Systematics of Gladiolus and Radinosiphon (Iridaceae) in Tropical Africa and Madagascar

鸢尾科是一中等规模的单子科植物，共有92属1620种，主要分布在南半球。它是迄今为止得到详细研究的为数不多的大型单子房科之一，它正在成为单子房植物地理辐射、适应和进化模式的典范。密苏里植物园的Peter Goldblatt博士提出的研究包括对热带非洲物种剑兰和Radinosiphon的基本分类修订。剑兰属是剑兰亚科最大的属，共有185种，其中112种分布在非洲南部，60种分布在热带非洲和马达加斯加，20种分布在南欧、地中海盆地和中东。自1898年以来，这两个属都没有被彻底研究过，它们共同构成了非洲鸢尾科最后一个重要的属，尽管剑兰具有明显的园艺重要性，而且在种的划分和它们的正确名称上存在相当大的混乱。野外采集和植物标本室研究将获得形态学和染色体特征，对物种识别和比较有用。剑兰在地理上具有特别的意义，因为它是分布在南部和热带非洲的少数属之一，在热带、温带南部非洲和南非西南海岸的冬季降雨区都有显著的辐射。为该属建立一个基础健全的分类学，将有可能比较其整个范围内的进化模式，并确定非洲大陆上的地方性和物种形成中心。

Iridaceae are a moderately large family of monocots of some 92 genera and 1620 species distributed mainly in the southern hemisphere. One of the few larger monocot families so far investigated in any detail, it is becoming a model example of the patterns of geographic radiation, adaptation, and evolution in the monocots. The proposed research by Dr. Peter Goldblatt of the Missouri Botanical Garden consists of a basic taxonomic revision of the tropical African species of Gladiolus and Radinosiphon. Gladiolus, largest genus of subfamily Ixioideae, comprises some 185 species of which 112 are southern African, ca. 60 occur in tropical Africa and Madagascar, and 20 species are spread through southern Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and Middle East. Neither genus has been thoroughly studied since 1898 and together they constitute the last significant genera of African Iridaceae for which there are no modern synthetic treatments available, this despite the obvious horticultural importance of Gladiolus and considerable confusion over the delimitation of species and their correct names. Field collecting and herbarium study will yield morphological and chromosomal characters useful in species recognition and comparison. Gladiolus is of particular interest geographically as it is one of few genera distributed throughout southern and tropical Africa that has radiated significantly both in the tropics, in temperate southern Africa, and in the winter rainfall area of the southwest coast of South Africa. The establishment of a soundly based taxonomy for the genus will make it possible to compare patterns of evolution over its entire range and to identify centers of endemism and speciation on the African continent.