Taxonomic Revision of Rhodospatha (Araceae)

密苏里州植物园的托马斯克劳特博士将 在南美洲进行实地采集， 实验室和植物标本室研究的估计70种的 天南星属红穗菊。 是喜林芋的近亲 在园艺学上已知，红穗菊沿着与许多其它天南星属植物 属在标本库中的代表性很差， 因此知之甚少。 该组织的成员相当 常见于新大陆热带潮湿的低海拔森林， 在那里，他们为丰富的葡萄园做出了贡献， 热带雨林中的附生植物。 植物表现出 幼叶和成叶之间的有趣差异 形式，部分与需要在地面上发芽有关 接着向上生长，像藤蔓一样需要邻近的植物 寻求支持 Croat博士将研究叶、茎、 花和果实来辨别可靠的性状， 区别物种 植物标本馆的广泛调查 这些物种的标本将使详细的 地理范围和生境偏好的绘图 物种 在温室中选择的分类群的生长将允许 仔细观察细微的形态特征， 研究开花和结果的季节性（如果有的话）。 对估计的70个物种进行了全面的分类修订， 通过分析与其他天南星科植物的属间关系， 在项目结束时完成。 这项工作将有助于 我们对热带植物多样性的理解， 可供其他研究人员使用的材料和标本， 学生

Dr. Thomas Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden will undertake field collecting in South America followed by laboratory and herbarium study of the estimated 70 species of the aroid genus Rhodospatha. A relative of the philodendron, well known horticulturally, Rhodospatha along with many other aroid genera is poorly represented in herbaria collections and consequently is poorly known. Members of the group are rather common in moist low-elevation forests of the New World tropics, where they contribute to the rich community of vines and epiphytes present in the rainforest. Plants exhibit an interesting difference between juvenile leaf shape and adult leaf form, partly related to the need to germinate on the ground followed by growth upward as a vine requiring neighboring plants for support. Dr. Croat will study morphological features of leaf, stem, flower, and fruit to discern reliable characters for distinguishing species. An extensive survey of herbarium holdings of specimens of these species will enable detailed mapping of the geographic ranges and habitat preferences of the species. Growth of selected taxa in the greenhouse will permit close observation of subtle morphological features as well as study of flowering and fruiting seasonality (if present at all). A comprehensive taxonomic revision of the estimated 70 species, with analysis of generic relationships with other aroids, will be completed at the end of the project. The work will contribute to our understanding of tropical plant diversity, and will make available materials and specimens for other researchers and students.