Taxonomy of Neotropical plant families

Long-term studies of major Neotropical plant families important in Amazonia, contributing to the development of key regional floras and to understanding their phylogeny and relationships to other geographic areas

Caryocar pallidum fruits provide valuable food for rural communities

This long-term project focuses on the continuing development of taxonomic knowledge of selected plant families important in Amazonia. Work includes research on the taxonomy of the Chrysobalanaceae (worldwide); Lecythidaceae (worldwide); Caryocaraceae, Dichapetalaceae and Proteaceae (Neotropical only).

Major recent outputs from this project include accounts of the Dichapetalaceae and Proteaceae for Flora of the Guianas (published in 2009), a two-volume world monograph of the Chrysobalanaceae for Species Plantarum (published in 2003), two papers on the ethnobotany of the Guaraní with student Hector Keller, and two papers in Blumea describing new species of Barringtonia from Malaysia and Papua New Guinea (published 2011, 2011).

Current commitments include the following:

• Monograph of Barringtonia (Lecythidaceae, Malesia). Submitted to Allertonia 2011; under review.
• An account of Lecythidaceae for Flora Malesiana to be submitted in 2012.
• Working with Cynthia Sothers on the phylogeny of the Chrysobalanaceae based on molecular information with a focus on the Neotropical genus Couepia.
• A revision of African Lecythidaceae to be completed in 2013.

Key papers published since 2006

• Huang, Y., Mori, S. A. & Prance, G. T. (2008). A phylogeny of Cariniana (Lecythidaceae) based on morphological and anatomical data. Brittonia 60: 69-81.
• Prance, G. T. (2008). A revision of Foetidia (Lecythidaceae subfamily Foetidioideae). Brittonia 60: 336 – 348.
• Keller, H. & Prance, G. T. (2008). Plants associated with fish by the Guaraníes of Misiones, Argentina. Ethnobotany 20: 1 – 14.
• Prance, G. T. (2009). Proteaceae. Flora of the Guianas. Ser A. 27: 18 – 40.
• Prance, G. T. (2009). Dichapetalaceae. Flora of the Guianas. Ser A. 27: 99 – 112.
• Yakandawala,D., Morton, C. M. & Prance, G. T. (2010). Phylogenetic relationships of the Chrysobalanaceae inferred from chloroplast, nuclear and morphological data. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 97: 259 – 281.