Isocarpha has five species distributed in North America, Mexico, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. In Brazil, three species occur in the Caatinga and Cerrado phytogeographic domains. During the taxonomic treatment of the species from the Eupatorieae tribe, a new species of Isocarpha was discovered for the Northeast of Brazil, in the Caatinga domain. Isocarpha spathulata is distinguished from other species of the genus by an ovate to widely-ovate or ovate-rhombic leaf blade, a sessile to subsessile capitulum that is one to two mm long, a spathulate palea with a rounded apex, 36–40 flowers, a persistent stylopodium, and an annuliform or inconspicuous carpopodium. Morphological description, illustration, distribution map, conservation status, and an identification key for Isocarpha taxa are presented herein.

Dinebra retusigluma is described from two gatherings from Sonora, Mexico. It is most easily distinguished from other members of the genus by its broadly obtuse to deeply retuse upper glumes. A key is provided to separate the species of Dinebra in Sonora.

Se describe Dinebra retusigluma de dos colecciones de Sonora, México. Se distingue más fácilmente de otros miembros del género por las glumas superiores ampliamente obtusas a profundamente retusas. Se presenta un clave para separar las especies de Dinebra de Sonora.

A new species endemic to Hawai‘i Island, Tetramolopium stemmermanniae, is described and illustrated. Molecular and morphological evidence support T. stemmermanniae as being distinct from T.arenarium var. arenarium, T.consanguineum ssp. leptophyllum, and T.humile ssp. humile, which occur at Pōhakuloa Training Area, Hawai‘i Island. Tetramolopium stemmermanniae shares an upright and multibranched habit with T.arenarium var. arenarium and T.consanguineum ssp. leptophyllum but differs in the number and color of ray and disc flowers, and in having an open, paniculate inflorescence. We provide a description of the new taxon, include a key to the Tetramolopium species of Hawai‘i, and a brief description of the habitat where the newly described species occurs.

Phylogenetic studies conducted with two nuclear ribosomal markers created the first phylogenetic framework in which to understand evolutionary relationships in Mentzelia section Bartonia (Loasaceae), but low molecular variation resulted in several large polytomies and an incomplete understanding of species relationships. We applied a genome skimming approach to determine whether additional genetic variation generated from high-throughput sequencing could resolve relationships in one of the largest polytomies in the section. Among the 20 species sequenced, five species that have pinnatisect leaf morphology were previously hypothesized to be monophyletic and we tested whether additional data would resolve the group as monophyletic. For the chloroplast genome, reads were assembled with de novo and reference guided approaches, whereas reference guided approaches were taken for the nuclear ribosomal cistron region and a single anonymous nuclear locus. Significant discordance was identified among all three gene trees. Exhaustive measures were taken to ensure phylogenetic and assembly-based errors were not responsible for the observed discordance among gene trees. We attribute incongruence to a low phylogenetic signal to noise ratio that is likely caused by the clade radiating recently and rapidly and perhaps unique evolutionary histories among genomes. Despite incongruence, several well-supported relationships emerged across data sets, and although two out of three gene trees did not recover a monophyletic pinnatisect group, all hypothesis tests for a monophyletic pinnatisect group among gene trees failed to reject monophyly of the group.

Campylosiphon (Burmanniaceae), a genus with two fully mycoheterotrophic species distributed in the tropics of South America and West Africa, is extended to include two Asian species and one African species with “wingless” flowers. Specifically, Burmannia championii and B. densiflora are transferred to Campylosiphon, and a Campylosiphon species new to science is described from Guizhou, China, supported by a combination of morphological comparison and molecular phylogenetic inference. We reveal that the genus Campylosiphon can be characterized by five morphological aspects. With this revised circumscription, Campylosiphon becomes the third genus in Burmanniaceae with a pantropical distribution pattern. We also report that two Campylosiphon species have advanced degraded plastomes, losing all protein coding genes for photosynthesis.

A new species is described from the Huancabamba Pass, a relict montane forest in northwest Peru, near the southwestern border of Ecuador. Pachycaulos huancabambae J.L.Clark & Moonlight is a terrestrial or lithophytic herb with scandent stems that grows in dense mats of bryophytes. This is the second species of Pachycaulos and renders that taxon as non-monotypic. We discuss several other genera of Gesneriaceae that are also no longer monotypic because of recent exploratory research in tropical forests and increased taxon sampling from ongoing phylogenetic studies. A molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nrDNA ITS is presented that strongly supports the monophyly and sister-group relationship of P. huancabambae and P. nummularia. Based on IUCN guidelines, a preliminary conservation status is assigned as Critically Endangered (CR).

Improving species delimitation and knowledge on species complexes is crucial for many areas of study in Biology, especially conservation. Integrative taxonomy contributes to this topic by using different approaches to better delineate taxonomic boundaries. Metternichia (Solanaceae), historically a monospecific genus, has a geographic range that comprises contrasting environments. Metternichia principis was described as having two varieties: the typical variety, found in the humid forests of eastern Brazil (Atlantic Forest region), and M. principis var. macrocalyx, which presents a larger calyx and inhabits mostly semi-arid areas (Caatinga region). In this study, we tested the validity of such groups by integrating environmental, phenological, morphometric, and palynological data; applying uni- and multivariate tests; and evaluating the conservation status of each taxon. Our results support the recognition of two morphological groups within Metternichia, largely in agreement with the original circumscription of the varieties. Multivariate analyses clearly indicate different ecological niches, with each taxon inhabiting environments with distinct mean annual precipitation and temperature. Phenological data show some differences between the varieties regarding months with the highest number of flowering and fruiting records. In general, M. principis var. macrocalyx presents larger flower and pollen characters, and smaller fruit characters compared to the typical variety. Based on these findings, we elevate the variety to the status of species, as the new combination Metternichia macrocalyx. Following IUCN guidelines, both taxa are here preliminarily considered endangered (EN).

Following a morphometric approach, in this paper a new species, Anthyllis dalmatica, is described and illustrated from Croatia (Southeastern Europe). It belongs to the A. vulneraria species complex (Fabaceae), a poorly investigated and critical taxonomic group for Eurasian vascular flora. The new species is a restricted endemic to the montane belt of Mt. Mosor in central Dalmatia, where it grows on limestone rocky slopes. Anthyllis dalmatica is morphologically closely related to the Italian endemic A. apennina, occurring in the central Apennine, from which it differs by a less-wide calyx, a lower ratio between standard limb length and width, a wider standard, and by the color of corolla and calyx at flowering time, which are dark yellow. Based on current knowledge, we propose that A. dalmatica should be included in the category critically endangered (CR) according to IUCN criteria. To promote its recognition and conservation, a new key to the taxa belonging to the A. vulneraria species complex from Croatia is also proposed.

Monopteryx is a florally divergent genus of Dipterygeae, an early-branching papilionoid legume clade largely marked by winged papilionate floral architecture, expanded upper calyx lobes often assuming a wing-shaped orientation, and petals differentiated into standard, wings, and a keel enclosing the basally connate stamens. In contrast to the remaining Dipterygeae genera, Monopteryx has differentiated petals but the marginally coherent keel with interlaced trichomes exposes the free stamens and the expanded upper calyx lobes are nearly entirely fused with a standard-like dorsal orientation. Monopteryx species are restricted to the Amazonian rainforests, where they have diversified since the last ∼15 Ma, but the divergence of the genus is estimated to be as old as ∼39 Ma. They grow as large buttressed trees usually with a uniquely “flying” architecture, which are arched from the trunk to the ground and separated from one another, unlike that found in any other species of leguminaceous trees. Its fruits are elastically dehiscent pods and in some species they bear marginally crimped wings along the sutures. Our taxonomic revision of this ecologically and evolutionarily important, ancient genus includes an analysis of about 135 specimens from across 14 herbaria, including both type and historical collections, as well as recently collected samples from our extensive fieldwork across remote areas of the Amazon. Grounded on a densely-sampled dated molecular phylogeny of nuclear and plastid data, here we recognize three phylogenetically and morphologically distinct taxa: M. angustifolia, M. inpae, and M. uaucu. After a careful revision of their nomenclatural history, we also found that M. inpae was not validly published. We subsequently have provided typification of all names associated with species of the genus. This revision also includes morphological descriptions, illustrations, and distribution maps for all species. We also discuss the phylogenetic relationships between the species and the evolution of selected taxonomically key morphological characters in the context of the entire Diptergyeae clade.