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Geographical ecology of the palms (Review)

doi:10.1093/aob/mcr146

Palms (Arecaceae) are an important element of tropical vegetation across the world and serve as a model system in geographical ecology. Eiserhardt et al. (pp. 1391–1416) review how the abiotic environment, biotic interactions and dispersal influence palm distribution and diversity patterns across spatial scales, and discuss contemporary vs. historical impacts of these factors and the scale at which they function. A key finding is that determinants of palm distributions, composition and richness vary with spatial scale.

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Phylogeny of arecoid palms

doi:10.1093/aob/mcr020

The Arecoideae is the largest, most diverse and most economically important palm subfamily and yet relationships within the group are poorly understood. Baker et al. (pp. 1417–1432) collect nuclear DNA sequence data for the low-copy nuclear genes PRK and RPB2 from 190 palm species, covering 103 genera of Arecoideae, and generate the most extensive arecoid phylogeny published to date. Their findings strongly support the current classification of palms, resolve several well-supported ‘deep’ relationships and identify priorities for future research.

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