Charles H Stirton | University of Cape Town (original) (raw)

Papers by Charles H Stirton

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

Molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the early-branching papilionoid legumes have revealed m... more Molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the early-branching papilionoid legumes have revealed many new clades and supported several generic realignments, yet the monophyly of some of the constituent genera has remained unassessed. This is the case for the Amazonian genus Clathrotropis of the tribe Ormosieae. The genus, as traditionally circumscribed, comprises seven species of trees, including some of the most ecologically hyper dominant taxa across the Amazonian terra firme and seasonally flooded forests. Here we employed a Bayesian analysis of densely sampled nuclear ribosomal ITS/5.8S and plastid matK and trnL intron DNA sequences to evaluate the monophyly of Clathrotropis. All individual and concatenated analyses concurred in showing the non-monophyletic nature of Clathrotropis, whose species fall into three distantly related lineages: one, comprised of C. brachypetala, C. brunnea, C. glaucophylla and the ecologically dominant C. macrocarpa, is circumscribed here as the new ge...

Bothalia, 1984

The species Rubus ludwigii EckI, Zeyh. is re-examined and a key is provided to the subspecies rec... more The species Rubus ludwigii EckI, Zeyh. is re-examined and a key is provided to the subspecies recognized, A new subspecies spatiosus C. H. Stirton is described. R. rigidus Sm. var. longepedicellatus C. E. Gust, is raised to specific rank, viz R. longepedicellatus (C. E. Gust.) C. H. Stirton.

Bothalia, 1982

THE CORRECT NAME FOR PLANTS CALLED AGRIMONIA ODORATA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Bothalia, 1982

THE IDENTITY OF BOERHAAVIA PTEROCARPA IN SOUTH AFRICA

Bothalia, 1982

Notes on African plants VARIOUS AUTHORS APOCYNACEAE CATHARANTHUS AND VINCA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A g... more Notes on African plants VARIOUS AUTHORS APOCYNACEAE CATHARANTHUS AND VINCA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A good deal of confusion regarding the correct name of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don has existed in the past. This pantropical weed has been commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as Vinca rosea L. But, as Lawrence (1959), Farnsworth (1961) and Steam (1973, 1975) have convincingly established that Vinca and Catharanthus are distinct genera, differing in 34 morphological characters, cytology, chemistry and geographical distribution, there should be no further confusion. Vinca, with six species, is native to Europe, western and central Asia and has become naturalized in North America, whereas Catharanthus, with eight species, occurs in Madagascar, with one of the species in India. One of its members C. roseus has become a pantropical weed. The genus Vinca was established by Linnaeus in 1753 when he described two species V. minor and V. major. In 1759 he added V. rosea (now the accepted lectotype of Catharanthus). This species was separated by Reichenbach (1828) as the genus Lochnera. This name remained a nomen nudum until Endlicher provided a description in his Genera Plantarum 583 no. 3406 (1838). The name is illegitimate, however, as it is a later homonym of Lochneria Scop. (1777) and a synonym of Catharan thus G. Don (1837). The correct citation for the Madagascan periwinkle is therefore as follows:

South African Journal of Botany, 2017

therefore continues, and updates are published annually online at redlist.sanbi.org. The conserva... more therefore continues, and updates are published annually online at redlist.sanbi.org. The conservation status of plant species are widely used by government agencies and private-sector organizations in development planning, environmental impact assessments, conservation, and protected area expansion plans. Outcomes of assessments include species that are being assessed, added to the Red List for the first time, and those species being reassessed and moved into a different category of threat. Due to the significant amount of plants species the assessments are based on priority scale that gives precedence to species in areas under threat, species that are newly described and those species with new field information.

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020

Eriosema comprises c. 150 species and has a pantropical distribution and two centres of diversity... more Eriosema comprises c. 150 species and has a pantropical distribution and two centres of diversity, Africa and America. The species occur in tropical savannas and grasslands, including the cerrado in Brazil. They have adapted to these environments by developing specialized underground organs, and an abundance of trichomes. Here we present the first comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of Eriosema, including species from its entire distribution range and generating 391 new DNA sequences. We sampled 140 species from nine genera of Cajaninae, of which 94 (60% of the genus) were Eriosema. Our analyses were based on the nuclear ITS and plastid rpl32 and trnQ regions, and used maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of individual and combined data sets. In all analyses, Eriosema was resolved as monophyletic, but its interspecific relationships are not well resolved. Rhynchosia is not monophyletic, and some African Rhynchosia spp. emerged together as sister to Eriosem...

Background. Feirana quadranus and Feirana taihangnica, two species of frogs inhabiting in waterbo... more Background. Feirana quadranus and Feirana taihangnica, two species of frogs inhabiting in waterbodies in the Tsinling Mountains, China, are believed to be sister species that diverged 46,000 years ago. In their sympatric area, morphological variations found between the two species imply that the two species had inter-bred. Additionally, F. taihangnica’s polyandrous breeding behavior, without amplexus, would not hinder the potential hybridization. Methods. To verify the hybridization, 117 specimens of F. quadranus and F. taihangnica were collected from eight sampling sites in their sympatric area, and 110 of the specimens were classified morphologically into VV, vw&wv, and ww, representing the putative parental and suspected hybrid types. Their maternal bloodlines were identified using a phylogenetic tree based on a region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. In total, 34 morphometric indices were selected to analyze the morphological variation between 16S-types or among morphotypes. ...

American Journal of Botany, 2004

ABSTRACT To examine relationships and test previous sectional delimitations within Fuchsia, this ... more ABSTRACT To examine relationships and test previous sectional delimitations within Fuchsia, this study used parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses with nuclear ITS and chloroplast trnL-F and rpl16 sequence data for 37 taxa representing all sections of Fuchsia and four outgroup taxa. Results support previous sectional delimitations, except for F. verrucosa, which is related to a Central American clade rather than to section Fuchsia and is described here as a new section Verrucosa. The basal relationships within Fuchsia are poorly resolved, suggesting an initial rapid diversification of the genus. Among the species sampled, there is strong support for a single South Pacific lineage, a southern South American/southern Brazilian lineage, a tropical Andean lineage, and one or two Central American and Mexican lineages. There is no clear support for an austral origin of the genus, as previously proposed, which is more consistent with Fuchsia's sister group relationship with the boreal Circaea. An ultrametric molecular clock analysis (all minimal dates) places the split between Fuchsia and Circaea at 41 million years ago (mya), with the diversification of the modern-day lineages of Fuchsia beginning at 31 mya. The South Pacific Fuchsia lineage branches off around 30 mya, consistent with fossil records from Australia and New Zealand. The large Andean section Fuchsia began to diversify around 22 mya, preceded by the divergence of the Caribbean F. triphylla at 25 mya. The Brazilian members of section Quelusia separated from the southern Andean F. magellanica around 13 mya, and the ancestor of the Tahitian F. cyrtandroides split off from the New Zealand species of section Skinnera approximately 8 mya.

A catalogue of problem plants in South Africa., 1986

The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) is a global consensus view of all known vascular pl... more The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) is a global consensus view of all known vascular plant species (flowering plants, conifers, ferns, clubmosses and firmosses). The Fabaceae subset contains names that have been peer reviewed by external experts from the Legume Phylogeny Working Group's (LPWG) and internal experts, as well as names that are in the process of being edited and reviewed. WCVP aims to represent a global consensus view of current plant taxonomy by reflecting the latest published taxonomies while incorporating the opinions of taxonomists based around the world. WCVP is built on the nomenclatural data provided by the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), which is the product of a collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium, combined with the taxonomic data provided by an international collaborative programme with a large number of contributors from around the world. Our thanks ...

Annals of Botany, 2020

Background and Aims The idea that genome (size) evolution in eukaryotes could be driven by enviro... more Background and Aims The idea that genome (size) evolution in eukaryotes could be driven by environmental factors is still vigorously debated. In extant plants, genome size correlates positively with stomatal size, leading to the idea that conditions enabling the existence of large stomata in fossil plants also supported growth of their genome size. We test this inductive assumption in drought-adapted, prostrate-leaved Cape (South Africa) geophytes where, compared with their upright-leaved geophytic ancestors, stomata develop in a favourably humid microclimate formed underneath their leaves. Methods Stomatal parameters (leaf cuticle imprints) and genome size (flow cytometry) were measured in 16 closely related geophytic species pairs from seven plant families. In each pair, representing a different genus, we contrasted a prostrate-leaved species with its upright-leaved phylogenetic relative, the latter whose stomata are exposed to the ambient arid climate. Key Results Except for one,...

South African Journal of Botany, 2017

Ambiguous species delimitations and nomenclature are a major impediment for users of biodiversity... more Ambiguous species delimitations and nomenclature are a major impediment for users of biodiversity information. This is more pronounced in plant lineages that have experienced recent and rapid diversification or where there is a tendency to lump many species under a general name. The papilionoid genus Psoralea L. is a young lineage (Pliocene, ca. 75 species) which has diversified rapidly within the South African fynbos biome and adjacent habitats. All species bearing 5-19 foliolate leaves were previously often lumped within the polymorphic species Psoralea pinnata, resulting in an unwieldy complex of at least 28 taxa, of which only eleven species are formally named. In this study we analyzed live specimens and populations in the field and herbarium collections, capturing their morphological and geographic diversity, for species delimitation. The results support the recognition of 25 distinct species, of which 14 are described here as new: P.

Taxon, 2017

A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogen... more A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG) Recommended citation: LPWG (2017) This paper is a product of the Legume Phylogeny Working Group, who discussed, debated and agreed on the classification of the Leguminosae presented here, and are listed in alphabetical order. The text, keys and descriptions were written and compiled by a subset of authors indicated by §. Newly generated matK sequences were provided by a subset of authors indicated by *. All listed authors commented on and approved the final manuscript.

FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2014

This study is the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of rhizobia within the Fynbos biome,... more This study is the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of rhizobia within the Fynbos biome, showing that legumes are specifically associated with Burkholderia and Mesorhizobium, the latter underestimated within Fynbos soils.

South African Journal of Botany, 2015

ABSTRACT The genus Psoralea L., comprising about 70 species, has its centre of diversity and ende... more ABSTRACT The genus Psoralea L., comprising about 70 species, has its centre of diversity and endemism in the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Species delimitation and identification in the genus are difficult. Many putative species are unpublished or known only by manuscript names. As a first step to address this problem this study reports on the taxonomy of the Psoralea aphylla complex — a distinct group of species characterised by either a complete absence of leaves, a reduction of the leaves into scales, or the occurrence of small filiform leaflets. Plants may be suffrutices, small to large shrubs, or trees. Morphological and ecological analyses of herbarium specimens and recent field collections distinguished ten species within the complex. Three species (P. aphylla L., P. filifolia Eckl. & Zeyh. and P. peratica C.H.Stirt.) are already published, while the seven other taxa have been known by manuscript names and are formalised in this paper (P. congesta C.H.Stirt. & Muasya; P. fleta C.H.Stirt.; P. gigantea Dludlu, Muasya & C.H.Stirt.; P. pullata C.H.Stirt.; P. ramulosa C.H.Stirt.; P. rigidula C.H.Stirt.; and P. usitata C.H.Stirt.). We provide a key for the identification of all ten species along with full descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps and some notes on the conservation statuses of the species.

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society

Molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the early-branching papilionoid legumes have revealed m... more Molecular phylogenetic studies focused on the early-branching papilionoid legumes have revealed many new clades and supported several generic realignments, yet the monophyly of some of the constituent genera has remained unassessed. This is the case for the Amazonian genus Clathrotropis of the tribe Ormosieae. The genus, as traditionally circumscribed, comprises seven species of trees, including some of the most ecologically hyper dominant taxa across the Amazonian terra firme and seasonally flooded forests. Here we employed a Bayesian analysis of densely sampled nuclear ribosomal ITS/5.8S and plastid matK and trnL intron DNA sequences to evaluate the monophyly of Clathrotropis. All individual and concatenated analyses concurred in showing the non-monophyletic nature of Clathrotropis, whose species fall into three distantly related lineages: one, comprised of C. brachypetala, C. brunnea, C. glaucophylla and the ecologically dominant C. macrocarpa, is circumscribed here as the new ge...

Bothalia, 1984

The species Rubus ludwigii EckI, Zeyh. is re-examined and a key is provided to the subspecies rec... more The species Rubus ludwigii EckI, Zeyh. is re-examined and a key is provided to the subspecies recognized, A new subspecies spatiosus C. H. Stirton is described. R. rigidus Sm. var. longepedicellatus C. E. Gust, is raised to specific rank, viz R. longepedicellatus (C. E. Gust.) C. H. Stirton.

Bothalia, 1982

THE CORRECT NAME FOR PLANTS CALLED AGRIMONIA ODORATA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

Bothalia, 1982

THE IDENTITY OF BOERHAAVIA PTEROCARPA IN SOUTH AFRICA

Bothalia, 1982

Notes on African plants VARIOUS AUTHORS APOCYNACEAE CATHARANTHUS AND VINCA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A g... more Notes on African plants VARIOUS AUTHORS APOCYNACEAE CATHARANTHUS AND VINCA IN SOUTHERN AFRICA A good deal of confusion regarding the correct name of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don has existed in the past. This pantropical weed has been commonly, but incorrectly, referred to as Vinca rosea L. But, as Lawrence (1959), Farnsworth (1961) and Steam (1973, 1975) have convincingly established that Vinca and Catharanthus are distinct genera, differing in 34 morphological characters, cytology, chemistry and geographical distribution, there should be no further confusion. Vinca, with six species, is native to Europe, western and central Asia and has become naturalized in North America, whereas Catharanthus, with eight species, occurs in Madagascar, with one of the species in India. One of its members C. roseus has become a pantropical weed. The genus Vinca was established by Linnaeus in 1753 when he described two species V. minor and V. major. In 1759 he added V. rosea (now the accepted lectotype of Catharanthus). This species was separated by Reichenbach (1828) as the genus Lochnera. This name remained a nomen nudum until Endlicher provided a description in his Genera Plantarum 583 no. 3406 (1838). The name is illegitimate, however, as it is a later homonym of Lochneria Scop. (1777) and a synonym of Catharan thus G. Don (1837). The correct citation for the Madagascan periwinkle is therefore as follows:

South African Journal of Botany, 2017

therefore continues, and updates are published annually online at redlist.sanbi.org. The conserva... more therefore continues, and updates are published annually online at redlist.sanbi.org. The conservation status of plant species are widely used by government agencies and private-sector organizations in development planning, environmental impact assessments, conservation, and protected area expansion plans. Outcomes of assessments include species that are being assessed, added to the Red List for the first time, and those species being reassessed and moved into a different category of threat. Due to the significant amount of plants species the assessments are based on priority scale that gives precedence to species in areas under threat, species that are newly described and those species with new field information.

Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2020

Eriosema comprises c. 150 species and has a pantropical distribution and two centres of diversity... more Eriosema comprises c. 150 species and has a pantropical distribution and two centres of diversity, Africa and America. The species occur in tropical savannas and grasslands, including the cerrado in Brazil. They have adapted to these environments by developing specialized underground organs, and an abundance of trichomes. Here we present the first comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of Eriosema, including species from its entire distribution range and generating 391 new DNA sequences. We sampled 140 species from nine genera of Cajaninae, of which 94 (60% of the genus) were Eriosema. Our analyses were based on the nuclear ITS and plastid rpl32 and trnQ regions, and used maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of individual and combined data sets. In all analyses, Eriosema was resolved as monophyletic, but its interspecific relationships are not well resolved. Rhynchosia is not monophyletic, and some African Rhynchosia spp. emerged together as sister to Eriosem...

Background. Feirana quadranus and Feirana taihangnica, two species of frogs inhabiting in waterbo... more Background. Feirana quadranus and Feirana taihangnica, two species of frogs inhabiting in waterbodies in the Tsinling Mountains, China, are believed to be sister species that diverged 46,000 years ago. In their sympatric area, morphological variations found between the two species imply that the two species had inter-bred. Additionally, F. taihangnica’s polyandrous breeding behavior, without amplexus, would not hinder the potential hybridization. Methods. To verify the hybridization, 117 specimens of F. quadranus and F. taihangnica were collected from eight sampling sites in their sympatric area, and 110 of the specimens were classified morphologically into VV, vw&wv, and ww, representing the putative parental and suspected hybrid types. Their maternal bloodlines were identified using a phylogenetic tree based on a region of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene. In total, 34 morphometric indices were selected to analyze the morphological variation between 16S-types or among morphotypes. ...

American Journal of Botany, 2004

ABSTRACT To examine relationships and test previous sectional delimitations within Fuchsia, this ... more ABSTRACT To examine relationships and test previous sectional delimitations within Fuchsia, this study used parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses with nuclear ITS and chloroplast trnL-F and rpl16 sequence data for 37 taxa representing all sections of Fuchsia and four outgroup taxa. Results support previous sectional delimitations, except for F. verrucosa, which is related to a Central American clade rather than to section Fuchsia and is described here as a new section Verrucosa. The basal relationships within Fuchsia are poorly resolved, suggesting an initial rapid diversification of the genus. Among the species sampled, there is strong support for a single South Pacific lineage, a southern South American/southern Brazilian lineage, a tropical Andean lineage, and one or two Central American and Mexican lineages. There is no clear support for an austral origin of the genus, as previously proposed, which is more consistent with Fuchsia's sister group relationship with the boreal Circaea. An ultrametric molecular clock analysis (all minimal dates) places the split between Fuchsia and Circaea at 41 million years ago (mya), with the diversification of the modern-day lineages of Fuchsia beginning at 31 mya. The South Pacific Fuchsia lineage branches off around 30 mya, consistent with fossil records from Australia and New Zealand. The large Andean section Fuchsia began to diversify around 22 mya, preceded by the divergence of the Caribbean F. triphylla at 25 mya. The Brazilian members of section Quelusia separated from the southern Andean F. magellanica around 13 mya, and the ancestor of the Tahitian F. cyrtandroides split off from the New Zealand species of section Skinnera approximately 8 mya.

A catalogue of problem plants in South Africa., 1986

The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) is a global consensus view of all known vascular pl... more The World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP) is a global consensus view of all known vascular plant species (flowering plants, conifers, ferns, clubmosses and firmosses). The Fabaceae subset contains names that have been peer reviewed by external experts from the Legume Phylogeny Working Group's (LPWG) and internal experts, as well as names that are in the process of being edited and reviewed. WCVP aims to represent a global consensus view of current plant taxonomy by reflecting the latest published taxonomies while incorporating the opinions of taxonomists based around the world. WCVP is built on the nomenclatural data provided by the International Plant Names Index (IPNI), which is the product of a collaboration between The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, The Harvard University Herbaria, and the Australian National Herbarium, combined with the taxonomic data provided by an international collaborative programme with a large number of contributors from around the world. Our thanks ...

Annals of Botany, 2020

Background and Aims The idea that genome (size) evolution in eukaryotes could be driven by enviro... more Background and Aims The idea that genome (size) evolution in eukaryotes could be driven by environmental factors is still vigorously debated. In extant plants, genome size correlates positively with stomatal size, leading to the idea that conditions enabling the existence of large stomata in fossil plants also supported growth of their genome size. We test this inductive assumption in drought-adapted, prostrate-leaved Cape (South Africa) geophytes where, compared with their upright-leaved geophytic ancestors, stomata develop in a favourably humid microclimate formed underneath their leaves. Methods Stomatal parameters (leaf cuticle imprints) and genome size (flow cytometry) were measured in 16 closely related geophytic species pairs from seven plant families. In each pair, representing a different genus, we contrasted a prostrate-leaved species with its upright-leaved phylogenetic relative, the latter whose stomata are exposed to the ambient arid climate. Key Results Except for one,...

South African Journal of Botany, 2017

Ambiguous species delimitations and nomenclature are a major impediment for users of biodiversity... more Ambiguous species delimitations and nomenclature are a major impediment for users of biodiversity information. This is more pronounced in plant lineages that have experienced recent and rapid diversification or where there is a tendency to lump many species under a general name. The papilionoid genus Psoralea L. is a young lineage (Pliocene, ca. 75 species) which has diversified rapidly within the South African fynbos biome and adjacent habitats. All species bearing 5-19 foliolate leaves were previously often lumped within the polymorphic species Psoralea pinnata, resulting in an unwieldy complex of at least 28 taxa, of which only eleven species are formally named. In this study we analyzed live specimens and populations in the field and herbarium collections, capturing their morphological and geographic diversity, for species delimitation. The results support the recognition of 25 distinct species, of which 14 are described here as new: P.

Taxon, 2017

A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogen... more A new subfamily classification of the Leguminosae based on a taxonomically comprehensive phylogeny The Legume Phylogeny Working Group (LPWG) Recommended citation: LPWG (2017) This paper is a product of the Legume Phylogeny Working Group, who discussed, debated and agreed on the classification of the Leguminosae presented here, and are listed in alphabetical order. The text, keys and descriptions were written and compiled by a subset of authors indicated by §. Newly generated matK sequences were provided by a subset of authors indicated by *. All listed authors commented on and approved the final manuscript.

FEMS Microbiology Ecology, 2014

This study is the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of rhizobia within the Fynbos biome,... more This study is the most comprehensive phylogenetic assessment of rhizobia within the Fynbos biome, showing that legumes are specifically associated with Burkholderia and Mesorhizobium, the latter underestimated within Fynbos soils.

South African Journal of Botany, 2015

ABSTRACT The genus Psoralea L., comprising about 70 species, has its centre of diversity and ende... more ABSTRACT The genus Psoralea L., comprising about 70 species, has its centre of diversity and endemism in the Greater Cape Floristic Region of South Africa. Species delimitation and identification in the genus are difficult. Many putative species are unpublished or known only by manuscript names. As a first step to address this problem this study reports on the taxonomy of the Psoralea aphylla complex — a distinct group of species characterised by either a complete absence of leaves, a reduction of the leaves into scales, or the occurrence of small filiform leaflets. Plants may be suffrutices, small to large shrubs, or trees. Morphological and ecological analyses of herbarium specimens and recent field collections distinguished ten species within the complex. Three species (P. aphylla L., P. filifolia Eckl. & Zeyh. and P. peratica C.H.Stirt.) are already published, while the seven other taxa have been known by manuscript names and are formalised in this paper (P. congesta C.H.Stirt. & Muasya; P. fleta C.H.Stirt.; P. gigantea Dludlu, Muasya & C.H.Stirt.; P. pullata C.H.Stirt.; P. ramulosa C.H.Stirt.; P. rigidula C.H.Stirt.; and P. usitata C.H.Stirt.). We provide a key for the identification of all ten species along with full descriptions, illustrations, distribution maps and some notes on the conservation statuses of the species.