My research focusses on the taxonomy and evolution of Commelinaceae, the dayflowers. For the African and American tropics, we have a reasonable idea of the diversity of this family. For the Asian species, knowledge is more scattered and incomplete. I use a combination of morphological and molecular methods to complete parts of this puzzle.
Keywords
Taxonomy, Botany, Plants, Commelinaceae, Pollia,
Southeast Asia, Flora Malesiana, Angiosperm353, Hyb-Seq
Researchinterest
I am mainly interested in how we can use the diversity observed in the plant kingdom to distinguish species from one another.
Currently, I am working on the taxonomy of the genus Pollia. This genus can be found worldwide in tropical areas, but most species occur in Souteast Asia. Pollia might even be one of the most striking plant groups in existence, as the hard and brittle fruits are usually blue and have a metallic shine to them. This makes them very conspicuous in shaded forests. People have hypothesised that this colour attracts birds, but we do not know whether this is true (yet). The colour certainly attracts botanists: Most botanical collections turn brown after years or decades, but Pollia fruits retain their shine for more than hundreds of years.
Currenttopics
I am currently working on:
- Phylogeny of Pollia and related genera
- Revision of Pollia
- Trait dependent diversification of Commelineae