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Reassessing the taxonomy of the Libidibia ferrea complex, the iconic Brazilian tree “pau-ferro” using morphometrics and ecological niche modeling

  • Systematics, Phylogeny & Floristics - Original Article
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Abstract

Libidibia is a small genus of caesalpinioid legumes with seven species spanning from Mexico and the Caribbean to southern South America. Within this genus, Libidibia ferrea stands out as an iconic Brazilian tree currently classified into the varieties ferrea, glabrescens, leiostachya, and parvifolia. They comprise a species complex together with three other varieties currently accepted as synonyms (var. cearensis, var. megaphylla and var. petiolulata). Together they exhibit complex morphological variation, along with confusion regarding their common names and geographic distribution. Five distinct morphotypes were recognized which were compared using a morphometric study of 26 quantitative leaf characters. We also performed ecological niche modeling for those morphotypes spanning from Quaternary to the present. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Discriminant Analysis (DA) revealed four main clusters which also present distinct niche preferences throughout the Quaternary and current distinct geographical distributions. Based on our findings, we propose recognizing four morphotypes as separate species: L. ferrea, L. juca, L. leiostachya, and L. parvifolia. Libidibia ferrea and L. juca are small trees and shrubs, distributed respectively in the southern portion of the ‘Caatinga’ and from the Amazon to the northern ‘Caatinga’ region. On the other hand, L. leiostachya and L. parvifolia are both tall trees, predominantly inhabiting the wetter regions of the ‘Caatinga’ (L. parvifolia) and extending into the coastal rainforests of southeastern Brazil (L. leiostachya). Three new combinations are proposed and an identification key, diagnostic descriptions, and taxonomic notes are presented.

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Data availability

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available in the Zenodo repository, [https://zenodo.org/records/10580269?token=eyJhbGciOiJIUzUxMiJ9.eyJpZCI6IjEyM2JhMTMwLTk4OWYtNDA0OS04NDVlLTc3OTlmMzUzNzcxYSIsImRhdGEiOnt9LCJyYW5kb20iOiI3ODBhODcxNjk1NmZkYTUxMGJhM2NkMGJiMmZiZTNiNyJ9.7rE7BaPrlSdfpcEqIZV4ghuQZOoKdjQxHBdrprMvvN5YvslkSza6O-KkbONg5UlYjZNCruU3fCofq4poLjtahg].

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Acknowledgements

This study was financed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and UEFS-FINAPESQ 045/2023. We thank the Postgraduate Program in Botany at the State University of Feira de Santana (PPGBOT/UEFS) and  CNPq/PPBIO Semiárido network (Process 441271/2023-5) for financial support for field trips and laboratory equipment. LPQ and RPO are supported by CNPq grants (Processes 305230/2021-2 and 310515/2022-0, respectively). We thank Haroldo C. de Lima, Luiz Gustavo Rodrigues Pereira and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions and Rosana Simões Medeiros for her assistance in searching for information on Caesalpinia juca and the works of Freire-Allemão. We also express gratitude to Carolina Lima Ribeiro and Deivid Andrés Fonseca Cortés for their support in the field and laboratory work. Special thanks to the photographers of the images reproduced from the iNaturalist website. The specimens used in this work are registered in the Sistema Nacional de Gestão do Patrimônio Genético e do Conhecimento Tradicional Associado (SisGen) under registration number AE4D7C9.

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  1. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Feira de Santana, Bahia, 44036-900, Brazil

    Filipe G. Oliveira, Felipe da S. Santos, Reyjane P. de Oliveira & Luciano P. de Queiroz

  2. Accelerated Taxonomy Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, TW9 3AE, UK

    Gwilym P. Lewis

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  1. Filipe G. Oliveira
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FGO and LPQ designed the study and carried out the morphometric analyses. FSS performed niche modeling analyses. FGO, FSS and LPQ carried out fieldworks. All authors contributed to the writing of the article. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Filipe G. Oliveira.

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Luciano Paganucci de Queiroz is a Guest Editor for the Brazilian Journal of Botany and the peer-review process for this article was independently handled by another member of the journal editorial board.

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Oliveira, F.G., Santos, F.d.S., Lewis, G.P. et al. Reassessing the taxonomy of the Libidibia ferrea complex, the iconic Brazilian tree “pau-ferro” using morphometrics and ecological niche modeling. Braz. J. Bot (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-024-01011-0

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