Using Lucid Keys to discover

new species of Araceae

The role of the Missouri Botanical Garden in the process of discovery

Thomas B. Croat, Ph.D.P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany

The Aroid Research Group at

the Missouri Botanical Garden

is continuing the development

of the Lucid Keys which were

initiated by CATE at Kew

Using a mostly volunteer

force we are analyzing

hundreds of undetermined

collections at MO and

specimens on loan.

• Anna Haigh, Ben Clark, Laura Reynolds, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

• Marcela Mora prepared Philodendron Key (KLARF grant)

• Tom Croat, MBG, provided initial input on key characters and description.

• Continued operations and modifications presently at MO

LUCID

1.Developed by the Univ of Melbourne

2.First applied to Araceae at KEW for

the CATE program.

The Museum Building, the first herbarium and library- 1860

Using and modifying Lucid Keys

Regular Lucid Key Operators•Steven Aylward•Susan Daniels-McQueen

Keyed out all indet material at MO

Keyed out all borrowed material

Grew and modified keys

Lucid Key Growth

Henry Shaw

Interior of Museum

Anthurium 600 – 1500

Philodendron 400 – 609

Keys Greatly modifiedCorrections madeAdded many more species/ images

Herbarium and library from 1926-1973

Missouri Botanical Garden

http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org

TROPICOS http://www.tropicos.org

Botanicus http://www.botanicus.org

Additional tools for isolating new species

available at Missouri Botanical Garden

Herbarium, Library and Computer Programs:

New Herbarium opened in 1973

My Office

Probably largest in world in tropical vascular plants

North America repository for African plants

6,727,688 specimens (31 Dec 2016)6,158,931 vascular plants568,757 bryophytes4.4 million mounted specimens added from 1975 to 2016

Herbarium Collections

The Herbarium

Lehmann Building

Constructed in 1972

Monsanto Center

Library and

Herbarium

Monsanto Center- opened 1998

Botanical Library250,000 volumes dating from 15th Century & extensive archives

TROPICOS AND BOTANICUS

1,310,000 scientific names

4,500,000 specimens

521,000 images of plants (living and specimens)

World Wide Web Access

Databases

Specimen list

Online Plant Images

• Tabebuia billbergii subsp. ampla A. H. Gentry

• A. Gentry 12234, Ecuador

1 Tabebuia map

Botanicus:Online Images from Literature

• 1,085 titles (books/journals)

• 4,837 volumes

Dating from 1480

• 2,088,544 pages

• 231,205 links to original descriptions (protologues)

Linnaeus’ Species Plantarum,1753

Kuntze’s Revision Generum Plantarum, 1891

Aroid Collections- Living plants, another

resource

More than 6000 living collections

Cuttings are started in sphagnum moss

Aroids are remarkably easy to bring into

cultivation

Living collections useful in breeding studies

Anthurium

sect. Pachyneurium

Propagation room for plants needing higher humidity

Detailed descriptions can be made from living material

Using a color chart to

standardize colors

Observing

flowers

Detailed

observations in lab

Computerized record system traces location and status of all collections

Role of the Missouri Botanical

Garden in the Process of Discovery

• Newly described species

• Extensive Field Work

• Exploring new areas when they first become accessible

Aroid Research Program

• Program Staff: Tom Croat, Carla Kostelac, Emily Colletti and 30 Volunteer Research Associates [See poster on Volunteer Program]

• Division of Activities– Operating Lucid Key to Anthurium and

Philodendron [See poster on using Lucid Keys]

– Decisions on possible novelties

– Describing Plants

The Process of Identification

Steve Aylward

Susan Daniels-McQueen

Operation of Lucid Multicotymous Key to Anthurium and Philodendron

Adelonema, Dracontium

Chlorospatha and Stenospermation in preparation

Character States in the AnthuriumKey

• Ecology

• Stem

• Roots

• Cataphylls

• Leaves

• Inflorescence

• Infructescence

Lucid displays characters on left, species list on right

• Once the application has loaded, you can use the key.

• Click on the blue question mark if you are not sure how to use it.

• Growth habit: Epiphytic, hemiepiphytic, epipetric, terrestrial

Possibly a weak character

• Geographic distribution: Excellent choice within limits

• Elevation: Generally a good choice, especially if a range is given

• Genus Section: Necessary choice for best results

Ecology

Stems

• Stem: Stem habit: Appressed-climbing, scandent, rhizomatous, shortly erect

Typically not a good first choice owing to variability in some species

• Internodes: Size proportions: Longer than broad, as broad as or broader than long

Often an excellent choice, especially when contrasting vines with short-stemmed epiphytes or hemiepiphytes

• Internode size: length, width

Same as above

Leaves

• Leaves: Leaf vernation: involute or supervolute

• Petiole: Petiole length in proportion to leaf blade

• Petiole length and diam.

• Petiole cross-sectional shape: subterete to terete, C to D-shaped or broader than thick; C to D-shaped or thicker than broad, obtusely V-shaped to triangular; quadrangular, markedly ribbed – Is this red stuff needed

Leaves, cont.

• Petiole adaxial (upper) surface: sulcate, flattened, with medial rib, convex, 3-ribbed, multi-ribbed

• Petiole abaxial surface: rounded, angular, 1-ribbed

• Petiole margins: no margins, acutely raised, winged, obtusely raised

• Geniculum: length

Blade Shape

Blade shape: linear to lanceolate, obovate to

oblanceolate, oblong, elliptic, ovate, triangular

to trullate, subcordate, cordate to ovate-cordate

or triangular-cordate, subhastate to hastate,

sagittate to triangular-sagittate, trifid, trisect,

palmatifidid to pedatifid, palmatisect to

pedatisect

Blade size, glossiness and texture

• Blade overall length

• Blade overall width

• Blade length to width ratio

• Blade coloration: concolorous, moderately bicolorous, markedly bicolorous

• Blade glossiness on upper surface: matte or matte-subvelvety; semiglossy to glossy, velvety

Blade size, glossiness and texture, cont.

• Blade glossiness on lower surface: matte, semiglossy to glossy

• Blade texture above: smooth or bullate to rugose

• Blade color when dried on upper surface: Yellowish, greenish to olive-green, grayish, brownish, dark brown to blackish, reddish brown

• Blade color when dried on lower: Yellowish, greenish to olive-green, grayish, brownish, dark brown to blackish, reddish brown

• Blade glandular or dark punctations: Absent, present only on lower surface, present on both surfaces

Blade lobes and venation

• Posterior or lateral lobes: absent or present

• Anterior medial lobe length:

• Midrib: shape above: bluntly acute or narrowly rounded, narrow to sharply acute, broadly convex or round-raised, flat, sunken

• Midrib shape below: bluntly acute or narrowly rounded, narrow to sharply acute, broadly convex or round-raised, flat, quadrangular (square to rectangular), multiribbed

• Primary lateral veins: clearly visible, inconspicuous or too numerous to count

• Departing angle of primary lateral veins:

Blade lobes and venation, cont.

• Primary lateral veins appearance above: sunken, raised, flat or obscure, etched, quilted

• Primary lateral veins appearance below: flat or obscure, raised, narrow to sharply acute, bluntly acute, broadly convex to narrowly rounded, pleated-raised, sunken

• Collective veins: Origin: Absent, arising from one of the lowermost basal veins, arising from one of the uppermost basal veins, forming the only basal vein

• Collective veins distance from margins:

Inflorescences

• Inflorescences: Length in proportion to leaves

• Peduncle length

• Spathe length

• Spathe width

• Spathe shape: linear to lanceolate, obovate to oblanceolate, ovate, elliptic, oblong, subcircular

• Spathe 3-dimensional shape: fully expanded, boat-shaped (more or less enclosing spadix)

Inflorescences (cont.)

• Spathe disposition at anthesis: erect, spreading, reflexed, twisted, coiled, cucullate

• Spathe color: green to greenish, violet-purple to magenta, white to cream, yellowish to yellow to orange; pinkish, reddish to red; brownish

• Spadix Length

• Spadix diameter

• Spadix color: green, white to cream, yellow to yellowish, orange to orangish, magenta to purplish to maroon, brown, reddish to red, pinkish, bluish

• Stipe: present or absent

Infructescence

• Spathe persistence: persisting more or less intact and living, persisting dried and withered, deciduous

• Berry color: white to cream, greenish white to olive-green, brown, yellow to orange, reddish to red or pinkish, purplish

• Seed number: 1-2 per locule, 3 or more per locule

Operating a Volunteer Research Program

• Using Lucid to sort out new species

o Two volunteers working 30 hours per week• Steve Aylward• Susan Daniels-McQueen

o Preparing diagnosis and assigning name• Tom Croat

o Preparing descriptions• Jim Grib• Xavier Delannay• David Belt• Bob Hormell• Thomas Mines• Jonathan Watt

Selections

have reduced

species to 5

Initial

selections

have

reduced

species to

28

Thomas B. Croat, Ph.D., P.A. Schulze Curator of Botany

Steve Aylward, Volunteer Research Associate

Determination Tool For Anthurium & Philodendron

Step 1: Specimen to determine

Step 2: Lucid Player,

section selected

Step 3: Lucid Player,

certain characters used to reduce to 6

species

Step 4: Look up six species in Determination Tool

Result: Species confirmed as Anthurium sanguineum

Anthurium julianii Anthurium lucorum Anthurium nitidum

Anthurium nutibarenseAnthurium sanguineum Anthurium rivulorumAdd photo of

A. sanguineum

herbarium

Keying out unknown specimens in LUCID

The penultimate choices are listed and compared with files

Differences

are noted

Patterns of

choces noted

Deciding if a species is new to science

• Tools Usedo Existing descriptions

o Type specimens and photos of types

o Tom Croat’s Experience of more than 50 years working with Araceae

Comparing specimen with existing species

Deciding if a plant is new and preparing diagnosis

Alater rendition of database

An example of a single

data sheet with

descriptions, drawings

and photos of type

specimens

If a decision can’t be

made with existing files

actual specimens are

consulted in herbarium

Deciding if a collection is a new species.

Studying specific collections already keyed out to determine novelties

Once a decision is made that a species is new

Diagnosis is prepared.

Geographical Range

Elevational Range

Ecological Range

Characterization

Relationships

Taxonomic problems

Etymology

Recording New Species Names

• New species is filed in Species Diagnoses Folder

• Jim Miller enters new name in Tropicos and records name and sectional name in the respective generic Spreadsheets

• Barbara Altenbernd photocopies and adds cards to a 4 x 6” card file [This prevents duplication]

• Species are assigned to Plant Describers

• Steve Alyward enters all newly described species into Lucid and rekeys to test validity

Assigning New Species to a Describer

• Jim Grib: sect. Belolonchium, Porphyrochitonium of Central America

• Bob Hormell: Revision of Anthurium sect. Cardiolonchium

• Xavier Delannay: Revision of Xanthosoma; Revision of Anthurium sect. Polyneurium

• David Belt & Jere Deal: Revision of Anthurium sect. Calomystrium

• Jonathan Watt: Revision of sect. Xialophyllium

• Ambreen Bashir: Revision of sect. Tetraspermium

Accomplishments of Aroid Research Group

• Nearly 107,000 field collections

• Species-rich living collection

• Largest herbarium collection of Araceae in world

• Over 3000 new species described; 1821 named Anthurium species exist (all keyed out in Lucid)

• 1500 Species of Anthurium entered in Lucid

o 1384 Species or 76% of total are Croat-authored species

Urgency of Continued Work with Araceae

• Our efforts have proven that many new species exist.

• High rates of endemism so that even small habitat loss means extinction

• Collection opportunities have greatly diminished in past decade

• Given that fact extinction is inevitable.

Comparison of Central and South America

• Panama- 585 species (89% endemic) ca. 65% New

• Colombia- 820 species • 1.4 times as many species

• 15 TIMES LARGER GEOGRAPHIC AREA

• Colombia is topographically more diverse than Panama and likely has an aroid flora as much as 5 or more times the size of its presently known flora owing to its incredibly diverse topography and proximity to the ecuator.

• Colombia needs in increase its efforts to prevent extinction before we even see its flora.

Thank you