Ximena Londoño

Guadua sarcocarpa (Poaceae: Bambuseae), a New Species of Amazonian Bamboo with Fleshy Fruits

Guadua sarcocarpa, a new species with two subspecies from Amazonian Peru, Brazil, and Bolivia is described and illustrated. It is the first species of Guadua known to have fleshy fruits and the first report of an edible bamboo fruit in the New World. The new species shares 10 distinctive morphological traits with Guadua weberbaueri, an apparent close relative. Guadua sarcocarpa subsp. sarcocarpa and G. sarcocarpa subsp. purpuracea differ primarily in the color and length of the pseudospikelets (stramineous, 3-7 cm long in the former and purplish, 1-3 cm long in the latter), and shape and length of the caryopsis (oblong, apex obtuse to ovate, 4-6 cm long vs. ovate, apex abruptly apiculate, 1.5-2.5 cm long).

Molecular phylogeny of the arthrostylidioid bamboos (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae: Arthrostylidiinae) and new genus Didymogonyx

We present the first multi-locus chloroplast phylogeny of Arthrostylidiinae, a subtribe of neotropical woody bamboos. The morphological diversity of Arthrostylidiinae makes its taxonomy difficult and prior molecular analyses of bamboos have lacked breadth of sampling within the subtribe, leaving internal relationships uncertain. We sampled 51 taxa, chosen to span the range of taxonomic diversity and morphology, and analyzed a combined chloroplast DNA dataset with six chloroplast regions: ndhF, trnD-trnT, trnC-rpoB, rps16-trnQ, trnT-trnL, and rpl16. A consensus of maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference analyses reveals monophyly of the Arthrostylidiinae and four moderately supported lineages within it. Six previously recognized genera were monophyletic, three polyphyletic, and two monotypic; Rhipidocladum sect. Didymogonyx is here raised to generic status. When mapped onto our topology, many of the morphological characters show homoplasy.

A Taxonomic Revision of Otatea (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae) Including Four New Species

Abstract Previous molecular and morphological phylogenetic analyses, character-based analysis and ecological niche modeling identified seven monophyletic groups formed by populations of Otatea, a Neotropical woody bamboo genus belonging to subtribe Guaduinae. Thus the genus comprises at present seven species, four of them new to science. These four new Mesoamerican species are here described and illustrated: Otatea carrilloi from Chiapas, O. ximenae from Oaxaca, O. reynosoana from the Pacific slopes of Guerrero, Jalisco and Nayarit and O. transvolcanica from the Transmexican Volcanic Belt. A comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus Otatea is presented based on collections for this project and on herbarium specimens.

A Revision of the Brazilian Bamboo Genus Eremocaulon (Poaceae: Bambuseae: Guaduinae)

Abstract The Brazilian bamboo genus Eremocaulon is revised, including a key to its five species, descriptions, illustrations, and a distribution map. Our modified circumscription of Eremocaulon unites E. aureofimbriatum with four other species based on a unique combination of both vegetative and reproductive characters, including leathery culm leaves bearing oral setae, an elongated, persistent prophyll at the base of the primary branch, pseudospikelets, and six stamens. The western Amazonian species E. amazonicum, with capitate clusters of pseudospikelets, is newly described, as is E. setosum from the Atlantic forests of São Paulo. The monotypic genus Criciuma is recognized as a synonym of Eremocaulon, resulting in the new combination E. asymmetricum, and Guadua capitata is transferred to Eremocaulon as E. capitatum. Apoclada, Eremocaulon, Guadua, Olmeca, and Otatea, the five currently recognized genera of the Guaduinae, are compared and contrasted. Communicating Editor: Paul Wilson

Aulonemia bogotensis (Poaceae: Bambusoideae), a new species from the Cordillera Oriental of Colombia

A new species of Aulonemia from the páramos of the Cordillera Oriental, Cundinamarca, Colombia, is described and illustrated. Aulonemia bogotensis is distinguished by its diminutive size, abaxially tomentose foliage leaf blades, and spikelets with muticous lemmas. Two similar Colombian endemics, A. pumila and A. trianae, are compared and contrasted with the new species.

Otatea colombiana (Poaceae: Bambusoideae: Bambuseae: Guaduinae), a New Species Endemic to Colombia

Abstract Otatea is one of the five genera recognized in Guaduinae, a Neotropical subtribe belonging to tribe Bambuseae (tropical woody bamboos) and subfamily Bambusoideae (Poaceae). Otatea currently has 11 described species, all of which are adapted to dry habitats, and all of which are present in Mexico. Only Otatea fimbriata is reported for Mexico, Central America, and Colombia. A previous phylogenetic analysis demonstrated that the only Colombian population of O. fimbriata (located in Norte de Santander) was closely related to the rest of this widespread species. However, further morphological evidence from the recent flowering of cultivated plants from the wild Colombian population allowed its unambiguous separation from the rest of the populations of O. fimbriata. The Colombian population differs from O. fimbriata in having short and few oral setae on the culm leaves, longer spikelets with five to seven florets per spikelet, and longer glumes, lemmas, and paleas. This new evidence therefore leads us to propose a new species endemic to Colombia; in this manuscript, we describe and illustrate O. colombiana and compare it with its closely related species, O. fimbriata. Only a single locality, located in a non-protected area, is known for O. colombiana with the single population consisting of a few hundred plants. Thus we suggest that if a Red List evaluation of this species were performed, it would be assigned to the Critically Endangered category, following the categories and criteria of the International Union of Conservation of Natures Red List.