Molecular phylogenetic studies of Caribbean palms (Arecaceae) and their relationships to biogeography and conservation.
Introduction Palms are symbols of tropical forest landscapes, and their usefulness, especially for human inhabitants of the tropics, has been documented for over 100 years (e.g. Wallace, 1853; Levi-Strauss, 1952; Dugand, 1972; Balick & Deck, 1990; Byg & Balslev, 2006). The economic importance of palms is comparable...

Molecular phylogenetics and biogeography of the Caribbean-centered Croton subgenus Moacroton (Euphorbiaceae s.s.).
Introduction Croton (Euphorbiaceae s.s.) has historically been treated as one of the largest genera of flowering plants (Frodin, 2004). In the World Checklist and Bibliography of Euphorbiaeeae, Govaerts et al. (2000) reeognized 1,223 species. The genus occurs worldwide, mostly in arid and tropical areas, with greatest species-level...

Climate checkup: symptoms of global warming are becoming more serious in Latin America and the Caribbean, underscoring the urgency of developing sustainable ecosystems.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] There was a time when animals roamed freely across a continental mass of healthy forests--a veritable ocean of green vegetation. Across the length and breadth of the Americas, these forests formed a massive chain of ecosystems that--from the time the Central American isthmus was formed--allowed...

New discoveries in the canellaceae in the antilles: how phylogeny can support taxonomy.
Taxonomic History The Canellaceae are a small tropical plant family of aromatic trees, rarely treelets and shrubs, with a disjunct occurrence between tropical and subtropical America (the Caribbean Region, Costa Rica and South America) and Africa (Madagascar and Eastern Africa). Six genera and ca. 21 species have...

Editorial.
Arthur C. Clarke, famous science fiction writer once pointed out, "How inappropriate to call this planet Earth, when clearly it is Ocean", as about 71% of earth's surface is covered by the oceans. The statement stresses the role and influence of oceans and world coastlines on different forms of...

As long as you are a black man ...
Having grown up in London, I know and recognise all of the comments that Stella speaks about--"that African shop" and knowing "nothing about what is in Africa", all based on ignorance, the same ignorance that I have to correct other Ghanaian and Tanzanian friends who call all Jamaicans thieves...

Lasiocroton trelawniensis (Euphorbiaceae), a critically endangered species from the Cockpit Country of Jamaica, belongs to Bernardia (Euphorbiaceae).
Introduction Conservation without clear knowledge of the taxonomy and phylogenetic status of the target taxa can be deceptive. Phylogenetic reconstructions constitute a necessary aspect of the framework required for assigning conservation priorities (Rodrigues et al., 2005), and phylogenetic trees are fundamental for understanding the taxonomy of endangered...

From the editor.
With this Volume 18, Number 1 February 2008 issue we begin our 18th year of publishing Latin Beat Magazine. We wish to express gratitude to our loyal subscribers from all over the world, to our advertisers, and to everyone who has ever picked up an issue of Latin Beat...

Retirement from Iraq--when?
Editor's Note: Many Americans hoped and even expected that American military withdrawal from Iraq would be well underway by now, but instead we had the "surge." Looking back to the time of U.S. emergence as a world power, this essay finds that far from being unusual, prolonged...

Ismael Miranda: talking to a survivor.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Ismael Miranda's track record speaks for itself. And yet, there are those who contend that this mild-mannered man has not fully received the honor and recognition that is due an artist of his stature. Perhaps this is only partially true, and I'm sure that there...