Dr. Matt Lavin of Montana State University is beginning morphological and molecular studies of woody tropical legumes of the Robinieae group, starting with field collecting in the West Indies to amass herbarium specimens and materials for laboratory analyses of chloroplast DNA mutations. Species boundaries and relationships are poorly known in this group, and the integration of traditional morphological characters from herbarium studies with new molecular markers from restriction enzyme analyses promises to improve taxonomic ordering and help determine phylogenetic linkages among the taxa. In turn, these systematic insights will allow tests of various hypotheses proposed for the geological history of the islands of the West Indies and for theories of plant migrations in the region. Dr. Lavin is a young investigator with an impressive record of taxonomic research on legumes from his doctoral and postdoctoral periods. The techniques of restriction enzyme analysis of chloroplast DNA are powerful ones, uncovering mutational differences between species that reflect evolutionary divergence since their most recent common ancestor. The legumes he is studying include some which are used for intercropping in cocoa and coffee plantations, whose wood is used for local construction and furniture, and herbage used for domestic animals. Improved taxonomic knowledge of the species and their geographic distributions should aid in long-range management and conservation of these natural plant resources.
