Mauricio Takashi Coutinho Watanabe

Syngonanthus androgynus, a Striking New Species from South America, its Phylogenetic Placement and Implications for Evolution of Bisexuality in Eriocaulaceae

In the present study, we describe and illustrate a remarkable new species of Syngonanthus from South America (Bolivia, Brazil and Peru). This new species is quickly distinguished from all species in the genus by trimerous and bisexual flowers, a unique set of characteristics in Syngonanthus. Complementary to this study, sequences of 33 species were downloaded from GenBank and four species had sequences newly generated for this study. Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and the plastid regions psbA-trnH and trnL-F were performed to determine its systematic position. The results have shown S. androgynus closely related to a well-supported clade that has been treated as Syngonanthus sect. Carphocephalus. Floral traits associated with this new plant also were surveyed. Character reconstruction suggests that the bisexual flowers originated independently more than once in the genus. However, trimerous flowers appear to be an ancestral condition of the whole genus.

Flora das cangas da Serra dos Carajás, Pará, Brasil: Eriocaulaceae

Abstract This is an account of the species of Eriocaulaceae that have been reported from the cangas of Serra dos Carajas, Para state, Brazil. Three genera and ten species are recorded: Eriocaulon carajense, E. cinereum , E. tenuifolium, E. aff. setaceum , Paepalanthus fasciculoides , Syngonanthus caulescens , S. discretifolius, S. heteropeplus, S. simplex and S. aff. saxicola . Keys, descriptions, illustrations, photos and comments are provided. Key words: Amazonia, Carajas National Forest, floristics, Poales, taxonomy. Flora das cangas da Serra dos Carajas, Para, Brasil: Eriocaulaceae Flora of the cangas of Serra dos Carajas, Para, Brazil: Eriocaulaceae Mauricio Takashi Coutinho Watanabe 1,3 , Earl Celestino de Oliveira Chagas 2 & Ana Maria Giulietti 1,2 Rodriguesia 68, n.3 (Especial): 965-978. 2017 http://rodriguesia.jbrj.gov.br DOI: 10.1590/2175-7860201768332 1 Instituto Tecnologico Vale, R. Boaventura da Silva 955, Nazare, 66055-090, Belem, PA, Brasil. 2 Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Prog. Pos-Graduacao em Botânica, Av. Transnordestina s/n, Novo Horizonte, 44036-900, Feira de Santana, BA, Brazil.

Completing the jigsaw: the first record of the female plant of Daphnopsis filipedunculata (Thymelaeaceae), an endemic species from the Brazilian Amazon

Abstract The results of intensive fieldwork in the National Forest of Carajás (FLONA Carajás) led to the discovery of pistillate plants of Daphnopsisfilipedunculata, an endemic species from the Serra dos Carajás, previously known only from staminate individuals. These newly discovered populations add valuable missing information related to pistillate buds, mature flowers and fruits.

Quillworts from the Amazon: A multidisciplinary populational study on Isoetes serracarajensis and Isoetes cangae

Isoetes are ancient quillworts members of the only genus of the order Isoetales. The genus is slow evolving but is resilient, and widespread worldwide. Two recently described species occur in the Eastern Brazilian Amazon, Isoetes serracarajensis and Isoetes cangae. They are found in the ironstone grasslands known as Canga. While I. serracarajensis is present mostly in seasonal water bodies, I. cangae is known to occur in a single permanent lake at the South mountain range. In this work, we undertake an extensive morphological, physiological and genetic characterization of both species to establish species boundaries and better understand the morphological and genetic features of these two species. Our results indicate that the morphological differentiation of the species is subtle and requires a quantitative assessment of morphological elements of the megaspore for diagnosis. We did not detect differences in microspore output, but morphological peculiarities may establish a reproductive barrier. Additionally, genetic analysis using DNA barcodes and whole chloroplast genomes indicate that although the plants are genetically very similar both approaches provide diagnostic characters. There was no indication of population structuring I. serracarajensis. These results set the basis for a deeper understanding of the evolution of the Isoetes genus.