and cpDNA data for only one species. The cpDNA data placed the species in a clade with two Nassella species.

Distribution and diagnostic characters of Nassella (Poaceae: Stipeae)

Barkworth, M. E. & Torres, M. A.: Distribution and diagnostic characters of Nassella (Poaceae: Stipeae). Taxon 50: 439-468. 2001. ISSN 0040-0262. Nassella sensu lato includes 116 species, making it one of the largest genera in tribe Stipeae. Argentina has the largest number of species, 72, with the greatest concentration being in the northwestern part of the country. Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay have 26, 27, and 27 species, respectively. Other South American countries in which the genus is present are Brazil (18 species), Colombia (8), Ecuador (9), Paraguay (4), Peru (18), and Venezuela (2). Guatemala has two species, but Costa Rica only one. Mexico has eight native species, five of which also grow in the United States. One additional species grows in both the United States and Canada. Sixty species are known only from one country; one species, N. mexicana, grows in eight countries. Several new distribution records are documented: N. caespitosa, N. elata, N. leptothera and N. punensis for Bolivia, N. pauciciliata and N. spegazzinii for Brazil, N. airoides, N. argentinensis, N. spegazzinii for Paraguay, and N. tucumana (= N. asperifolia) for Peru. Three new combinations are presented: N. burkartii, N. ligularis, and N. quinqueciliata. Two recently transferred species, N. barrancaensis and N. brachychaeta, are excluded from the genus and N. asperifolia, N. bonariensis, and N. amethystina are placed in synonymy. Tables summarising the distribution of Nassella and its morphological variation are presented.

Scientific Names in the Triticeae

The grass tribe Triticeae has been the focus of many research programs because its inclusion of wheat, barley, and rye makes it of critical importance to the world’s food supply, an importance that is enhanced by the many other species that are important for forage and soil stabilization. One consequence of the tribe’s importance is that scientists throughout the world are engaged in its study, particularly its cultivated species. The crop species are also used as model organisms in research. This is leading to a rapid accumulation of knowledge about the cultivated species and their close relatives and a slower accumulation of knowledge about the other species. For this reason, and because the tribe grows in almost all temperate regions of the world, many different taxonomic treatments have been proposed for its members. As a result, many of its members have more than one correct scientific name and some names have multiple interpretations. Examples are provided of how such situations arise. This is followed by a discussion of the criteria used in selecting a treatment to be used, brief characterizations of the generic interpretations adopted, and summaries of some alternative interpretations.

Foliar Epidermes and Taxonomy of North American Stipeae (Gramineae)

Abaxial epidermes of basal leaves of 49 species of Stipeae, almost all North American, were examined. It was not possible to recognize individual species by their epidermal characters but some taxonomically interesting correlations were found. Shape of costal silica bodies and numbers of costal and intercostal cell files were the most useful taxonomic characters. Most species had dumbbell- to nodulose- shaped costal silica bodies but a few species, notably Stipa pennata and members of S. sect. Hesperostipa, had bodies that were rectangular in outline. Species of Oryzopsis generally had fewer silica body-containing costal cell files and smoother long-cell walls than most species of Stipa. Species of Piptochaetium examined had relatively few silico-suberose pairs in the intercostal region and a relatively high number of costal cell files with silicose cells.

Ptilagrostis in North America and its relationship to other Stipeae (Gramineae)

Oryzopsis kingii is transferred to Ptilagrostis as P. kingii on the basis of its morpholog- ical, anatomical, ecological, and cytological similarity to other members of that genus. In addition, P. porteri is transferred to P. mongholica as P. mongholica subsp. porteri. Stipa stillmanii, whose inclusion in Ptilagrostis has also been suggested, is retained in Stipa s.l. Numerical analyses of morphological similarities among various supraspecific taxa of Stipeae support previous suggestions that the generic limits within the tribe, particularly as interpreted in North America, should be re- evaluated. The limits and taxonomic status of Ptilagrostis Griseb. have been variously interpreted. The taxon was first recognized, as Lasiogrostis Link sect. Leptanthele Trin., by Trinius (Trinius and Ruprecht 1842). It was raised to generic status, as Ptilagrostis, by Grisebach (1852), who de-

Molecular insights into the taxonomy of Glyceria (Poaceae: Meliceae) in North America.

Eighteen Glyceria species grow in the United States and Canada, with 16 being native to the region. We used data from morphology and three chloroplast DNA intergenic regions to address taxonomic questions concerning Glyceria in North America, particularly the status of G. declinata, G. occidentalis, G. fluitans, G. striata, and G. elata in western North America. The chloroplast data confirmed the presence of two European species, G. declinata and G. fluitans, in western North America. Glyceria occidentalis was exceptional among the taxa studied in having chloroplast genotypes that fell into two different clades, one of which contained G. fluitans and the other the North American species G. leptostachya. The morphological data showed G. occidentalis to be intermediate between G. fluitans and G. leptostachya with respect to their distinguishing characters. Based on these results, we hypothesize that G. occidentalis consists of hybrids between G. fluitans and G. leptostachya. Glyceria elata and G. striata, which have sometimes been treated as a single species, had different chloroplast genotypes, supporting their recognition as distinct taxa. DNA data from all three intergenic regions would be needed for unequivocal identification of the non-hybrid species examined.

Clarification of Morphological Terms Used in the Stipeae (Gramineae), and a Reassessment of Nassella in Australia

Terms used for describing the apical regions of the lemma of the Stipeae have been used inconsistently in the past. Those terms are listed and defined, and recommendations made for consistent usage where either more than one term has been used for the same structure or the same term has been used for more than one structure. Nassella is accepted as a segregate genus of Stipa but S. caudata and S. brachychaeta, two species confused in the past, are excluded from Nassella and are best placed in Achnatherum.

Medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation in the Swat valley, north-western Pakistan, for economic development and biodiversity conservation

Most people in the Swat valley of northwest Pakistan practice subsistence farming, supplementing their income by collecting and selling wild harvested plants for use in herbal medicine. Previous work showed that the collectors did not know the potential long-term impacts of collecting wild plants. We hypothesized that establishment of ex situ cultivation plots for these most valuable species would provide a sustainable alternative and lead to development of skills in agricultural production and marketing among participants. Swat valley farmers were helped to establish plots in four locations and taught to cultivate ten medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs). In the first year, workshops were held on the financial benefits of growing MAPs for trade, criteria in selecting species, and strategies to improve MAP yield. In the second year, emphasis was placed on helping the farmers achieve a better price for their products by engaging them in discussions concerning criteria used in setting purchase prices. Seven of the ten cultivated MAPs yielded a better financial return than tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.), the traditional cash crop in the area. Cultivating MAPs can yield a higher financial return than traditional cash crops, but a long-term assessment is necessary. Offering training in collection, preservation, and marketing can enhance the financial return and the long-term benefits of cultivation. Introduction of standardized production technology and appropriate post-harvest management has become a prime engine of growth for the economies of the subsistence farmers participating in our study, and is leading to better management and conservation practices for MAPs and the landscapes in which they grow.

Report of the Special Committee on Registration of Algal and Plant Names (including fossils)

The Special Committee on Registration of Algal and Plant Names (including fossils) was established at the XVIII International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Melbourne in 2011, its mandate being to consider what would be involved in registering algal and plant names (including fossils), using a procedure analogous to that for fungal names agreed upon in Melbourne and included as Art. 42 in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Because experience with voluntary registration was key to persuading mycologists of the advantages of mandatory registration, we began by asking institutions with a history of nomenclatural indexing to develop mechanisms that would permit registration. The task proved more difficult than anticipated, but considerable progress has been made, as is described in this report. It also became evident that the Nomenclature Section needs a structure that will allow ongoing discussion of registration and associated issues. Simultaneously with this report we are submitting four proposals that would provide such a structure.