REVISIÓN DE LAS ESPECIES AMERICANAS DEL GÉNERO DIODIA

(RUBIACEAE, SPERMACOCEAE)

NÉLIDA M. BACIGALUPO ¹ & ELSA L. CABRAL ²

¹ Instituto de Botánica Darwinion, Casilla de Correo 22, 1642 San Isidro, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

E-mail: nbacigalupo@darwin.edu.ar

² Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales y Agrimensura (UNNE), Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste, Casilla de Correo 209, 3400 Corrientes, Argentina. E-mail: ibone@espacio.com.ar

ABSTRACT. Bacigalupo, N. M. & Cabral, E. L. 1999. Revision of the American species of the genus Diodia (Rubiaceae, Spermacoceae). Darwiniana 37(1-2): 153-165.

The genus Diodia s. str. is defined and differentiated from its related genera Borreria G. Mey., Galianthe Griseb. and Spermacoce L. As a result of this study, only 5 American species belong to Diodia: D. virginiana L. (type species of the genus), D. kuntzei K. Schum., D. macrophylla K. Schum., D. saponariifolia (Cham. & Schltdl.) K. Schum. and D. simplex Sw.; all of them are described and illustrated. The remaining species referred to Diodia have been combined into Galianthe Griseb. subg. Ebelia (Rchb.) E. L. Cabral & Bacigalupo or Borreria G. Mey. subg. Dasycephala (DC.) Bacigalupo & E. L. Cabral. D. teres Walt. and its relatives are excluded from Diodia s. str., but their position is still under study.

Key words: Taxonomy, Diodia, Rubiaceae, Spermacoceae.