Revision of the genus Skytanthus (Apocynaceae, Rauvolfioid grade, Plumerieae)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.21829/abm133.2026.2480Keywords:
Brazil, Chile, Habsburgia, systematics, ThevetiaAbstract
Background and Aims: The genus Skytanthus was described over 190 years ago, and two species are recognized: S. acutus and S. hancorniifolius. Although both species share general floral similarities, they have considerable differences in their vegetative and reproductive morphology, distribution, and habitat. The objectives of this study were to present an updated review of Skytanthus, select the lectotype and exclude names, as well as present its current distribution and conservation status.
Methods: A bibliographic compilation and review of material from G, MO, and NY herbaria were carried out. Stylar head characters were studied from spirit collections and anatomical sections deposited at the University of Zurich, as well as observations using scanning electron microscopy. Information from herbarium specimens and iNaturalist observations was included for the elaboration of distribution maps.
Key results: A review of the genus Skytanthus is presented, along with identification keys for the tribe Plumerieae and the species of Skytanthus, as well as the necessary lectotypifications. The members of Skytanthus are provisionally classified as Least Concern, and it is confirmed that S. acutus is endemic to Chile, while S. hancorniifolius is endemic to Brazil.
Conclusions: The subtribe Thevetiinae is a morphologically very diverse group and in the case of Skytanthus, further analysis is required to better understand its morphology and distribution.
Downloads
References
Alvarado-Cárdenas, L. O. y H. Ochoterena. 2007. A phylogenetic analysis of the species complex Cascabela-Thevetia (Plumerieae; Apocynaceae) based on morphology. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 94(2): 298-323. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3417/0026-6493(2007)94[298:APAOTC]2.0.CO;2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3417/0026-6493(2007)94[298:APAOTC]2.0.CO;2
Antonelli, A. 2021. The rise and fall of Neotropical biodiversity. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 199: 8-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boab061 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boab061
Arancio, G., M. Muñoz y F. A. Squeo. 2001. Descripción de algunas especies con problemas de conservación en la IV Región de Coquimbo, Chile. In: Squeo, F. A., G. Arancio y J. R. Gutiérrez (eds.). Libro Rojo de la Flora Nativa y de los Sitios Prioritarios para su Conservación: Región de Coquimbo. Ediciones Universidad de La Serena. La Serena, Chile. Pp. 63-103.
Bachman, S., J. Moat, A. Hill, J. de la Torre y B. Scott. 2011. Supporting Red List threat assessments with GeoCAT: Geospatial Conservation Assessment Tool. ZooKeys 150: 117-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.150.2109 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.150.2109
Bentham, G. y J. Hooker. 1876. Apocynaceae. In: Bentham, G. y J. Hooker (eds.). Genera Plantarum ad exemplaria impimis in herbariis Kewensibus servata. Paris, Francia. Pp. 681-728.
Boiteau, P. y L. Allorge. 1978. Morphologie et biologie florales des Apocynacées: 1. Differences essentielles entre les Plumerioidées et les Tabernaemontanoidées. Adansonia 17(3): 305-326. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/p.297120
Campos-Ortega, C. H. y C. Jorquera-Jaramillo. 2008. Minería y Conservación en Atacama. In: Squeo, F. A., G. Arancio y J. R. Gutiérrez (eds.). Libro Rojo de la Flora Nativa y de los Sitios Prioritarios para su Conservación: Región de Atacama. Ediciones Universidad de La Serena. La Serena, Chile. Pp. 323-338.
De Candolle, A. P. 1844. Apocynaceae. In: De Candolle, A. P. (ed.). Prodromus Systematis Naturalis Regni Vegetabilis. Fortin Masson, Paris. Pp. 318-489.
Endress, M. E. y P. V. Bruyns. 2000. A revised classification of the Apocynaceae s. l. The Botanical Review 66(1): 1-56. DOI: http://doi.org/10.1007/BF02857781 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02857781
Endress, M. E., S. Liede-Schumann y U. Meve. 2014. An updated classification for Apocynaceae. Phytotaxa 159(3): 175-194. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.159.3.2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.159.3.2
Endress, M. E., U. Meve, D. J. Middleton y S. Liede-Schumann. 2019. Apocynaceae. In: Kadereit, J. y V. Bittrich (eds.). Flowering Plants. Eudicots. The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants, Vol. 15. Springer. Cham, Suiza. Pp. 207-411. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93605-5_3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93605-5_3
ESRI. 2020. ArcMap GIS version 10.8. Environmental Systems Research Institute. Redlands, CA, USA.
Fallen, M. E. 1983. A systematic revision of Anechites (Apocynaceae). Brittonia 25(3): 222-231. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2806018 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2806018
Fallen, M. E. 1984. The style head of the Apocynaceae, its structure and significance. American Journal of Botany 71(5): 28-29.
Fallen, M. E. 1986. Floral structure in the Apocynaceae: Morphological, functional and evolutionary aspects. Botanische Jahrbucher fur Systematik, Pflanzengeschichte und Pflanzengeographie 106(2): 245-2.
Fishbein, M., T. Livshultz, S. C. Straub, A. O. Simões, J. Boutte, A. McDonnell y A. Foote. 2018. Evolution on the backbone: Apocynaceae phylogenomics and new perspectives on growth forms, flowers, and fruits. American Journal of Botany 105(3): 495-513. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1067 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/ajb2.1067
Fitzhugh, K. 2005. The inferential basis of species hypotheses: the solution to defining the term ‘species’. Marine Ecology 26(3-4): 155-165. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.14390485.2005.00058.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0485.2005.00058.x
Fitzhugh, K. 2009. Species as explanatory hypotheses: refinements and implications. Acta Biotheoretica 57(1-2): 201-248. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10441-009-9071-3 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10441-009-9071-3
Griffiths, P. E. 1996. The historical turn in the study of adaptation. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science 47(4): 511-532. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/47.4.511 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/47.4.511
GBIF. 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Skytanthus. GBIF Occurrence Download https://doi.org/10.15468/dl.btuufq (consultado junio de 2024).
IBdata4. 2024. Base de Datos de las Colecciones Biológicas Nacionales, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. https://www.ibdata.abaco2.org/web/ (consultado enero de 2024).
iNaturalistMX. 2013. Skytanthus hancorniifolius, observación 209326179. Naturalista, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Cd. Mx., México. https://mexico.inaturalist.org/observations/209326179 CC BY-NC (consultado enero de 2024).
iNaturalistMX. 2015. Skytanthus acutus, observación 95070169. Naturalista, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Cd. Mx., México. https://mexico.inaturalist.org/observations/95070169 CC BY-NC (consultado enero de 2024).
iNaturalistMX. 2019. Skytanthus acutus, observación 36529396. Naturalista, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Cd. Mx., México. https://mexico.inaturalist.org/observations/36529396 CC BY-NC (consultado enero de 2024).
iNaturalistMX. 2021. Skytanthus acutus, observación 109446114. Naturalista, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Cd. Mx., México. https://mexico.inaturalist.org/observations/109446114 CC BY-NC (consultado enero de 2024).
iNaturalistMX. 2024. iNaturalistMX. Naturalista, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Cd. Mx., México. https://www.naturalist.mx CC BY-NC (consultado enero de 2024).
IUCN. 2012. The International Union for Conservation of Nature. IUCN Red List categories and criteria, version 3.1, second edition. https://www.iucnredlist.org (consultado junio de 2024).
JSTOR. 2024. JSTOR Global Plants. https://www.jstor.org/ (consultado enero de 2024).
Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. 1983. Some remarks on the taxonomy of the Plumerioideae. Bothalia 14(3-4): 799-801. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/abc.v14i3/4.1245
Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. 1993. Apocynaceae. In: Jarvis, C. E., F. R. Barrie, D. M. Allan y J. L. Reveal (eds.). A list of Linnaean generic names and their types. Regnum Vegetabile. Koeltz Scientific Books. Konigstein, Alemania. 100 pp.
Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. 1994. Taxa of the Apocynaceae above the genus level. Series of Apocynaceae: 38. Wageningen Agricultural University Papers 94(3): 45-60.
Leeuwenberg, A. J. M. 1999. Series of revisions of Apocynaceae 47. The genus Cerbera L. Ed. Wageningen Agricultural University papers. Wageningen, Netherlands. 64 pp.
Martens, M. y H. G. Galeotti. 1844. Enumeratio synoptica plantarum phaneroganicarum ab Henrico Galeotti in regionibus mexicanum collectarum. Bulletin de l’Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles-lettres de Bruxelles 11(6): 367-368.
Martius, C. F. P. 1843. Systema Materiae Medicae Vegetabilis Brasiliensis. Fleischer. Lipsiae, Alemania. 156 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.9541
Meyen, F. J. F. 1834. Reise um die Erde ausgeführt auf dem Königlich preussischen Seehandlungs-Schiffe Prinzess Louise, commandirt von Captain W. Wendt, in den Jahren 1830, 1831 und 1832. Sanderschen. Berlin, Alemania. 492 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.138287
Miers, J. 1878. Skytanthus. In: Miers, J. (ed.). On the Apocynaceae of South America: with some preliminary remarks on the whole family. Ed. Williams and Norgate. Covent Garden, UK. 372 pp. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.164
Morales, J. 2013. Sinopsis de las Apocynaceae S. Str. (Apocynoideae y Rauvolfioideae) de Chile. Darwiniana 1(1): 39-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14522/darwiniana.2013.11.514 DOI: https://doi.org/10.14522/darwiniana.2013.11.514
Müller Argoviensis, J. 1860a. Species novae nonnullae americanae ex Ordine Apocynearum et observationes quaedam in species generis Echitis Auctorum earumque distributio in genera emendata et nova. Linnaea 30: 387-454.
Müller Argoviensis, J. 1860b. Apocynaceae. In: Martius, C. F. P. y A. G. Eichler (eds.). Flora Brasiliensis, Vol. 6. Fleischer. Leipzig, Alemania. Pp. 1-195.
Nazar, N., J. J. Clarkson, D. Goyder, E. Kaky, T. Mahmood y M. W. Chase. 2019. Phylogenetic relationships in Apocynaceae based on nuclear PHYA and plastid trnL-F sequences, with a focus on tribal relationships. Caryologia 72(1): 55-81. DOI: https://doi.org/10.13128/cayologia-251
Niemeyer, J. y M. M. Vale. 2022. Obstacles and opportunities for implementing a policy-mix for ecosystem-based adaptation to climate change in Brazil’s Caatinga. Land Use Policy 122: 106385. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106385 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2022.106385
Pennington, R. T., E. Prado y C. A. Pendry. 2000. Neotropical seasonally dry forests and Quaternary vegetation changes. Journal of Biogeography 27: 261-273. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00397.x DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00397.x
Pichon, M. 1948. Classification des Apocynacées. V. Cerbéroïdées. Notulae Systematicae 13(3): 212-229.
Pichon, M. 1949. Classification des Apocynacées: XXVII, Determination des graines de Plumérioidées et de Cerbérioidées. Bulletin du Muséum national d’histoire naturelle 21(2): 266-269.
Potgieter, K. y V. A. Albert. 2001. Phylogenetic relationships within Apocynaceae s.l. based on trnL intron and trnL-F spacer sequences and propagule characters. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 88(4): 523-549. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3298632 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3298632
Schauer, J. C. 1843. Scytalanthus. Nova acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Germanicae Naturae Curiosorum 19: 361-362.
Sennblad, B. y B. Bremer. 1996. The familial and subfamilial relationships of Apocynaceae and Asclepiadaceae evaluated with rbcL data. Plant Systematics and Evolution 202(3-4): 153-175. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00983380 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00983380
Sennblad, B. y B. Bremer. 2002. Classification of Apocynaceae s.l. according to a new approach combining Linnaeaen and phylogenetic taxonomy. Systematic Biology 51(3): 389-409. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150290069869 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10635150290069869
Sennblad, B., M. E. Endress y B. Bremer. 1998. Morphology and molecular data in phylogenetic fraternity: The tribe Wrightieae (Apocynaceae) revisited. American Journal of Botany 85(8): 1143-1158. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2446347 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2446347
Silva, J. M. C., L. C. F. Barbosa, I. R. Leal y M. Tabarelli. 2017. The Caatinga: understanding the challenges. In: Silva, J. M. C., I. R. Leal y M. Tabarelli (eds.). Caatinga: The Largest Tropical Dry Forest Region in South America. Springer. Cham, Switzerland. Pp. 3-19. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_1
Simões, A. O. y L. S. Kinoshita. 2002. The Apocynaceae s. str. of the Carrancas region, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Darwiniana 40(1-4): 127-169. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14522/darwiniana.2014.401-4.251
Soto, M., F. Uarac y J. P. Doussoulin. 2022. Rentabilidad económica del reciclaje. Revista Venezolana de Gerencia 27(8): 1182-1195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52080/rvgluz.27.8.29 DOI: https://doi.org/10.52080/rvgluz.27.8.29
Squeo, F. A., G. Arancio, J. R. Gutiérrez, L. Letelier, M. T. K. Arroyo, P. León-Lobos y L. Rentería-Arrieta. 2008. Flora Amenazada de la Región de Atacama y Estrategias para su Conservación. Ediciones Universidad de La Serena. La Serena, Chile. 8 pp.
Stotz, G. C., C. Salgado-Luarte, A. T. Vigil, H. J. De La Cruz, V. Pastén-Marambio y E. Gianoli. 2021. Habitat-islands in the coastal Atacama Desert: loss of functional redundancy, but not of functional diversity, with decreased precipitation. Annals of Botany 127(5): 669-680. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa206 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcaa206
Templeton, A. R. 1989. The meaning of species and speciation: a genetic perspective. In: Otte, D. y J. A. Endler (eds.). Speciation and its consequences. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Massachusetts, USA. Pp. 3-27.
Teixeira, M. G., E. M. Venticinque, M. B. Lion y M. P. Pinto. 2021. The Brazilian Caatinga protected areas: an extremely unbalanced conservation system. Environmental Conservation 48(4): 287-294. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892921000308 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892921000308
Thiers, B. 2024 (continuously updated). Index Herbariorum. A global directory of public herbaria and associated staff. New York Botanical Garden’s Virtual Herbarium. http://sweetgum.nybg.org/science/ih (consultado noviembre de 2024).
Tropicos. 2024. Tropicos.org ver. 3.3.2. Missouri Botanical Garden. https://www.tropicos.org/home (consultado enero de 2024).
Turland, N. J., J. H. Wiersema, F. R. Barrie, K. N. Gandhi, J. Gravendyck, W. Greuter, D. L. Hawksworth, P. S. Herendeen, R. R. Klopper, S. Knapp, W.-H. Kusber, D.-Z. Li, T. W. May, A. M. Monro, J. Prado, M. J. Price, G. F. Smith y J. C. Zamora Señoret. 2025. International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (Madrid Code), Regnum Vegetabile 162. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago, USA. 288 pp.
Wang, Y., C. F. Zhang, W. O. Odago, H. Jiang, J. X. Yang, G. W. Hu y Q. F. Wang. 2023. Evolution of 101 Apocynaceae plastomes and phylogenetic implications. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 180: 107688. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107688 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107688
Wikicommons. 2004. Skytanthus acutus. MHNT.BOT.2004.0.93.jpg. Roger Culos. https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44750054 CC BY-SA 3.0 (consultado enero de 2024).
Woodson, R. E. 1938. An evaluation of the genera Plumeria L. and Himatanthus Willd. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 25(1): 189-224. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2394479
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
-
Abstract1057
-
PDF (Español)426
-
EPUB (Español)143
-
XML (Español)54
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal accept the following conditions:
In accordance with copyright legislation, Acta Botanica Mexicana recognizes and respects the moral rights of authors, as well as the ownership of the patrimonial right, which will be assigned to the journal for its dissemination in open access. Acta Botanica Mexicana does not charge authors for sending and processing articles for publication.
All the texts published by Acta Botanica Mexicana - without exception- are distributed under the Creative Commons 4.0 Attribution-Non Commercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0 International), which allows third parties to use what is published whenever they mention the authorship of the work and the first publication in this journal.
The authors can make other independent and additional contractual agreements for the non-exclusive distribution of the version of the article published in Acta Botanica Mexicana (for example, include it in an institutional repository or publish it in a book) as long as they clearly indicate that the work was published for the first time in Acta Botanica Mexicana
As a consequence, the copyeditors will request you, together with the galley review, to issue your Letter-Transfer of Ownership of Copyright form of the first publication duly completed and signed by the author(s). This letter should be sent by email in pdf file to the email: acta.botanica@inecol.mx (Letter-Transfer of Ownership of Copyright).
