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Introduction: Under natural conditions, the roots of the shrub, Phyllanthus acuminatus, produce low concentrations of secondary metabolites of medicinal interest. This opens an opportunity for in vitro culture, to increase metabolite concentration. Objective: To determine the optimal liquid culture conditions for hairy roots of P. acuminatus. Methods: We used biomass growth evaluation according to initial inoculum percentage (0.50 and 0.10 %), percentage of medium nutrients (100, 50 and 25 %) and agitation rate (90, 100 and 110 min-1) (N=15 replications). Results: The best liquid culture conditions were: 0.10 % of initial inoculum, nutrients at 25 % and 90 min-1 for the agitation rate. There are differences among hairy roots and non-transformed roots. Conclusions: It is feasible to produce P. acuminatus hairy roots at a large scale, applying and implementing the evaluated conditions of inoculum percentage, nutrients in the medium and agitation rates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phyllanthus subcarnosus, which is endemic to Cuba and Hispaniola is the only species in P. sect. Omphacodes. The representatives of Eastern Cuba had been considered a species (P. leonis) independent from those of Western Cuba due to the greater dimensions of their terminal branches, leaves, capsules, seeds and also for their floral characters. However, they are currently considered as a single species. In view of these divergent taxonomic treatments, characterize the morphological diversity of P. subcarnosus is assessed, and its nomenclature, as well as its geographical distribution in Cuba are updated, based on the study of 159 herbarium specimens that represents 59 individual plants, and on the evaluation of 56 vegetative and 63 reproductive characters. The characters that distinguish P. subcarnosus plants in Cuba from its congeners are: hardened cataphylls, elliptical or ovate leaf blade, bisexual cymules, male flowers with three stamens, female flowers with three bifid styles united in a column at the base, and fruits with 6 asymmetrically trigonous seeds. The most important vegetative characters to characterize its variability are the length of the floriferous branches, the number of leaves per floriferous branch and the length of the leaf blade. The nomenclature of the species was updated by clarifying the correct authorship of the name P. subcarnosus is established. The distribution was updated by adding 21 new locations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phyllanthus ×pallidus, of parentals P. discolor and P. comptus, is the only hybrid within the genus Phyllanthus registered for Cuba. Prior studies in the hybrid were not conclusive in the macroscopic morphology and the pollen viability, in addition to the fact that other researchers assumed P. orbicularis and P. discolor as the parents of the hybrid. The present study aimed to compare the morphological characters of the shrub species of Phyllanthus in the Sierra de Cajálbana, to corroborate the origin of P. ×pallidus and its possible parents. Collections were made in Cajálbana of P. discolor and P. ×pallidus and the data previously published in Cajálbana of P. orbicularis were taken. In the case of P. comptus, only herbarium material was used since it could not be found in the field at sampling time. Qualitative and quantitative comparisons between the different taxa in terms of vegetative and reproductive morphological characters were made. The pollen viability in the different taxa was analyzed. Morphological anomalies were found in the flowers of the hybrid and the pollen in every analyzed taxa presented a high percentage of viability. The results obtained proved that P. ×pallidus is vegetatively similar to P. orbicularis and reproductively to P. discolor, which could confirm that P. ×pallidus is a hybrid and that its most probable parents are P. orbicularis and P. discolor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phyllanthus is one of the largest genera within the angiosperms and in Cuba it is represented by 50 species. Among these species is P. pseudocicca that presents ancestral features within the genus. The infrageneric classification of this taxon has not been fully clarified and it has been included in several subgenera within Phyllanthus due to several similarities with other representatives of the genus. However, there is no complete morphological description of the species, since the characteristics of its fruits and seeds are not known. Therefore, the aim of this work is to describe fruits and seeds, update the nomenclature and distribution data of P. pseudoccica. For this, 89 herbarium materials and several field surveys were reviewed where individuals with fruits were found and different characters, from the fruit and seeds, were analyzed. For the nomenclatural work, the protologues and type materials of the names of the taxa referred to Cuba were reviewed and the geographical distribution was updated based on what was recorded in the consulted herbarium specimens. The tipification of two names were made: Phyllanthus brevistipulus y Phyllanthus punctulatus. The fruit of P. pseudocicca is a subglobose capsule, with a fleshy exocarp, green, smooth and with two seeds per loculum, of equal size, brown, trigonal, symmetrical and verruculose. It is an endemic tree of Eastern Cuba, typical of the forests of the Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa mountain system, although its populations consist of few individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Witches' broom and frosty pod rot of cacao caused by Moniliophthora perniciosa (Stahel) Aime and Moniliophthora roreri H.C. Evans et al. respectively, are two diseases original from South America with a limited geographic distribution and a strong impact on production and quality of cacao. The reports of their presence in Cuba are not exact and the pathogens were not found in the surveys conducted by the author between 2013 and 2016. The previous reports on the witches' broom presence in Cuba were related to the disease known as green point gall caused by Fusarium decemcellulare Brick. In the present paper, the studies carried out by the author on the symptoms, morphological structures, and colonies of both pathogens in Ecuador, Venezuela, and Costa Rica are documented, and the information on their phylogenetic relationships, epidemiology and management are updated. The spores of both species are disseminated by water, wind, and infected plant parts. Cacao harvesters are important vectors of M. roreri spores being transported on clothes. Prevention and management of both diseases are based on strict quarantine measures; sanitation and destruction of branches, stems, and infected fruits; use of resistant clones and applications of fungicides and antagonists to stems, branches, and fruits. Both species are included in the list of quarantined pests of Cuba. The presence of M. roreri in Jamaica is a threat for the cacao production in the west of Cuba. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Melanchroia chephise Stoll, 1782 (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Ennominae) is a species widely distributed from southern North America to South America and Lesser Antilles. The presence of M. chephise is recorded for the first time on plants Phyllanthus niruri L. and Breynia disticha J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Phyllanthaceae) in the garden of a peri-urban residential complex of Lara State, Venezuela and aspects of its life cycle were determined under laboratory conditions. The duration of the life cycle was 27.40 ± 0.90 days (egg 6.00 ± 0.00 days, larva 17.60 ± 1.10 days and pupa 7.00 ± 1.90 days). It is necessary to perform further studies into the biology of M. chephise, especially with the herbivore - host plant interaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eriococcus leguminicola Morrison and Eriococcus mendozae Morrison are redescribed and illustrated; their distribution and hosts are amplified. The adult female and the first-instar nymph of Eriococcus santiaguensis sp. nov. and Eriococcus tucumanensis sp. nov. are described and illustrated. A key to these species is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]