Abstract
Didymopanax had been recognized for at least a century as the only genus of Araliaceae in the Americas with bicarpellate ovaries, but in recent decades, it had been treated in synonymy under Schefflera, where it has been recognized as an informal group. During this time, several new species belonging to the group were described under Schefflera, but there has been a growing understanding over the past 15 years that this broadly defined genus is polyphyletic, comprising five non-sister clades. The Neotropical species form a monophyletic group, but its five major subclades are both morphologically and geographically coherent, and are therefore being recognized as distinct genera. As a result, Crepinella Marchal and Sciodaphyllum P. Browne have been reinstated (but with new circumscriptions), and the remaining subclades will be accommodated in two new genera. Here we resurrect Didymopanax, transferring the 37 species out of Schefflera. As now defined, Didymopanax includes species with bicarpellate as well as a few with 5–6-carpellate ovaries, mostly from the rainforests and open savannic vegetations of Brazil. Twenty-one new combinations are proposed for taxa originally described under Panax L. (1), Schefflera (19), or Sciodaphyllum (1).
Resumo
Por pelo menos um sĂ©culo, Didymopanax Decne. & Planch. vinha sendo reconhecido como o Ăşnico gĂŞnero de Araliaceae nas AmĂ©ricas com ovários bicarpelares, mas em dĂ©cadas recentes ele passou a ser tratado como sinĂ´nimo de Schefflera J.R. Forst. & G. Forst., onde tem sido reconhecido como um grupo informal. Durante este perĂodo, várias novas espĂ©cies pertencentes a este grupo foram descritas sob Schefflera, mas ao longo dos Ăşltimos 15 anos há um crescente entendimento que este gĂŞnero em sentido amplo Ă© polifilĂ©tico, sendo composto por cinco clados nĂŁo irmĂŁos. EspĂ©cies neotropicais de Schefflera formam um grupo monofilĂ©tico e os seus cinco subclados sĂŁo coerentes tanto morfolĂłgica quanto geograficamente, sendo agora reconhecidos como gĂŞneros distintos. Como resultado disso, Crepinella Marchal e Sciodaphyllum P. Browne foram restabelecidos com novas circunscrições, e os subclados remanescentes serĂŁo acomodados em dois novos gĂŞneros. Sciodaphyllum foi recentemente restabelecido, e aqui nĂłs restabelecemos Didymopanax, removendo de Schefflera as 37 espĂ©cies deste clado. Como agora definido, Didymopanax inclui espĂ©cies com ovários bicarpelares e poucas 5–6-carpelares, a maioria de florestas Ăşmidas e vegetações abertas de savana do Brasil. Vinte e uma novas combinações sĂŁo propostas para táxons originalmente descritos em Panax L. (1), Schefflera (19) ou Sciodaphyllum (1).
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Acknowledgments
This work was supported by grants from the U.S. National Science Foundation (DEB 0943958, 1556327 and 1556139), the National Geographic Society (CRE 5793-96, 7415-03, 8355-07), and the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) (PQ 306228/2016-5). This work is dedicated to the memory of David G. Frodin (1940–2019), whose encyclopedic knowledge of Araliaceae in general, and of Schefflera s.l. in particular, will remain a source of inspiration for many new generations of botanists studying araliads.
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Fiaschi, P., Lowry, P.P. & Plunkett, G.M. Studies in Neotropical Araliaceae. III. Resurrection of the New World genus Didymopanax Decne. & Planch., previously included in Schefflera (Araliaceae). Brittonia 72, 16–22 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-019-09604-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12228-019-09604-w