ARTS: Collaborative Research: Understanding the relationships and radiation of Old World Croton (Euphorbiaceae)

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This study will provide a better understanding of the species diversity and evolutionary relationships within one of the world's largest flowering plant genera, Croton (Euphorbiaceae). Many Croton species are important ecologically, used medicinally, or considered endangered, but the large number of species and worldwide distribution has hampered previous efforts to fully understand the systematics of the genus. This study by researchers at the University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez and the University of Michigan builds on a previous project investigating Croton species in North, Central and South America and now focuses on producing a comprehensive phylogeny and classification system for the estimated 450 Croton species native to Asia, Africa and Madagascar. Undergraduate researchers and graduate students, including members of under-represented groups, will be involved in all aspects of the study including plant biology workshops for high school teachers within Puerto Rico to highlight the importance of plants to a large and broad audience.This study will investigate the systematics of the estimated 450 Croton species in Africa, Asia and Madagascar using a combination of field, herbarium and molecular techniques. Phylogenetic relationships will be reconstructed using a combination of at least 10 nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial markers to provide necessary the evolutionary framework to investigate the tempo and mode of biogeographical evolution within Croton, with an emphasis on the colonization and dispersal throughout the Old World. Descriptions, images and additional information for different Croton species, including a comprehensive monograph of the genus, will be disseminated freely online through the Encyclopedia of Life and Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar webpages. This study will also produce a DNA barcode database for the Malagasy species to help identify these species.