A Monograph of Alloplectus (Gesneriaceae)

Alloplectus (Gesneriaceae-Episcieae), whose range extends from Costa Rica to the Andes of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, comprises five species. The plants are obligate epiphytes with tubular nonresupinate flowers. The generic circumscription of Alloplectus is based on phylogenetic analyses of morphological and molecular data from the ribosomal (nrDNA) internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) and the intergenic (trnH-psbA) chloroplast spacer region (details of the analyses are published separately). Alloplectus has a confusing taxonomic history with more than 150 names attributed to this poorly defined group that until recently had not been phylogenetically uated with material representing the generic type species, Alloplectus hispidus (Kunth) Mart. Many of the species traditionally recognized as Alloplectus are here transferred to Columnea, Nematanthus, Drymonia, Glossoloma, and Crantzia, of which the latter two are resurrected generic names to accommodate well-supported clades. Replacing the traditional polyphyletic concept of Alloplectus with a monophyletic Alloplectus presented here requires 29 new combinations, two lectotypifications, and six neotypifications. A nomenclator of all excluded or uncertain species names attributed to Alloplectus is included with currently accepted names.