Viola, and specialists of Flacourtiaceae or Old World Crassulaceae

[Harvey E. Ballard, Jr.]

I have been working with North American Viola since 1979, and with my
return to graduate school, I launched into a two-stage doctoral project
(silly me) involving (1) the systematics of Mexican/Central American Viola,
with a monographic treatment, and (2) a worldwide study of infrageneric
groups in Viola using morphology, published chromosome numbers (plus a few
of my own) and DNA sequences.  Not having succumbed yet, I have finished
the systematic studies of the Middle American Violas and am well on my way
to finishing up the monographic treatment, which I hope to ship off this
fall to "Systematic Botany Monographs".  I have also wrapped up my
morphological data gathering on infrageneric groups, have made a
preliminary compilation of the hundreds of chromosome numbers and am
digesting and verifying some of these, and am in the midst of getting the
remaining nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS) sequences for 60 species.

I will be traveling to the Southwestern U.S. in late April and western
Europe in late May to get some critical representatives of otherwise poorly
represented or unrepresented sections and subsections of Viola.  I have
also been very lucky in obtaining DNA and sequences from herbarium material
up to about 35 years old.

My plea for help:
In spite of the trips and available herbarium material, and plenty of
morphological data on the groups, however, I still am lacking adequate
representative taxa in several groups, notably of southeastern Asia and
South American Andes.  I would especially be grateful to get
representatives of the Viola serpens alliance, by some now identified as
series Australasiaticae; additional members of section Erpetion (Viola
hederacea group) in Australasia; any of the "long-spurred" subsection
Rostratae or subsection Viola (Viola rostrata-acuminata group); additional
members of subsection Adnatae (Viola selkirkii-mandshurica group); section
Dischidium in the Himalayas (Viola wallichiana group); eastern
Mediterranean pansies of section Melanium or of section Xylinosium (Viola
arborescence group); any rosette-forming members of section Andinium (Viola
asterias group) or of section Chilenium (Viola commersonii-magellanica
group) both from the Andes; and Hybanthus enneaspermus or any of the
Australian Hybanthi (except H. floribundus, which I now have) to add to the
outgroup.  This is perhaps a ridiculously tall order, but I figured I would
ask for help.  Because I have had good luck with dried herbarium material,
I would be thrilled to get duplicates you may not need, which I can then
deposit here at WIS (I am working to build up our worldwide Viola
collection as well).

On another issue, I am trying also to expand my horizons by seeking other
groups with which I can also make a contribution to my field.  I haven't
gotten sick of Viola yet, and have begun working with other neotropical
Violaceae as well; but I would like to have additional groups to "play
with" as secondary interests.  Does anyone know whether there are many
specialists working with Flacourtiaceae on a regional or continental level,
for instance, or with Old World Crassulaceae?  I have been interested in
the former for some time now, and met up with Aeonium and other segregate
genera in the Canary Islands some years ago (and liked them right off).

Looking forward to hearing from folks,
and grateful for any help,
Harvey Ballard
--
Harvey E. Ballard, Jr.
Department of Botany, University of Wisconsin-Madison
132 Birge, 430 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1381
Fax: (608) 262-7509; office phone: (608) 262-2792 (Rm. 161, Herbarium);
Systma lab phone: (608) 262-4422; e-mail: HBVIOLET at MACC.WISC.EDU

ÿÿ    Viola, and specialists of Flacourtiaceae or Old World Crassulacea       MI