Myrtaceae
Future Plans
Collections (2006 onwards)
The Myrtaceae and Myrtales collections will be maintained in an organised and taxonomically up to date system corresponding to the World Checklist of Myrtaceae. Collections will be curated and protected while making them accessible to researchers and easy to use. High quality curatorial support will continue to be provided to all visitors to the section.
Kew staff will continue to make and acquire targeted Myrtaceae collections with a particular aim to fill gaps in generic and specific representation of tribe Myrteae and subtribe Myrciinae (Myrtaceae).
Baseline Plant Diversity Research (2006 onwards)
The World Checklist of Myrtaceae will continue to be edited and maintained through collaboration with international Myrtaceae researchers and according to the taxonomically up to date arrangement of the Kew Myrtaceae collection, working towards the point where Myrtaceae taxonomy is sufficiently stable for the checklist to be published in hard copy.
Flora Neotropica accounts will be published for Gomidesia and Myrcia s.l. An existing database of c. 2,500 georeferenced Gomidesia records will be made core field compliant and merged with the Myrciinae specimen database. The database will be maintained up to date with all new acquisitions, determinations and georeferences where appropriate.
The Myrtaceae treatment for the Flora of the Guianas will be initiated, the coordination of contributing authors will be overseen by Kew staff and treatments of Myrciinae genera will be provided.
The problem of excessive names per species in Myrciinae genera resulting from Otto Berg’s ‘taxonomic inflation’ in the 1850’s will be addressed with support from phylogenetic analyses being carried out at Kew and in collaboration with Marcos Sobral (University of Belo Horizonte). Extensive new synonymisation will be published in Myrcia s.s. This with contributions by Kew staff will be disseminated as a nomenclatural paper while digital images of types of the names concerned will be provided on the internet as part of an on-line database of South American Myrteae.
The Myrciinae database and scanned images of the types will contribute to an online database of South American Myrteae, to be developed in collaboration with the Arizona State University and others.
A taxonomic revision of Marlierea from South Eastern Brazil will be published in collaboration with the University of Campinas.
A specimen-based checklist of the Myrtaceae of North Eastern Brazil will be published based on data gathered under the Brazilian Data Repatriation Program.
Comparative Plant Biology (2006 onwards)
The current molecular-based phylogeny of tribe Myrteae will be published and character evolution in the tribe examined. Phylogenies will be dated and subjected to biogeographical analysis using a variety of methodologies including dispersal variance analysis (DIVA). Nodes needing better resolution will be identified and targeted for analysis with further gene regions. Sampling will be increased where possible to represent all Myrteae genera.
A robust phylogeny of Myrciinae will be generated based on morphological and molecular characters, in collaboration with the University of Campinas. Character evolution in the subtribe will be examined and a new infrageneric classification of the Myrciinae will be produced.
A generic/infrageneric revision of subtribe Myrciinae will be prepared based on the above data.
A phylogenetic study of Eugenia and subtribe Eugeniinae based on three genes will be published with the University of São Paulo.
The Anatomy of the dicotyledons Myrtales volume will be published as well as broad wood anatomical character surveys of tribe Chamelaucieae and Myrteae.
The analytical facilities at Kew will be used to identify more of the flavones and flavanones in the Myrtaceae studied so far. The distribution of these compounds among the different alliances will then be compared. It is planned to publish two comparative phytochemistry papers, one on the identification of the flavonoids in different species, and the second on a comparison between the distribution of phenolic and polyhydroxyalkaloid compounds among the alliances being suggested by the DNA-based phylogeny.
A tribal overview of Myrteae phytochemistry, anatomy, macromorphology and molecular systematics will be compiled and published.
Sustainable Utilisation of Plant Resources (2006 onwards)
Kew Myrtaceae staff will continue to contribute occasional advice on Myrtaceae cultivation and management. Staff will continue to provide expertise for the Sustainable Utilisation programme.
Conservation and Environmental Monitoring (2006 onwards)
IUCN conservation assessments for Gomidesia and Myrcia s.l. will be prepared and disseminated as Flora Neotropica accounts are published.
GIS-based distribution maps of the Atlantic forest/cerrado Myrciinae will be prepared. The diversity of the subtribe in these areas will be examined and the potential use of the tribe for delimiting areas of endemism in Myrciinae and general biogeography will be assessed. Preliminary conservation assessments will be generated from the Myrciinae database for all species from the Atlantic forest/cerrado biomes.