The present work intends to clarify the phylogenetic relationships among the species of Paspalum L. belonging to the informal groups Notata/Linearia and Dilatata, and to raise some preliminary hypotheses on the phylogeny of the genus as a whole. A combined dataset including morphological and molecular characters was used to analyze 28 species of Paspalum plus some representatives of related genera of the tribe Paniceae. Analyses were performed using both parsimony and maximum likelihood. The monophyly of Paspalum is not supported nor contradicted. The circumscription of informal groups of Paspalum is discussed, as well as the cladistic treatment of allopolyploid taxa, especially those comprising the Dilatata group. The relationships of members of the Dilatata with their putative progenitors is confirmed, but the monophyly of the group as a whole is not. A close relationship between P. dilatatum Poir. and P. lividum Trin. ex Schltdl. is shown. Our analysis is consistent with the monophyly of a group comprising Notata+Linearia, with a monophyletic Notata group nested within it. The delimitation of the core Notata is proposed by including P. conduplicatum Canto-Dorow, Valls and Longhi-Wagner, P. notatum Flüggé, P. minus E. Fourn., P. pumilum Nees and P. subciliatum Chase.

Plants of the family Iridaceae are well represented in the grassland vegetation of southern Brazil, occurring in the Pampa and Atlantic Forest biomes. Nevertheless, little is known about the taxonomy and evolution of Iridaceae species in southern Brazil. The main goal of this review is to compile published information about South American Iridaceae, and to discuss the evolution and genetic diversity of the family presenting our own research data in the light of the published literature. The main focus is on the genera Calydorea, Cypella, Herbertia, and Sisyrinchium. Aspects of reproductive system and of pollinator attraction are also discussed.

One of the major concerns of conservation biology is the knowledge on biodiversity. Many taxa have not yet been described and plant taxonomists are working hard to change this situation. This work presents a taxonomic overview of Solanum section Torva, from South Brazil, which still poorly understood. The section includes species known as "jurubeba" which are of considerable interest because of their pharmacological properties. Despite their higher economic value, it is difficult to identify the "jurubebas" correctly due to their taxonomic problems. A few questions on evolution concerning phylogenetic relationships in this section and other related sections of subgenus Leptostemonum were investigated to clarify the species circumscription and taxonomic issues. Eighty samples were analysed based on sequence variability of the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA, as well as the chloroplast intron trnL, trnL-trnF and trnS-trnG spacers. Five different matrixes were analyzed as the basis for a phylogenetic approach. The combined data from the chloroplast analyses formed well-supported trees. Solanum section Torva was proposed as a monophyletic group and it is close to S. melongena, S. jamaicense and S. sisymbriifolium.

The genus Paspalum L. consists of more than 400 species. Around twenty-five informal groups of species are recognized in Paspalum and the Dilatata group is of special interest because its members are excellent potential forage grasses. Seventy-five germplasm accessions, representing 15 taxa, were analyzed using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Polymorphisms were observed with twenty-two primers in the Dilatata group and 16 of those were analyzed. Four hundred and four different RAPD fragments were generated, resulting in an average of 25.2 bands per primer. Among the 404 markers analyzed, 48 (11.88%) were exclusive for the P. dilatatum Poir. biotypes, 31 (7.67%) were exclusive to taxa belonging to other groups included in this study, 28 markers (6.93%) were diagnosed for other species of the Dilatata group and 16 (3.96%), for natural hybrids. Extensive RAPD variation was found among the species studied. Inter-and intra-taxonomic polymorphisms were detected. A dendrogram based on the RAPD data shows some clusters corresponding to the same taxa. However, the biotypes of P. dilatatum do not form a cluster. The present work confirms that the RAPD technique can be used to determine genetic relationships between the taxa belonging to the Dilatata group.

ABSTRACT. Recent phylogenetic studies on Sisyrinchium strongly suggest that species classified in section Hydastylus and section Viperella belong to a single group of plants in recent adaptive radiation (Clade IV). These species neither present clear morphological differentiation among them nor show clear identification using DNA barcode markers. Thus, the main goal of this study was to develop a set of polymorphic microsatellite markers compatible for representative species of both sections to ensure variability that could be revealed by SSR markers. Therefore, microsatellite primers were isolated and characterized for Sisyrinchium palmifolium and S. marchioides. In addition, transferability of the developed primers was tested in Iridoideae, primarily in closely related species of Sisyrinchium. Sixteen microsatellite loci were developed from enriched genomic libraries, of which ten were polymorphic. G ST values indicated higher differentiation among subpopulations of S. palmifolium than those from S. marchioides. Major transferability was obtained using primers isolated from S. marchioides. All primers exhibited higher rates of cross-amplification for species belonging to Clade IV of Sisyrinchium, as well as to the genera Calydorea and Herbertia. These developed microsatellite markers can be used as an efficient tool for characterization of genetic variability in species belonging to Iridoideae, as well as for studies on population dynamics, genetic structure, and mating system in other Sisyrinchium species.