Jérôme Munzinger

Institute of Research for Development | IRD · 123 - Plant Architecture, Functioning and Evolution (AMAP)

Sapindales is an angiosperm order of high economic and ecological value comprising nine families, c. 479 genera, and c. 6570 species. However, family and subfamily relationships in Sapindales remain unclear, making reconstruction of the order’s spatio-temporal and morphological evolution difficult. In this study, we used Angiosperms353 target captu...

New Caledonia is a tropical archipelago with very high biodiversity conservation challenges. Its flora is still imperfectly known while its ecosystems are increasingly degraded by various threats, including mining activity. In this context, there is an urgent need to describe the most threatened species so they can be accounted for in situ conserva...

Conservation efforts in global biodiversity hotspots often face a common predicament: an urgent need for conservation action hampered by a significant lack of knowledge about that biodiversity. In recent decades, the computerisation of primary biodiversity data worldwide has provided the scientific community with raw material to increase our unders...

The genus Adenodaphne is currently considered endemic to New Caledonia, but its distinction from Litsea is questionable based on morphological similarity. An earlier phylogenetic analysis (ITS) including one species of Adenodaphne and two Asian species of Litsea did support their close relationship but did not permit resolution of their generic bou...

Ongoing taxonomic studies on Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae) in New Caledonia revealed a number of taxonomic and nomenclatural issues in need of clarification. A new synonymy is proposed: Schizocalyx neocaledonica Brongn. & Gris is reduced to synonymy under Eugenia ovigera Brongn. & Gris. A new name E. pubiflora N. Snow & Callm. is proposed for the illegiti...

In the context of global change, tropical forests are increasingly affected by fires. Understanding the ecological processes driving forest recovery in fire-modified landscapes is a critical issue. We analyzed spatial and temporal (8 years) changes in functional and phylogenetic composition of tree communities during forest post-fire recovery in an...

Cet article a pour but de préciser les conditions pour pouvoir déposer des spécimens dans l'un des herbiers d'Occitanie reconnus par l'Index herbariorum. Il précise, à travers de nombreux exemples, comment préparer idéalement les plantes (montage), comment fournir les données associées nécessaires (étiquettes, données informatiques, photos de terra...

New Caledonia was, until recently, considered an old continental island harbouring a rich biota with outstanding Gondwanan relicts. However, deep marine sedimentation and tectonic evidence suggest complete submergence of the island during the latest Cretaceous to the Paleocene. Molecular phylogenies provide evidence for some deeply-diverging clades...

Assessing biodiversity status and trends in plant communities is critical for understanding, quantifying and predicting the effects of global change on ecosystems. Vegetation plots record the occurrence or abundance of all plant species co‐occurring within delimited local areas. This allows species absences to be inferred, information seldom provid...

Pycnandra Benth., a member of subfamily Chrysophylloideae (Sapotaceae), is the largest endemic genus in New Caledonia and is subdivided into six subgenera. It circumscribes 59 species, plus an additional three described here, and nine additional species that remain undescribed for various reasons. We here use nrDNA data of ETS, ITS, and RPB2, analy...

Premise: The economically important, cosmopolitan soapberry family (Sapindaceae) comprises ca. 1900 species in 144 genera. Since the seminal work of Radlkofer, several authors have attempted to overcome challenges presented by the family's complex infra-familial classification. With the advent of molecular systematics, revisions of the various pro...

Two endemic species of Cryptocarya R.Br. are described from New Caledonia. Cryptocarya conduplicata Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov. was previously confused with C. aristata Kosterm., which it resembles in its typically numerous lenticels and oblate fruit, but from which it differs most noticeably in its leaf blades partly folded longitudinally (vs...

A broad range of climatic and biogeographical conditions are represented in the French Overseas Territories, from sub-polar to equatorial, resulting in a high diversity of endemic species. We mobilized data from herbaria, floras, checklists, literature, the expertise of botanists and plant ecologists to compile the most complete dataset on endemic...

Three endemic species of Xyris (Xyridaceae, Poales) are currently recognized in New Caledonia. A recent multivariate analysis of 18 morphological characters based on 129 specimens of Xyris from New Caledonia, supported by 10 anatomical and micromorphological observations, suggested that three species should be recognized in the New Caledonian archi...

New Caledonia was, until recently, considered an old continental island harbouring a rich biota with outstanding Gondwanan relicts. However, deep marine sedimentation and tectonic evidence suggest complete submergence of the island during the latest Cretaceous to Paleocene. Molecular phylogenies provide evidence for some deeply-diverging clades tha...

A new species, Garcinia urceolata Munzinger, Bruy & M.Pignal, sp. nov. (Clusiaceae), is described from New Caledonia. It is restricted to North Province, from the Tchamba valley in the south to Mandjélia in the north of the main island of Grande-Terre, occurring in dense humid rainforests on non-ultramafic substrate. Material of this small tree spe...

A new genus of Gesneriaceae, Bopopia Munzinger & J.R.Morel gen. nov., is described from New Caledonia. The genus is based on B. parviflora Munzinger & J.R.Morel gen. et sp. nov., a new species collected during an expedition on Mt Katalupaik, in the North Province of New Caledonia’s main island. Originally considered as a species of Coronanthera, ou...

Xyridaceae are represented in New Caledonia only by the genus Xyris, the description of which was last revised in the 1960s, and three endemic species were recognized there at that time, X. pancheri, X. neocaledonica and X. guillauminii. However, no specimens of X. guillauminii were reported from P or L, although some type material was present. In...

Herbarium specimens were collected of 648 plants during the inventory of plots to characterize the forest vegetation on Mount Wilhelm between 200 and 3700 m above sea level. Specimens are deposited mainly at LAE, MPU, P, and The New Guinea Binatang Research Centre. Nearly 93% have been identified to species or “morphospecies“ level. The highest spe...

The OCBIL theory comprises a set of hypotheses to comprehend the biota of old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes (OCBILs). Here, we review evidence from the literature to evaluate the extent to which this theory could apply to the biodiversity hotspot of New Caledonia. We present geological, pedological and climatic evidence suggesting ho...

BUERKI, S., J. MUNZINGER, P.P. LOWRY II & M.W. CALLMANDER (2020). Two new genera of Sapindaceae (Cupanieae) from the southern Pacific: Lepidocupania and Neoarytera. Candollea 75: 269-284. In English, English abstract. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15553/c2020v752a9 Phylogenetic analyses of the family Sapindaceae inferred from nuclear and plastid sequen...

The discovery of nickel hyperaccumulation, in Pycnandra acuminata, was the start of a global quest in this fascinating phenomenon. Despite recent advances in the physiology and molecular genetics of hyperaccumulation, the mechanisms and tolerance of Ni accumulation in the most extreme example reported to date, P. acuminata, remains enigmatic. We co...

Background and Aims – Hybanthus austrocaledonicus (Violaceae) is a Ni hyperaccumulator endemic to New Caledonia. One of the specimens stored at the local herbarium had a strip of bark with a remarkably green phloem tissue attached to the sheet containing over 4 Wt% Ni. This study aimed to collect field samples from the original H. austrocaledonicus...

Background and Aims – Hybanthus austrocaledonicus (Violaceae) is a Ni hyperaccumulator endemic to New Caledonia. One of the specimens stored at the local herbarium had a strip of bark with a remarkably green phloem tissue attached to the sheet containing over 4 Wt% Ni. This study aimed to collect field samples from the original H. austrocaledonicus...

Morphological characters support the description of two new species of Orchidaceae from New Caledonia: Dendrobium butinii M.Pignal & Munzinger sp. nov. and Dendrobium letocartiorum Munzinger & M.Pignal sp. nov. The lectotypes of Dendrobium camaridiorum Rchb.f. and D. crassifolium Schltr. are designated here. A leaf anatomical study was conducted an...

The new species Alectryon hirsutus is described from New Caledonia. It is distinguished from the only other member of the genus occurring on this southwest Pacific island, A. carinatus, by its uniformly densely hirsute indumentum (vs. glabrous or with short, appressed trichomes) as well as features of its leaves [(2‒)3‒5 pairs of leaflets vs. 1‒2])...

Herbarium specimens were collected of 648 plants during the inventory of plots to characterize the forest vegetation on Mount Wilhelm between 200 and 3700 m above sea level. Specimens are deposited mainly at LAE, MPU, P, and The New Guinea Binatang Research Centre. Nearly 93% have been identified to species or "morphospecies" level. The highest spe...

Amborella trichopoda (Amborellaceae) is a shrub endemic to New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific region. This plant suddenly became famous when molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that this sole species is likely the sister taxon to all other angiosperms. It has thus been a prime research model for reconstructing plant evolution and gaining in...

Oceanic islands originate from volcanism or tectonic activity without connections to continental landmasses, are colonized by organisms, and eventually vanish due to erosion and subsidence. Colonization of oceanic islands occurs through long-distance dispersals (LDDs) or metapopulation vicariance, the latter resulting in lineages being older than t...

Questions: Vegetation-plot records provide information on presence and cover or abundance of plants co-occurring in the same community. Vegetation-plot data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies and biodiversity research centers, and thus, are rarely accessible at continental or global scales. Here we present the sPlot database,...

Aims: Vegetation-plot records provide information on the presence and cover or abundance of plants co-occurring in the same community. Vegetation-plot data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies and biodiversity research centers and, thus, are rarely accessible at continental or global scales. Here we present the sPlot database,...

In this review article, we provide an overview of the status of research on Old World Ebenaceae with an emphasis on the large genus Diospyros. The well-supported phylogenetic tree obtained from nucleotide sequences of multiple regions of plastid genome gave clear insights into the subfamilial classification of Ebenaceae. It supported inclusion of p...

Protected areas are the cornerstone on which conservation strategies are often built. Adapting systems of protected areas to rapid global changes is critical to meet the challenge of conservation in biodiversity hotspots. Twenty years ago, Jaffré et al. (Biodivers Conserv 7:109–135, 1998) warned that the system of protected areas in the global biod...

Aims : Vegetation‐plot records provide information on the presence and cover or abundance of plants co‐occurring in the same community. Vegetation‐plot data are spread across research groups, environmental agencies and biodiversity research centers and, thus, are rarely accessible at continental or global scales. Here we present the sPlot database,...

Amborella trichopoda (Amborellaceae) is a shrub endemic to New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific region. This plant suddenly became famous when molecular phylogenetic studies revealed that this sole species is likely the sister taxon to all other angiosperms. It has thus been a prime research model for reconstructing plant evolution and gaining in...

The New Caledonian biodiversity hotspot contains many micro-hotspots that exhibit high plant micro-endemism, and that are facing different types and intensities of threats. The Belep archipelago, and especially Île Art, with 24 and 21 respective narrowly endemic species (1 Extinct, 21 Critically Endangered and 2 Endangered), should be considered as...

Plant functional traits directly affect ecosystem functions. At the species level, trait combinations depend on trade-offs representing different ecological strategies, but at the community level trait combinations are expected to be decoupled from these trade-offs because different strategies can facilitate co-existence within communities. A key r...

Plant functional traits directly affect ecosystem functions. At the species level, trait combinations depend on trade-offs representing different ecological strategies, but at the community level trait combinations are expected to be decoupled from these trade-offs because different strategies can facilitate co-existence within communities. A key q...

A new species, Acropogonhorarius Gâteblé & Munzinger, sp. nov. (Malvaceae, Sterculioideae), is described from New Caledonia. It is known only from two very small subpopulations in the rainforests of the Petchécara Pass between Thio and Canala, in the southeast of Grande-Terre, New Caledonia’s main island. This shrub to small tree has hastate leaves...

A new species of Euphorbiaceae, Bocquillonia corneri, narrowly endemic to the extreme north-east of New Caledonia’s main island, is here highlighted, described and illustrated, based on original morphological and architectural characteristics. This new species differs notably by its unique monocaulous tree habit, while other Bocquillonia species ar...

Background: Lianas are an abundantand dynamic component of tropical forests, and their abundance ispredicted to increase with global change. A better understandingof factors that explain their distribution is required, especially onoceanic islands for which few data are available. Aims: Identifythe environmental factors that shape liana communities...

Pleioluma (Baill.) Baehni (Sapotaceae) circumscribes some 40 medium-sized trees and shrubs, many gynodioecious, in Australia, Malesia and New Caledonia. Systematics of the group is unclear and delimitations of species are notoriously difficult. We explore species boundaries in New Caledonia by multiple accessions of 'species', molecules and morphol...

Plant functional traits directly affect ecosystem functions. At the species level, trait combinations depend on trade-offs representing different ecological strategies, but at the community level trait combinations are expected to be decoupled from these trade-offs because different strategies can facilitate co-existence within communities. A key q...

The protologue of Litsea mackeei states that its holotype is at P. However, two specimens bearing the type number appear to exist at P, the second specimen belonging to a species different from the first and bearing as well a label with a different collection number. Fortunately, a clear indication of which plant Kostermans was describing is provid...

A new species of Alectryon Gaertn. (Sapindaceae) endemic to the Fijian archipelago is described as A. vitiensis Buerki, Lowry, Munzinger & Callm. based on morphological and molecular evidence. It can easily be distinguished from the two congeners currently known from Fiji by its smaller leaves, subsessile leaflets, apetalous flowers, and crested fr...

Snow, N., J.W. Byng, J. Munzinger, M.W. Callmander & J.W. Dawson (2017). New Caledonian Piliocalyx transferred to Syzygium (Myrtaceae) with an updated conspectus of the species. Candollea 72: 239–248. In English, English and French abstracts. Members of Piliocalyx Brongn. & Gris (Myrtaceae) from New Caledonia are transferred to, or given new names...

A new species, Acropogon mesophilus Munzinger & Gâteblé (Malvaceae, Sterculioideae), is described from New Caledonia. This species is endemic to non-ultramafic areas, along the southwestern coast of Grande-Terre. The species has large leaves, widely ovate to ovate, and entire, and might be confused with only two other endemic species, namely A. bul...

Halfordia F.Muell is a genus of rainforest trees or shrubs native to New Guinea, New Britain, New Caledonia, Vanuatu and eastern Australia. There is debate about the number of species that should be recognised in the genus. Four species have been named, but authors have commonly recognised only two species, and some recent treatments accept just on...

Three endemic new species of Cryptocarya R.Br. are described from New Caledonia. Cryptocarya adpressa Munzinger & McPherson, sp. nov., is a small-leaved, pinnately veined species resembling species such as C. leptospermoides Kosterm. and C. gracilis Schltr., but differing most notably in its persistent and strongly appressed indument of the inflore...

Until now the altitudinal factor has not been taken into account to estimate tropical arthropod diversity. The ultimate aim of the terrestrial biodiversity survey "Our Planet Reviewed – Papua New Guinea" was to estimate biological diversity generated by altitudinal turnover of arthropod species. It took place on Mount Wilhelm, Papua New Guinea high...

Pycnandra longiflora (Sapotaceae) belongs to the largest endemic genus in New Caledonia. It is only known from the type collection made in 1861–67 at the obscure locality “Gatope”. Relocation of this species has been of high priority for more than a decade, but without success. Pycnandra longiflora was therefore recently declared extinct. However,...

The new species Eugenia plurinervia N. Snow, Munzinger & Callm. (Myrtaceae) is proposed for New Caledonia. It is easily diagnosed from other Eugenia L. species by its typically three prominent palmately radiating secondary veins arising from each side of the midvein near the base (or lower third) of the leaf, and densely its punctate blades. The ne...

New Caledonia is the oldest oceanic island in the world. The biogeographic studies on the origin of the island biota recently shifted from an “all-Gondwanan” paradigm toward a more balanced view, taking into account the submergence tectonic events that occurred in Paleocene and Eocene. Many molecular regional studies have now been conducted and the...

Pycnandra Benth. (Sapotaceae) is the largest endemic genus in New Caledonia and is subdivided into six subgenera. An addition of five species are here described in four subgenera, viz. P. comptonioides Swenson & Munzinger, P. kouakouensis Swenson & Munzinger, P. montana Swenson & Munzinger, P. poindimiensis Swenson & Munzinger and P. versicolor Swe...

The endemic New Caledonian genus Storthocalyx is only known from two of this South West Pacific archipelago’s main vegetation types, maquis and humid evergreen forest, and within the latter it occurs on both ultramafic and volcano-sedimentary substrates. Recent phylogenetic studies confirm its monophyly and indicate that it forms a clade with two o...

Snow, N., J.W. Dawson, M.W. Callmander, K. Gandhi & J. Munzinger (2016). New species, new combinations, and lectotypifications in New Caledonian Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae). Candollea 71: 67–81. In English, English and French abstracts. Five new species of Eugenia L. (Myrtaceae) are proposed from New Caledonia: Eugenia amosensis N. Snow, Eugenia homedeb...

Here the new version of the Checklist of the vascular indigenous Flora of New Caledonia : FLORICAL