Abstract
In preparation of a treatment of Swartzia (Leguminosae) for the Flora Mesoamericana, recent updates to the taxonomy of the genus in Central America are discussed, and two new species from the Pacific slope and lowlands of central and southern Costa Rica are described and illustrated. One of them, S. picramnioides, is a member of the section Possira and is closely related to S. standleyi of Guatemala and Belize and to the South American species S. myrtifolia. The other, S. zeledonensis, belongs to the Central American apetalous clade of section Terminales. It is probably most closely related to the Panamanian species, S. nuda. We conclude that Swartzia is represented in Mexico and Central America by 14 species and provide a key for their identification.
Resumen
Como parte de la preparación del tratamiento del género Swartzia (Leguminosae) para la Flora Mesoamericana, taxonomía actualizada del mismo para Centroamérica es discutida y dos nuevas especies de los vertientes pacíficos y tierras bajas del centro y sur de Costa Rica son descritas e ilustradas. Una de ellas, S. pricramnioides, es un miembro de la sección Possira y está cercanamente relacionada con S. standleyi de Guatemala y Belice y con la especie Suramericana S. myrtifolia. La otra, S. zeledonensis, pertenece al clado apetalo centroamericano de la sección Terminales. Es probablemente, más cercanamente relacionada a la especie panameña S. nuda. Concluimos que Swartzia esta representado en México y Centroamérica por 14 especies y proveemos una clave para su identificación.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the curators of the herbaria cited for allowing us to examine their specimens. Permission to conduct field studies in Costa Rica was granted by the Ministerio del Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones (MINAET). We are grateful to Daniel Santamaría for field assistance, George Pilz for sending us digital images of specimens at EAP, Rosaura Grether, Vidal Mansano, and Karen Redden for their helpful comments on the manuscript, and Robert Naczi and Patricia Eckel for help with the Latin diagnoses. Funding for B. Torke’s fieldwork in Central America was provided by a Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant from the National Science Foundation (DEB-0309162).
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Torke, B.M., Zamora, N.A. Notes on Swartzia (Leguminosae) in Central America preliminary to the Flora Mesoamericana, with descriptions of two new species from Costa Rica. Brittonia 62, 222–232 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-009-9122-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-009-9122-8