Taxonomic Revision of Dieffenbachia of Mexico and Central America

9306891克罗地亚在原生生境实地采集植物，然后进行密集的实验室和植物标本馆研究，这仍然是查明热带丰富的植物生命并将其分类的最有效手段。密苏里州植物园的托马斯·克罗特博士是芳香族或水龙属的专家，他正在研究墨西哥和中美洲的新热带菊属，估计有30到35个物种，为该类群的分类学专著做准备。就美国的商业销售而言，该属包括第二重要的观赏植物种类；然而，物种之间的关系、用于育种的种质来源、地理范围、授粉和传播生物学以及可能的杂交方面鲜为人知。从活体材料和植物标本中提取的有关植物的描述信息被输入计算机数据库，感兴趣的研究人员和学生最终可以通过互联网获取该数据库。这项研究将改进对每个物种的诊断，初步说明系统发育关系，绘制地理范围图，记录开花和结果物候和其他生态学方面的情况，以及可靠分配科学名称的识别关键。热带植物多样性的清单仍然是一小群专注的分类学专家正在进行的努力。他们创造的藏品，包括植物标本和植物园中的活材料，以及公布的信息和现在的计算机化记录，都成为明智使用和管理的资源。

9306891 Croat Field collecting of plants in native habitats followed by intensive laboratory and herbarium study remain the most efficient means of identifying and classifying the rich plant life of the tropics. Dr. Thomas Croat of the Missouri Botanical Garden, a specialist on the aroid or philodendron family, is studying the neotropical genus Dieffenbachia in Mexico and Central America, with an estimated 30-35 species, in preparation for a taxonomic monograph of the group. The genus includes the second most important species of ornamental plant in terms of commercial sales in the U.S.; however, relationships among species, sources of germplasm for breeding, geographical ranges, and aspects of pollination and dispersal biology and possible hybridization are poorly known. Descriptive information about the plants, taken from living material and herbarium specimens, is entered in a computer database, which eventually will be accessible over the Internet to interested researchers and students. The research will lead to improved diagnosis of each species, a preliminary account of phylogenetic relationships, mapping of geographic ranges, notes on flowering and fruiting phenology and other aspects of ecology, and identification keys for reliable assignment of scientific names. The inventory of plant diversity in the tropics remains an ongoing endeavor by a small group of devoted taxonomic specialists. The collections they create, both herbarium specimens and living material in botanical gardens, and the published information and, now, computerized records, become resources for wise use and stewardship.