Ecuadorian Brownea and Browneopsis (Leguminosae‐Caesalpinioideae): Taxonomy, palynology, and morphology

Abstract

Ecuadorian Brownea and Browneopsis (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae) : Taxonomy, palynology , and morphology Bente Bang Klitgaard Klitgaard, B. B. 1991. Ecuadorian Brownea and BrowneopFis (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae): Taxonomy, palynology, and morphology. -Nord. J. Bot. 11: 433449. Copenhagen. ISSN 0107-055X. The neotropical genera Brownea and Browneopsb are understorey trees and shrubs of lowland rain forest comprising twelve and six species, respectively. Four species of Brownea and three of Browneopsb occur in Ecuador. Keys to the genera and species in Ecuador are provided, and Brownea coccinea, B. grandiceps, B. macrophylla, B. multijuga, Browneopsb disepala, B. ucayalina, and B. macrofoliolata are described, the last-named as a new species. Additionally, the intergeneric relationships, and the morphological and the palynological variation in the genera are surveyed.

Pollen morphology of Browneopsis (Leguminosae: Caesalpinioideae), and its evolutionary significance

“…The Neotropical genera Rroiwea and Broinieopsis belong to the tribe Detarieae and include about twelve and six species respectively (Klitgaard 1991). Broicwea extends from Costa Iiica and the West Indies to Peru and Broivveopsis from Panama to Peru.…”

“…The genera have been treated separately in some works (Pittier 1916, Woodson Sr Scliery 1951, Hutchinson 1961, Cowan 61 I'olhill 1981, Watson RC Dallwitz 1983, Klitgaard 1991, whereas other workers included Browrieopsis in Broimrea (Ducke 1925, Macbride 1933, Little 1948. All earlier treatments were based on gross morphological characters.…”

On the Monophyly ofMacrolobiumSchreb., an Ecologically Diverse Neotropical Tree Genus (Fabaceae-Detarioideae)

“…The Ecua- fig. 2) containing Brachycylix, Brownea, Browneopsis, and Ecuadendron is centered in the northwestern part of South America, while the Elizabetha clade comprising Elizabetha, Paloue, Paloveopsis, and Heterostemon is centered in the northeast and eastern parts of South America (Cowan 1975(Cowan , 1976a(Cowan , 1976bKlitgård 1991;Neill 1998;Redden et al 2010). Our mapping of Macrolobium shows that the geographical ranges of the two sections within the genus follow this same pattern (fig.…”

“…This distribution appears to correspond to the Gentry pattern, a term coined by Antonelli and Sanmartin (2011) in recognition of Gentry's (1982) observations concerning Amazonian-centered and Andeancentered plant groups. The rest of the Brownea clade displays a similar distribution pattern, with Brachycylix, Brownea, Browneopsis, and Ecuadendron (Cowan 1975;Klitgård 1991;Neill 1998) having a center of diversity in northwestern South America and Elizabetha, Heterostemon, Paloue, and Paloveopsis centered inthe Guiana Shieldregioninthe east (Cowan1976a,1976bRedden et al 2010). The occurrence of the same distribution pattern within Macrolobium that occurs between other genera of the Brownea clade further raises the question of whether the two sections of Macrolobium are separately derived.…”

“…1). However, while Leguminosae generally have five sepals, fusion of the adaxial sepals to form a tetramerous calyx is common in the Detarioideae and the norm for other genera within the Brownea clade (Klitgård 1991;Redden et al 2010;Bruneau et al 2014). Similarly, Cowan (1953) considered the failure of the bracteoles to open completely along the adaxial seam in section Stenosolen to be a derived character state.…”