Revision of Excoecaria

Image of species

This internship is focused on the revision of the Malesian species of Excoecaria (euphorbiaceae).

 

Supervisor

Peter van Welzen

Contact

peter.vanwelzen@naturalis.nl

Period and duration

Start preferably not during Biodiversity courses and after databasing of collections; duration 9 months. Please, discuss date of research well in advance.

Study and level

Biology, MSc

Backgroud
& context

Probably Excoecaria has 6 species in Malesia, which need revision. One species, E. agallocha, the only one with only alternate leaves, is only growing in the mangrove or close to salt water, while all other species (usually) have opposite leaves. The flowers are very reduced (see drawings). Typical are the solitary flowers on long pedicels. One species, E. oppositifolius, is sometimes seen as a very broad, diverse species, sometimes it is split up in various species. The genus has to be revised for treatment in Flora Malesiana and a preliminary revision is present.

Excoecaria                      Excoecaria

Objectives
and goals

The project is targeted at determining the species of Excoecaria that occur in Malesia and their variation.

Project
results

The project aims to publish the results in a journal, on the Euphorbiaceae website and finally in Flora Malesiana.

Student
requirements

Bachelor courses on biodiversity