A Taxonomic Revision of Pleurothyrium (Lauraceae)

密苏里植物园的Henk van der Werff博士将研究美洲热带月桂属（Pleurothyrium）的各种植物，以描绘它们的特征，并绘制它们的地理范围和栖息地。樟科是在美洲和亚洲热带地区最常见的热带森林树木群之一。该家族也具有巨大的经济利益，作为商业木材、可食用水果（例如鳄梨）、香料（肉桂、月桂叶）和芳香油（樟脑、红木油）的来源。然而，由于植物标本馆的收藏有限，而且花和果往往不显眼，需要专门的搜索才能收集到，因此对种和属的分类知识处于贫乏状态。沃夫博士的目标是美洲热带地区一个属的大约35种，开始对这个科进行长期的分类重新评估。到目前为止，已经记录了叶片形状和脉络、毛状体（植物毛发）和花形态的相当大的变化，新的野外收集将有助于评估这些特征在野外和植物标本室中区分物种的可靠性。该小组的分类学专著将包括正确的科学物种名称分配，物种地理范围的绘制，开花和结果季节的注释，营养形态的描述，以及植物种子和果实的传粉者和可能的动物传播者的初步数据。这一努力将有助于不断清点热带植物资源。

Dr. Henk van der Werff of the Missouri Botanical Garden will study species of the laurel genus Pleurothyrium of the American tropics, in order to characterize them and map their geographical ranges and habitats. The Lauraceae family is one of the most commonly encountered groups of tropical forest trees, both in the American and Asian tropics. The family is of great economic interest as well, as a source of commercial timber, edible fruits (avocados for example), spices (cinnamon, bay leaves), and aromatic oils (camphor, rosewood oil). Nonetheless, taxonomic knowledge of the species and genera is in a poor state, because of limited collections in herbaria and because the flowers and fruits are often inconspicuous and require dedicated searching to collect. Dr. Werff has targeted the estimated 35 species of one genus of the American tropics, to begin a long-term taxonomic reappraisal of the family. Considerable variation in leaf shape and venation, in trichomes (plant hairs), and in floral morphology has been documented so far, and new field collections will facilitate an assessment of the reliability of these features for distinguishing species in the field and herbarium. The taxonomic monograph of the group will include correct assignment of scientific species names, mapping of the geographic ranges of species, notes on flowering and fruiting seasonality, description of vegetative morphology, and preliminary data on pollinators and likely animal dispersers of the plants' seeds and fruits. This effort will contribute to on-going inventory of tropical plant resources.