This project will investigate the taxonomy of species from the charismatic tropical plant genus Columnea. Members of this genus are pollinated by hummingbirds, and are a conspicuous component of most cloud forests in Central and South America. Identification of most species is difficult to impossible even for the species that are already named since there is no unified treatment. This project will create a unified taxonomic treatment that brings together illustrations, descriptions, tools for identifying species, photographs, and distribution maps - provided both in print and via on-line access to all. A revised classification for the entire genus will be generated using DNA sequences as a means of uncovering traits that define taxonomic groups. Training will be provided to numerous undergraduates and one graduate student. Students will learn all aspects of systematics research from formulating hypotheses and fieldwork to presenting results at meetings. Their training and education will be an integral part of this proposal and contribute toward training the next generation of plant systematists. The results will be presented to both the scientific community and to the general public by publishing papers and developing web-based resources for the genus.
Research expeditions were conducted during the summers of 2012 and 2013 to Ecuador and Colombia. Our expedition to Colombia was in collaboration with biologists from the Universidad de Antioquia (Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia), Jardín Botánico Joaquín Antonio Uribe (Medellín, Antioquia, Colombia), and the Universidad Nacional de Colombia (Bogota, Colombia). We explored forests along the eastern slopes of the Cordillera Central, The Río Claro Reserva Natural (Cañon del Río Claro) in the Magdalena River Valley, Reserva Natural Mesenia-Paramillo (Fundación Colibri) in the Cordillera Occidental, Alto de Ventanas in the northern region of the Cordillera Central, and various forests surrounding Medellín in the Cordillera Central. Over ten new species were discovered as a result of our expeditions to Colombia. Our expeditions to Ecuador were in collaboration with the Universidad Estatal Amazónica (Puyo). Our expedition visited the eastern cordillera of the Andes to document plant diversity on sandstone outcrops (quartzose sandstone of the mid-Cretaceous Hollín formation). A highlight of our expedition was the documentation of Resia bracteata, a genus that was initially thought to be endemic to Colombia. An important goal of this research is to test the monophyly of seven clades recently identified within the genus Columnea and to verify that the synapomorphies defining these clades are unique by sampling additional species. Three peer-reviewed publications that address these goals have appeared in the following peer-reviewed publications: International Journal of Plant Sciences (Clark et al. 2012); Selbyana (Smith et al. 2013); and Systematic Botany (Schulte et al. 2013). Four new monotypic genera were described based on the phylogenetic results from this research (Smith & Clark 2012). The new genera are Christopheria, Lesia, Pachycaulos , and Pagothyra , and include the species Christopheria xantha, Lesia savannarum, Pachycaulos nummularium , and Pagothyra maculata. Over ten new speices to science were described as a result of exploratory research expeditions and herbarium research. These ten new species were described in the following journals: Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (Clark & Clavijo 2012; Rodas & Clark 2013; Keener & Clark 2013); Phytotaxa (Mora & Clark 2013); Novon (Clark & Mora 2014); and Brittonia (Clavijo & Clark 2013; Clark & Skog 2013).
