The genus Erythroxylum contains species used by indigenous people of South America long before the domestication of plants. Two species, E. coca and E. novogranatense, have been utilized for thousands of years specifically for their tropane alkaloid content. While abuse of the narcotic cocaine has impacted society on many levels, these species and their wild relatives contain untapped resources for the benefit of mankind in the form of foods, pharmaceuticals, phytotherapeutic products, and other high-value plant-derived metabolites. In this review, we describe the current state of knowledge of members within the genus and the recent advances in the realm of molecular biology and biochemistry.

Coca is the natural source of cocaine as well as a sacred and medicinal plant farmed by South American Amerindians and mestizos. The coca crop comprises four closely related varieties classified into two species (Amazonian and Huánuco varieties within Erythroxylum coca Lam., and Colombian and Trujillo varieties within E. novogranatense (D.Morris) Hieron.) but our understanding of the domestication and evolutionary history of these taxa is nominal. In this study we use genomic data from natural history collections to estimate the geographic origins and genetic diversity of this economically and culturally important crop in the context of its wild relatives. Our phylogeographic analyses clearly demonstrate the four varieties of coca comprise two or three exclusive groups nested within the diverse lineages of the widespread, wild species E. gracilipes; establishing a new and robust hypothesis of domestication wherein coca originated two or three times from this wild progenitor. The Colombian and Trujillo coca varieties are descended from a single, ancient domestication event in northwestern South America. Huánuco coca was domesticated more recently, possibly in southeastern Peru. Amazonian coca either shares a common domesticated ancestor with Huánuco coca, or it was the product of a third and most recent independent domestication event in the western Amazon basin. This chronology of coca domestication reveals different Holocene peoples in South America were able to independently transform the same natural resource to serve their needs; in this case, a workaday stimulant.

Attempts at historical reconstruction are based on limited data. We are more likely to produce accurate historical reconstructions by utilizing information from diverse sources and pooling data within the relevant research communities which will allow us to build up a moving picture of the geological, climatic, and biological evolution of our planet. We suggest that dated phylogenies of plants can contribute greatly to a better understanding of Earth history. Timing of phylogenetic splits of lowland restricted lineages on either side of the Andes could provide information on the timing of montane uplift and associated climatic changes. The timing of the arrival and diversification of organisms restricted to specific climatic regimes at a particular altitude can provide information on the age at which mountains reached a height adequate for that climate once corrected for global climate changes. As a model for study, we discuss how dated phylogenies in biome rich Colombia may contribute to an understanding of geological and climatic change in north‐western South America. Lowland wet forest restricted lineages separated from the mid‐Miocene, whereas lineages primarily restricted to mid‐altitude cloud forests began to diversify from the mid‐ to late‐Miocene and the majority of high‐altitude Páramo lineages began to diversify during the Pliocene. The age of diversification of altitudinally restricted lineages therefore gives an indication of the age at which particular altitudes may have been reached.

We provide a floristic account for the Begoniaceae of Peru. The family is represented in Peru by 76 species, which are all members of the genus Begonia and represent eighteen sections. Twelve new species are described: B. condorensis Jara & Moonlight sp. nov., B. deltoides Moonlight sp. nov., B. huancabambae Moonlight sp. nov., B. imbrexiformis Moonlight sp. nov., B. longinqua Moonlight sp. nov., B. longitepala Moonlight sp. nov., B. nunezii Moonlight sp. nov., B. occultata J.P.Allen & Moonlight sp. nov., B. pedemontana Moonlight sp. nov., B. serratistipula Moonlight sp. nov., B. vargasii Moonlight sp. nov. and B. yuracyacuensis Moonlight sp. nov. We also provide four new records for the country: B. andina Rusby, B. brandbygeana L.B.Sm. & Wassh., B. neoharlingii L.B.Sm. & Wassh. and B. unilateralis Rusby. We provide an identification key to all species. The ecology, distribution, and conservation status of all Peruvian Begonia species are discussed, including provisional IUCN threat assessments. Most species are illustrated by either historical illustrations, contemporary photographic plates, or line drawings. Twenty-six names are newly synonymised including fifteen previously accepted species, and we designate eighty-three lectotypes, four neotypes, and four epitypes.

We present a taxonomic synopsis of the acaulescent rosette species of Lupinus from Colombia and Ecuador, including a checklist with revised nomenclature and a key to species. A new species, Lupinus luisanae, and a variety of this species, L. luisanae var. ocetensis, endemic to the northern portion of the Eastern Cordillera of the Colombian Andes, are described and illustrated. Lupinus inflatus is proposed as a new synonym of L. nubigenus.