Myriocarpa
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 Myriocarpa longipes
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Myriocarpa is a genus of woody shrubs to small trees endemic to Central and South America. Within the Urticaceae Myriocarpa is characterised by long pendulous string-like female inflorescences of apparently naked flowers and stems releasing a watery latex when cut. Estimates for the diversity of the genus range from five to 18 species (Burger, 1977; Friis, 1989). Research for Flora Mesoamericana indicates that there are probably 15 to 20 species.
The genus was described by Bentham in 1846 based on Colombian material of Myriocarpa stipitata Benth. collected by Barclay (Barclay, Mss). Weddell placed Myriocarpa in the Urticaceae tribe Boehmerieae (Weddell, 1856, 1869) despite its anomalous pubescence, cystolith morphology and wood anatomy. Friis (1989) in his review of the Urticaceae retained its position within the Boehmerieae, presumably because its position in any other Urticaceae tribe would be equally ambiguous. The position of Myriocarpa within the Boehmerieae is not supported by recent phylogenetic analyses of trnL-F sequence data (Monro, 2006) that recovered Myriocarpa within a strongly supported clade including both the Urticeae and Lecantheae tribes. Its position within either one of these tribes however, is unresolved. Based on hair, leaf and flower morphology Myriocarpa could equally well be placed in the Lecantheae (absence of hooked hairs) or the Urticeae (alternate leaves, pistillodes not ejecting the achene) and further research, both molecular and morphological is warranted.
The last major revision of the genus, at which time six species were recognized, was that of Weddell (1869). Since this revision Myriocarpa has attracted little taxonomic interest outside of floristic treatments (such as those of Standley & Steyermark, 1952; Burger, 1977), despite its unusual female inflorescence morphology and ambiguous position within the Urticaceae and currently a total of 24 species names have been published (The International Plant Names Index, 2006).
[edit] References
BENTHAM, G. 1846. The botany of the voyage of H.M.S. Sulphur 168, t. 55.
BURGER, W. 1977. Myriocarpa, Flora Costaricensis. Fieldiana, Botany 40: 237-240.
FRIIS, I. 1989. The Urticaceae: a systematic review. In P. R. Crane and S. Blackmore [eds.], Evolution, systematics, and fossil history of the Hamamelidae, vol. 2, Systematics Association Special Volume 40B, 285–308. Oxford Science Publications, Oxford, UK
INTERNATIONAL PLANT NAMES INDEX. 2006. Available at website http:// www.ipni.org [accessed 1 July 2006].
MONRO, A.K. 2006. The revision of species-rich genera: a phylogenetic framework for the strategic revision of Pilea (Urticaceae) based on cpDNA, nrDNA, and morphology Am. J. Botany 93: 426-441
STANDLEY, P. C., AND J. A. STEYERMARK. 1952. Pilea, Flora of Guatemala.Fieldiana, Botany 3: 404–406.
WEDDELL, H. A. 1856. Urera. In G. Baudry and J. Baudry [eds.], Monographie de la famille des Urticacées. 484--490. G. and J. Baudry, Paris, France.
WEDDELL, H. A. 1869. Myriocarpa. In A. De Candolle [ed.], Prodromus systematis naturalis regni vegetabilis 16, 23533–23536. Paris, France.
