idw – Informationsdienst Wissenschaft
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
idw - Informationsdienst
Wissenschaft
Flowers of the genus Orthosia are small but rich in detail. After decades of research, plant systematics researchers at the University of Bayreuth have now presented a complete overview of the genus for the first time. A total of 55 species were identified and described, twice as many as expected.
---
What for?
All information about a plant is linked to its Latin species name and can be accessed in databases via this name. It is therefore essential that the same name is understood worldwide. Re-analyzing a previously insufficiently studied genus therefore means compiling all the available information, supplementing missing data and reorganizing the information according to the latest findings based on molecular phylogenetic studies.
---
Although the angiospermous plants are among the best-studied organisms, there are still groups among them whose diversity, distribution and phylogeny are largely unexplored. Prof. Dr. Sigrid Liede-Schumann and PD Dr. Ulrich Meve from the Plant Systematics working group at the University of Bayreuth began studying the little-studied milkweed plants (Asclepiadoideae) of tropical America over 20 years ago. Now, for the first time, they have been able to present a comprehensive overview of the genus Orthosia with 55 species, which is distributed from Florida and Mexico to Argentina.
The work is based on the examination of herbarium specimens and living material. It includes a genetic and phylogenetic analysis of around half of the Orthosia species and a comprehensive description and illustrations of each individual species. Identification keys for each of the three main distribution areas, South America, Central America and the Caribbean, are provided.
Compared to previous estimates, the number of species in the genus Orthosia has almost doubled, which is partly due to the description of new, previously unknown species. One of these new species is Orthosia micrantha from Venezuela, which, with a flower diameter of less than one millimeter, has the smallest flower known to date within its plant family. In addition, the application of modern phylogenetic methods has shown that groups that were previously understood as widespread species are now divided into morphologically very similar, but geographically restricted subgroups that are not directly related to each other.
Available species names, which are linked to a precise species description, represent the key to all known information about a plant, such as distribution, uses and chemical constituents. The revision of the genera of these South American climbing plants by the Bayreuth botanists thus contributes to a better understanding of the composition and evolution of the South American flora.
Prof. Dr. Sigrid Liede-Schumann
Plant systematics
Phone: +49 (0) 921 / 55 2460
E-Mail: sigrid.liede@uni-bayreuth.de
PD Dr. Ulrich Meve
Plant systematics
Phone: +49 (0) 921 / 55-2452
E-Mail: ulrich.meve@uni-bayreuth.de
Toward a revision of the genus Orthosia (Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae: Asclepiadeae). Sigrid Liede-Schumann and Ulrich Meve. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 109: 24–147 (2024).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3417/2024795
Orthosia retinaculata (Schltr.) Liede & Meve
H.A. Keller, Facultad de Ciencias Forestales, Universidad Nacional de Misiones, Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste, Corrientes
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
Journalisten, Wissenschaftler
Biologie, Umwelt / Ökologie
überregional
Forschungsergebnisse
Englisch
Sie können Suchbegriffe mit und, oder und / oder nicht verknüpfen, z. B. Philo nicht logie.
Verknüpfungen können Sie mit Klammern voneinander trennen, z. B. (Philo nicht logie) oder (Psycho und logie).
Zusammenhängende Worte werden als Wortgruppe gesucht, wenn Sie sie in Anführungsstriche setzen, z. B. „Bundesrepublik Deutschland“.
Die Erweiterte Suche können Sie auch nutzen, ohne Suchbegriffe einzugeben. Sie orientiert sich dann an den Kriterien, die Sie ausgewählt haben (z. B. nach dem Land oder dem Sachgebiet).
Haben Sie in einer Kategorie kein Kriterium ausgewählt, wird die gesamte Kategorie durchsucht (z.B. alle Sachgebiete oder alle Länder).
