Sigrid Liede-Schumann

The more than 360 species of stem‐succulent stapeliads in the tribe Ceropegieae represent a perfect example for species radiation and diversification in response to pollination by flies. In the majority of species, the myiophilous flowers have visual and olfactory characteristics that suggest carrion or dung mimicry. However, pollination studies in stapeliads are scarce which hampers our understanding of floral mimicry strategies and pollinator specialization. This study investigated pollination and floral scent in the large‐flowered stapeliad Edithcolea grandis in its natural savanna habitat in Tanzania (East Africa). The foul‐scented flowers were visited and pollinated exclusively by females of the blood‐feeding fly species Musca xanthomelas . This is the first time that this species is recorded as a pollinator. Pollen transfer efficiency was high with 61.5% of removed pollinia being deposited in the guide‐rails of the gynostegium. The chemical analyses of the strong foetid floral scent revealed a rather unusual combination of volatiles, mainly p ‐cresyl isobutyrate, p ‐cresyl butyrate, δ ‐cadinene, α ‐copaene and pentadecane, together with various minor compounds. The main floral scent compound, p ‐cresyl isobutyrate, is documented for the first time as floral volatile. Overall, the floral scent profile of E. grandis is different from other stapeliads so far analysed, and the volatile compounds do not fit a typical dung mimicry strategy. The salient flower colouration suggests that visual signals, besides floral scent, play an important role in the attraction of pollinating flies. In particular, the central depression of the corolla tube not only seems to serve as a morphological filter limiting access to the gynostegium, it also appears to be visually similar to myiatic lesions caused by parasitic flies with subcutaneous larval development. This implies that E. grandis flowers might mimic wounds to specifically attract blood‐feeding female M. xanthomelas which, after landing on the corolla, start probing the “fake wound” in the flower centre with their proboscis and thereby make contact with the gynostegium for successful pollination. It is therefore assumed that E. grandis flowers mimic a food source for adult M . xanthomelas flies rather than an oviposition site, although there may be overlap between both of these strategies as a single fly egg was found deposited at a gynostegium.

Generalized pollination systems with ecologically and/or functionally diverse pollinator assemblages are common in nature. However, the extent to which a plant with specialized floral morphology can exhibit a generalized pollination system remains poorly understood. We investigated this question using Vincetoxicum hirundinaria Medik. (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) as a model system—a species whose morphologically specialized flowers are described as being visited by flies, bees, and moths. In preliminary observations, we even found various other insects as flower visitors. We hypothesized that V. hirundinaria has a more diverse pollinator spectrum than previously known. To test this hypothesis, we studied the flower biology and pollination ecology of V. hirundinaria at several sites in and around Salzburg. Our findings reveal that the self-incompatible, pale white to ivory-coloured flowers open between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., and attract a diverse community of both diurnal and nocturnal pollinators, including cockroaches, beetles, and ants not previously reported as pollinators of V. hirundinaria. Pollen transfer efficiency and fruit set were low. A high number of non-pollinator species got trapped by the flowers, often fatally. Overall, V. hirundinaria has a more generalized pollination system than previously recognized, showing that a complex floral morphology can coexist with ecological and functional generalization.

Museum collections offer valuable resources for phylogenetic research, especially in taxonomically challenging groups. Here, we present a phylogenetic study of the South American Apocynaceae subtribe Orthosiinae, based on sequencing 835 nuclear genes and chloroplast genomes from ~120 species using a family‐specific probe set and multiple herbarium samples per species. Our results confirm generic relationships within Orthosiinae with Monsanima (2 species) sister to Scyphostelma (>50 species), and Jobinia (25 species) + Orthosia (55 species). Data were processed with the HybPhyloMaker pipeline, providing a reproducible framework for phylogenetic reconstructions using concatenation and coalescent‐based methods. The final dataset comprised 204 samples, 810 nuclear genes (1.2 Mb) and complete chloroplast genomes (0.16 Mb) after excluding samples with signals of admixture. Phylogenetic analysis identified several cryptic lineages with little morphological differentiation, highlighting the need for further systematic research in the Andes. Evolutionary placement of 107 additional samples confirmed Monsanima as sister to the rest of Orthosiinae. Divergence‐time estimates placed the crown age of Orthosiinae at ~13 Ma. Morphological analysis revealed high variability in leaf and floral traits traditionally used for taxon delimitation but also identified floral characters that are diagnostic for generic identification. Ancestral state reconstructions show no clear directional changes in leaf morphology, whereas several floral traits tend to evolve toward smaller sizes along the youngest branches of the phylogeny. Our integrated museomic approach contributes to a better understanding of evolutionary patterns and taxonomic relationships in this still understudied lineage of South American Apocynaceae.

The presently most densely sampled molecular phylogeny of the widespread New World subtribe Gonolobinae is presented, including about 35% of the ca. 520 species. Sampling focused on an even representation of the three main areas of total Gonolobinae distribution, South America, Central/North America, and the West Indian Islands, and the inclusion of as many of the mono‐ and bitypic genera as possible. Both Bayesian and maximum likelihood analyses of cpDNA and ITS roughly place the taxa in five clades, one exclusively composed of West Indian Island taxa, three of Central and North American taxa, and one including all South American taxa, but also including taxa from all American regions. A monophyletic Matelea would either subsume all Gonolobinae under this genus, including well‐known and easily recognized genera such as Fischeria , Gonolobus and Macroscepis , or be restricted to a clade of South American plants mostly in wet and riparian transitional forests. To reconcile the phylogenetic structure of the subtribe and classification, the ongoing process of resurrecting genera recognized by early botanists (e.g., Acomosperma , Callaeolepium , Himantostemma , Lhotzkyella , Poicilla , Poicillopsis ) is continued and five genera need to be described as new ( Pauciflora , Portoricana , Potamoampelos , Weigendia [including its type, Weigendia cajamarcana sp. nov.], Yucatania ). Furthermore, 25 new combinations at species level are proposed, and 13 lectotypes and 1 second‐step lectotype are designated. A total of 50 genera is recognized in Gonolobinae, and a morphological description is given for each genus. One genus, Stelmagonum , is excluded from Gonolobinae. Keys are provided for the three main geographical areas, South America, West Indian Islands, and Central and North America.

We provide the first global review of edibility in the large, diverse and evolutionarily complex pantropical plant family Apocynaceae. Our survey reveals edible representatives in all major lineages and including all plant parts, with multivariate analyses illustrating the global differences in phylogenetic, geographic and use preferences. A surprising 440 edible species are listed, although comparatively, this is a significant general under‐representation of the family as a human food source. This is likely, at least in part, because the family is better known for its vast array of bioactive defense compounds and wide use in traditional medicine than as a food source. Using IUCN Red List data, we show that edible Apocynaceae are generally less threatened than the family overall, although most species remain unevaluated. At the same time, many taxa depend on pollinators to produce edible fruit and seeds, yet pollination data are missing for most species, highlighting linked knowledge gaps relevant to conservation and future crop development. In addition, we illustrate these patterns with four case studies of edible Apocynaceae from North America, South America, and China. In a phylogenetic analysis the edible Chinese species Dregea sinensis grouped with neither other species of Dregea nor with any of its closer related genera. Therefore, a new genus, Kushengia , is established and the transfer of D. sinensis and D. yunnanensis , as well as D. corrugata , which is here treated as a variety, is made, and all necessary new combinations are provided.

Se describen aquí cuatro especies nuevas para el género neotropical Jobinia: J. colombiana (Colombia), J. birostellata y J. vallegrandensis (Bolivia) y J. pentacuspidata (Bolivia y Ecuador). Además, se proponen dos nuevas combinaciones (J. anderssonii, J. longirostrum) y se designan un lectotipo (para J. chlorantha) y un neotipo (para J. longirostrum). La descripción de J. colombiana amplía el área del género a Colombia, y el hallazgo de muestras de J. connivens en la Argentina permite ampliar el área de distribución conocida de esta especie. Se presenta una filogenía de Jobinia basada en datos moleculares, se ilustran todas las especies estudiadas y se proporciona un mapa de distribución.

We describe a new species of Ceropegia sect. Bowkerianae from the south-eastern extent of the Barberton Centre of Plant Endemism in Eswatini. In section Bowkerianae, C. meveana is morphologically very similar to C. scabriflora, but its combination of vegetative and floral characteristics is unique. In contrast to the obconical, verrucose and scabrid corolla inflation of C. scabriflora, the inflation of C. meveana is oblong-ovoid and entirely smooth. The gynostegium of C. meveana has very short, bulge-like interstaminal corona lobes and is also entirely glabrous and hence clearly distinct from the gynostegium of C. scabriflora. The most striking feature of C. meveana are the slender, filiform corolla lobes that are densely covered with long white trichomes reminiscent of animal fur. Ceropegia meveana is the first species with kettle-trap flowers in sect. Bowkerianae known from Eswatini. The section now comprises a total of 16 species, six thereof with tubular kettle-trap flowers.

Angiosperms are the cornerstone of most terrestrial ecosystems and human livelihoods^1,2. A robust understanding of angiosperm evolution is required to explain their rise to ecological dominance. So far, the angiosperm tree of life has been determined primarily by means of analyses of the plastid genome^3,4. Many studies have drawn on this foundational work, such as classification and first insights into angiosperm diversification since their Mesozoic origins^5–7. However, the limited and biased sampling of both taxa and genomes undermines confidence in the tree and its implications. Here, we build the tree of life for almost 8,000 (about 60%) angiosperm genera using a standardized set of 353 nuclear genes⁸. This 15-fold increase in genus-level sampling relative to comparable nuclear studies⁹ provides a critical test of earlier results and brings notable change to key groups, especially in rosids, while substantiating many previously predicted relationships. Scaling this tree to time using 200 fossils, we discovered that early angiosperm evolution was characterized by high gene tree conflict and explosive diversification, giving rise to more than 80% of extant angiosperm orders. Steady diversification ensued through the remaining Mesozoic Era until rates resurged in the Cenozoic Era, concurrent with decreasing global temperatures and tightly linked with gene tree conflict. Taken together, our extensive sampling combined with advanced phylogenomic methods shows the deep history and full complexity in the evolution of a megadiverse clade.

Matelea anomala Morillo, Meve & Liede (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadeae, Gonolobinae) is here described and illustrated. The new taxon, known only from a single locality in eastern central Bolivia, is characterized by very small flowers with a campanulate corolla and recurved, abaxially pubescent and not ocellate corolla lobes, an annular corona with fimbriate-crenulate margins, and a terete stipe carrying the gynostegium. The new species is recognized in Matelea Aubl. s. str., for which a generic description is provided as well as a key to the species occurring in Bolivia.