Cyrtandraobliquifolia (Gesneriaceae), a new species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands.

Cyrtandraobliquifolia K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner (Gesneriaceae), a new shrub species known only from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, and conservation status. The new species is morphologically most similar to Cyrtandrawawrae C.B. Clarke but differs by its unique combination of oblique, non-peltate, auriculate leaf bases, more deeply divided calyx lobes, inflorescence with fewer flowers and lacking profusely umbellate cymes. Cyrtandraobliquifolia is known from only two localities which have undergone severe habitat degradation from landslides and invasive plants and animals and is determined to be Critically Endangered (CR) when evaluated under IUCN criteria.

Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai, Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta-analysis of red-list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions. However, the circa 143,000 IUCN assessments represent a fraction of the world's biodiversity and are biased in regional and organismal coverage. These biases may affect conservation priorities, funding, and uses of these data to understand global patterns. Isolated oceanic islands are characterized by high endemicity, but the unique biodiversity of many islands is experiencing high extinction rates. The archipelago of Hawaii has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region; 90% of its 1367 native vascular plant taxa are classified as endemic. We used the IUCN's assessment of the complete single-island endemic (SIE) vascular plant flora of Kauai, Hawaii, to assess the proportion and drivers of decline of threatened plants in an oceanic island setting. We compared the IUCN assessments with federal, state, and other local assessments of Kauai species or taxa of conservation concern. Finally, we conducted a preliminary assessment for all 1044 native vascular plants of Hawaii based on IUCN criterion B by estimating area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, and number of locations to determine whether the pattern found for the SIE vascular flora of Kauai is comparable to the native vascular flora of the Hawaiian Islands. We compared our results with patterns observed for assessments of other floras. According to IUCN, 256 SIE vascular plant taxa are threatened with extinction and 5% are already extinct. This is the highest extinction risk reported for any flora to date. The preliminary assessment of the native vascular flora of Hawaii showed that 72% (753 taxa) is threatened. The flora of Hawaii may be one of the world's most threatened; thus, increased and novel conservation measures in the state and on other remote oceanic islands are urgently needed.

La Lista Roja de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (Lista Roja UICN) es la fuente más completa a nivel mundial de información sobre el estado de conservación de las especies. Las agencias gubernamentales y las organizaciones para la conservación dependen cada vez más de las valoraciones en esta lista para desarrollar sus políticas y prioridades de conservación; también los organismos de financiamiento usan las valoraciones como criterios de evaluación y los investigadores aplican metaanálisis a los datos de la lista para abordar preguntas fundamentales y aplicadas a las ciencias de la conservación. Sin embargo, las casi 143,000 valoraciones de la UICN representan sólo una fracción de la biodiversidad mundial y están sesgadas en cuanto a la cobertura regional y de organismos. Estos sesgos pueden afectar a las prioridades de conservación, al financiamiento y al uso de estos datos para entender los patrones globales. Las islas oceánicas aisladas se caracterizan por un alto endemismo, aunque la biodiversidad única de muchas de estas islas está experimentando un índice elevado de extinciones. El archipiélago de Hawái tiene uno de los niveles más altos de endemismo de cualquier región florística con el 90% de los 1,367 taxones nativos de flora vascular clasificado como endémico. Usamos las valoraciones de la UICN para todas las plantas vasculares endémicas de una sola isla (ESI) en Kauai, Hawái, para evaluar la proporción y los impulsores de la declinación de plantas amenazadas en el entorno de una isla oceánica. Comparamos las valoraciones de la UICN con las federales, estatales y otras valoraciones locales de las especies o taxones de Kauai que son de importancia para la conservación. Por último, realizamos una valoración preliminar para las 1,044 especies de plantas vasculares nativas de Hawái con base en el criterio B de la UICN mediante la estimación del área de ocupación, la extensión de la ocurrencia y el número de localidades para determinar si el patrón hallado para la flora vascular ESI de Kauai es comparable con la flora vascular nativa de las islas hawaianas. Comparamos nuestros resultados con los patrones observados en las valoraciones de otras floras. De acuerdo con la UICN, el 95% de los taxones de plantas vasculares ESI de Kauai están amenazadas y el 5% ya se encuentra extinto. A la fecha, este es el riesgo de extinción más alto reportado para cualquier flora. La valoración preliminar de la flora vascular nativa de Hawái mostró que el 72% (753 taxones) se encuentra amenazado. La flora de Hawái puede ser una de las más amenazadas a nivel mundial; por lo tanto, se necesitan urgentemente medidas novedosas e incrementadas en el estado y en otras islas oceánicas remotas.

Directionally biased habitat shifts and biogeographically informative cytonuclear discordance in the Hawaiian silversword alliance (Compositae).

PREMISE: Expanded phylogenetic analyses of the Hawaiian silversword alliance (Argyroxiphium, Dubautia, Wilkesia; Compositae) were undertaken to assess evolutionary and biogeographic informativeness of cytonuclear discordance and any biases in evolutionary directionality of ecological transitions within this prominent example of adaptive radiation. METHODS: Samples spanning the geographic and ecological distributions of all recognized taxa were included in phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) and cpDNA sequences. Bayesian model testing approaches were used to model ecological evolution and the evolution of nuclear chromosomal arrangements while accounting for phylogenetic uncertainty. RESULTS: Cytonuclear discordance detected previously appears to reflect chloroplast capture, at least in part, with nrDNA trees being largely congruent with nuclear chromosomal structural data and fine-scale taxonomy. Comparison of biogeographic histories estimated from the posterior distributions of nrDNA and cpDNA trees, including inferred chloroplast-capture events, provides additional resolution of dispersal history, including a back-dispersal to Maui Nui from Hawai'i. A newly resolved major nrDNA clade of endemic Kaua'i taxa that mostly were described as new-to-science since the 1980s strengthens the earlier hypothesis that diversification on Kaua'i has not waned since the island began to decline in area through subsidence and erosion. Bias in habitat shifts was estimated, with transitions from dry-to-mesic or -wet and from wet-to-mesic or -bog habitats dominating diversification of the silversword alliance from a dry-adapted tarweed ancestor. CONCLUSIONS: The habitat-transition biases estimated here may indicate more limited pathways of ecological evolution than proposed previously for an adaptive radiation involving such major ecological shifts.

New Acetophenones and Chromenes from the Leaves of Melicope barbigera A. Gray.

The dichloromethane extract from leaves of Melicope barbigera (Rutaceae), endemic to the Hawaiian island of Kaua'i, yielded four new and three previously known acetophenones and 2H-chromenes, all found for the first time in M. barbigera. The structures of the new compounds obtained from the dichloromethane extract after purification by chromatographic methods were unambiguously elucidated by spectroscopic analyses including 1D/2D NMR spectroscopy and HRESIMS. The absolute configuration was determined by modified Mosher's method. Compounds 2, 4 and the mixture of 6 and 7 exhibited moderate cytotoxic activities against the human ovarian cancer cell line A2780 with IC50 values of 30.0 and 75.7 µM for 2 and 4, respectively, in a nuclear shrinkage cytotoxicity assay.

Pogostemon guamensis Lorence & W.L.Wagner (Lamiaceae), a new species from Guam, Mariana Islands.

While undertaking a botanical survey of the Andersen Air Force Base on Guam (Mariana Islands) in 1994, botanists from the National Tropical Botanical Garden collected an unusual suffrutescent, non-aromatic member of the Lamiaceae family growing on limestone cliffs in the northeastern part of the island. Based on morphology and molecular data (trnLF, matK), it was determined to belong to the genus Pogostemon Desf., a genus previously unknown from the Micronesian, Melanesian, and Polynesian region. Moreover, the analysis also showed that it was not conspecific with P. cablin (patchouli), and of the species available to include in the phylogenetic analyses it is sister to P. hirsutus¸ a species from India and Sri Lanka. Differing from its congeners by its large, loose inflorescence 2.5-5 cm wide and up to 7 cm wide in fruit, it is here illustrated and described as a new species, Pogostemon guamensis Lorence & W.L. Wagner and its habitat and conservation status are discussed.

A global plastid phylogeny of the fern genus Asplenium (Aspleniaceae).

The infrageneric relationships and taxonomy of the largest fern genus, Asplenium (Aspleniaceae), have remained poorly understood. Previous studies have focused mainly on specific species complexes involving a few or dozens of species only, or have achieved a large taxon sampling but only one plastid marker was used. In the present study, DNA sequences from six plastid markers (atpB, rbcL, rps4, rps4-trnS, trnL and trnL-F) of 1030 accessions (616 of them newly sequenced here) representing c. 420 species of Asplenium (60% of estimated species diversity), 16 species of Hymenasplenium, three Diplaziopsidaceae, and four Rhachidosoraceae were used to produce the largest genus-level phylogeny yet for ferns. Our major results include: (i) Asplenium as broadly circumscribed is monophyletic based on our inclusion of representatives of 32 of 38 named segregate genera; (ii) 11 major clades in Asplenium are identified, and their relationships are mostly well-resolved and strongly supported; (iii) numerous species, unsampled in previous studies, suggest new relationships and numerous cryptic species and species complexes in Asplenium; and (iv) the accrued molecular evidence provides an essential foundation for further investigations of complex patterns of geographical diversification, speciation and reticulate evolution in this family.

Phylogeny of Hawaiian Melicope (Rutaceae): RAD-seq Resolves Species Relationships and Reveals Ancient Introgression.

Hawaiian Melicope are one of the major adaptive radiations of the Hawaiian Islands comprising 54 endemic species. The lineage is monophyletic with an estimated crown age predating the rise of the current high islands. Phylogenetic inference based on Sanger sequencing has not been sufficient to resolve species or deeper level relationships. Here, we apply restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (RAD-seq) to the lineage to infer phylogenetic relationships. We employ Quartet Sampling to assess information content and statistical support, and to quantify discordance as well as partitioned ABBA-BABA tests to uncover evidence of introgression. Our new results drastically improved resolution of relationships within Hawaiian Melicope. The lineage is divided into five fully supported main clades, two of which correspond to morphologically circumscribed infrageneric groups. We provide evidence for both ancestral and current hybridization events. We confirm the necessity for a taxonomic revision of the Melicope section Pelea, as well as a re-evaluation of several species complexes by combining genomic and morphological data.

A new species of Cintractiella (Ustilaginales) from the volcanic island of Kosrae, Caroline Islands, Micronesia.

Cintractiella is an unusual genus of smut fungi containing two described species that produce sori as adventitious gall-like spikelets on members of tribe Hypolytreae (subfam. Mapanioideae, Cyperaceae). In September 200, during a botanical expedition on the volcanic island of Kosrae located in the eastern Caroline Islands and within the Federated States of Micronesia, a specimen of Mapaniapacifica was collected displaying Cintractiella-like sori in adventitious spikelets on the host leaves. Sori were hypophyllous, occurring in groups of spikelets composed of olivaceous-brown scale-like leaves, 1-1.5 mm wide and up to 6 mm long. Microscopic comparison with the protologue and drawings of the type material of C.lamii show several differences in teliospore and sori characters between it and the newly collected material on Mapania. To our knowledge, this represents only the second known collection of any member of Cintractiella on vegetative organs of Hypolytreae and a third species for this genus and the only known smut species infecting Mapania, herein described as Cintractiellakosraensis sp. nov.

Melicope stonei, section Pelea (Rutaceae), a new species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands: with notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status, and phylogenetic placement.

Melicope stonei K.R. Wood, Appelhans & W.L. Wagner (section Pelea, Rutaceae), a new endemic tree species from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated with notes on its distribution, ecology, conservation status, and phylogenetic placement. The new species differs from its Hawaiian congeners by its unique combination of distinct carpels and ramiflorous inflorescences arising on stems below the leaves; plants monoecious; leaf blades (5-)8-30 × (4-)6-11 cm, with abaxial surface densely tomentose, especially along midribs; and very long petioles of up to 9 cm. Since its discovery in 1988, 94 individuals have been documented and are confined to a 1.5 km2 region of unique high canopy mesic forest. Melicope stonei represents a new Critically Endangered (CR) single island endemic species on Kaua'i.

Athyrium haleakalae (Athyriaceae), a new rheophytic fern species from East Maui, Hawaiian Islands: with notes on its distribution, ecology, and conservation status.

Athyrium haleakalae K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner (Athyriaceae), a small lithophytic fern from East Maui, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated. Notes on its distribution, ecology, and conservation status are also presented. The new species appears to be an obligate rheophyte, preferring sites of fast moving water along concave walls of streams and waterfalls. Athyrium haleakalae differs from the only other known Hawaiian Athyrium, Athyrium microphyllum (Sm.) Alston, in having rhizomes 1-3 cm long and lanceolate blades 1- to 2-pinnate-pinnatifid, 3-8(-11) × 1-3(-4) cm, as compared to Athyrium microphyllum having rhizomes (10-)15-30 cm long and ovate to ovate-triangular blades 3-pinnate-pinnatifid to 4-pinnate, 30-82 × 20-50 cm.

Reduction of the Hawaiian genus Platydesma into Melicope section Pelea (Rutaceae) and notes on the monophyly of the section.

Platydesma, an endemic genus to the Hawaiian Islands containing four species, has long been considered of obscure origin. Recent molecular phylogenetic studies have unequivocally placed Platydesma within the widespread genus Melicope as sister to the rest of the Hawaiian species of Melicope. This makes submerging Platydesma into Melicope necessary. We make the necessary new combinations: Melicope cornuta (Hillebr.) Appelhans, K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner, M. cornuta var. decurrens (B.C.Stone) Appelhans, K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner, M. remyi (Sherff) Appelhans, K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner, and M. rostrata (Hillebr.) Appelhans, K.R. Wood & W.L. Wagner. An additional species that has been recognized within Platydesma should now be recognized under its original name M. spathulata A. Gray. All Hawaiian species belong to Melicope section Pelea. Our molecular phylogenetic studies also showed that in addition to merging Platydesma into section Pelea, five species described from New Caledonia need to be excluded from the section in order to achieve monophyly of section Pelea.

Historical biogeography of the fern genus Deparia (Athyriaceae) and its relation with polyploidy.

The wide geographical distribution of many fern species is related to their high dispersal ability. However, very limited studies surveyed biological traits that could contribute to colonization success after dispersal. In this study, we applied phylogenetic approaches to infer historical biogeography of the fern genus Deparia (Athyriaceae, Eupolypods II). Because polyploids are suggested to have better colonization abilities and are abundant in Deparia, we also examined whether polyploidy could be correlated to long-distance dispersal events and whether polyploidy could play a role in these dispersals/establishment and range expansion. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic reconstructions were based on a four-region combined cpDNA dataset (rps16-matK IGS, trnL-L-F, matK and rbcL; a total of 4252 characters) generated from 50 ingroup (ca. 80% of the species diversity) and 13 outgroup taxa. Using the same sequence alignment and maximum likelihood trees, we carried out molecular dating analyses. The resulting chronogram was used to reconstruct ancestral distribution using the DEC model and ancestral ploidy level using ChromEvol. We found that Deparia originated around 27.7Ma in continental Asia/East Asia. A vicariant speciation might account for the disjunctive distribution of East Asia-northeast North America. There were multiple independent long-distance dispersals to Africa/Madagascar (at least once), Southeast Asia (at least once), south Pacific islands (at least twice), Australia/New Guinea/New Zealand (at least once), and the Hawaiian Islands (at least once). In particular, the long-distance dispersal to the Hawaiian Islands was associated with polyploidization, and the dispersal rate was slightly higher in the polyploids than in diploids. Moreover, we found five species showing recent infraspecific range expansions, all of which took place concurrently with polyploidization. In conclusion, our study provides the first investigation using phylogenetic and biogeographic analyses trying to explore the link between historical biogeography and ploidy evolution in a fern genus and our results imply that polyploids might be better colonizers than diploids.

Coprosma kawaikiniensis (Rubiaceae) a new species from the Dubautia-Sadleria shrubland-fernland community on Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands.

Coprosma kawaikiniensis K.R. Wood, Lorence & Kiehn (Rubiaceae), a rare endemic tree from Kaua'i, Hawaiian Islands, is described and illustrated along with a previously undescribed endemic plant community, the Dubautia-Sadleria shrubland-fernland (DSSF). The new species differs from Hawai'i congeners by its combination of opposite, long, elliptic to narrowly elliptic or ovate-elliptic leaves with revolute margins; caducous stipules 7-10 mm long, externally glabrous, densely hirtellous-pilose near the margins of the inner surface; unbranched inflorescences with peduncles 20-28 mm long; flowers 6-8 per cluster; and persistent calyx tube with 4-8 irregular dentate lobes. Known only from the windward slopes and ridges of southeastern Kaua'i below the Kawaikini summit, Coprosma kawaikiniensis falls into the IUCN Critically Endangered (CR) Red List category.

Bidensmeyeri (Asteraceae, Coreopsideae): a new critically endangered species from Rapa, Austral Islands.

Bidensmeyeri (Asteraceae/Compositae) is described and illustrated from Rapa, Austral Islands, (French Polynesia). This new species is presumed to be most closely related to Bidenssaint-johniana from nearby Marotiri Island. Bidensmeyeri may be distinguished from Bidenssaint-johniana based on the length of the peduncle (3 cm versus 10 cm), apex of the inner involucral bracts (glabrous vs. puberulent), smaller leaves (2.0-2.3 cm vs. 5-6 cm), and the general smaller size of the new species. Known from less than 50 individuals and restricted to one remote location, Bidensmeyeri falls into the IUCN Critically Endangered (CR) category. The new species is named in honor of Dr. Jean-Yves Meyer, Délégation à la Recherche, Polynésie Française.

Melicope balgooyi Appelhans, W.L. Wagner & K.R. Wood, a new species and new record in Melicope section Melicope (Rutaceae) for the Austral Islands.

Melicope balgooyi, a new species of Melicope (Rutaceae) is described. It is known only from the Austral Islands in the South Pacific (French Polynesia). However, it is not closely related to the other two species previously known from the Austral Islands, which are part of Melicope section Vitiflorae. The new species belongs to Melicope section Melicope and is most closely related to species from New Zealand, the Kermadec Islands, and the Society Islands. The new species has alternate to sub-opposite leaves, which is a very rare arrangement in Melicope and has only been described for two other species of the genus so far.

New pteridophyte species and combinations from the Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia.

Intensive botanical exploration of the Marquesas Islands (French Polynesia) for the Vascular Flora of the Marquesas Islands and Flore de la Polynésie française projects has resulted in numerous additional new collections from these islands. Study of these collections has brought to light 11 new species of pteridophytes (ferns and lycophytes) which are described herein: Blechnum pacificum Lorence & A. R. Sm., sp. nov., Cyclosorus castaneus A. R. Sm. & Lorence, sp. nov., Cyclosorus florencei A. R. Sm. & Lorence, sp. nov., Dryopteris macropholis Lorence & W. L. Wagner, sp. nov., Dryopteris sweetorum Lorence & W. L. Wagner, sp. nov., Polystichum kenwoodii Lorence & W. L. Wagner, sp. nov., Polystichum uahukaense Lorence & W. L. Wagner, sp. nov., Pteris hivaoaensis Lorence & K. R. Wood, sp. nov., Pteris marquesensis Lorence & K. R. Wood, sp. nov., Pteris tahuataensis Lorence & K. R. Wood, sp. nov., and Thelypteris marquesensis Lorence & K. R. Wood, sp. nov. One new combination is made: Cyclosorus marquesicus (Holttum) Lorence & A. R. Sm., comb. nov. (based on Plesioneuron marquesicum Holttum). An analysis of the conservation status of these new Marquesas Islands taxa reveals they are in need of inclusion in the IUCN Red List with conservation status ranging from vulnerable (one species), and endangered (four species), to critically endangered (five species).

Origin, adaptive radiation and diversification of the Hawaiian lobeliads (Asterales: Campanulaceae).

The endemic Hawaiian lobeliads are exceptionally species rich and exhibit striking diversity in habitat, growth form, pollination biology and seed dispersal, but their origins and pattern of diversification remain shrouded in mystery. Up to five independent colonizations have been proposed based on morphological differences among extant taxa. We present a molecular phylogeny showing that the Hawaiian lobeliads are the product of one immigration event; that they are the largest plant clade on any single oceanic island or archipelago; that their ancestor arrived roughly 13 Myr ago; and that this ancestor was most likely woody, wind-dispersed, bird-pollinated, and adapted to open habitats at mid-elevations. Invasion of closed tropical forests is associated with evolution of fleshy fruits. Limited dispersal of such fruits in wet-forest understoreys appears to have accelerated speciation and led to a series of parallel adaptive radiations in Cyanea, with most species restricted to single islands. Consistency of Cyanea diversity across all tall islands except Hawai ;i suggests that diversification of Cyanea saturates in less than 1.5 Myr. Lobeliad diversity appears to reflect a hierarchical adaptive radiation in habitat, then elevation and flower-tube length, and provides important insights into the pattern and tempo of diversification in a species-rich clade of tropical plants.