Brittonia 55: 305–316. 2003.—Eriotheca longitubulosa is a large, nocturnally flowering tree new to the Guianas. Floral morphology, daily phenological patterns, nectar concentration, and floral aroma were examined in order to infer pollinator type. The floral morphology and phenological data, while not necessarily typical in all features displayed by known hawkmoth-pollinated plants, suggest hawkmoth pollination by swing hovering. The presence of the sesquiterpenes alpha-farnesene and germacrene-D in the aroma supports this conclusion.

Polystichum lilianae sp. nov. (Dryopteridaceae) and its relationships to P. fournieri and P. turrialbae. Brittonia 55: 317–325. 2003.—Morphological, isozyme, and cytological analyses of the small, pale-scaled polystichums from oak-dominated montane rain forests in Costa Rica and Mexico reveal the presence of a separable undescribed species endemic to the Cordillera de Talamanca of Costa Rica. The new taxon, Polystichum lilianae, is an allotetraploid hypothesized to have the sympatric P. turrialbae as one diploid progenitor based on isozyme characters. The isozyme and morphometric data also support the inclusion of P. smithii, described from southern Mexico, in P. turrialbae, described from Costa Rica. The name Polystichum fournieri, formerly used for all of these plants, applies to species endemic to Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico. It is not a progenitor of P. lilianae.

Polystichum lilianae sp. nov. (Dryopteridaceae) and its relationships to P. fournieri and P. turrialbae. Brittonia 55: 317–325. 2003.—Análisis de morfología, isozimas y cromosomas de poblaciones de Polystichum de las selvas montañosas lluviosas de Costa Rica y México indican que existe una nueva especie endémica en la Cordillera de Talamanca de Costa Rica. La especie nueva, Polystichum lilianae, es allotetraploide y parece tener la especie simpátrica P. turrialbae como una de sus progenitores diploides. Además, datos morfológicos y de isozimas sugieren que P. turrialbae incluye como sinonimo P. smithii del sur de México. Polystichum fournieri, nombre anteriormente usado para todas estas plantas, es endémica a Oaxaca y Chiapas, México, y no es un progenitor de P. lilianae.

A revision of Asterogyne (Arecaceae: Arecoideae: Geonomeae). Brittonia 55: 326–356. 2003.—A taxonomic revision of the neotropical genus Asterogyne Hook. (Arecaceae: Arecoideae: Geonomeae) is presented. The genus is characterized by one autoapomorphic character, the separation of anther thecae by a bifid connective, and the combination of small to medium-sized stems, bifid simple leaf blades, floral pits in bud covered by a rounded upper lip that overlaps a lower lip, and pistillate flowers with staminodial lobes that are displayed in a starlike shape. Five species are recognized in this treatment: one of them (Asterogyne martiana) is widely distributed from Belize in Central America to northern Ecuador, three species (A. ramosa, A. spicata, and A. yaracuyense) are endemic to small areas in the Venezuelan Coastal Range, and one species (A. guianensis) is endemic to eastern French Guiana. The taxonomic history, morphology, reproductive biology, distribution and ecology, intrageneric relationships, and conservation status are reviewed.

A revision of Asterogyne (Arecaceae: Arecoideae: Geonomeae). Brittonia 55: 326–356. 2003.—Se presenta una revisión taxonómica del género neotropical Asterogyne Hook. (Arecaceae: Arecoideae: Geonomeae). El género se caracteriza por un carácter autoapomórfico, tecas separadas por un conectivo bífido, además de tener tallos de pequeño a mediano tamaño, láminas foliares enteras y bífidas, fóveas florales cubiertas por un labio superior redondeado que sobrelapa el labio inferior, flores pistiladas con lóbulos estaminodiales dispuestos de manera estrellada. Para este tratamiento se reconocen cinco especies: una de ellas (Asterogyne martiana) ampliamente distribuida desde Belice en América Central hasta el norte de Ecuador, tres especies (A. ramosa, A. spicata, and A. yaracuyense) endémicas de pequeñas áreas en la Cordillera de la Costa de Venezuela y una especie (A. guianensis) endémica del oriente de la Guyana Francesa. Se revisa la historia taxonómica, morfología, biología reproductiva, distribución, ecología, relaciones intragenéricas y estado de conservación.

Historical phytogeography of the Greater Antilles. Brittonia 55: 357–383. 2003.—An understanding of the phytogeographic history of a region depends upon an adequate fossil record to reveal migrational histories and the timing and direction(s) of introductions and extinctions, and to augment or circumvent undue reliance on molecular clocks. It further depends upon an accurate phylogeny of the taxa to establish real patterns of geographic affinities (phylogeography), and a relatively detailed geologic history to assess the relative roles of dispersal and vicariance in populating the islands. For the Greater Antilles new information is slowly emerging on the plant fossil record through study of new floras such as the Eocene Saramaguacán palynoflora from Cuba, and more is potentially available from the middle Oligocene San Sebastian megafossil flora of Puerto Rico that has not been revised since the early 1900s. Phylogeographic studies and area cladograms are still meager for plants, but data from various animal groups are providing a context for the general biotic history of the Antilles. Perhaps the area of greatest advance is being made in achieving an adequate plate tectonic model for the Caribbean region. There is now some convergence toward a mobilist model that depicts a Cretaceous volcanic island arc that extended from the Mexico/Chortis block in the north to Ecuador in the south, and gradually moved through the developing portal between North and South America to collide with the Bahamas Platform in the middle Eocene. Throughout this 70-million-year history there was an immensely complex pattern of collision/separation and submergence/emergence that provided opportunity both for vicariance and dispersal in the migration, evolution, and speciation of the flora of the Greater Antilles.