Peperomia is among the most species-rich genera of angiosperms in the Neotropics. Nine of the 14 currently recognized subgenera of Peperomia include terrestrial members. Peperomia subgenus Multipalmata is one of these, characterized by its terrestrial habit forming a rosette, palmate venation with main veins sunken adaxially, simple inflorescences, and subglobose fruits. To date, no monograph, synopsis, or regional/national taxonomic treatment of the subgenus has been published. Here, based on fieldwork, herbarium specimens, and a phylogenetic study, we present the first regional taxonomic revision of Peperomia subgenus Multipalmata for Central America. Nine species are recognized, including Peperomia subrubescens as a new regional record, and two new species are described and illustrated: Peperomia gloriosa, distinguished by its dark-green leaf blades, villous indument, and thick, fleshy, hollow, and curved red spadices, and Peperomia isthmensis, distinguished by its glabrous stems, long-villous petioles and leaf blades and the absence of a dichotomously branched central primary vein. All nine species occur below 1600 m, mainly in moist forest habitats along small streams and rocky areas. A phylogenetic hypothesis based on Sanger sequencing data recovers the relationships of eight out of nine Multipalmata species from Costa Rica and Panama, forming a well-supported clade with three South American species. Peperomia aurorana, P. gymnophylla, P. hammelii, P. syringifolia, and P. trichomanoides previously listed under Multipalmata for Central America are excluded. We provide taxonomic descriptions, illustrations of the new species, photographic plates, a distribution map, preliminary conservation assessment, notes on distribution and habitat, taxonomic comments, and a dichotomous key.

The genus Peperomia (Piperaceae) is one of the richest genera among angiosperms. It occurs pantropically, with highest diversity in the Neotropics. Species are epiphytic, lithophytic, or terrestrial, as well as geophytic in diverse vegetation types, where specifically endemic taxa with limited distribution ranges are threatened by land-use changes. Many of the 134 Peperomia species recorded are distributed in tropical lowland and humid montane forests in southern Mexico, where natural vegetation has been converted into agricultural and livestock fields. Considering the lack of knowledge about the distribution patterns and conservation status of this genus in Mexico, this research aims to determine the geographic distribution and anthropogenic threats to endemic Peperomia species through an exhaustive review and compilation of their occurrence records, followed by a preliminary conservation assessment using the ConR package based on the IUCN criterion B. We determined that a total of 43 Peperomia species are endemic to Mexico, most of which occur in the Sierra Madre del Sur and Veracruzana biogeographic provinces in tropical rain, oak, and coniferous forests. According to the criteria of the IUCN Red List, more than 80% of these belong to a threatened category, showing that independently of their growth habits most species were Endangered (EN). This is because the ecoregions with warm-humid and temperate forests that keep their highest richness are also among the habitats most affected by human activities. As many of these threatened species have few records, more fieldwork in little explored regions is needed to gather and digitize additional herbarium specimens with reliable identification, which are an essential information source for conservation studies.

Currently comprising less than a dozen of accepted species, subgenus Panicularia Miq. occupies a modest place within the large pantropical genus Peperomia Ruiz & Pav. that has more than 1500 species. The subgenus was thought to be restricted to South America, but a new member, presented here as Peperomia inversa G.Mathieu, shows up in Mexico. It is here described, illustrated and documented based on field observations and an extensive herbarium study in 63 herbaria. Its relationships, distribution and conservation status are discussed. The new species is endemic to the states of Jalisco, Guerrero, Michoacán and Oaxaca where it occurs at an elevation of 320–1500 m. It is considered as Vulnerable.

Peperomia is a mega-diverse herbaceous genus with high species richness in the Neotropics, growing mainly as epiphyte or rupicolous/saxicolous. Fourteen subgenera are recognized based on molecular phylogenies. In this study, contributions to P. subg. Pseudocupula in Brazil are presented. During an ongoing taxonomic revision of P. pereskiifolia and allied taxa in Brazil, some incongruent circumscriptions were found which are discussed here. Peperomia pereirae f. pereirae is proposed as a new synonym of P. rubricaulis, and a new combination and status change of P. pereirae f. hirtulicaule to P. hirtulicaulis is presented. Finally, we confirm the occurrence of Peperomia tetragona in Brazil, which has frequently been misidentified in herbarium collections and overlooked in the country. Taxonomic discussion, color photographs, distributional maps and identification key are presented for the treated taxa.

AimEndemic species, characterised by limited geographic ranges, face a high risk of extinction. The neotropical region harbours diverse ecosystems and a substantial number of endemic species, thus identifying areas of high endemism is crucial for protecting unique and threatened species and ecosystems. Vascular epiphytes-nonparasitic plants that grow on other plants without contact with the soil-exhibit remarkable diversity in the neotropics, with 63% of the global total of ca. 31,000 epiphyte species found in this region. This study aims to describe the endemism centres for the five most species-rich families of vascular epiphytes.LocationNeotropics.TaxonTracheophyta.MethodsWe gathered information from free-access web repositories, specific epiphytic plant databases and scientific and grey literature on epiphyte species of the families Araceae, Bromeliaceae, Orchidaceae, Piperaceae and Polypodiaceae within the neotropical realm as defined by Morrone et al. (2022). Geographical ranges were calculated using minimum convex polygons for 11,446 species, accounting for about 70% of all epiphyte species in the neotropics. Narrow endemic species were defined as those within the first quartile of the density distribution of geographic range sizes within each family and we identified endemism centres for epiphyte species of the five families.ResultsOur study identified endemism centres for vascular epiphyte species in several biogeographic provinces, including Paramo, Cauca, Guatuso-Talamanca, Atlantic, Yungas and Puntarenas-Chiriqui. Orchidaceae, accounting for most of the analysed species (71%), drove the overall distribution pattern; however, endemism patterns varied among families.Main ConclusionsRegions with high epiphyte richness exhibited a greater proportion of endemic species, though the composition of epiphyte species varied considerably among regions. The endemism centres identified in this study could be prioritised as conserved and protected areas.

The Neotropical realm hosts some of the Earth’s most species-rich biodiversity hotspots, with vascular epiphytes significantly contributing to this diversity, regionally accounting for up to 39% of the vascular flora. However, many regions of the Neotropics where epiphytic species of restricted distribution are reported coincide with threatened ecosystems, such as the tropical montane cloud forest. Moreover, epiphytes may be especially vulnerable to land use and climate change impacts due to their dependence on host trees. We assessed the conservation status of vascular epiphytes in the Neotropics for the families that represent over 80% of the global epiphyte diversity (Araceae, Bromeliaceae, Orchidaceae, Piperaceae, and Polypodiaceae) and identified geographical centres of accumulation of threatened epiphyte species. We gathered information from free-access web repositories, specific epiphytic plant databases, and scientific and grey literature. We assessed the extinction risk of 11,446 epiphyte species following IUCN Red List guidelines, using Criterion B (geographic range size). We found nearly 60% (6,721 species) to be threatened, with 1,766 critically endangered (CR), 3,537 endangered (EN), and 1,418 vulnerable (VU). The threatened species are mainly found in the centres of endemism of vascular epiphytes in Central America, the northern Andes, and the Atlantic Forest. Our study emphasises that the centres of threatened species largely coincide with diversity hotspots, highlighting epiphytes as an especially vulnerable group that requires urgent conservation actions.

Piperaceae is one of the most diverse plant families. Peperomia, the second largest genus of this family, has about 10 species in India which are distributed from the Northern Himalayas to the Southern Peninsula. Here we describe a new species of Peperomia from Sikkim Himalaya in northeastern India. A color plate, line drawing, distribution map, description, and taxonomic key to current species of Peperomia in Sikkim are provided.

The aim of this work was to compile and synthesize information about the diversity and distribution of epiphytic angiosperms in Veracruz State to obtain updated data of this important plant group. Based on the revision of herbarium material and specialized literature, as well as the collection of botanical specimens, we recorded a total of 21 families, 142 genera and 569 species. The families with highest species richness were Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae and Piperaceae, whereas the genera with most taxones were Tillandsia, Peperomia and Epidendrum. Most of the species are distributed in the tropical rainforest (287) and humid montane forest (285), in an altitudinal range between 0 to 1,500 m asl. This information can be used for the study of specific epiphyte groups and to propose management and conservation plans, as many of these plants are particularly sensitive to changes caused by anthropic disturbances.

El objetivo de este trabajo fue compilar y sintetizar la información sobre la diversidad y distribución de las angiospermas epífitas del estado de Veracruz para obtener datos actualizados de este importante grupo vegetal. Con base en la revisión de material de herbario y literatura especializada, así como en la recolección de ejemplares botánicos, se registraron un total de 21 familias, 142 géneros y 569 especies. Las familias con mayor riqueza de especies fueron Orchidaceae, Bromeliaceae y Piperaceae, mientras que los géneros con mayor número de taxones fueron Tillandsia, Peperomia y Epidendrum . La mayoría de las especies se distribuyen en el bosque tropical perennifolio (287) y bosque mesófilo de montaña (285), en un intervalo altitudinal que va de 0 a 1,500 m snm. Esta información puede ser utilizada para el estudio de grupos específicos de epífitas y para proponer planes de manejo y conservación, ya que un gran número de estas plantas son particularmente sensibles a los cambios ocasionados por perturbaciones antrópicas.

Peperomia pasionana Trelease ex G.Mathieu and Peperomia tancitaroana Trelease ex J.Viccon & G.Mathieu, two new species, endemic to southwest Mexico (Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán), are described, illustrated and compared with morphologically similar taxa. Both were already recognized as novelties by William Trelease more than 70 years ago, but never published. They belong to subgenus Oxyrhynchum (Dahlst.) Samain.

Three endemic Peperomia Ruiz & Pay. species (Piperaceae) from the eastern Malagasy rainforests are presented as new to science.They are described, illustrated, compared with presumed closest relatives and their conservation status assessments are provided. Peperomia irrasa G. Mathieu seems to be restricted to the Anjanaharibe massif, while Peperomia robusta G. Mathieu is reported from the National Park of Zahamena to the Loky-Manambato Protected Area (Daraina). Peperomia variilimba G. Mathieu is an apparently common species occurring from the Tsaratanana massif to Analamazaotra. These novelties bring the number of accepted Peperomia species on Madagascar to 42.

Abstract Mathieu, G. (2020). Peperomia leptostachya (Piperaceae) revived. Candollea 75: 45–49. In English, English abstract. For about forty-five years a far too heterogenous concept of Peperomia blanda (Jacq.) Kunth has been adopted. A strong plea is made to apply the name Peperomia leptostachya Hook. & Arn. for a species with a wide distribution in the paleotropics and to limit the use of the name Peperomia blanda to a neotropical species from northern Venezuela. Several new synonyms of Peperomia leptostachya are presented. Received: January 15, 2020; Accepted: February 7, 2020; First published online: March 24, 2020

The preparation of a taxonomic treatment of the genus Peperomia (Piperaceae) for the 'Flora of Veracruz', revealed that three species remained without being described. This finding is a result of the review and study of botanical collections in several Mexican and foreign herbaria, as well as of field work in order to collect living and fertile material, which allowed us to describe and illustrate the species as new to science. Two of these, P. chazaroi and P. vazquezii, appear to be endemic to Veracruz, whereas P. parastriata was also found in the neighboring states Chiapas and Oaxaca. The treatment includes assessments of conservation status considering IUCN Red List criteria.

Two new species of Peperomia from the state of Chiapas, Mexico, P. asarifolioides García-Martínez & Beutelspacher and P. pseudoasarifolia Callejas & G.Mathieu, are described and illustrated. Both are morphologically close to Peperomia asarifolia Schltdl & Cham. and specimens of both new species have been identified as that species in the past. However, recent field work and thorough herbarium study revealed them to be distinct species.

'Rabbit tail' Peperomia Ruiz & Pavon (Piperaceae) species are peculiar in the ellipsoid or globose shape of their inflorescences. Notes on three species of this group are presented.The taxonomic status of Peperomia clavigera Standl. & Steyerm. is discussed and two new species: Peperomia physostachya G. Mathieu from Ecuador and Peperomia sphaerostachya G. Mathieu from Colombia are described and illustrated.

During a floristic study, carried out in the Parque Estadual Turístico do Alto Ribeira (PETAR), in São Paulo state, Southeastern Brazil, Peperomia bernhardiana, a poorly known species of Atlantic Forest, has been collected. We present an emended description of the species based on the recently collected specimens and provide color photographs of fresh specimens. We verified the need to designate a neotype for this name and propose one to substitute the destroyed holotype.

A new Peperomia species from the state of Oaxaca, Mexico is described and illustrated. It shows the typical morphological characters of subgenus Tildenia (presence of an underground tuber and leaves and inflorescences directly originating from that tuber), but differs from all other members of that subgenus by the orbicular to reniform, cordate, non-peltate leaves.

We present an overview of the diversity, distribution, and conservation status of all 60 species of the genus Peperomia ("radiator plants," Piperaceae), which are currently known from the state of Veracruz in Mexico, including a taxonomically updated reference list that includes information about life form, overall distribution, endemism, and occurrence in Mexican states and municipalities of Veracruz. Specifically, for this latter state, we provide information on elevational range, habitat, and distinguishing characters useful for identification or uses. Moreover, we realize an assessment of conservation status considering International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List categories and criteria at regional level. About 45% of Peperomia species from Veracruz belong to a threatened category, mainly because of the continued loss and fragmentation of natural habitats.