New Publication - Unveiling the aftermath of conflict and herbarium specimens’ loss

HUH Research Fellow Jenifer de Carvalho Lopes has a new publication in Taxon, her first paper on her fellowship research on the systematics of Vellozia. Vellozia is a genus of plants found mainly in rocky grasslands in Brazil, crucial ecosystems in biodiversity hotspots that are threatened by mining and livestock farming. “Unveiling the aftermath of conflict and herbarium specimens’ loss: Typifications of species described by Pohl within the Neotropical genus Vellozia” aims to clarify the names and classifications of Vellozia species, aiding in their conservation efforts.

Abstract: Johann Emanuel Pohl (1782–1834) was a Bohemian-born Austrian botanist who, together with Johann Baptist von Spix and Carl Friedrich Philipp von Martius, traveled to Brazil from 1817 to 1821. He described several new plant species from Brazil, including those in the genus Vellozia (Velloziaceae). The material analyzed by Pohl was deposited mainly at herbarium W; however, part of the collection was destroyed by war accidents, including most of the types of Vellozia. Vellozia is a Neotropical genus with its main distribution in the Brazilian vegetation named campos rupestres. Vellozia is among the most abundant and species-rich vascular plant genera in the campos rupestres with 125 recognized species. Pohl described 14 new species of Vellozia. We designate lectotypes for the names V. gardneri (a synonym of V. glauca), V. graminea, V. phalocarpa, V. pusilla, and V. triquetra.

Lopes, J.C., Magri, R.A. and Prado, J. (2024), Unveiling the aftermath of conflict and herbarium specimens’ loss: Typifications of species described by Pohl within the Neotropical genus Vellozia. TAXON. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.13218