Citation: Lack H. W. & Raus Th. 2025: Hartmut Ern (1935–2023). — Willdenowia 55: 5–12.

Version of record first published online on 6 March 2025.

Citation: Kilian N. Parolly G. & Raus Th. 2025: Eckhard von Raab-Straube (1967–2024). — Willdenowia 55: 13–26

Version of record first published online on 6 March 2025.

Citation: Montesinos-Tubée D. B. & Borsch T. 2025: Corrigendum: Molecular phylogenetics and morphology reveal the Plettkea lineage including several members of Arenaria and Pycnophyllopsis to be a clade of 21 South American species nested within Stellaria (Caryophyllaceae, Alsineae). — Willdenowia 55: 27

Version of record first published online on 6 March 2025.

Woodsiaceae is a monophyletic fern family comprising around 65 taxa that inhabit mainly mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere but also with numerous species in southern America and Africa. Recent molecular studies recognize two genera in the family: Woodsia, restricted to the northern hemisphere, and Physematium, present in Central and South America, Africa and East Asia. Traditionally, in South America the family has been considered to include a single species, Woodsia montevidensis, very variable morphologically, a treatment that underestimates the diversity of South American taxa. Therefore, we carried out a taxonomic review that included comparative analyses of morphological and palynological characters as well as distributional data. In the Southern Cone, Physematium is characterized by sori with saucer- or bowl-shaped lower indusia, splitting into 1–3 lobes in the mature sori. The taxa inhabit mountainous regions, between 200 m to more than 4000 m in altitude. Four species are recognized in the genus Physematium in the Southern Cone: one new species, P. hieronymi, and three that were previously treated as synonyms of P. montevidense, publishing here the corresponding new combinations. A key, descriptions, illustrations and distribution maps of the species are provided.

Citation: Ponce M. M., Gorrer D. A. & Arana M. D. 2025: Hidden and neglected taxa inside a collective taxon: taxonomic revision of Woodsiaceae in the Southern Cone of South America. – Willdenowia 55: 29–49.

Version of record first published online on 20 March 2025.

The type material of Inga pectinata Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd., which is the basionym of combinations in Acacia, Mimosa and Parkia (all Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae: Mimoseae), is Bonpland & Humboldt 1167 (B-W, P-Bonpl.), collected near the Río Casiquiare in southern Venezuela in 1800. Both sheets are sterile, each consisting of a bipinnate leaf with disarticulated pinnae that bear small, sessile, narrowly oblong, opposite leaflets with reddish hairs on the abaxial surface. This material is not conspecific with Spruce 2727, the type of P. panurensis Benth. ex H. C. Hopkins from northwestern Amazonian Brazil, although Bentham erroneously placed the Spruce collection in P. pectinata. Despite a superficial similarity to P. barnebyana H. C. Hopkins, which has also been collected near the Río Casiquiare, Bonpland and Humboldt's collection is conspecific with Dimorphandra cuprea Sprague & Sandwith, in D. subg. Pocillum (Caesalpinioideae: Dimorphandreae). The combination D. pectinata (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) H. C. Hopkins & G. S. da Silva is published, an epitype with flowers is designated, and the names D. cuprea and D. ferruginea Ducke are put into its synonymy. Notes on the distribution and ecology of D. pectinata are accompanied by a list of specimens from Venezuela's Amazonas State.

Citation: Hopkins H. C. F. & Silva G. S. da 2025: Inga pectinata, basionym of Parkia pectinata, from the Río Casiquiare, Venezuela is synonymized with Dimorphandra cuprea (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae: Dimorphandreae). – Willdenowia 55: 51–6

Version of record first published online on 7 April 2025.

The Mediterranean region presents a significant number of plant species facing threats from habitat loss and climate change, particularly those with limited distribution and habitat scarcity, such as chasmophytes. The study represents the first investigation into the germination potential of Jancaea heldreichii (Gesneriaceae) and Viola delphinantha (Violaceae), shedding light on their seed dormancy characteristics and germination aiming to assist conservation efforts. Fruit capsules of both species were collected, and their seeds were either cold stratified or immersed in hormone solutions prior to a germination test. After the end of the germination test, the ungerminated seeds were subjected to a cutting test and those with a well-developed embryo were subjected to a viability staining test using two different dyes, 2,3,5-triphenyl tetrazolium chloride and Evans blue. The study revealed that hormone treatments, particularly gibberellic acid, significantly increased germination percentages (69.4% and 88.3% for J. heldreichii and V. delphinantha, respectively) compared to control (untreated) seeds. Kinetin also enhanced germination, with a significantly higher increase in J. heldreichii compared to V. delphinantha (50.1% and 6.4%, respectively), whereas cold stratification had a lesser effect (28% and 4.2%, respectively), and the control treatment showed negligible germination. An ungerminated viability test in both species revealed that in the gibberellic acid treatment no ungerminated seeds with a well-developed embryo (stained or unstained) were found, suggesting that all the seeds that could produce normal seedlings were germinated. The study underscores the importance of germination protocols for conserving chasmophytic endemics like J. heldreichii and V. delphinantha. Such protocols are essential for preserving these unique plant species and their habitats.

Citation: Varsamis G., Merou Th., Tseniklidou K. & Tsiftsis S. 2025: Seed dormancy and reproductive traits of the southern Balkan endemic plants Jancaea heldreichii (Gesneriaceae) and Viola delphinantha (Violaceae). – Willdenowia 55: 67–77.

Version of record first published online on 7 April 2025.