Santa Cruz, Bolivia
MS candidate University of Missouri-St.
Louis
BS Gabriel Rene Moreno University
Research Interest: Phylogeny of Cleome
I am interested to see the relationship among species within Cleome using molecular data, and to review the morphology and taxonomy of Cleome species found in Bolivia. This genus is included in the Capper family and is commonly called "spider flower". Cleome comprises approximately 150-200 species mostly in tropical and subtropical Africa and America. A few species are weedy and then pantropic in distribution.
Most of the species have a very showy flower that can be purple, white, or yellow, and most of them are characterized by the presence of prickles and hooked "stipular" thorns. The species differentiate one of each other, in the leaf morphology, disk form, floral raceme, the position and distribution of the parts of the flower, and the structure of the seed.
A number of Cleome species in Bolivia are poorly understood, there are problems in the delimitation of some of them, and no phylogenetic work on the genus has been carried out. Thus, this study will contribute toward a better understanding of Bolivian flora, add significantly to the checklist of plants of Bolivia, and it will outline phylogenetic relationships within the diverse members of the genus Cleome sensu lato, an essential preliminary to understanding its diversification.
Current Activity:
Under contruction...