9420283 Barneby The species-rich American tropics remain poorly documented, and this obtains even for woody plants important in agroforestry. Dr. Rupert Barneby of the New York Botanical Garden is conducting fundamental taxonomic studies of the leguminous trees of several genera in the tribe Ingeae, including the mimosa relatives Calliandra and Pithecellobium. From study of extensive collections of herbarium material and past field work in selected sites in South America, he is describing and classifying ca. 200 species native to the Neotropics, placed in four genera. Older classifications have confused the generic limits of American, African, and Asiatic representatives of these groups, and thus prevented biogeographical analysis of migrational history. Barneby's monographic research will provide precise descriptions for all the species, reliable identification keys, accurate mapping of the geographical distributions of the taxa, and synthesis of the taxonomic relationships among the groups. Taxonomic monography, also characterized as alpha-level taxonomy, provides comprehensive documentation of the species resources for a major lineage of organisms. For the woody legumes of the Calliandra and Pithecellobium complex, Barneby's research will complete the study of a major portion of the American tropical Leguminosae. ??
