Karen L Wilson

Royal Botanic Gardens and Domain Trust, Sydney · National Herbarium of New South Wales

Archer's sedge (Carex archeri Boott) is a small, rare (or possibly overlooked by collectors due to the diminutive size) species restricted to alpine and subalpine habitats in southeastern mainland Australia and Tasmania. The systematic placement has been obscure with the species having been historically associated with sections in four of the six r...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on proposals and requests in Report 18 of the Nomenclature Committee (NC) for Fossils, Report 75 of the NC for Vascular Plants, and Report 24 of the NC for Fungi. The latter also included additions to the list of protected names. Proposal (2072) in NC for Fungi Report 22 is recommended.

Tribe Carpheae presently includes Carpha and Trianoptiles. Sixteen species were recovered in Carpha Banks & Sol. ex R.Br. sens. lat. by phenetic analyses and these species were separated into two clades that we recognise here as genera Carpha sens. str. and Asterochaete Nees, on the basis of phylogenetic analyses. We present a new taxonomy for the...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on proposals and requests in Report 25 of the Nomenclature Committee (NC) for Algae, Reports 22 and 23 of the NC for Fungi, Report 15 of the NC for Bryophytes and Report 17 of the NC for Fossils. Report 23 of the NC for Fungi also included five lists of protected fungal names for formal approval.

Two new species of Muehlenbeckia Meisn. are described, and a key is provided to these and similar species in eastern Australia. Muehlenbeckia arnhemica K.L.Wilson & R.O.Makinson grows on rocky outcrops in the northern tropical part of the Northern Territory. Muehlenbeckia costata K.L.Wilson & R.O.Makinson is restricted to rocky outcrops in ranges i...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on proposals and requests in Report 74 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants and on two older proposals: 2550 ( Plagiomnium ) and 2786 ( Ipomoea ). The General Committee has approved the list of institutional votes for the Nomenclature Section of the XX International Botanical Co...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on the proposals in Report 24 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Algae and Report 14 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Bryophytes, and on two proposals in Report 73 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants.

Poales are one of the most species‐rich, ecologically and economically important orders of plants and often characterise open habitats, enabled by unique suites of traits. We test six hypotheses regarding the evolution and assembly of Poales in open and closed habitats throughout the world, and examine whether diversification patterns demonstrate p...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on the second half of the proposals and requests in Report 73 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants. Proposal (2402) on Chenopodium is noted as being unnecessary.

What grows where? Knowledge about where to find particular species in nature must have been key to the survival of humans throughout our evolution. Over time, and as people colonised new land masses and habitats, interactions with the local biota led to a wealth of combined traditional and scientific wisdom about the distributions of species and th...

Poales are one of the most species-rich, ecologically and economically important orders of plants and often characterise open habitats, enabled by unique suites of traits. We test the hypotheses that Poales species are assembled into distinct phyloregions, with centres of high phylogenetic diversity and endemism clustered in tropical regions, and t...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on about half of the proposals and requests in Report 73 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants and Report 16 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Fossils. As specified by the Code , the GC was consulted by the NC Fungi on several matters relating only to fungi.

Two new dwarf species of Diplacrum are described from tropical Australia: Diplacrum blakei K.L.Wilson & R.L.Barrett and D. latzii K.L.Wilson & R.L.Barrett. Diplacrum is the only genus in Cyperaceae tribe Bisboeckelereae occurring in Australia. Historically, it has been confused with Scleria (Tribe Sclerieae). Descriptions are provided for all four...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on proposals and requests in Reports 62 and 72 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants (NCVP), Report 23 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Algae (NCA), and Report 15 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Fossils (NCFoss).

Dr Sandra Knapp has been appointed as President for the Nomenclature Section at the XX IBC to be held in Madrid in July 2024 and Dr John Wiersema's appointment as Vice‐rapporteur has been approved. Decisions of the General Committee are reported on proposals and requests in Report 71 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants (NCVP...

• Background and Aims: While variation in genome size and chromosome numbers and their consequences are often investigated in plants, the biological relevance of variation in chromosome size remains poorly known. Here, we examine genome and mean chromosome size in the cyperid clade (families Cyperaceae, Juncaceae, Thurniaceae), which is the largest...

Broˇzov´a et al. (2022) present a study, “Toward finally unraveling the phylogenetic relationships of Juncaceae with respect to another cyperid family, Cyperaceae”, with the premise of revising the phylogenetic re-lationships in Juncaceae and Cyperaceae based on Sanger sequencing of one nuclear rDNA (ITS) and two plastid regions (the gene rbcL and t...

We here describe Machaerina ascendens R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson as a new species from swamps within forests in the far southwest of Western Australia. The new species is readily identifiable by its scrambling habit and compressed, multi-noded culms, features which separate it from all other Australian species. The clearly distichous glumes, few hypo...

Lepidosperma prospectum G.T.Plunkett & R.L.Barrett (Cyperaceae tribe Schoeneae) is here described as a new species from the Sydney region of New South Wales. It is highly restricted in distribution, occurring at Manly (Sydney Harbour National Park), Kamay Botany Bay National Park and Royal National Park in dense coastal shrublands behind coastal cl...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on proposals in Report 70 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants and Reports 12 and 13 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Fossils.

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on various older proposals that had been deferred, as well as proposals in Reports 18–20 of the Permanent Nomenclature Committee for Algae.

The diaspores of Lepidosperma Labill. (Cyperaceae) have thickened perianth members persistent at the base of the fruit, which are generally assumed to form a unique type of elaiosome but this assumption has not been tested rigorously. We tested whether the perianth provides a lipid-rich food reward and improves diaspore removal by ants in three spe...

A new genus, Netrostylis R.L.Barrett, J.J.Bruhl & K.L.Wilson is described for Australasian species previously known as Tetraria capillaris (F.Muell.) J.M.Black (Cyperaceae tribe Schoeneae). The genus is restricted to southern and eastern Australia, and the North Island of New Zealand. Two new combinations are made: Netrostylis capillaris (F.Muell.)...

Cyperaceae (sedges) are the third largest monocot family and are of considerable economic and ecological importance. Sedges represent an ideal model family to study evolutionary biology because of their species richness, global distribution, large discrepancies in lineage diversity, broad range of ecological preferences, and adaptations including m...

The Tricostularia Nees ex Lehm. group of genera is reviewed and formally recognised as Cyperaceae tribe Schoeneae subtribe Tricostulariinae R.L.Barrett, K.L.Wilson & J.J.Bruhl. Molecular data from plastid rbcL and trnL-F and nuclear ITS and ETS regions are combined with a novel assessment of morphological characters to support our new classificatio...

We reassess the current taxonomic status and distribution of Cyperaceae on Rapa Iti, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. This includes the poorly known Machaerina involuta H.St John (Cyperaceae, tribe Schoeneae), 86 years after it was first collected. Detailed morphological examination revealed that M. involuta belongs in Morelotia Gaudich., and the...

We reassess the current taxonomic status and distribution of Cyperaceae on Rapa Iti, Austral Islands, French Polynesia. This includes the poorly known Machaerina involuta H.St John (Cyperaceae, tribe Schoeneae), 86 years after it was first collected. Detailed morphological examination revealed that M. involuta belongs in Morelotia Gaudich., and the...

The predominantly austral genus Schoenus L. is the largest genus in tribe Schoeneae and one of the ten most species‐rich Cyperaceae genera, with over 150 accepted species found mostly in Australia, New Zealand, south‐east Asia and southern Africa. Here we use data based on two nuclear and three plastid DNA regions to present one of the most compreh...

Morphological characterizations of genera in Cyperaceae tribe Abildgaardieae have been highly problematic and the subject of much debate. Earlier molecular phylogenetic studies based on Sanger sequencing and a limited sampling have indicated that several generic circumscriptions are not monophyletic. Here, we provide the first phylogenetic hypothes...

Phylogenetic studies of Carex L. (Cyperaceae) have consistently demonstrated that most subgenera and sections are para‐ or polyphyletic. Yet taxonomists continue to use subgenera and sections in Carex classification. Why? The Global Carex Group here takes the position that the historical and continued use of subgenera and sections serves to (1) org...

A new combination in Carex is made for Uncinia flaccida S.T.Blake since the earlier ‘Carex flaccida’, usually attributed to Sw. ex Wahlenb., is invalid, published only in synonymy by several authors.

The field of systematics is experiencing a new molecular revolution driven by the increased availability of high-throughput sequencing technologies. As these techniques become more affordable, the increased genomic resources have increasingly far-reaching implications for our understanding of the Tree of Life. With c. 2000 species, Carex (Cyperacea...

Three species are recognised in a new circumscription of the genus Chaetospora R.Br. Chaetospora is lectotypified on C. curvifolia R.Br. A new combination, Chaetospora subbulbosa (Benth.) K.L.Wilson & R.L.Barrett is made for Schoenus subbulbosus Benth. Lectotypes are also selected for Chaetospora aurata Nees, Chaetospora curvifolia R.Br., Chaetospo...

Between International Botanical Congresses, Special‐purpose Committees (SPCs), previously simply called “Special Committees”, fulfill an important governance function on behalf of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Code) through addressing particular topics assigned to them by the Nomenclature Section of an Interna...

A new genus, Anthelepis R.L.Barrett, K.L.Wilson & J.J.Bruhl, is described for four Cyperaceae species from mainly tropical areas of South-East Asia, New Caledonia and Australia. The relationships of the three previously described species have been much-debated. In recent decades, they have most commonly been placed in either Schoenus L. or Tricostu...

While the limits of Fimbristylis Vahl (1805: 285) are contentious (Goetghebeur & Coudijzer 1984, Gordon-Gray 1971, Lye 1971, 1973), particularly with regard to the inclusion of Abildgaardia Vahl (1805: 296) within Fimbristylis, all current data support the derivation of Crosslandia W.Fitzg. (1906: 9) from within Fimbristylis (Ghamkhar et al. 2007;...

Decisions of the General Committee are reported on: (1) translations of the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants, and (2) appointment of the members of the post‐Shenzhen Special‐purpose Committees.

We investigated the limits of Lepidosperma congestum R.Br. and a putative new species of Lepidosperma Labill. from Victoria and South Australia. Phenetic analyses (flexible UPGMA agglomerative hierarchical fusion and semi-strong hybrid multidimensional scaling) were conducted on a dataset derived from morphological characters scored from herbarium...

We investigated the monophyly of Costularia (25 species), a genus of tribe Schoeneae (Cyperaceae) that illustrates a remarkable distribution pattern from southeastern Africa, over Madagascar, the Mascarenes and Seychelles, to Malesia and New Caledonia. A further species, Tetraria borneensis, has been suggested to belong to Costularia. Relationships...

Taxonomy is a scientific discipline that has provided the universal naming and classification system of biodiversity for centuries and continues effectively to accommodate new knowledge. A recent publication by Garnett and Christidis [1] expressed concerns regarding the difficulty that taxonomic changes represent for conservation efforts and propos...

Widespread, common species are of limited value for regional biogeographic studies and of least concern for conservation and land management. In contrast, narrow endemics may be informative for such studies and are usually of high conservation priority. A new species is separated from the widespread species Schoenus melanostachys on the basis of ph...

Decisions are reported on two previously unresolved proposals and one request from Report 68 of the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants, as well as five proposals in Report 13 of the Nomenclature Committee for Bryophytes. © 2017, International Association for Plant Taxonomy. All rights reserved.

Decisions are reported on ten previously unresolved proposals and requests from Reports 15 and 17 of the Nomenclature Committee for Algae and Report 69 from the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants. In addition the Bureau of Nomenclature is authorized to deal with any last minute requests for institutional votes before the XIX IBC. © 2017, In...

Decisions are reported on proposals and requests in Reports 15 and 17 of the Nomenclature Committee for Algae, Report 69 from the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants, Reports 20 and 21 from the Nomenclature Committee for Fungi, plus an old proposal (1193) from the then Committee for Spermatophyta. The first six lists of fungal names authoriz...

Decisions are reported on proposals and requests in Reports 61, 67, and 68 from the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants, in Reports 10 and 11 from the Nomenclature Committee on Fossils, in Report 14 from the Nomenclature Committee for Algae and in Report 12 from the Nomenclature Committee for Bryophytes.

Decisions are reported on (1) two complicated proposals to conserve names (one rejected, one accepted); (2) two requests about potentially confusable names (both cases considered not confusable); and (3) two requests about whether descriptive material is adequate for valid publication (both considered adequate). The committee also discussed and vot...

We used nuclear rDNA-sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region to test the monophyly of Schoenus by using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. Schoenus is not monophyletic, with strong bootstrap support for most branches and congruence across analyses. nrITS does not resolve terminal taxa fully and, therefore, needs to be...

Propolis samples from Kangaroo Island, South Australia, were investigated for chemical constituents using high-field nuclear magnetic resonance spectral profiling. A type of propolis was found containing a high proportion of prenylated hydroxystilbenes. Subsequently, the botanical origin of this type of propolis was identified using a beehive propo...

Decisions are reported on proposals in Reports 65 and 66 from the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants (NCVP): (1) three proposals in Report 65; (2) 33 proposals to conserve or reject names recommended for acceptance in NCVP Report 66; (3) 17 such proposals recommended for rejection in that Committee Report; (4) five conservation proposals fo...

Despite previous efforts to unify the terminology for Cyperaceae, two different terms, perigynium and utricle, are in common use for the prophyllar bract enclosing the female flower of Carex. Use of these terms is divided largely on geographic lines (mainly North American versus European and other authors, respectively). The recent merging of Kobre...

Major public DNA databases — NCBI GenBank, the DNA DataBank of Japan (DDBJ), and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) — are invaluable biodiversity libraries. Systematists and other biodiversity scientists commonly mine these databases for sequence data to use in phylogenetic studies, but such studies generally use only the taxonomic id...

We present the first large-scale phylogenetic hypothesis for the genus Carex based on 996 of the 1983 accepted species (50.23%). We used a supermatrix approach using three DNA regions: ETS, ITS and matK. Every concatenated sequence was derived from a single specimen. The topology of our phylogenetic reconstruction largely agreed with previous studi...

Decisions are reported on: (1) 35 proposals to conserve and reject names recommended for acceptance in the Nomenclature Committee for Vascular Plants (NCVP) Report 65 and one proposal from Report 64; (2) 11 such proposals recommended for rejection in those Committee Reports; (3) one proposal was referred back to the NCVP for further consideration;...

Revised procedures for the General Committee and the Permanent Nomenclatural Committees for particular groups are reported. Decisions are reported on: (1) two overlooked proposals from before the Melbourne Congress, one to conserve a name and the other to suppress a work; (2) thirty proposals to conserve and reject names recommended for acceptance...

Four new species of Actinoschoenus Benth. and one new species of Fimbristylis Vahl are described from the north Kimberley region of Western Australia: A. glabrispiculus Rye, R.L.Barrett & M.D.Barrett, A. pentagonus Rye, R.L.Barrett & M.D.Barrett, A. quadricostatus Rye, R.L.Barrett & M.D.Barrett, A. ramosus Rye, R.L.Barrett & M.D.Barrett, and F. hel...

Carex (Cyperaceae), with an estimated 2000 species, nearly cosmopolitan distribution and broad range of habitats, is one of the largest angiosperm genera and the largest in the temperate zone. In this article, we provide argument and evidence for a broader circumscription of Carex to add all species currently classified in Cymophyllus (monotypic),...

Two new species of Cyperaceae endemic to the ultramafic area of southern New Caledonia are described: Chorizandra gigantea J.Raynal ex K.L.Wilson and Schoenus rivularis J.Raynal ex K.L.Wilson. New combinations are made for three species of Cyperaceae in Australia and New Caledonia: Machaerina johnsonii (K.L.Wilson) K.L.Wilson, M. planifolia (Benth....

Lepidosperma (Cyperaceae, Schoeneae) is a morphologically distinct genus but often taxonomically difficult at the species level. The L. viscidum complex is widespread through eastern Australia and may contain up to 10 undescribed, cryptic species. More corroborating characters are needed. Discovery of compounds with medicinal potential from the res...

Uncertainty in identifying Allocasuarina shrubs of the North Coast botanical region of New South Wales and southeastern Queensland prompted investigation of species limits using morphological and cytological data. PATN analysis using 36 morphometric characters, seedling morphology and cytogenetic analysis supported the existing circumscription of A...

Uncertainty in identifying Allocasuarina shrubs of the North Coast botanical region of New South Wales and southeastern Queensland prompted investigation of species limits using morphological and cytological data. PATN analysis using 36 morphometric characters, seedling morphology and cytogenetic analysis supported the existing circumscription of A...

The broad austral distribution of Schoeneae is almost certainly a product of long-distance dispersal. Owing to the inadequacies of existing phylogenetic data and a lack of rigorous biogeographic analysis, relationships within the tribe remain poorly resolved and its pattern of radiation and dispersal uncertain. We employed an expanded sampling of t...

The status of a putative new species of Lepidosperma from the mountains of south-western Tasmania, Australia, was investigated. Phenetic analysis (Flexible UPGMA Agglomerative Hierarchical Fusion and semi-strong hybrid multidimensional scaling) was conducted on a database derived from morphological and anatomical characters scored from herbarium ma...

Using flow cytometry, we analyzed genome size (2C, nuclear DNA amount) and genomic base composition (GC content) in more than 600 taxa of Cyperaceae + Juncaceae + Thurniaceae covering representatively all main lineages of this Cyperid clade. Compared to representatives of the other 13 families in Poales, the evolution of the holokinetic chromosome...

Lepidosperma apricola R.L.Barrett is a new species from the Darling Range in Western Australia. An isolated population also occurs in Kings Park, in the heart of Perth. This species has been confused with L. leptostachyum Nees. in the past. Lepidosperma calcicola R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson is a new species from coastal dune systems on the west coast...

A survey of the flavonoids of some 92 species of Australian Cyperus, mainly of subtropical or tropical origin, has confirmed a correlation previously reported in this family between flavonoid pattern and plant geography. The pattern found was similar to that of African and South American Cyperaceae, particularly in the occurrence of the rare marker...

Species diversity in the genus Lepidosperma Labill. is much greater than previously thought. On the basis of morphological and molecular data, we currently recognise 73 named species (mainly in Australia), with many more species yet to be described. As a precursor to a complete revision, we review the names published in Lepidosperma. All published...

As a precursor to the fifth edition of the Flora of South Australia, Gahnia halmaturina R.L.Barrett & K.L.Wilson is described as a new species from Kangaroo Island. This species was previously known by the phrase name Gahnia sp. West Bay (B.M.Overton 2685) R.L.Taplin. A revised key to South Australian species of Gahnia is provided. Keywords: Cypera...

The monophyly of Muehlenbeckia and evolutionary relationships with other genera in Polygonoideae have been unclear. The traditional placement of Muehlenbeckia in Coccolobeae (Eriogonoideae) along with Antigonon, Brunnichia, and Coccoloba has not been supported in previous studies, and it is more closely related to Fallopia in Polygonoideae. Molecul...

Four new species in Eleocharis R.Br. subgenus Limnochloa (P.Beauv. ex T.Lestib.) Torr. are described: Eleocharis jacobsiana, E. rivalis, E. sanguinolenta and E. triquetra. All of these species are from tropical Australia.

Dr Surrey Jacobs was an outstanding Australian botanist, well-known in botanical circles around the world for his research on grasses, chenopods and waterplants. Locally, he was well respected also by those involved in understanding and managing plants in wetlands and grasslands.

Phylogeny and biogeographic patterns in Asian and Australasian sedges in tribe Cariceae Waterway, MJ 1 , Hoshino, T 2 , Bruhl, J 3 , Wilson, K 4 , De Lange, P 5 , Ji, W6 1 McGill University, Canada; 2 Okayama University of Science, Japan; 3 University of New England, Armidale, Australia; 4 Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia; 5 Peter...

Dense sampling for assessment of monophyly in Schoeneae, a morphologically diverse tribe of Cyperaceae Gibbs, AK 1 , Wilson, KL 2 , Barrett, RL 3 , Muasya, AM4 , Verboom, GA 4 , Musili, PM1 , Bruhl, JJ 1 1 University of New England, Armidale, Australia; 2 National Herbarium of NSW, Royal Botanic Gardens, Sydney, Australia; 3 Botanic Gardens...

Schoenus section Helothrix (Nees) Kük. comprises c. 30 taxa that are predominately tufted annual or short lived perennial sedges. Scanning electron microscopy was used to illustrate fruit characters such as size, shape and surface ornamentation. Characters associated with the perianth segments, i.e. number, length and indumentum, were also investig...

In recent years amazing morphological and molecular variation Lepidosperma in southwestern Western Australia has led to the estimation of 70% for undescribed species diversity. It seems likely that a similar figure applies to Lepidosperma in eastern Australia. A dynamic character list has been developed to capture this variation which provides a fo...

Despite being widespread in southern Australia, occurring in most habitats, Sword and Rapier sedges (Lepidosperma) have remained one of the least known and most confused genera in the Australian flora. Our field and herbarium studies in Lepidosperma have suggested that many new species should be recognised in the genus. A novel and comprehensive mu...

Schoenus, as currently circumscribed, is native to most continents, but it is a predominantly Australian genus which has remained a largely understudied Cinderella of Cyperaceae. Classification of Schoenus based on morphology by Kükenthal, modified by Wilson has recognises two subgenera and 11 sections. Previously presented preliminary estimates of...

With over 120 species, the largely endemic Schoenus is a common, often important and probably as frequently overlooked component of many Australian ecosystems. We are revising the genus to serve the needs of ‘Flora of Australia’ and broader goals of phylogeny reconstruction, and understanding character evolution and biogeographic patterns. To meet...

Scientific data are being generated at an ever increasing rate. Existing volumes of data can no longer be effectively processed by humans, and efficient and timely processing by computers requires development of standardised machine readable formats and interfaces. There is also a growing need to share data, information and services across multiple...

Identification of the three more-or-less sympatric species of

Previous initial findings of non-monophyly of the tribe and its type genus along with predictions of non-monophyly of some large genera within the tribe will be subject to phylogenetic analysis of nuclear (ITS, ETS) and plastid (trnL) DNA sequences. Estimates of phylogeny for Schoeneae will be assessed in light of some morphological characters. Our...