Search

Crotoneae are one of the largest tribes within Euphorbiaceae with great diversity in Brazil, especially the genus Croton with about 300 species in the country. In this contribution, we present a synopsis of Crotoneae in Distrito Federal, located in central Brazil, where the Cerrado is the prevalent phytogeographic domain. The study is based mainly on herbarium collections but we also observed and collected specimens in the field. The only two genera of the tribe that occur in the studied area are Astraea and Croton with 2 and 23 species, respectively. We provide here one synonymization and keys to identify the studied taxa, along with comments on geographic distribution, habitat, morphological relationships and taxonomic notes for each species.

Mabea é um gênero neotropical compreendendo cerca de 50 espécies. No Brasil, são registradas 25 espécies, três na Bahia: M. fistulifera, M. glaziovii e M. piriri. São apresentados descrições e comentários para todos os táxons, além de ilustrações, mapas de distribuição na Bahia e chave de identificação para as espécies.

O gênero Brasiliocroton (Euphorbiaceae) possui duas espécies, B. mamoninha e B. muricatus, ambas ocorrem no estado da Bahia. O tratamento inclui chave de identificação, descrições e comentários sobre distribuição geográfica, habitat e fenologia.

The latest phylogenetic and taxonomic studies emphasizing Phyllanthus(Phyllanthaceae) have significantly altered the relationships between its taxa. In this work, we inferred a phylogeny for the phyllocladiferous species of Phyllanthus, traditionally included within Phyllanthus sects. Choretropsis and Xylophylla from eastern Brazil and Caribbean, respectively. Our analysis demonstrated that these two sections are clearly distinct, but sect. Choretropsis, as it currently stands, does not form a monophyletic group. Thus, phylloclades arose in Phyllanthus at least in five distinct clades. Most species of sect. Choretropsis are recovered among representatives of other groups (sects. Antipodanthus and Phyllanthus subsect. Claussenianii), but no macromorphological feature could be traced for the clades we recovered. One exception is a clade containing P. dracenoides, P. gladiatus and P. pedicellatus, species with dracenoid habit and exclusive to the humid dense forests along Atlantic Forest domain, for which we describe a new section.

Jatropha Linnaeus (1753: 1006) belongs to subfamily Crotonoideae (Euphorbiaceae) and has ca. 180 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world (Dehgan 2012; Webster 2014). The genus is found throughout the Neotropical region, with Mexico (50 spp.) and Brazil (23 spp.) as its centers of diversity (Christensen et al. 2019).

A critical taxonomic and nomenclatural review of the Brazilian species of Acalypha (Euphorbiaceae, Acalyphoideae) is presented. As a result, 40 species (44 taxa including six subspecies) are accepted, 37 of them native (17 endemic) and three introduced; also, 132 names are considered synonyms, 28 of them for the first time. Two new combinations are proposed: Acalypha brasiliensis subsp. asterotricha and A. brasiliensis subsp. psilophylla, previously considered varieties of A. brasiliensis. Information about types is provided for all the valid names, and 54 lectotypes and one neotype are designated. Identification keys and detailed distribution maps of all the native taxa are also provided, Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature. This study was funded by Spanish Government, through the research project EUI 2008-0388, and by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) and the Regional Government (Comunidad de Madrid), through the research project CCG07- UAM/AMB-1453. This research has received support from the SYNTHESYS Project (http://www.synthesys.info/; FR-TAF 6307, DE-TAF 3319, and SE-TAF 5590) that is fnanced by the European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 "Capacities" Program

We describe and illustrate three new species of Euphorbia subgenus Chamaesyce from Brazil: E. blepharadena O.L.M.Silva & Cordeiro sp. nov., E. longipedunculata O.L.M.Silva & Riina sp. nov. and E. sobolifera O.L.M.Silva & P.J.Braun sp. nov. Based on morphological characteristics, E. blepharadena sp. nov. and E. longipedunculata sp. nov. are placed in the subcosmopolitan section Anisophyllum, whereas E. sobolifera sp. nov. is placed in the more geographically restricted section Crossadenia. The three new species are compared with their most similar species in each section, and accompanied by comments on habitat and distribution, illustrations, photographs, and proposed conservation status., We thank the curators of all the herbaria cited in this work for providing access to their collections. We are grateful to FAPESP for the scholarship awarded to the first author (FAPESP process number 2019/09237-0) and the financial support for I. Cordeiro CNPq process number 309917/2015-8); to the two anonymous reviewers for their contributions to early versions of the manuscript; to Klei Souza for producing the illustrations presented in this work; and to B.G. Brito for collecting and sending samples of Euphorbia sobolifera sp. nov. for the elaboration of this manuscript.

This work presents the taxonomic treatment of the genus Astraea in Bahia. The state, along with Minas Gerais, has the highest diversity of Astraea , with seven species recognized: A. digitata , A. gracilis , A. klotzschii , A. paulina , A. praetervisa , A. subcomosa and A. surinamensis . The treatment includes an identification key, descriptions, photographs and distribution maps, besides comments on geographical distribution, habitat and phenology.

Astraea is a genus with 13 species, widely distributed throughout Neotropics and especially diverse in Brazil. The genus is currently placed in Crotoneae as sister to Acidocroton. This work aimed to characterize the pollen of Astraea as a contribution to the taxonomy and to understand the evolution of pollen traits between Astraea and Acidocroton. Pollen grains of 12 species of Astraea and three of Acidocroton were gathered from herbarium specimens, acetolyzed, measured, photographed and described under light microscope and scanning electron microscopy. Our results demonstrate that Astraea is a stenopolinic (stenopalynous) genus with pollen grains that are apolar, spherical, medium to large, inaperturate, showing a Croton pattern exine with sexine thicker than nexine, and with rosettes having clavae or pila in their lumen. The rosettes consist of 5-7(-8) pila that can be rounded to triangular with psilate to plicate surface. Pollen features did not reveal synapomorphies for Astraea, Acidocroton or even for the Astraea + Acidocroton clade. Several pollen features evolved independently among recent lineages of Astraea, and we interpreted these evolutionary shifts as adaptations to new habitats. This work consolidates the palynological knowledge of Astraea and Acidocroton and will contribute to future palynological and systematic studies in Euphorbiaceae.

Astraea is a genus of tribe Crotoneae (Euphorbiaceae: Crotonoideae) widely distributed in the Neotropical region. Its highest diversity is found in eastern Brazil, and a few weedy species were most likely introduced and naturalized in the Paleotropics. Species of Astraea may be recognized by the usually deeply lobed leaves, lacking basilaminar or acropetiolar nectaries; spiciform inflorescence with bisexual cymules at the base and staminate cymules toward the apex; pistillate flowers with a segmented nectary and multifid styles; staminate flowers with an imbricate calyx, petals bearing dense moniliform trichomes at the basal portion of their margin and 11–15 stamens; and usually tetragonal and verrucose seeds, bearing a caruncle. Based on recent advances in the taxonomic and systematic knowledge of Astraea, we present a taxonomic revision of the genus. Thirteen species are recognized based on morphological characters. We present a full review of morphology and geographical distribution of the genus, along with data on ecology, phytochemistry and medicinal uses, gathered from the literature and fieldwork. Along with an identification key to the species, we provide descriptions, illustrations and photographs, as well as etymology and vernacular names, geographical distribution and ecology, conservation status and comments on taxonomic and nomenclatural matters. Fifteen lectotypes and three neotypes are newly designated here.

The Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC) was established by the Conference of Parties in 2002 to decrease the loss of plant diversity, reduce poverty and contribute to sustainable development. To achieve this overarching goal, the GSPC has established a series of targets, one of which is to ensure that plant diversity is well understood, so that it can be effectively conserved and used in a sustainable manner. Brazil hosts more than 46,000 species of plants, algae and fungi, representing one of the most biodiverse countries on Earth, and playing a key role in the GSPC. To meet the GSPC goals of Target 1 and facilitate access to plant diversity, Brazil committed to preparing the List of Species of the Brazilian Flora (2008-2015) and the Brazilian Flora 2020 (2016-present). Managing all the information associated with such great biodiversity has proven to be an extremely challenging task. Here, we synthesize the history of these projects, focusing on the multidisciplinary and collaborative approach adopted to develop and manage the inclusion of all the knowledge generated though digital information systems. We further describe the methods used, challenges faced, and strategies adopted, as well as summarize advances to date and prospects for completing the Brazilian flora in 2020.

Identifying traits contributing to the success of organisms living in harsh environments has always been of great interest in evolutionary ecology. Here we focused on morphological features that could be advantageous for the survival of Croton mollis, a slender shrub occurring in the extreme white-sand habitats of the Amazonian igapos (black/clear-water rivers). We examined macro-morphological characters, as well as leaf micro-morphology using light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. We also estimated areas of habitat suitability for C. mollis based on climatic, soil, and elevation variables using species distribution modelling (SDM) and available herbarium collections. Our results show that C. mollis presents morphological attributes similar to those of rheophytes, which may allow the species to overcome drastic seasonal changes in water level. We report the presence of five secretory structures (extrafloral nectaries, colleters, idioblasts, glandular trichomes, and laticifers) in the leaves. The size and position of the secretory idioblasts support the hypothesis of the existence of a transitional storage for secondary metabolites from idioblasts to secretory trichomes. Besides glandular trichomes, we also found stellate trichomes and trichome-like emergences in leaves. We hypothesize that these emergences could have an important role in the species’ survival due to their capacity of absorbing atmospheric moisture. Finally, the SDM supported the known habitat preferences of C. mollis and estimated a relatively wider geographic range than the currently known distribution based on herbarium records, suggesting that collecting efforts in the Amazonian region need to be increased in the future.

—A new species, Euphorbia adenoplicata, is here described and illustrated. The species was found in the vicinity of Serra Geral do Tocantins, close to the border of the states of Tocantins and Bahia, within the Cerrado biome, where it grows in cerrado rupestre (rocky savannah vegetation). Euphorbia adenoplicata is placed in Euphorbia sect. Crossadenia based on morphological characters. The species is unique within the section due to its cyathial glands with the margins folded in the middle portion, splitting each gland into two cavities. We compare the morphology and ecology of E. adenoplicata with E. sarcodes and other species of E. sect. Crossadenia subsect. Ephedropeplus. Finally, we recommend that E. adenoplicata be considered critically endangered due to its extreme rarity.

Euphorbiaceae is one of the richest families in the State of São Paulo, with 37 genera and around 150 species. A synopsis of Astraea was published as part of the treatment for the tribe Crotoneae, but recent taxonomic and systematic advances have brought a more refined knowledge about the genus, especially for the widespread Astraea lobata. This species had its morphological delimitation poorly defined until very recently and, as a result, about five species were distinguished based on morphological characters. In this work, we update the synopsis of Astraea as part of the taxonomic revision of the genus and studies on Euphorbiaceae for the Flora Fanerogâmica do Estado de São Paulo project. We present an identification key, photographs of diagnostic characters, and an updated distribution map for the five species of Astraea found in São Paulo, along with a list of specimens for the state. RESUMO Euphorbiaceae é uma das famílias mais ricas em espécies no Estado de São Paulo, com 37 gêneros e cerca de 150 espécies. A sinopse de Astraea foi publicada como parte do tratamento para a tribo Crotoneae, mas avanços taxonômicos e sistemáticos recentes trouxeram um conhecimento mais refinado sobre o gênero, especialmente para a amplamente distribuída Astraea lobata. Esta espécie tinha sua delimitação morfológica mal definida até muito recentemente e, como resultado, cerca de cinco espécies foram reconhecidas com base em caracteres morfológicos. Neste trabalho, nós atualizamos a sinopse de Astraea como parte da revisão taxonômica do gênero e estudos em Euphorbiaceae para o projeto Flora Fanerogâmica do Estado de São Paulo. Nós apresentamos uma chave de identificação, fotografias de caracteres diagnósticos, e um mapa de distribuição atualizado com as cinco espécies de Astraea encontradas em São Paulo, junto com uma lista de exsicatas para o Estado.

Croton has ca. 1200 species and a pantropical distribution, representing the second largest genus in Euphorbiaceae. In this work, we aim to characterize morphologically the pollen grains of 105 species of Croton, besides other representatives of tribe Crotoneae, to provide palynological data sustaining its current delimitation and classification and understand how pollen grains evolved in the tribe. Floral buds were obtained from specimens and then acetolyzed, measured and described under light and scanning electronic microscopy. Pollen grains analyzed are medium to large, spherical, apolar, inaperturate and have the sexine thicker than the nexine. The Croton pattern is composed of pila or spine as ornamentation subunits, whose surface may be psilate, plicate or striate. Data on type, disposition, and distribution of sexine elements in the lumen of the rosettes are important to distinguish species. The spine Croton pattern has a single origin in Croton and is derived from the pilum type. Our study corroborates the stenopalynous status of Crotoneae since palynological features are highly conserved in the tribe. On the other hand, we point to the potential of the configuration of ornamentation units associated with the diameter of pollen grains to understand pollen evolution in the tribe.

Euphorbia heterophylla L. is regarded as a major weed worldwide. Its high aggressiveness in agricultural environment prompted us to investigate the allelopatic activity and chemical constitution of extracts from roots of this plant. Hexane extract showed low phytotoxic activity. Methanol extract at 2.0 mg mL−1 inhibited 100% of germination, root and shoot growth of the indicator plants Sorghum bicolor and Lactuca sativa. β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and esters of lupeol, germanicol, taraxasterol, pseudotaraxasterol, α-amyrin and β-amyrin were isolated from the hexane extract and their structures elucidated on the basis of MS and 1H, 13C and DEPT-135 NMR data. GC-MS analysis of the derivatized methanol extract allowed for identifying a series of allelopathic organic acids potentially involved in allelopathic interactions of E. heterophylla. This is the first study on the allelopathic activity of extracts and identification of metabolites from roots of E. heterophylla.

We investigated species relationships in Astraea, a primarily Neotropical genus of tribe Crotoneae centered in Brazil, using data from the nuclear ribosomal ITS, and the plastid trnL-trnF and psbA-trnH spacers. With all species of Astraea sampled, along with representatives from across Crotoneae, the evolutionary history of Astraea was interpreted in a broader framework, as well as divergence time estimates and reconstructions of ancestral areas and morphological character states for Crotoneae. Our results show that Astraea is monophyletic, consisting of three main clades, and that most of its diversification took place from the Oligocene to the Pliocene, coincident with the formation of the South American “dry diagonal”. As for Crotoneae, our data show incongruent phylogenetic positions between the nuclear and chloroplast data for most of its genera, and that the ancestor of the tribe was probably arborescent and might have occupied the Amazon Basin, most likely in moist forest, from which it spread throughout South America in the early Eocene. Ancestral state reconstruction recovered deeply lobed leaves and staminate petals bearing moniliform trichomes as putative synapomorphies for Astraea, whereas the absence or strong reduction of pistillate petals is widespread in Crotoneae and may be a synapomorphy for the tribe.

A new species of Euphorbia sect. Alectoroctonum from Brazil is described and illustrated. Euphorbia sarcoceras belongs to the “Dichlium” group, and is compared to Euphorbia estevesii, E. jablonskii, E. insulana, and E. sciadophila, the other species of E. sect. Alectoroctonum that also occur in Brazil. The new species occurs in seashore plains vegetation (“restingas”) in the states of Rio de Janeiro and Santa Catarina and is characterized by fleshy appendages of the cyathial glands. Problems concerning the application of the name Euphorbia laevigata are discussed, and a key to the species of E. sect. Alectoroctonum in Brazil is also presented.

Euphorbia L., with around 2000 species, is the biggest genus of Euphorbiaceae and one of the largest and most diverse genera within Angiosperms. It shows an almost cosmopolitan distribution and notable morphological diversity and is characterized by a pseudanthial inflorescence, the cyathium, which is unique to the genus. Along with its great morphological diversity in growth form, seed characters such as shape, testa ornamentation and presence or absence of caruncle are among its most notable and variable features. Given the potential utility of seed characters for species identification, we set to characterize the seeds from all known species (24) of Euphorbia occurring in the state of Sao Paulo, using photos and scanning electronic microscopy images. These species belong to three subgenera and seven sections of Euphorbia, and their morphological diversity is discussed in a phylogenetic context according to the most recent classification. Seed characters such as shape, size, testa ornamentation, and presence or absence of caruncle proved to be useful for identification of sections and for distinguishing closely related species.

Made available in DSpace on 2019-10-04T12:33:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2018-01-01 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) A new species of Euphorbia sect. Brasilienses V.W. Steinm. & Dorsey is described. Euphorbia tetrangularis Hurbath & Cordeiro is endemic to the Serra de Montevideu, a part of the Espinhaco Range located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It differs from other species within the section based on the following characters: 4-ribbed branches, green cyathia, and green cyathial glands with erect appendages. This new species would qualify as critically endangered (CR) according to IUCN criteria. An inferred phylogeny based on a combined dataset of nuclear (ITS1) and plastid regions (psbA-trnH, trnC-ycf6, matK, atpI-atpH, psbJ-petA, trnQ-rps16x1) confirms the monophyly of Euphorbia sect. Brasilienses and supports the recognition of E. tetrangularis. The phylogeny also suggests that this group probably underwent a recent radiation. Inst Bot, Nucleo Pesquisa Curadoria Herbario SP, Ave Miguel Stefano 3687, BR-04045972 Sao Paulo, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista Rio Claro, Dept Ecol, Lab Ecol Mol, Ave 24A 1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Campinas, Dept Biol Vegetal, Cidade Univ Zeferino Vaz Barao Geraldo, BR-13083863 Campinas, SP, Brazil Univ Estadual Paulista Rio Claro, Dept Ecol, Lab Ecol Mol, Ave 24A 1515, BR-13506900 Rio Claro, SP, Brazil CNPq: CNPq 309917/2015-8 FAPESP: FAPESP 2015/11812-1

Twenty-nine species of Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) from the state of Bahia are recognized here. Key for identification, descriptions, illustrations, and comments about the taxa, as well as distribution maps of the species in the state, are presented.

Astraea lobata is the most complex species within Astraea due to its wide distribution range and lack of clear diagnostic characters in its current delimitation. Based on an extensive revision of herbarium specimens and field observations, we recognize three more entities, including two new combinations, apart from A. lobata s.s.: A. surinamensis and A. trilobata , two weedy species distributed both in the New and Old World, and A . paulina , which is only known from Brazil and Bolivia. We also reestablish A. klotzschii as distinct from A. macroura and synonymize A. aureomarginata and A. hauthalii under A. cincta.

A new combination in Sagotia, Sagotia heterocalyx, based on Sandwithia heterocalyx is herein proposed once this taxon shares more similarities with Sagotia (such as flowers without nectaries, the pistillate ones with calyx lobes united only near the base and thick styles, and staminate flowers with sessile to subsessile stamens) than with Sandwithia (whose flowers are provided with nectaries, the pistillate ones with calyx lobes united for more than half of their length and thin styles, and staminate flowers with conspicuous filaments).Comments on morphological affinities between Sandwithia and Sagotia and an updated key for identification of species of these two genera are also presented, along with the lectotypification of Sandwithia guyanensis.

We report the first record of Euphorbia pedersenii (Euphorbiaceae) for Brazil, a rare species previously known from a few localities in Argentina. The species belongs to Euphorbia sect. Nummulariopsis and is characterized by its small habit with a well-developed tuberous root system, usually linear leaves, trapezoidal cyathial glands, and pubescent ovary and fruit. In the state of Rio Grande do Sul it grows in open grasslands of the Pampa region, a phytogeographic domain severely impacted by agriculture. We provide an assessment of the conservation status and geographical distribution and habitat of E. pedersenii, along with an identification key to the species of sect. Nummulariopsis occurring in Brazil.

Phytoplasmas infestations are widely documented in angiosperms, especially in ornamental species (Chaturverdi et al. 2010). Infestations by these phloem-limited plant pathogenic bacteria may induce several symptoms such as loss of floral meristem determinacy and abnormal flower development, including virescence of floral organs and phyllody, i.e., replacement of floral organs by leaf-like structures (Lee et al. 2000, Chatuverdi et al. 2010). However, symptoms may also vary according to the plant host and other factors, such as localization of phytoplasmas in host tissues (Bertaccini 2007). Some species may be infested but remain asymptomatic by seasonal dormancy and they may act as reservoirs for the further spread of the phytoplasmas, involving insect vectors (Dermastia et al. 2017). Developments in the detection methods of phytoplasmas have contribute to a better understanding of these intriguing bacteria, and nowadays identification of these organisms rely mostly in molecular methods such as polymerase chain reaction of selected phytoplasma-specific gene regions (Dermastia et al. 2017). Our current understanding about phytoplasmas includes knowledge on how the phenotypes linked to the infestation by phytoplasmas are triggered: Kitazawa et al. (2017) presented results which suggest that these changes in floral organs are caused by the interactions of phyllogen (a virulence factor conserved in phytoplasmas) with ABCE-class MADS domains transcription factor (MTFs), which is known as key regulator of floral organs development in angiosperms.

Within Astraea Klotzsch (1841: 194), Astraea lobata (Linnaeus 1753: 1005) Klotzsch (1841: 194) may be considered the most taxonomically complex species due to its wide geographical distribution and the several varieties that have been proposed for this species by Müller Argoviensis (1866, 1874). In his concept, Müller Argoviensis (1866) united under Croton lobatus Linnaeus (1753: 1005) plants with 3–5-partite leaves almost as long as the petioles, subulate stipules, the bracts not well developed and ovaries with varied indumentum. In De Candolles’s Prodromus, Müller Argoviensis (1866) recognized eight varieties, maintaining this concept in the Flora Brasiliensis (Müller Argoviensis 1874) with few modifications. Morphological characters and geographical distribution support the recognition of some of these varieties as species distinct from A. lobata. As part of an undergoing taxonomic revision of Astraea, these distinct taxa must be validly published for further studies on this genus. Therefore, in this note we propose these novelties with commentaries about morphology and geographic distribution, along with photos to illustrate them and lectotypifications when necessary.

This contribution presents updates to the knowledge of the species of Euphorbia that occur in Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. More specifically, we here typify the names E. cyathophora , E. hirtella , E. paranensis and E. stenophylla , and present the first records of E. cyathophora , E. graminea , E. ophthalmica and E. thymifolia for Santa Catarina. Finally, we provide an updated identification key to all 30 species of Euphorbia that occur in Santa Catarina, including native, naturalised and cultivated species.

Euphorbia is the largest genus of Euphorbiaceae and is among the giant genera of Angiosperms. In the state of Sao Paulo, the genus is represented by 23 species occurring in savannas, high altitude fields, and anthropic areas. This work includes an identification key, photographs, and comments on morphology, habitat, and geographical distribution. We reestablish Euphorbia chrysophylla and recognize Leptopus brasiliensis as a synonym of Euphorbia sciadophila . Six new records for the state of Sao Paulo are presented: Euphorbia adenoptera , E. bahiensis , E. chrysophylla , E. cordeiroae , E. foliolosa and E. ophthalmica . Eight lectotypes are designated.

Astraea Klotzsch (1841: 194) was considered a synonym of Croton Linnaeus (1753: 1004) by many authors (Baillon 1858, Muller 1866, Pax & Hoffmann 1931, Webster 1994, Radcliffe-Smith 2001), but based on a molecular phylogenetic study of Croton and related groups, Berry et al. (2005a) justified recognizing Astraea again as a valid genus. De-Paula et al . (2011) showed morphological differences in the flowers of these two genera, corroborating the findings of Berry et al. (2005a). Riina et al. (2014) discussed additional morphological characters separating Astraea from both Croton and its sister genus Brasiliocroton Berry & Cordeiro in Berry et al. (2005b: 357). Some species that were originally described under Croton have already been transferred to Astraea (Berry et al. 2005a, Caruzo & Cordeiro 2007, Zuloaga et al. 2007, Van Ee 2011), and Van Ee (2011) accounted for numerous names of Astraea invalidly published by Klotzsch (1841). However, there are still several species of Croton that should be transferred to Astraea . As part of an ongoing taxonomic revision of the genus Astraea , we herein propose the necessary remaining transfers. Astraea has an estimated 13 species, most of them distributed in South America, especially in Brazil. Astraea lobata (Linnaeus 1753: 1005) Klotzsch (1841: 194) is the only species occurring throughout the Neotropical region and is also found, introduced, in Africa and Yemen.