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Brother Marie-Victorin was the founder of the Montreal Botanical Garden, and one of the most important figures in the botanical history of Canada. Between 1938 and 1944, he undertook seven major plant exploration expeditions to Cuba that resulted in the discovery of several new Cuban endemics. Archival research carried out in the Division de la Gestion de Documents et des Archives (University of Montreal) revealed that during his voyages to Cuba, he made three major side-trips in 1940, 1941, and 1942 to other regions of the Caribbean. Specifically to Barranquilla (Colombia), Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Trinidad, and Yucatan (Mexico). We could not find any of his written accounts of his 1940 voyage to the Yucatan; however, we were able to find a collection of photographic slides. An unpublished 33-page travelogue of his 1941 trip to Colombia, Jamaica, and Trinidad was discovered, studied, and translated into English, with annotations. Furthermore, we examined and interpreted two of his published papers that described the 1942 visits to Haiti and Puerto Rico. During these three "out-of-Cuba" voyages, no plant material was collected; however, Brother Marie-Victorin's written accounts and the 502 photos that he took provide unique insights into Caribbean society of the 1940s, as well as on the naturalists and botanists working in the region, and the plants and habitats they encountered. Brother Marie-Victorin's records highlight racial discrimination against those of African descent in Jamaica and Trinidad. It appears that these trips did not lead to major botanical research initiatives. Furthermore, the few collections that he made for potential propagation in botanic gardens or botanical institutes are not currently being grown any longer. The trips had clear leisure aims and they were centered on learning about the society, the flora, and plant science research activities of the visited areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Myrtaceae are a large family of trees and shrubs, including ca. 2500 species within the predominantly Neotropical and taxonomically problematic tribe Myrteae. Nearly 500 species of Myrteae are endemic to the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot, but few have been represented in phylogenetic systematic studies to date. The major goals of this survey are to identify the main lineages of Myrteae present in the Greater Antilles and potential clades for further investigation. Specific objectives are to evaluate the monophyly and placement of the following: (1) the three genera of Myrtaceae considered endemic to the Caribbean Islands (Calyptrogenia, Hottea, Mitranthes); (2) Calycolpus and Pseudanamomis sensu Bisse; and (3) Greater Antillean species of Plinia. To accomplish these aims, species of Myrtaceae representing all genera native to the Greater Antilles were sampled from across the region for placement within previously established phylogenetic frameworks for Myrteae and the large genus Eugenia. In total, 160 terminal taxa of Myrtaceae (89 Caribbean Islands endemics) were analyzed for this study. Phylogenetic inference was conducted by maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods on alignments of DNA sequence data from one nuclear (ITS) and three chloroplast (psbA‐trnH, ndhF‐rpl32, trnL‐trnF) regions. Results of both types of analysis were congruent with each other and with the major clades recovered in previous studies, but some conflict was observed between nuclear and chloroplast regions involving congeneric species. Calycorectes (= Hottea) ekmanii from eastern Cuba was found to be closely related to Calycolpus within subtribe Myrtinae. Subtribes Myrciinae, Pliniinae, Pimentinae (Pimenta and Psidium groups) and Eugeniinae contained other Greater Antillean species. Sampled species of Plinia from Cuba emerged within Myrciaria, and Mitranthes was found to be non‐monophyletic. All sampled species of Eugenia endemic to the Caribbean fell within E. sect. Excelsae (including Calycolpus sensu Bisse), E. sect. Racemosae and E. sect. Umbellatae except for E. cycloidea, which was associated with the Old World species of E. sect. Jossinia. Within Eugenia sect. Umbellatae, Caribbean species formed two major clades, designated C1 and C2, containing species of Calyptrogenia and Hottea from southern Hispaniola, a polyphyletic Pseudanamomis sensu Bisse and the Lathberry Clade, a novel group of Eugenia species centered in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Calyptrogenia and Hottea species from southern Hispaniola are transferred to Eugenia along with Pseudanamomis nipensis, while Mitranthes species are transferred to Myrcia. Two additional combinations are made within Eugenia and Pimenta in accordance with the results, and lectotypes are designated as appropriate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premise of research. Biogeography has improved understanding of evolution and diversification of organisms on both continental and island systems. One complicated island group in terms of geological history and biogeographic pattern is the Caribbean island system. A comparison across taxonomic groups does not result in overarching patterns for this group of islands. Columnea has the greatest number of species endemic to the Caribbean for any genus in Gesneriaceae that is not mostly endemic to the Caribbean with 16 species. Thirteen of these species are found on Jamaica, the remaining three each endemic to Cuba, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico. In addition, populations of Columnea sanguinea and Columnea scandens are known from both mainland and multiple Caribbean islands. We investigate the pattern of evolution in Caribbean species of Columnea and attempt to explain the large number of species found on the island of Jamaica relative to the other islands. We explicitly test whether Caribbean species of Columnea are monophyletic and whether the 13 species endemic to Jamaica are a monophyletic group. This genus can help understand biogeographic patterns and modes of speciation in the Caribbean. Methodology. We sampled all Caribbean species of Columnea using DNA sequence data and phylogenetic methods to understand the pattern of diversity to determine whether multiple or single introductions could explain the diversity on the Caribbean islands. Pivotal results. The Caribbean species do not form a monophyletic group. The Jamaican species are monophyletic, and the endemic Cuban species, Columnea tincta , is sister to 12 of the Jamaican species, with Columnea pubescens sister to C. tincta + remaining Jamaican species. Most Jamaican species share similar corolla morphologies to section Columnea. Although never recovered as part of section Columnea , approximately unbiased tests cannot reject a sister group relationship of the Jamaican/Cuban endemic clade to section Columnea but can reject inclusion in section Columnea. Conclusions. The high diversity of Columnea in the Caribbean is due to the disproportionate number of species on Jamaica, but there is no obvious explanation for the radiation on this island, despite considering island size, topography, pollinators, and dispersers. The large number of species could be attributed to over-splitting on Jamaica, but even if a narrower concept were followed, and four of the species were combined as varieties of Columnea hirsuta as earlier taxonomy had predicted, the number of morphologically distinctive species would still be nine and much greater than that of the other islands. Our data also indicate that C. hirsuta sensu lato is not monophyletic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nomenclature of Dendrocousinsia (Hippomaneae, Euphorbiaceae) is revised and we present four new taxonomic combinations within the genus. It comprises six species and one variety. Extensive field surveys were conducted and conservation assessments are presented based on the IUCN redlist system for threatened species. Three of the species are Critically Endangered as each of them has a very restricted distribution. The other three species are Vulnerable. There has been a long debate pertinent to the taxonomic placement of Dendrocousinsia. Until extensive phylogenetic studies are performed within the Hippomaneae we propose to maintain this group as a distinct genus and not as a section within Sebastiania. This study highlights Dendrocousinsia as restricted to Jamaica with a high conservation priority because of its uniqueness and the Critically Endangered status of half of its species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Portlandia(Rubiaceae) is a genus endemic to Jamaica. The volatile organic constituents ofP. albiflora,P. coccinea,P. grandiflora,P. latifoliaandP. proctoriiwere analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled with capillary mass spectrometry. The main constituents detected in these species are 1-penten-3-one, hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, linalool, borneol and methyl salicylate. All species are rich in aliphatic aldehydes, mainly represented by (E)-2-hexenal, that range from 17% (P. latifolia) to 90% (P. coccinea) of total volatiles. The high content of aldehydes is characteristic toPortlandiaspecies and may serve as a chemical marker to differentiatePortlandiafrom related genera within the Rubiaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article provides information on the noteworthy collections of Heterotis rotundifolia at the Portland Parish in Jamaica and at the Saint David Parish in Dominica. It says that the Jamaican collection represents the first documented naturalized occurrence in the country of the commonly cultivated herbaceous melastome. The author adds that the other collection represents the first documented naturalized occurrence of the species in Dominica. The qualities of H. rotundifolia are also discussed.