The genus Gomphrena comprises about 120 species in the Americas and 35 in Australia. Previous research revealed that Gossypianthus, Lithophila and Philoxerus are closely related but the monophyly of Gomphrena remained unresolved. Our aim was to clarify phylogenetic relationships in Gomphrena and allies based on a thorough sampling of species and to reconstruct the evolution of morphological characters including C₄ photosynthesis, and to explore the disjunction of the Australian taxa. We generated datasets of plastid (matK-trnK, trnL-F, rpl16) and nrITS representing 45 taxa of Gomphrena plus relatives and analysed them with parsimony, likelihood and Bayesian methods. Ancestral states of phenotypic characters were reconstructed with BayesTraits. BEAST was employed for divergence time estimates using an extended Amaranthaceae–Chenopodiaceae dataset to place fossil calibration points. Gossypianthus is closely related to a Gomphrena radiata–G. umbellata–G. tomentosa clade and G. meyeniana, whereas Lithophila and Philoxerus appear as successive sisters of the Australian species of Gomphrena. The majority of Andean species appears in a large clade including annual and perennial species. The Cerrado species Gomphrena mollis and G. rupestris, which are C₃, constitute an early-branching lineage, whereas the core Gomphrena clade is C₄ and has the inner two sepals strongly compressed as synapomorphy. A major subclade evolved inflorescences with subglobose paracladia in a whorl, supported by pseudanthial leaves. Whereas the core Gomphrena clade started to diversify around 11.4 Ma (8.45–14.5 95% highest posterior density [HPD]) the Australian lineage split at only 4.8 Ma (2.61–7.18 HPD). Our detailed phylogenetic analysis of Gomphrena depicts 10 major lineages including segregate genera. We hypothesize that an adaptation to costal habitats was followed by long-distance dispersal to Australia. We also propose a revised genus concept of Gomphrena including Gossypianthus, Lithophila and Philoxerus, considering that these small segregate genera were based on states of vegetative characters exhibiting adaptations to specific habitats rather than phylogeny and overall morphology.

Citation: Ortuño Limarino T. & Borsch Th. 2020: Gomphrena (Amaranthaceae, Gomphrenoideae) diversified as a C₄ lineage in the New World tropics with specializations in floral and inflorescence morphology, and an escape to Australia. – Willdenowia 50: 345–381. doi:  https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50301

Version of record first published online on 31 August 2020 ahead of inclusion in December 2020 issue.

DNA barcoding using the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) has become prevalent in surveys of fungal diversity. This approach is, however, associated with numerous caveats, including the desire for speed, rather than accuracy, through the use of automated analytical pipelines, and the shortcomings of reference sequence repositories. Here we use the case of a specimen of the bracket fungus Trametes s.lat. (which includes the common and widespread turkey tail, T. versicolor) to illustrate these problems. The material was collected in Vietnam as part of a biodiversity inventory including DNA barcoding approaches for arthropods, plants and fungi. The ITS barcoding sequence of the query taxon was compared against reference sequences in GenBank and the curated fungal ITS database UNITE, using BLASTn and MegaBLAST, and was subsequently analysed in a multiple alignment-based phylogenetic context through a maximum likelihood tree including related sequences. Our results initially indicated issues with BLAST searches, including the use of pairwise local alignments and sorting through Total score and E value, rather than Percentage identity, as major shortcomings of the DNA barcoding approach. However, after thorough analysis of the results, we concluded that the single most important problem of this approach was incorrect sequence labelling, calling for the implementation of third-party annotations or analogous approaches in primary sequence repositories. In addition, this particular example revealed problems of improper fungal nomenclature, which required reinstatement of the genus name Cubamyces (= Leiotrametes), with three new combinations: C. flavidus, C. lactineus and C. menziesii. The latter was revealed as the correct identification of the query taxon, although the name did not appear among the best BLAST hits. While the best BLAST hits did correspond to the target taxon in terms of sequence data, their label names were misleading or unresolved, including [Fungal endophyte], [Uncultured fungus], Basidiomycota, Trametes cf. cubensis, Lenzites elegans and Geotrichum candidum (an unrelated ascomycetous contaminant). Our study demonstrates that accurate identification of fungi through molecular barcoding is currently not a fast-track approach that can be achieved through automated pipelines.

Citation: Lücking R., Truong B. V., Huong D. T. T., Le N. H., Nguyen Q. D., Nguyen V. D., Raab-Straube E. von, Bollendorff S., Govers K. & Di Vincenzo V. 2020: Caveats of fungal barcoding: a case study in Trametes s.lat. (Basidiomycota: Polyporales) in Vietnam reveals multiple issues with mislabelled reference sequences and calls for third-party annotations. – Willdenowia 50: 383–403. doi:  https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50302

Version of record first published online on 15 September 2020 ahead of inclusion in December 2020 issue.

Eocene Baltic amber forms the largest amber deposit worldwide; however, its source vegetation and climate are much debated. Representatives of the oak family (Fagaceae) were abundant in the Baltic amber source area based on numerous inclusions of staminate inflorescences or individual florets, previously assigned to Castanea and Quercus. However, the actual generic and infrageneric diversity of Fagaceae from Baltic amber remained unknown. Using flower characteristics and section-diagnostic in situ pollen of staminate inflorescences and detached floret inclusions, we describe 18 fossil-species of Fagaceae making this family by far the most diverse plant family preserved in Baltic amber. We substantiate the occurrence of the Castaneoideae, Quercoideae (Quercus sect. Cyclobalanopsis/Lobatae; Q. sect. Lobatae; Q. sect. Protobalanus), Trigonobalanoideae and the extinct genus Eotrigonobalanus. Among the 18 fossil-species, six are described as new: Q. aimeeana, Q. casparyi, Q. multipilosa, E. campanulata, E. conwentzii, E. longianthera; and one new combination is published: Q. brachyandra (≡ Castanea brachyandra). In addition, a lectotype is designated for the name Quercites meyerianus and neotypes are designated for the names Castanea inclusa and Quercus longistaminea (≡ C. longistaminea). Members of the Fagaceae probably inhabited azonal and zonal vegetation types of the amber source area, including bottomland flood-plains and stream banks (Q. sect. Lobatae), dry habitats (Q. sect. Lobatae, Q. sect. Protobalanus), peaty soils, riparian and swamp forests (Castanopsis, Eotrigonobalanus), as well as mixed mesophytic forests (castaneoids, Quercoideae, trigonobalanoids). Affinities to extant North American and E to SE Asian floras support the recent notion that late Eocene Baltic amber (38–34 Ma) was formed in a warm-temperate climate.

Citation: Sadowski E.-M., Schmidt A. R. & Denk T. 2020: Staminate inflorescences with in situ pollen from Eocene Baltic amber reveal high diversity in Fagaceae (oak family). – Willdenowia 50: 405–517. doi:  https://doi.org/10.3372/wi.50.50303

Version of record first published online on 1 December 2020 ahead of inclusion in December 2020 issue.

The botanical exploration of Albania in its modern sense started in the mid-nineteenth century with the collections and publications of A. Grisebach, E. Weiss and C. Grimus von Grimburg, who followed the road from Prizren to Shkoder or were active in the hinterland of the harbours on the Adriatic Sea. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, A. Baldacci, N. Košanin and I. Dörfler laid the foundations of the floristic knowledge of Albania, focusing their attention on northern Albania and the coastal regions. A considerable amount of collecting was undertaken during the First World War by people commissioned by or active for the foreign powers occupying the country, with the major results published by A. Hayek in Vienna and S. Jávorka in Budapest. In the interwar period, F. Markgraf concentrated his floristic research on central Albania, although his work remained uncompleted. Even during the Second World War, collecting and publishing on the flora of Albania did not come to a stop. However, in the mid-twentieth century considerable areas of Albania remained totally unknown botanically, in particular in the southern part of the country. This contribution gives a detailed and critical overview of the botanical exploration of Albania from 1839 until 1945 with emphasis on the collecting routes, the widely scattered herbarium record and the interdependence of field work and the political (and military) situation in the country.

Citation: Lack H. W. & Barina Z. 2020: The early botanical exploration of Albania (1839–1945). – Willdenowia 50: 519–558.

Version of record first published online on 17 December 2020 ahead of inclusion in December 2020 issue.