Research Training Program

Emily Moran
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan

Vicki Funk, Ph.D.
Supervising Scientist
Department of Botany

"For me this summer has been both a fabulous apprenticeship in systematic botany and a chance to explore the hidden treasures of the Smithsonian collections both in my field and in others. I have seen and done things here that I could not have experienced anywhere else."

A Morphological Revision of the Genus Erato (Compositae: Liabeae)

The genus Erato belongs to the daisy family (Compositae) and contains five species found in South America with the greatest number of species in Ecuador. We used characters such as flower size and seed shape, combined with genetic data, to build a "family tree" for these species and their close relatives. We also identified a new species found only in Costa Rica. Results support the concept that Erato is a natural group most closely related to the genus Philoglossa. Strong similarities among the five species within Erato suggest that they share a relatively recent common ancestor. A study of this genus is important because Erato is present in several endangered ecosystems, and understanding the species and their distributions may aid in conservation.

This research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program, Award Number DBI-0243512.

Letter of gratitude