Who knew there were so many bluegrasses in Mexico?ÿ This monographic study of the Mexican species of the large (500+ species), taxonomically complex, world-wide genus Poa, by Smithsonian researchers Robert J. Soreng and Paulÿ M. Peterson, revealed there were 23, including 2 new to science, and 2 previously unknown there.ÿ Two other narrow endemics were described only in the last 10 years. The Mexican species occur mainly in the mountains, and especially in the alpine.ÿ Most of the species occurrences in Mexico presumably reflect establishment during cooler climates of past glacial cycles. Today, several are living on the edge of extinction. Eleven natives are globally rare, or rare in Mexico. Breeding system diversity is high: asexual seed production is obligate in several and facultative in some others, one is dioecious, and some are gynomonoecious, several are perfect-flowered.ÿ At least 3 arrived by long-distance-dispersal from South America?s Andes; 2 aided by asexual reproduction, 1 by the capacity to self-fertilize.

Many well-known specialists have contributed to this book which presents for the first time an in-depth look at the viruses, their satellites and the retrotransposons infecting (or occuring in) one plant family: the Poaceae (Gramineae). After molecular and biological descriptions of the viruses to species level, virus diseases are presented by crop: barley, maize, rice, rye, sorghum, sugarcane, triticales, wheats, forage, ornamental and lawn. A detailed index of the viruses and taxonomic lists will help readers in the search for information.

The catalogue enumerates all taxa of Gymnosperms, Dicotyledons, and Monocotyledons occurring in the West Indies archipelago excluding the islands off the coast of Venezuela (Netherlands Antilles, Venezuelan Antilles, Tobago, and Trinidad). For each accepted taxon, nomenclature (including synonyms described from the West Indies and their references to publication), distribution in the West Indies (including endemic, native, or exotic status), common names, and a numerical listing of literature records are given. Type specimen citations are provided for accepted names and synonyms of Cyperaceae, Sapindaceae, and some selected genera in several families including the Apocynaceae (Plumeria), Aquifoliaceae (Ilex), and Santalaceae (Dendrophthora). More than 30,000 names were treated comprising 208 families, 2,033 genera, and 12,279 taxa, which includes exotic and commonly cultivated plants. The total number of indigenous taxa was approximately 10,470 of which 71% (7,446 taxa) are endemic to the archipelago or part of it. Fifteen new names, 37 combinations, and 7 lectotypifications are validated. A searchable website of this catalogue, maintained and continuously updated at the Smithsonian Institution, is available at http://botany.si.edu/antilles/WestIndies/.