Andrés Fonseca-Cortés

Bauhinia , the most species‐rich genus of Cercidoideae (Leguminosae), is pantropically distributed and includes four sections in the Americas. During an ongoing taxonomic revision of American Cercidoideae, a new species of Bauhinia sect. Amaria ser. Decandrae currently endemic to Colombia was identified and is here described as Bauhinia naniflora sp nov. The new species is morphologically similar to Bauhinia petiolata var. petiolata and Bauhinia brachycalyx by exhibiting entire leaves and relatively small flowers, but it is readily distinguished from them by a combination of leaf, floral, and fruit characters. Bauhinia naniflora is known from a few localities in the middle Magdalena River Valley and the western slopes of the eastern Cordillera of Colombia, where it inhabits moist and dry forests between 300 and 1600 m a.s.l. Based on its restricted distribution, small area of occupancy, and ongoing habitat degradation, the species is preliminarily assessed as ‘Endangered' (EN) under IUCN criteria. A detailed morphological description, illustration, photographic plate, distribution map, ecological notes, and comparisons with morphologically similar taxa are provided. In addition, an identification key to the Colombian species of Cercidoideae with entire leaves is provided.

Lianas are a key component of the Neotropical flora, accounting for 10% of angiosperm richness and playing important ecological roles. However, the canopy preference of some species often leads to their underrepresentation in herbarium collections, thereby exacerbating Linnaean, Darwinian, and Wallacean shortfalls. The papilionoid legume genus Macropsychanthus exemplifies this challenge, with 37% of its species documented from 10 or fewer herbarium collections. In this study, we describe two new species represented by only one or two collections made during the early to mid‐20th century and assess their phylogenetic position within the genus. Additionally, we compiled a preliminary list of Brazilian legume liana species documented from five or fewer collections and modeled their potential niche distributions to assess whether these species could be distributed more broadly. We identified a total of 55 liana species with five or fewer collections, representing 20% of Brazilian legume liana species. Of these, 28 species are from the Amazon, 23 from the Atlantic Forest, 2 from the Cerrado and 2 from the Caatinga. Species from the Amazon, Caatinga, and Cerrado tend to have broader potential distributions across their respective biomes, whereas those from the Atlantic Forest are generally more narrowly restricted. Our findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive botanical surveys in Neotropical humid forests to address critical knowledge gaps in plant diversity.

Clitoriinae is a morphologically distinctive and pantropically distributed subtribe within the legume tribe Phaseoleae (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae), yet its genus‐level taxonomic classification remains uncertain. This study presents the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Clitoriinae to date, integrating plastid ( matK/trnK ) and nuclear (ITS) sequence data from all traditionally recognized genera, including Barbieria and Clitoriopsis , sampled here for the first time. Our results support the monophyly of the Clitoriinae and its placement as an early‐diverging lineage within a broader clade comprising tribes Abreae, Millettieae, Desmodieae, Diocleae, Psoraleeae, and Phaseoleae. Within Clitoriinae, Barbieria and Clitoria form a well‐supported clade, sister to a clade containing Centrosema and Periandra . Periandra was recovered as monophyletic, while Clitoriopsis nests within Clitoria , supporting its subsuming within the latter. Centrosema is resolved as paraphyletic, with C. platycarpum and C. triquetrum forming a clade sister to Periandra . This isolated, morphologically distinctive clade is recognized under the re‐established genus Platysema . These findings establish a robust phylogenetic framework for Clitoriinae, clarify long‐standing taxonomic ambiguities, and highlight the need to revise broader tribal classifications within the Phaseoleae to reflect evolutionary relationships more accurately.

Schnella isiboro, a new species from the Amazon rainforest is described and illustrated. Information on its distribution, conservation status, and relationships with morphologically similar species is also provided. Schnella isiboro is characterized by its bilobed leaf blade 6–12 × 5–10.5 cm, rounded to orbicular and concave bracts, ovate-lanceolate bracteoles, and pink petals 22–28 × 4–9 mm. Additionally, based on a unique combination of macromorphological and palynological evidence, we propose S. klugii as a synonym of S. herrerae, and designate a new lectotype.

Many angiosperm liana clades are still poorly known in terms of floral variation and ontogenetic development, despite their ecological importance and evolutionary success across all forest biomes. This is the case of the neotropical tribe Diocleae (Papilionoideae, Leguminosae) that exhibits great variation in floral architecture, from bee-pollinated papilionate flowers to highly specialized bird-pollinated flowers with distinct degrees of petal differentiation. The genus Cleobulia stands out among the Diocleae by its unique flower morphology associated with hummingbird pollination mechanism: down-curved inflorescence rachis, functionally resupinate flowers, red calyx, pink-coloured petals, and wing petals that are very reduced in size compared to the keel length. To understand the similarities in the floral development within the Diocleae, we present here a scanning electron microscopy characterization of the floral ontogenetic development of Cleobulia coccinea. The flowers display an acropetal and helical development along the inflorescence. Sepals are initiated unidirectionally with a tendency towards simultaneous pattern, while petals are initiated simultaneously and develop unidirectionally. The stamens are initiated unidirectionally and the carpel starts to develop concurrently with the petal whorl. When compared with Macropsychanthus ucayalinus, we verified that these two Diocleae species match in the development of petals, androecium, and gynoecium. Aside from that, the unusual dwarf wing petals of C. coccinea are only visible later during floral development, but the fusion of two adaxial sepals occurs in early stages of development. This ontogenetic pathway culminates in the four visible calyx lobes at anthesis, a diagnosable character of the Dioclea clade.

Here we describe Manettia amethystina, a new species restricted to the cloud forests of Colombia. This taxon had previously been misidentified as M. corticifer, but it differs in indumentum, leaf morphology, and in both the length and coloration of the corolla. The species is currently known from a small region of the Western Cordillera, and we preliminarily assess it as Vulnerable. In addition, we designate a lectotype for M. trianae and provide an identification key to distinguish the purple-flowered species of Manettia.

Abstract— Macropsychanthus currently comprises 51 species and is divided into two subgenera, M. subg. Macropsychanthus and M. subg. Platylobium , which are distinguished by a combination of morphological traits and supported by molecular data. However, certain species present morphological features typical of M. subg. Platylobium despite their phylogenetic placement within M. subg. Macropsychanthus . During our comprehensive revision of Macropsychanthus in the Neotropics, we discovered a new species, here named Macropsychanthus echidna . Phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ITS/ETS and plastid trnK/matK markers recovered it within M. subg. Macropsychanthus . Nevertheless, the species displays traits such as triangular, basifixed stipules; exstipellate leaflets with 7‐9 pairs of secondary veins; and slightly obovate pods, all features typically associated with M. subg. Platylobium . Together with Macropsychanthus huberi , this is the second species assigned to M. subg. Macropsychanthus that displays a morphology largely aligned with M. subg. Platylobium , thereby challenging the validity of maintaining the current subgeneric delimitation. The short, oblong hilum of the seed remains the only consistent morphological feature distinguishing M. subg. Platylobium .

The Brazilian Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests and Woodlands represents an important evolutionary unit, widely recognized as a species center of diversification and endemism. The northeastern Brazilian Caatinga is the largest and most diverse SDTFW nucleus, exhibiting a important center of diversification in which the family Leguminosae exhibits the large number in genera and species richness and endemism, in which the genus Bauhinia stands out in species richness. Bauhinia angelae, a new species of shurbs or treelets is described, illustrated, and aspects related to its distribution, conservation status and relationships with morphologically similar species are discussed. Bauhinia angelae is characterized by the presences of triangular stipules, leaflets 3–10 × 2–7 cm, flower buds 2.5–6.5 cm long with the apex capitate and twisted lobes, oblong petals with undulate margins and mature fruits longer than 10 cm long. This new species is distributed in the Brazilian Caatinga between the states of Bahia and Minas Gerais. Additionally, a key to specie included in Bauhinia sect. Pauletia ser. Aculeatae is presented.