Phytotaxa

**Six new and a little-known species of Rudgea (Rubiaceae—Palicoureeae) from the Guianas**

2022-01-21T10:38:58+13:00

The Neotropical genus Rudgea (Rubiaceae) includes at least 120 species, 18 of which have previously been reported from the Guianas. While revising the material for the Flora of the Guianas, the authors uncovered and hereby describe six new species: R. approuaguensis, R. glomerulata, R. graniticola, R. itoupensis, R. jadinii and R. leucocarpa. Most of these are endemic to French Guiana, except R. graniticola which also occurs in Suriname, and R. leucocarpa, recorded also from Suriname and northern Brazil. Additionally, the original description of Rudgea ayangannensis, endemic of Guyana, is emended as it was based on a mixture of two different species, and adjustments are provided in a new description.

**Revision of the Donald T. Kowalski’s collections of Lamproderma (Myxomycetes, Amoebozoa) reveals twice higher species diversity**

2022-01-21T10:39:00+13:00

Donald T. Kowalski’s herbarium collection gathered in 1960s is among the most important historical documentation of nivicolous myxomycete diversity in North America. A revision of speciose genus Lamproderma from this collection deposited in UC was undertaken. Based on examination of 95 specimens that were originally classified by Kowalski into 13 species, 25 species have been recognized. The identity of seven species: L. arcyrionema, L. biasperosporum, L. columbinum, L. disseminatum, L. echinosporum, L. maculatum, and L. scintillans was confirmed and all specimens represented the species as originally determined by Kowalski. Remaining 18 species were either differently interpreted or not distinguished by Kowalski. The most interesting of them is a single collection of Diacheopsis sp. that most likely belongs to an undescribed species. Attempts to obtain molecular barcode reference sequences from Kowalski’s specimens failed, likely due to the degradation of DNA induced by chemical treatment of collections in the past, thus this material remains available only for morphological comparisons. Results of the present revision contribute to more adequate estimation of diversity of Lamproderma species in the USA revealing a much higher number of species than originally reported. More generally, these results emphasize a need of revisions of old collections what is particularly important in the genera like Lamproderma where taxonomic changes proposed during last decades made older published records unequivocal or difficult to interpret.

**A new subgenus of Sonchus (Asteraceae: Cichorieae) inferred from molecular data**

2022-01-21T10:39:01+13:00

A new subgenus, Sonchus subg. Palustres, is established to accommodate S. erzincanicus endemic to Turkey and former Sonchus ser. Palustres including S. palustris and S. sosnowskyi. Although the exclusive placement of S. palustris has already been documented by previous studies based on molecular phylogenetic analyses without morphological evidence, there has not been any study of S. erzincanicus above the specific level. The present study proposes a new subgenus based on chiefly molecular data, and contribute macro- and micro-morphological features (i.e. pollen grains and achenes) of the studied species together with the phylogenetic position based on nrITS and matK with multiple sampling. Further literature and morphological studies evidently showed that S. erzincanicus and S. palustris have slightly heteromorphic achenes which is a subtle character and underestimated up to now in the infrageneric classification of the genus Sonchus. Besides, the molecular analyses revealed that S. erzincanicus and S. palustris are sister taxa, forming an exclusive clade of their own within the genus. Moreover, the Palustres clade is the first diverged one among the clades of the genus Sonchus based on the nrITS
data. Consequently, S. erzincanicus, S. palustris and S. sosnowskyi are treated as members of the suggested new subgenus. Therefore, the slightly heteromorphic achene feature could be taken into consideration for species delimitation in the genus Sonchus as a supportive morphological character. Furthermore, S. araraticus is suggested as a synonym of S. erzincanicus based on its morphological and ecological characteristics.

**Transfer of Millettia pachycarpa and M. entadoides to Derris (Fabaceae), supported by morphological and molecular data**

2022-01-21T10:39:03+13:00

Derris Lour. and Millettia Wight & Arn. are two genera of the tribe Millettieae (Fabaceae). The biggest difference between the two genera is that Derris has indehiscent, thin and winged pods, while Millettia has dehiscent, compressed and wingless pods, but some exceptions also exist. Because of their tardily dehiscent, inflated and wingless pods, two Asian liana species, Millettia pachycarpa Benth. and M. entadoides Z. Wei, were previously placed in Millettia sect. Macrospermae Dunn. However, their vegetative and floral characters, as well as the shape of seeds match with those of Derris very well. Phylogenetic analyses based on three chloroplast markers (trnK/matK, trnL-F IGS, and psbA-trnH IGS), and nuclear ITS/5.8S showed that the two species are nested within Derris, and separate from other samples of Millettia species with strong support. Therefore, the two species should be transferred from Millettia to Derris to maintain the monophyly of the latter, which inevitably results in an emendation of the generic circumscription of Derris. Due to the existence of Derris pachycarpa Merr., the second earliest valid epithet “taiwaniana” should be used for this taxon when transfering Millettia pachycarpa Benth. to Derris. Thus, a new combination, Derris taiwaniana (Hayata) Z.Q. Song, is proposed here. Millettia entadoides Z. Wei is recombined as Derris entadoides (Z. Wei) Z.Q. Song. The floral morphology of D. entadoides is described here for the first time, and it is reported as a new record from Thailand in this study.

Three new species of Lychnophorinae from the Brazilian Central Plateau (Asteraceae: Vernonieae)

2022-01-21T10:39:04+13:00

Three new species from the Brazilian Cerrado phytogeographic domain, Eremanthus tomentosus, Lychnophora goiana and L. planaltina, are hereby described and illustrated. Eremanthus tomentosus occurs in southeastern Goiás, Distrito Federal and western Minas Gerais. It is characterized by its petiolate, adaxially tomentose leaves, heads fused for 3/4 of length, florets with villose corolla tube and cypsela with reddish glands at the base. Lychnophora goiana belongs to the L. granmogolensis species complex and is endemic to Serra Geral de Goiás in northeastern Goiás. It differs from other species of the complex by its outer pappus setae longer than or equal to the length of the cypsela, also displaying a unique combination of leaf characteristics (sparse tufts of small trichomes at the insertion, midrib adaxially impressed and abaxially winged and flattened). Lychnophora planaltina is endemic to the campos rupestres of Distrito Federal and is characterized by its adaxially bullate glaucous leaves, solitary syncephalium, heads with deciduous phyllaries and sparsely sericeous cypsela. The affinities of these species are discussed.

First comprehensive study on distribution frequency and incidence of seed-borne pathogens from cereal and legume crops in Sri Lanka

2022-01-21T10:39:06+13:00

Sri Lanka as an agricultural country requires seed health testing to manage crop diseases. So far no comprehensive research has been carried out for the proper identification of seed mycoflora affecting the seed quality in Sri Lanka. The present study strives to address this issue by identifying seed-borne fungal pathogens from stored seeds using morpho-molecular characterization. Fungal pathogens were isolated from surface-sterilized and non-surface sterilized seeds of Arachis hypogea, Oryza sativa, Vigna radiata, and Vigna sinensis. PCR amplification and DNA sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region was carried out for molecular identification of pathogens. The germination quality of each seed variety was calculated by pot experiments. Distribution frequencies, percentage of germination, and seedling vigor were calculated and analyzed for each seed variety tested. In total eighteen isolates were recovered from the four seed varieties. Molecular characterization revealed that the fungal isolates recovered from all the four seed varieties belong to seven genera: Aspergillus, Bipolaris, Daldinia, Macrophomina, Orbilia, Rhizopus, and Talaromyces. Rhizopus spp. showed the highest distribution frequency (75%). Arachis hypogea showed the lowest germination percentage (20%) and lowest seedling vigor index (585). The seeds of Oryza sativa showed no germination probably due to their high incidence of fungal pathogens (four out of seven genera). This study is the first comprehensive study analyzing the seed-borne pathogens of the four most commonly consumed Sri Lankan cereal and legume crops. Results reported in this study helps to identify and implement optimum storage facilities and control such fungal pathogens in future agricultural practices.

**A new species of Neoroussoella peltophora in Roussoellaceae, from Thailand**

2022-01-21T10:39:07+13:00

In this study, we introduce an asexual morph of a novel species Neoroussoella peltophora (Roussoellaceae) on Peltophorum vogelianum (Fabaceae) collected from Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Morphologically the new species resembles Neoroussoella species. Phylogenetic analyses of concatenated LSU, SSU, ITS, tef1-α and rpb2 sequence data revealed that (MFLU 21–0113) is phylogenetically distinct (91% MLBS/1.00 BYPP). Neoroussoella peltophora differs from N. fulvicomae in having thinner peridium and differs from N. alishanense in having thicker peridium. Further, N. peltophora is distinct from N. alishanense in having shorter conidiogenous cells and differs from N. fulvicomae in having longer conidiogenous cells. The base pair comparison of ITS, tef1-α and rpb2 gene regions also support that our isolate is distinctive from the other species in Neoroussoella.

Pelargonium pseudosetulosum (Geraniaceae), a new species in sect. Pelargonium from the Kogelberg-Kleinmond area in Western Cape Province, South Africa

2022-01-21T10:39:09+13:00

Populations of plants from around Kleinmond in the Western Cape Province (South Africa), previously identified as Pelargonium setulosum, differ from typical populations of that species in ecology, distribution, and morphologically in the shape of the nectar guides, and appear to constitute a separate species. Field work was done, specimens were collected in the field, and material from four different herbaria were studied to record morphological variation. The Kleinmond populations previously included in P. setulosum are described as the new species P. pseudosetulosum. Morphological, ecological, and geographical evidence indicate that this species forms part of Pelargonium subg. Pelargonium sect. Pelargonium.