Paul Goetghebeur

• Ghent University

Aim Islands are ‘nature's laboratories of evolution’. Most island biogeographical studies have focussed on remote volcanic island chains. Here, we challenge island biogeographical patterns using a slowly evolving recent colonist present on five islands in a nonlinear chronosequence island chain. Location The Lesser Antilles (Caribbean). Taxon Mag...

Best known as low maintenance houseplants, sansevierias are a diverse group of flowering plants native to Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Indian subcontinent. Traditionally recognised as a distinct genus, Sansevieria was recently merged with the larger genus Dracaena based on molecular phylogenetic data. Within the Sansevieria Cl...

The Caribbean islands provide an ideal setting for studying biodiversity, given their complex geological and environmental history, and their historical and current geographical proximity to the American mainland. Magnolia, a flagship tree genus that has 15 endemic and threatened taxa (12 species and 3 subspecies) on the Caribbean islands, offers a...

Background: Hydrangea section Cornidia consists of 26 currently accepted species and a yet undefined number of new species and erroneously synonymized taxa. This clade consists of (sub)tropical lianas occurring from northern Mexico to southern Chile and Argentina, and one species from Southeast Asia. Currently, no molecular phylogenetic hypothesis...

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...

Sansevierias are a diverse group of flowering plants native to Africa, Madagascar, the Arabian Peninsula and the Indian subcontinent, popular outside their native range as low maintenance houseplants. Traditionally recognized as a distinct genus, Sansevieria was recently merged with the larger genus Dracaena based on molecular phylogenetic data. Wi...

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...

The generic placement of two African species currently included in the genus Fimbristylis, F. hygrophila and F. variegata, has been contentious. These two species, which have been known for the past half century, are glabrous tufted perennials whose spikelets have semi-distichous to spiral glume arrangement, bisexual flowers, and a pistil with an e...

A recent study included the genus Nemum into Bulbostylis. The combinations made for Nemum spadiceum and Nemum megastachyum resulted in illegitimate names. Here, the epithet of the homotypic name Scirpus briziformis is used to make nomenclaturally correct combinations for both subspecies of Nemum spadiceum in Bulbostylis. Furthermore, Bulbostylis br...

For Scleria subgen. Hypoporum, 214 species and infraspecific names were published since the first publication of the name Scleria. These names represent 76 accepted taxa, representing 72 species of Scleria subgen. Hypoporum. Herbarium material of all recognised species was studied, including the type material if available. Synonymy and typification...

Conserving tree populations safeguards forests since they represent key elements of the ecosystem. The genetic characteristics underlying the evolutionary success of the tree growth form: high genetic diversity, extensive gene flow and strong species integrity, contribute to their survival in terms of adaptability. However, different biological and...

Scleria subgen. Hypoporum (Cyperaceae), with 68 species, is the second largest subgenus in Scleria. Species of this pantropically distributed subgenus generally occur in seasonally or permanently wet grasslands or on shallow soils over sandstone or lateritic outcrops, less often they can be found in (open) woodlands. Previous studies established th...

Voucher information and GenBank accession numbers included in this study. Abbreviation used for analyses, taxon, vouchers, country, herbarium code, origin and GenBank accession numbers for ETS, ITS, ndhF and rps16. (DOCX)

50% majority rule consensus tree based on BI analysis of ITS. Posterior probabilities. Posterior probabilities indicated on the respective branches when equal or higher than 0.90. (PDF)

Best scoring ML tree for ITS, with bootstrap values equal or higher than 75% displayed above the branches. (PDF)

50% majority rule consensus tree based on BI analysis of ETS. Posterior probabilities. Posterior probabilities indicated on the respective branches when equal or higher than 0.90. (PDF)

50% majority rule consensus tree based on BI analysis of the concatenated nuclear dataset. Posterior probabilities. Posterior probabilities indicated on the respective branches when equal or higher than 0.90. (PDF)

Best scoring ML tree for the concatenated nuclear dataset, with bootstrap values equal or higher than 75% displayed above the branches. (PDF)

50% majority rule consensus tree based on BI analysis of rps16. Posterior probabilities. Posterior probabilities indicated on the respective branches when equal or higher than 0.90. (PDF)

50% majority rule consensus tree based on BI analysis of the concatenated chloroplast dataset. Posterior probabilities. Posterior probabilities indicated on the respective branches when equal or higher than 0.90. (PDF)

ndhF_hypoporum.fas. (FAS)

Best scoring ML tree for ETS, with bootstrap values equal or higher than 75% displayed above the branches. (PDF)

Best scoring ML tree for ndhF, with bootstrap values equal or higher than 75% displayed above the branches. (PDF)

Best scoring ML tree for rps16, with bootstrap values equal or higher than 75% displayed above the branches. (PDF)

ETS1f_hypoporum.fas. (FAS)

50% majority rule consensus tree based on BI analysis of ndhF. Posterior probabilities. Posterior probabilities indicated on the respective branches when equal or higher than 0.90. (PDF)

Best scoring ML tree for the concatenated chloroplast dataset, with bootstrap values equal or higher than 75% displayed above the branches. (PDF)

rps16 hypoporum.fas. (FAS)

Despite recent advances in molecular phylogenetic studies, deep evolutionary relationships in Cyperaceae are still not entirely resolved. Reduction of floral morphology and complex inflorescences pose difficulties to unravel relationships based on morphology alone. One of the most phylogenetically informative structures in Cyperaceae are the embryo...

An endemic species of Scleria (Cyperaceae) from Cameroon, Scleria cheekii Bauters, is described as new to science. Scleria cheekii is an annual known from basalt pavements in the Bamenda Highlands in Cameroon. It can be distinguished from related species by the presence of tuberculated yellow-orange translucent tissue covering the trigonous stipe....

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...

(2554) Schoenus hornei C.B. Clarke in Durand & Schinz, Consp. Fl. Afric. 5: 657. Dec 1894 [Angiosp.: Cyper.], nom. cons. prop. Typus: Seychelles, Horne 626 (K barcode K000244890), typ. cons. prop.

The species-rich genus Peperomia (Black Pepper relatives) is the only genus among early diverging angiosperms where epiphytism evolved. The majority of fruits of Peperomia release sticky secretions or exhibit hook-shaped appendages indicative of epizoochorous dispersal, which is in contrast to other flowering plants, where epiphytes are generally c...

The genus Scleria (Cyperaceae), with ca. 250 species, is placed in the monotypic tribe Sclerieae. It has a primarily pantropical distribution. Previously, infrageneric classifications have been proposed but none has been based on molecular phylogenetic evidence and most studies have treated the genus from only one geographical region. In this study...

The replacement name Cyperus lipocarpha T. Koyama published in 1960 for Lipocarpha chinensis (Osbeck) J. Kern is incorrect, because an earlier epithet of a heterotypic name is available for combination in Cyperus. A new combination, Cyperus albescens (Steud.) Larridon & Govaerts is here proposed.

Knowledge of the monocot flora of the Seychelles remains relatively weak and new taxonomic studies, including both herbarium specimens and field observations, are needed. Extensive new explorations in the key biodiversity areas of the Seychelles granitic islands resulted in the discovery of an unknown species of Costularia. After careful examinatio...

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Species of the endemic Chilean cactus genus Copiapoa have cylindrical or (sub)globose stems that are solitary or form (large) clusters and typically yellow flowers. Many species are threatened with extinction. Despite being icons of the Atacama Desert and well loved by cactus enthusiasts, the evolution and diversity of Copiapo...

Scleria pantadenia Meganck & Bauters and Scleria tricristata Meganck & Bauters are presented as new species of Scleria (Cyperaceae) from tanzania. Scleria pantadenia is a small, tufted annual sedge species characterized by its delicate, brittle appearance and its small nutlets with gland-like tubercules and basal rim of swollen tuberculate cells. S...

Tribe Hydrangeeae of Hydrangeaceae currently contains nine morphologically diverse genera, many of which are wellknown garden ornamentals. Previous studies have shown eight of these genera to be phylogenetically nested within Hydrangea, rendering the latter polyphyletic. To clarify the phylogeny of tribe Hydrangeeae, the present study sequenced fou...

Identifying orthologous molecular markers that potentially resolve relationships at and below species level has been a major challenge in molecular phylogenetics over the past decade. Non-coding regions of nuclear low- or single-copy markers are a vast and promising source of data providing information for shallow-scale phylogenetics. Taking advant...

The classification of species-rich genera is one of the most challenging tasks in systematics. In this paper we present an updated infrageneric classification of the genus Peperomia (Piperaceae), one of the most species-rich genera of plants. The classification is based on a molecular phylogeny of 190 accessions and the placement of 1340 of the 160...

The genus Hydrangea, famous for its ornamental representatives, faces several taxonomic and systematic difficulties at different levels. Unclear species boundaries are one of these difficulties, which require an in-depth study of molecular and morphological variability of Hydrangea taxa. This paper concentrates on gathering more specimens for study...

Bulbostylis albidostricta Veltjen & Goetgh. is presented as new species of Bulbostylis (Cyperaceae) from Angola. It is a small, elegant sedge species characterised by a slender creeping rhizome, a single terminal spikelet, glumes with a translu- cent margin and white velate nutlets. The species is described and illustrated, and differences with the...

In the Neotropics, the genus Hydrangea of the popular ornamental hortensia family is represented by climbing species that strongly cling to their support surface by means of adhesive roots closely positioned along specialized anchoring stems. These root-climbing hortensia species belong to the nearly exclusive American Hydrangea section Cornidia an...

Many of Chile’s iconic cactus species are threatened by human activities and global change. In order to safeguard them from extinction, both in situ and ex situ conservation actions are urgently needed. In this paper, an overview is given of the in situ and ex situ conservation status of the mainly Chilean cactus genera Copiapoa, Eriosyce and Eulyc...

Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses showed that Lipocarpha and Volkiella are nested in a paraphyletic Cyperus s.s. and therefore should be viewed as part of a broadly circumscribed genus Cyperus (Cyperaceae). In this paper, molecular phylogenetic analyses of Lipocarpha and Volkiella based on nuclear ribosomal ETS1f and plastid rpl32-trnL and trn...

The sedge genera Alinula, Ascolepis, Kyllinga, Lipocarpha, Pycreus, Queenslandiella, Remirea, Sphaerocyperus and Volkiella (Cyperaceae) were recognised at generic level because they possess specialised inflorescence and/or flower characters. However, recent molecular phylogenetic analyses show that these genera are all nested in a paraphyletic Cype...

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...

Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ETS1f) and plastid DNA (rpl32-trnL, trnH-psbA) sequence data are presented for ‘C4 Cyperus’ (Cyperaceae). The term ‘C4 Cyperus’ encompasses all species of Cyperus s.l. that use C4 photosynthesis linked with chlorocyperoid vegetative anatomy. Sampling comprises 107 specimen...

Hydrangea s. l., belonging to the up-market segment of ornamental cultivars, currently faces a renaissance in horticulture. Hence, novel molecular assisted breeding approaches are timely. Wide hybridization, i.e. crosses between distantly related species, has been shown to be problematic. Recent studies have considerably improved our knowledge of t...

The recently published nomen novum Cyperus spiralis Larridon is illegitimate, because an earlier epithet of a homotypic name is available. A new combination, Cyperus steudneri (Boeckeler) Larridon is proposed for Kyllingiella polyphylla (A.Rich.) Lye.

Worldwide about one third of all plant species is estimated to be threatened with extinction. Plants are generally under-represented in conservation. However, the global strategy for plant conservation (GSPC) sets forth 16 targets to halt the current and continuing loss of plant diversity within a framework for actions at global, regional, national...

Background and aims – In Cyperaceae, the single-ovuled, usually triangular gynoecia are widely considered to have a basic number of three carpels, often reduced to two, resulting in dimerous pistils. However, laterally flattened dimerous pistils cannot be explained by any existing carpel reduction theories, because a single stigma in median positio...

Anemone coronaria and Ranunculus asiaticus both belong to the Ranunculaceae, a large plant family with many ornamentals of horticultural importance. In this study, the floral characteristics and the development of reproductive structures of these two cut flowers are investigated. On a macro-level, flower morphology was analysed by dissections, ligh...

- The genus Epimedium is well known for its ornamental representatives. However, species boundaries and evolutionary relationships within the genus remain uncertain due to several difficulties. First, potentially diagnostic characters are generally not described with enough detail, hampering linkage of specimens to recognized taxa. Second, previous...

A new genus, Dracoscirpoides Muasya, is described and illustrated. This genus accommodates two southern African species, Scirpus falsus and S. ficinioides, until now included in the holarctic Scirpus (Scirpeae) due to the presence of perianth parts. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have established that these species form a clade closer to Sci...

New names and new combinations in Cyperus for southern Africa.

and aims – Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot with a high level of plant endemism. However, not all lineages of plants are equally represented and the highest diversity occurs in forest lineages. Cyperaceae frequently occur in grasslands and wetlands in Africa, and the tribe Hypolytreae and Carex subgenus Vigneastra are among the few predominantl...

and aims – Recent molecular studies validate a broad definition of Cyperus (Cyperaceae) uniting genera previously scattered in Cyperoideae. First indication of their affinity with Cyperus was obtained through embryography. Cyperus consists of a paraphyletic C3 Cyperus and monophyletic C4 Cyperus. In this study, we aim to check and clarify the putat...

Cochlearia pyrenaica is one of the most endangered plant species in Europe, listed in many European and regional conservation policy documents (e.g. Spain, France, Belgium, Switzerland). To study its genetic structure, define its conservation units and propose a management strategy for this species, amplified fragment length polymorphism markers we...

Aim Peperomia subgenus Tildenia consists of c. 60 species growing in seasonal habitats of Neotropical mountain areas from Mexico to Argentina. The subgenus can be split geographically, with almost equal diversity in the Northern Hemisphere (centred in Mexico and Guatemala) and in the Southern Hemisphere (centred in Peru and Bolivia). Only a few spe...

Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of nrDNA (ETS1f) and plastid DNA (rpl32-trnL, trnH-psbA) sequence data are presented for ‘C3 Cyperus’ (Cyperaceae). The term ‘C3 Cyperus’ indicates all species of Cyperus s.l. that use C3 photosynthesis linked with eucyperoid vegetative anatomy. Sampling comprises 77 specimens of 61 different taxa, represent...

Firewood is the basic fuel source in rural Bolivia. A study was conducted in an Andean village of subsistence farmers to investigate human impact on wild firewood species. A total of 114 different fuel species was inventoried during fieldtrips and transect sampling. Specific data on abundance and growth height of wild firewood species were collecte...

and aims - The pantropical genus Peperomia consists of approximately 1,600 species with an extremely diverse vegetative morphology, especially in the Neotropics. One of the most startling yet overlooked growth forms is the geophytic one, as in subgenus Tildenia. This group occurs in seasonal Neotropical habitats with its highest diversity in Mexico...

Peperomia subgenus Tildenia is a poorly known group of geophytic species occuring in seasonal habitats in 2 biodiversity hot spots (Mexico-Guatemala and Peru-Bolivia) with few species reported from the countries in between. Recent fieldwork combined with detailed study of herbarium specimens of this subgenus in Mexico and Central America resulted i...

This paper is the second in a series of papers on the nomenclature of the names of genera (Huygh & al., 2010) and subdivisions of genera in Cypereae (Cyperaceae). Here we present a survey of all published names of subdivisions of Cyperus, designate types where needed, and evaluate priority and legitimacy. Cyperus is the largest genus in Cypereae an...

Recent molecular studies reveal that Cyperus, the core genus of Cypereae (Cyperaceae), includes several segregate genera. This paper presents a survey of all published names of subdivisions of these segregate genera of Cyperus. It is the third paper in a series of papers on the nomenclature of names of genera and subdivisions of genera in Cypereae....

Peperomia subgenus Tildenia is a poorly known group of geophytic species occurring in seasonal habitats in 2 biodiversity hot spots (Mexico-Guatemala and Peru-Bolivia) with few species reported from the countries in between. Recent fieldwork combined with detailed study of herbarium specimens of this subgenus in Mexico and Central America resulted...

: Pycreus, Kyllinga, and Queenslandiella cluster together with Cyperus within the Cyperus s. lat. clade, one of the two large clades in Cypereae. However, in contrast with Cyperus, they have laterally flattened pistils/nutlets. Pycreus, Kyllinga and Queenslandiella form morphologically well circumscribed independent genera. In the context of a broa...

Dated phylogeny, character evolution and bioeography of Cyperaceae: capturing the 'missing links' Muasya, M1 , Simpson, D 2 , Bruhl, J 3 , Barrett, R 4 , Gibbs, A 3 , Araujo, AC 2 , Goetghebeur, P 5 , Gehrke, BF 1, 6 1 University of Cape Town, South Africa; 2 Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK; 3 University of New England, Armidale; 4 Kings Par...

Pycreus sect. Tuberculati was created by Chermezon to contain a single species with derived nutlets: P. divulsus, a Malagasy endemic. Kükenthal transferred this species to his new section Muricati. However, a detailed study of the nutlet epidermis shows P. divulsus is not closely related to the other species Kükenthal placed in the latter section....

The morphological diversity and the presence of several convergent evolutionary lineages in the Cypereae tribe (Cyperaceae) have given rise to various conflicting classifications. These conflicts do not only arise in the delimitation of genera and their subdivisions, but also in the use of similar subdivisional names for different species groups an...

Kyllinga cataphyllata, a new species of Cyperaceae from the highlands of Western and Central Africa, is described and illustrated. This new species is easy recognized by the ascending rhizome densely covered by large cataphylls. The head-like inflorescence consisting of a single spike with spikelets made up of two to three glumes and only one flowe...

The morphological diversity and the presence of several convergent evolutionary lineages in the Cypereae tribe (Cyperaceae) have given rise to various conflicting classifications. These conflicts do not only arise in the delimitation of genera and their subdivisions, but also in the use of similar subdivisional names for different species groups an...

Phylloscirpus acaulis and Trichophorum rigidum (Cyperaceae) are widely distributed in the Andes of South America. A study of the taxonomy, vegetative architecture and inflorescence structure showed the existence of two subspecies, Phylloscirpus acaulis subsp. pachycaulis and Trichophorum rigidum subsp. ecuadoriense.

Cyperus absconditicoronatus Bauters, Reynders & Goetgh. and C. unispicatus Bauters, Reynders & Goetgh., two new species of Cyperus L. (Cyperaceae) from Angola and Zambia, are recognized. Cyperus absconditicoronatus is a tall species (55–100 cm) characterized by a scaled rhizome, a single terminal capitulum, a ciliated spikelet bract, and deciduous...

Several representatives of Hydrangeaceae tribe Hydrangeeae are popular in the horticultural trade for their inflorescences with attractive marginal flowers, resulting in many hybrids and cultivars. However, despite previous morphological and molecular studies, the phylogenetic relationships between the nine currently recognized genera in this clade...

In the present study we tested the suitability of classification trees for plant identification purposes. A Classification And Regression Tree (CART) analysis was performed on a combination of dimension and shape parameters of 613 endocarps belonging to five closely related Eurasian plum taxa (Prunus cerasifera, P. domestica, P. insititia, P. spino...