Summary During a revision of herbarium collections, previously unrecognised specimens of Pilea from Guerrero and Oaxaca, Mexico were identified. These specimens exhibit characteristics similar to Pilea vulcanica and P. dauciodora — a species complex present in northern Mesoamerica. Through a multivariate analysis incorporating morphological, geographical and bioclimatic data, they were recognised as a distinct new taxon. It is...

Main conclusion The recalcitrant seeds of Brosimum alicastrum , a widespread tropical tree, have an exceptional ability to resist desiccation, which we propose has contributed to the dominance of the species across a broad precipitation gradient in forests of Latin America. Abstract Seed desiccation sensitivity is relatively common in tree species of tropical rain forests. For such species, pre-germination survival may be as i...

Boehmeria , as currently circumscribed, comprises 52 species and has a pantropical distribution. Liang et al. propose a sectional classification of Boehmeria based on the phylogenetic analysis of SNP data for 20 species and an additional 10 subspecific taxa of these at the rank of variety or form. They restrict their sampling to species documented in China. We found many shortcomings in the sampling and analyses which we feel...