The Plant Press

Brazil-endemic plant genus Mcvaughia highlights diversity in a unique biome

From Plant Press, Vol. 22, No. 2, April 2019.

-Adapted from Pensoft Publishers

A new species of the Brazil-endemic small genus Mcvaughia is described as part of an extended revision of this unique group. The study was recently published in the open access journal PhytoKeys.

Mcvaughia bahiana is just one of only three species recognized in the genus found in Brazil. (photo by I.R. Guesdon)

Mcvaughia is a genus of the plant family Malpighiaceae comprising just three known species, all of which endemic to the unique Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests biome found in the Atlantic Forest and Caatinga domains in northeastern Brazil.

In fact, Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests have only been recognized as a worldwide biome recently and taxonomic studies focusing on its endemic plant species are imperative for conservation management.

In their newly published monograph, the team of scientists from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History answer the need for a deeper understanding on this unique biome, starting with genus Mcvaughia and hoping to continue with other endemic plant groups in the future.

"We are truly fascinated by the members of this new and exciting biome and when during a visit in Brazilian herbaria, we found a third species of Mcvaughia endemic to seasonally dry forests from the state of Piauí, Brazil, we couldn't miss the chance to improve knowledge on this unique genus and the biome where it is only found," explains lead author, Rafael F. Almeida from the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The name of the newly described species Mcvaughia piauhiensis pays tribute to Rogers McVaugh, an American botanist, expert in the Mexican flora.

Mcvaughia sergipana is another representative of the small endemic genus from the seasonally dry tropical forests of Brazil. (photo by R.F. Almeida)

"The results presented in this study are the second step towards a complete taxonomic revision of the Mcvaughioid clade using several additional methods in biosystematics. The macro and micromorphological data presented here are promising for future taxonomic and phylogenetic studies focusing on understanding the morphological evolution in the Mcvaughioid clade, and in Malpighiaceae, as well," conclude the authors.

After school students participate in Pterrific Pteridophyte Ptuesdays

From Plant Press, Vol. 22, No. 2, April 2019.

This past fall members of the Department of Botany teamed up with Education & Outreach to hold an after-school class for 18 local teenagers called "Pterrific Pteridophyte Ptuesdays." Liz Zimmer, Peter Schafran, W. Carl Taylor, Gabe Johnson, Shruti Dube, Eric Schuettpelz, Steven Canty, Erika Gardner, and Juan Pablo Hurtado Padilla introduced students to collections-based research of plants over four consecutive Tuesdays in October and November. On the first night, the students received a tour of the US National Herbarium led by Gardner, which featured the fern collection and mounting rooms. Afterwards the students constructed growth chambers with aluminum foil and milk creates in which to incubate petri dishes of Ceratopteris spores that they learned to sow using aseptic technique.

Spores of Cyathea divergens and Cyathea myosuroides. Students learned to differentiate species based on spore ornamentation characters, such as differentiating perforate versus foveolate depressions. (photo by Juan Pablo Hurtado Padilla)

The following week, the students observed the germination of the gametophyte from the spore and then attended a special lecture by Schuettpelz on his career in pteridology and current research on the evolution of fern epiphytism.

The students spent the third class learning to identify potted fern specimens with a dichotomous key and then pressed frond specimens collected from the Smithsonian Gardens’ Urban Bird Habitat (west side of the museum). Students learned how to identify key morphological features of leaf dissection and indusia and sori. In addition to macromorphology, the students learned to describe a diversity of fern spores under light and electron microscopes. Padilla assisted the students in creating stunning 3D SEM images of spores that they used in a spore-based plant identification matching game.

Water was added to their sexually mature gametophyte cultures to precipitate the release of free-swimming sperm under the microscope. Students identified male and female gametangia and the spiral, multi-flagellated swimming patterns of sperm. With this knowledge of gametophyte fertilization, student groups then created an experiment where a serial dilutions of a pollutant, such as bleach, 409 degreaser, Ajax, or motor oil, were applied to a set of gametophyte cultures. The viability and fertilization rates of the cultures treated with various concentrations of pollution were then compared to that of control plates in which water was added to initiate fertilization. Apparently 409 spray does not kill C. richardii gametophytes, but has a relatively long-lasting inhibitory effect on fertilization. Overall, the students were very indusiastic to learn about ferns and were sori to say good-bye on the last night.

Honors & Awards

From Plant Press, Vol. 22, No. 2, April 2019.

Recipients of the 2018 Richard and Minnie Windler Award in Systematics are Lytton Musselman and Peter Schafran (at the awards banquet) and Liz Zimmer and Carl Taylor (at the Isoetes display at the National Museum of Natural History).

The article, “A whole chloroplast genome phylogeny of diploid species of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta) in the southeastern United States,” by Peter W. Schafran, Elizabeth A. Zimmer, W. Carl Taylor, and Lytton J. Musselma, is the recipient of the 2018 Richard and Minnie Windler Award in Systematics. The award was established in 1990 at the annual meeting of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society by Donald R. Windler of Towson University as a memorial to his parents. The award is presented annually to the author or authors of the best paper published in the journal Castanea for the categories of systematics and ecology. A committee comprised of former editors and other SABS members each year select the papers receiving the award. The award was presented to Schafran at a ceremony during the annual business breakfast of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society during the Association of Southeastern Biologists conference in Memphis, Tennessee on April 5, 2019.

Alice Tangerini received a “Highly Commended” for her entry of Piper sotobosquense at the 16^th annual Margaret Flockton Award Exhibition at the Maiden Theatre, Royal Botanic Garden Sydney. Competing this year were 26 scientific botanical illustrators from 17 countries. The artists employed pencil, pen and ink, purely digital or a combination of digital and traditional media to illustrate the 44 contemporary illustrations entered. Plants of the common garden variety and newly described species were represented. Following the exhibition at RBG Sydney, the high quality giclée prints will be on display at The Australian Botanic Garden, Mt Annan, and The Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mt Tomah. More information about the Margaret Flockton Award is available at <https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/whatson/margaret-flockton-award>.

Recipients of the 2019 travel awards

From Plant Press, Vol. 22, No. 2, April 2019.

The Department of Botany granted six travel awards for 2019: one Robinson Award, one Smith Award, and four Cuatrecasas Awards. As usual, Botany received many excellent applications from which the awards committee could make selections. The following individuals have accepted their respective awards and will be visiting Botany later this year.

Cuatrecasas Award

• Igor Musauer Kessous from Museu Nacional da Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for his project, “Synopsis and re-circumscription of Vriesea Lindl. (Tillandsioideae, Bromeliaceae).” His proposed visit is June 2019.
• Josimar Külkamp from Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for his project, “Systematics and Biogeography of the Subtribe Ditaxinae (Euphorbiaceae).” His proposed visit is August 2019.
• Sonia Molino de Miguel from Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, for her project, “Taxonomy, phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Parablechnum C. Presl (Blechnaceae, Polypodiopsida).” Her proposed visit is September 2019.
• Jackeline Salazar Lorenzo from Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, for her project, “Untangling the taxonomy of Neotropical Canellaceae: A taxonomic review with the description of new species.” Her proposed visit is July/August 2019.

Robinson Award

• Joel Calvo Casas from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, Chile, for his project, “Systematics of Werneria and Xenophyllum (Asteraceae, Senecioneae).” His proposed visit is still to be determined.

Smith Award

• Patrícia Steiner Sperotto, from Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Brazil, for her project, “Diversity of climbing plants in the Neotropics: discussing the role of climbing mechanisms.” Her proposed visit is July/August 2019.