The Neotropical genus Melothria (Benincaseae, Cucurbitaceae) is a small group of yellow- or white-flowered climbers with small to medium-sized fruits. In 1899, Alfred Cogniaux described a species from montane rainforest in Haiti as Melothria domingensis, presumably based on the overall similarity in habit, leaf shape, and fruit morphology of his incomplete herbarium material to other Central Am...

A taxonomic synopsis of the Altingiaceae is presented, including the taxonomic enumeration and distribution of 15 recognized species based on studies of 1,500 specimens from 24 herbaria throughout the distributional range of the taxa. Previous phylogenetic analyses based on several molecular markers have shown that Altingia and Semiliquidambar are nested within Liquidambar. All Altingia and Sem...

We report on the use of 15 Mimosa species within the Tehucán-Cuicatlán Valley, south-central Mexico. Seven of these species are endemic to Mexico, and four species and one variety are endemic to the Valley. We reviewed historical, ethnobotanical and floristic manuscripts, and conducted field studies. Several herbaria were consulted, as well as the BADEPLAM data base. Field work in the Valley ha...

BACKGROUND The Pteridaceae family is the largest fern family in Togo by its specific and generic diversity. Like all other families of ferns in the country, Pteridaceae are poorly studied and has no identification key. The objective of this study is to perform a taxonomic revision and list establishment of this family of leptosporangiate ferns in the light of current available knowledge about t...

The forest canopy harbors a diverse assemblage of plants of many different growth habits. The reproductive parts of tall trees, many epiphytes, and lianas may exist only in the upper canopy. Access to these upper regions is essential to identify canopy plants and to collect and document voucher specimens for a particular forest region. The majority of botanists, however, have relied on collecti...

Adam P. Karremans*, Franco Pupulin, David Grimaldi, Kevin K. Beentjes, Roland Butôt, Gregorio E. Fazzi, Karsten Kaspers, Jaco Kruizinga, Peter Roessingh, Erik F. Smets and Barbara Gravendeel Lankester Botanical Garden, University of Costa Rica, P.O. Box 302-7050 Cartago, Costa Rica, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands, Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA, USA – Marie S...

Using morphological, nuclear, and mitochondrial data, we here revise the taxonomy of Apodanthaceae and allocate the 36 names published in the family to ten biological species in two genera, Apodanthes and Pilostyles. All species are endo-parasites that live permanently inside trees or shrubs of the families Salicaceae or Fabaceae and that only emerge to flower. Because of this life history, Apo...

Basidiomycetes belonging in the genus Parasola and some satellite taxa have been revised on the basis of type studies and original diagnoses. As a result of an extensive taxonomic survey, 34 names affiliated with Parasola (formerly Coprinus subsections Glabri and Auricomi) have been identified. Type materials of 15 taxa have been found in various herbaria and examined. These taxa are described ...

DNA extracted from herbarium specimens is highly fragmented; therefore, it is crucial to use extraction protocols that retrieve short DNA molecules. Improvements in extraction and DNA library preparation protocols for animal remains have allowed efficient retrieval of molecules shorter than 50 bp. Here, we applied these improvements to DNA extraction protocols for herbarium specimens and evalua...

An international consortium of major natural history museums, herbaria and other organizations has launched an ambitious project, the 'Barcode of Life Initiative', to promote a process enabling the rapid and inexpensive identification of the estimated 10 million species on Earth. DNA barcoding is a diagnostic technique in which short DNA sequence(s) can be used for species identification. The f...