Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas

Illustrated Flora of East Texas, Volume 2. Acanthaceae–Fabaceae

Barney Lipscomb — 2026-10-15

George M. Diggs, Jr., Barney L. Lipscomb, and Robert J. George. 15 June 2026. Illustrated Flora of East Texas, Volume 2. Acanthaceae–Fabaceae. Sida, Bot. Misc. 69. (ISBN-13: 978-1-889878-83-6, flexbind). Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press, 1700 University Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76107-3400, U.S.A. (Orders: shopbritpress.org, orders@brit.org, 817.546.1847). $89.95 US, 1072 pp., b&w illustrations, index, 7.5"×10.5".

Annual Review of Plant Biology, Volume 77

Barney Lipscomb — 2026-10-15

The Annual Review of Plant Biology, in publication since 1950, covers the significant developments in the field of plant biology, including biochemistry and biosynthesis, genetics, genomics and molecular biology, cell differentiation, tissue, organ and whole plant events, acclimation and adaptation, and methods and model organisms.

A Systematic Vademecum to the Vascular Plants of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin

Barney Lipscomb — 2026-10-15

Franklin S. Axelrod. 16 June 2026. A Systematic Vademecum to the Vascular Plants of Sint Maarten/Saint Martin. Sida, Bot. Misc. 70. (ISBN-13: 978-1-889878-84-3, hardcover). Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press, 1700 University Dr., Fort Worth, Texas 76107-3400, U.S.A. (Orders: shopbritpress.org, orders@brit.org, 817.546.1847). $25.00 US, 117 pp., index, 6.5"×9.5".

The complete fungi: evolution, diversity and ecology

Barney Lipscomb — 2026-10-15

David S. Hibbett. 2026. The complete fungi: evolution, diversity and ecology. (ISBN: 9780691265261, hbk). Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, U.S.A. (Orders: press.princeton.edu/). $39.95, 368 pp., color photographs, 8.5"×11".

INDEX to new names and new combinations in J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 20(3), 2026

Craig Meyer — 2026-10-15

INDEX to new names and new combinations in J. Bot. Res. Inst. Texas 20(3), 2026

In search of the original tepary bean, Phaseolus acutifolius Asa Gray (Leguminosae, Phaseoleae), in the Trans-Pecos Region of Texas

Daniel G. Debouck — 2026-10-15

This note presents the search for the type locality of the tepary bean, Phaseolus acutifolius. Two specimens kept in the herbaria of Harvard (GH00064068) and Kew (K000900693) were considered as lectotype and isolectotype, respectively. The field notes left by the collector Charles Wright and the analysis of the exploration conditions in October 1849 pointed to original collecting in the North Mountain of Hueco Tanks in El Paso County, Texas. During this study, the location was revisited in September 2025 and seed for germplasm conservation was collected. The role of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in saving a unique cultural and biological heritage is highlighted.

Studies in the vascular flora of the Southeastern United States. XI.

Alan S. Weakley — 2026-10-15

Hexastylis viridistylis (Aristolochiaceae) is described as a novel species distinguished from other species in the genus by a unique combination of morphological characters including style and ovary color and dimensions, stamen morphology, calyx tube dimensions, and fruiting characteristics. The range, habitat, phenology, and potential affinities to other species in the group are discussed in detail. We propose treating a number of taxa at species rank, elevating them from infraspecific ranks, to appropriately recognize their degree of isolation and distinctiveness compared to their relatives: Chrysopsis dressii (Semple) Weakley & S.G. Ward, Echinacea neglecta (McGregor) Weakley & A.P. Campos, Echinacea strigosa (McGregor) Weakley & A.P. Campos, Phacelia lundelliana (Constance) E.L. Keith & Weakley, and Houstonia glabra (Terrell) Weakley & D.B. Poind. In Dioscorea, we reassess a long-ongoing controversy regarding whether to recognize two or three native species, and clarify the distinctions between and distributions of Dioscorea villosa and D. quaternata, recognizing them at species rank, in addition to the uncontroversial D. floridana. In Sideroxylon sect. Frigoricola, we propose that the taxon named by J.K. Small as Bumelia lacuum does warrant taxonomic recognition as an entity separate from Sideroxylon tenax, but that the evidence suggests incomplete evolutionary separation of the two, and we therefore provide a name at varietal rank, Sideroxylon tenax var. lacuum (Small) S.G. Ward & Weakley and discuss its differentiation from var. tenax. Important distributional records (including additions, subtractions, clarifications, and other notable records) are made for the State of South Carolina and the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Eriogonum coccineum and Eriogonum zionis (Polygonaceae) raised from varietal status, U.S.A.

Glenn Rink — 2026-10-15

Eriogonum zionis var. coccineum J.T. Howell and E. zionis var. zionis (Polygonaceae) are elevated to species level as E. coccineum and E. zionis based on 1) no overlap in their substrate edaphism or geographic ranges, 2) differences in tepal color, size, and shape that make them easily discernible, and 3) just one specimen of E. racemosum that might be interpreted as a morphologic intermediate. Specimen review, digital records, and geospatial information allow us to easily discern that the centers of these entities’ ranges are separated by about 100 km and that their nearest occurrences are separated by 30 km. Eriogonum zionis var. coccineum occurs in northern Arizona while E. zionis var. zionis occurs in northern Arizona and southern Utah.

Taxonomic revision of Vaccinium myrtillus (Ericaceae)

Peter W. Fritsch — 2026-10-15

Vaccinium myrtillus has commonly been recognized as encompassing plants from Eurasia, Japan, and North America. Published molecularbased phylogenetic data, however, suggest that V. myrtillus is not monophyletic and might best be divided into distinct taxonomic entities. I examined herbarium specimens collected from throughout the range of V. myrtillus s.l., finding morphological characters that serve to justify the division of V. myrtillus into such entities. On this basis, I present a taxonomic revision of V. myrtillus that recognizes three species and includes a key, descriptions, and representative specimens examined. Vaccinium oreophilum has been the name applied to the North American component of the group, as either a distinct species or a synonym of V. myrtillus. I found that none of the original material referenced in the protologue of V. oreophilum is included in the circumscription of the North American element, and that no other name applies to these plants. I therefore provide a species name for the North American entity, V. americanum, and designate a holotype. The other two species are V. myrtillus s.s., which spans much of northern Eurasia, and the Japanese endemic V. yatabei.

Cyperus flavicomus (Cyperaceae), long misnamed C. macrostachyos: a comprehensive taxonomic reassessment with annotated synonymy and voucher-backed global distribution

Aidan D. Ross — 2026-10-14

The pantropical annual flatsedge widely known as Cyperus macrostachyos Lam. (Cyperaceae; Cyperus subg. Cyperus, former segregate genus Pycreus) has been described under no fewer than 30 names over the past two centuries, variously treated as one or two species, with no substantive consensus on circumscription or nomenclature. In North America, the species is instead recognized as C. flavicomus Michx. To resolve these discrepancies, we examined the protologues and, where available, original type material for all names currently or historically synonymized with C. macrostachyos s.l., supplemented by an extensive survey of digitized collections ascribed to the species and of broader Pycreus material from Africa and South Asia (ca. 2,000 specimens from 130 herbaria in total). We report three principal findings. First, the morphological variation historically used to separate the species into two taxa is attributable to characters that are either environmentally plastic or maturity-dependent, and does not warrant recognition of more than one species. Second, examination of the holotype and holotype fragment of C. macrostachyos reveals that the material is not conspecific with the pantropical species to which it has been applied since Hooper and Raynal (1969), but corresponds in all observable characters to the South Asian endemic C. puncticulatus Vahl. The “Ex Africa” locality cited by Lamarck (1791) could not be corroborated by any material among the extensive African collections surveyed; we render the type citation as “Uncertain locality (‘Ex Africa’ teste Lamarck 1791)” to reflect this. Third, the correct name for the pantropical species is C. flavicomus Michx. (1803)—first reinstated by Tucker (1985), here independently confirmed and extended to encompass the full synonymy. Conservation of C. puncticulatus Vahl against C. macrostachyos Lam. is recommended under Art. 14 of the ICN; a formal proposal will be submitted to Taxon. An annotated synonymy, revised description, and voucher-backed global distribution for C. flavicomus Michx. and lectotype designations for eleven names are provided.

Trypethelium flavopigmentosum (lichenized Ascomycota: Trypetheliaceae), a new lichen species from Mt. Palhi, Dinagat Islands, Philippines

Ermalene C. Taer — 2026-10-14

During our continued expeditions in the Dinagat Islands, southern Philippines, a new species, Trypethelium flavopigmentosum Taer & Aptroot, was discovered and is herein described. It closely resembles T. luteolucidum in the thallus and pseudostromata reacting UV+ yellow, the presence of lichexanthone, and the inspersed hamathecium. However, T. flavopigmentosum is distinguished by its prominent yellow pigment at the surface of the pseudostromata, inside with an additional yellow dusty granular pigment, and a smaller, 9–10-septate ascospore, 41–61 × 9–13 μm. This discovery represents the first documented lichen species from Mt. Palhi, and further emphasizes the exceptional biodiversity supported by the ultramafic forest ecosystems. Given increasing anthropogenic pressures, these findings underscore the urgent need for legislative protection and strengthened conservation management of the Dinagat Islands.

Taxonomic change in Willkommia (Poaceae: Chloridoideae)

Joseph K. Wipff, III — 2026-10-15

The endemic South American taxon Willkommia texana Hitchc. var. stolonifera Parodi is elevated to the rank of species; Willkommia stolonifera (Parodi) Wipff, comb. & stat. nov.