Systematics and Evolution of the genus Petrea (Verbenaceae)

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This award will support the research collaboration of Alwyn Gentry of the Missouri Botanical Garden and Ricardo Rueda, a Nicaraguan graduate student in biology at the University of Missouri, St. Louis. The project aims to elucidate the taxonomic relationships within Petrea, an important and poorly understood neotropical genus of about 30 plant species. The last taxonomic treatment of Petrea was done over 50 years ago. The limits of the taxa are unclear and their interrelationships need reevaluation. Very little is known about Petrea's ecology, cytology, anatomy, phylogeny, and pollination biology. Because its species can be propagated by seed, seeds will be collected and germinated for root tip chromosome counts. Differences between trees and lianas in the genus will be investigated to see how they have originated and what anatomical features differentiate the two life forms. Both the U.S. and Nicaraguan sides will benefit from acquiring new data about this little-known genus. The U.S. side will gain from _______ and the Nicaraguan collaborator will acquire training in modern techniques of systematic biology and field-oriented research, needed to help train the next generation of Nicaraguan botanists.