Aliso 

About: Aliso is an academic journal published by California Botanic Garden. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Flora & Monophyly. It has an ISSN identifier of 0065-6275. It is also open access. Over the lifetime, 574 publications have been published receiving 10999 citations.

The phytogeography and ecology of the coastal Atacama and Peruvian deserts

Abstract: The Atacama and Peruvian Deserts form a continuous belt for more than 3500 km along the western escarpment of the Andes from northern Peru to northernmost Chile. These arid environments are due to a climatic regime dominated by the cool, north-flowing Humboldt (Peruvian) Current. Atmospheric conditions influenced by a stable, subtropical anticyclone result in a mild, uniform coastal climate nearly devoid of rain, but with the regular formation of thick stratus clouds below I 000 m during the winter months. Where coastal topography is low and flat, the clouds dissipate inward over broad areas with little biological impact. However, where isolated mountains or steep coastal slopes intercept the clouds, a fog-zone develops. This moisture allows the development of plant communities termed lomas formations. These floristic assemblages function as islands separated by hyperarid habitat devoid of plant life. Since growth is dependent upon available moisture, an understanding of climatic patterns is essential in efforts to interpret present-day plant distributions. Topography and substrate combine to influence patterns of moisture availability. The ecological requirements and tolerances of individual species ultimately determines community composition. Species endemism exceeds 40% and suggests that the lomas formations have evolved in isolation from their nearest geographic neighbors in the Andes. While the arid environment is continuous, there appears to be a significant barrier to dispersal between 18° and 22\"8 latitude in extreme northern Chile. Less than 7o/o of a total flora,

Phylogeny and new intrageneric classification of Allium (Alliaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal DNA its sequences

Abstract: The internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA was sequenced from 195 representative species of Allium, two species of Nothoscordum, and one species each of Ipheion, Dichelostemma, and Tulbaghia. Within the Allium species the lengths of the ITS regions were in a range from 612 to 661 base pairs and pairwise genetic distances reached up to 46%. The ITS data supported the inclusion of Nectaroscordum, Caloscordum, and Milula into Allium. Subgenera Rhizirideum and Allium, as well as sects. Reticulatobulbosa and Oreiprason were non-monophyletic taxa. Based on the phylogenetic relations, a new classification of genus Allium consisting of 15 monophyletic subgenera is presented. Sections Microscordum, Anguinum, Porphyroprason, Vvedenskya, Butomissa, Cyathophora, and Reticulatobulbosa are raised to subgeneric rank. Sections Austromontana N. Friesen, Eduardia N. Friesen, Mediasia F. 0. Khassanov, S. C. Yengalycheva et N. Friesen, Nigrimontana N. Friesen, Falcatifolia N. Friesen, and Condensatum N. Friesen are newly described. Series Daghestanica, Pallasia, and Scabriscapa, as well as subsects. Eremoprasum, Longivaginata, and Sikkimensia are raised to sectional rank. A taxonomic conspectus of Allium at sectional level is given.

An Updated Phylogenetic Classification of the Flowering Plants

Abstract: This update of my classification of the flowering plants, or Angiospermae, is based upon about 800 pertinent books, monographs, and other botanical papers published since my last synopsis appeared in the Nordic Journal of Science in 1983. Also I have narrowed my familyand ordinal-gap concepts to bring acceptance of family and ordinal limits more in line with those of current taxonomists. This new information and the shift in my phylogenetic philosophy have caused significant changes in my interpretation of relationships and numbers and content of taxa. Also the ending \"-anae\" has been accepted for superorders in place in the traditional but inappropriate\" -iflorae.\" A new phyletic \"shrub\" replaces earlier versions, and attempts to indicate relationships among the superorders, orders, and suborders. One table includes a statistical summary of flowering-plant taxa: ca. 235,000 species of 12,615 genera, 440 families, and 711 subfamilies and undivided families in 28 superorders, 70 orders, and 7 5 suborders of Angiospermae. Three other tables summarize the indigenous distribution of the families and subfamilies of Angiospermae about the world.

PHYLOGENY, ADAPTIVE RADIATION, AND HISTORICAL BIOGEOGRAPHY OF BROMELIACEAE INFERRED FROM ndhF SEQUENCE DATA

Abstract: Cladistic analysis of ndhf sequences identifies eight major bromeliad clades arranged in ladderlike fashion. The traditional subfamilies Tillandsioideae and Bromelioideae are monophyletic, but Pitcairnioideae are paraphyletic, requiring the description of four new subfamilies, recircurnscription of Pitcairnioideae and Navioideae, the sinking of Ayensua, and description of the new genus Sequencia. Brocchinioideae are basalmost, followed by Lindmanioideae, both restricted to the Guayana Shield. Next is an unresolved trichotomy involving Hechtioideae from Central America, Tillandsioideae, and the remaining bromeliads in subfamilies Navioideae, Pitcairnioideae, Puyoideae, and Bromelioideae. Bromeliads arose as C 3 terrestrial plants on moist infertile sites in the Guayana Shield roughly 70 Mya, spread centripelally in the New World, and reached tropical West Africa (Pitcairnia feliciana) via long-distance dispersal about 10 Mya. Modern lineages began to diverge from each other 19 Mya and invaded drier areas in Central and South America beginning 15 Mya, coincident with a major adaptive radiation involving the repeated evolution of epiphytism, CAM photosynthesis, impounding leaves, several features of leaf/trichome anatomy, and accelerated diversification at the generic level. This "bromeliad revolution" occurred after the uplift of the northern Andes and shift of the Amazon to its present course. Epiphytism may have accelerated speciation by increasing ability to colonize along the length of the Andes, while favoring the occupation of a cloud-forest landscape frequently dissected by drier valleys. Avian pollination (mainly by hummingbirds) evolved at least twice ca. 13 Mya; entomophily was ancestral. Hechtia, Abromeitiella-Deuterocohnia-Dyckia-Encholirium, and Puya exhibit a remarkable pattern of concerted convergence in six anatomical and physiological leaf traits adapted to drought.