Basic Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Notes for Applied Research with Cuban Representatives of Salicornioideae

AGRISOST 1 AGRISOST ISSN-e 1025-0247 RNPS 1831 https://revistas.reduc.edu.cu/index.php/agrisost January-December 2024 Volume 30  e246 Agrisost  Vol. 30, January-December 2024: 1-5 ISSN-e: 1025-0247 Basic Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Notes for Applied Research with Cuban Representatives of Salicornioideae Isidro E. Méndez Santos1, Julio C. Rifa Tellez2 & Miguel E. Gómez Calderín3 1ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0437-8057, The Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz University of Camaguey, Center for Environmental Management Studies, Camagüey, Cuba, 2ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4187-1342, The Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz University of Camaguey, Center for Environmental Management Studies, Camagüey, Cuba, 3ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0008-1952-4660, The Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz University of Camaguey, Center for Environmental Management Studies, Camagüey, Cuba. Citation: Méndez Santos, M. E., Rifa Tellez, J. C., & Gómez Calderín, M. E. (2024). Basic Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Notes for Applied Research with Cuban Representatives of Salicornioideae. Agrisost, 30, 1-5. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17632604 Received: March 4, 2024 Accepted: November 8, 2024 Accepted: December 16, 2024 Funding source: The Ignacio Agramonte University of Camaguey. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare the absence of conflicts of interest Email: ieme[email protected]om, [email protected] Abstract Context: The research is framed in the interest of some producers in economically exploiting native halophytic plants that grow spontaneously in Cuban salt marshes. Aim: To update the taxonomy and nomenclature of Cuban representatives of Salicornioideae Dumortier, in light of phylogenetic relationships revealed to date, and to assess the implications this will have for managing the information needed for applied research. Methods: From the theoretical level of knowledge, the historical-logical, analytical-synthetic, and inductivedeductive methods were used to evaluate empirical data from document analysis. Results: Changes in the systematics of Cuban representatives of Salicornioideae Dumortier have been influenced regarding their family placement, generic delimitation, and the nomenclature of one of the taxa. Conclusions: According to the updated taxonomic system, these plants belong to the family Amaranthaceae A. L. de Jussieu, subfamily Salicornioideae Dumortier, and the genus Salicornia L., with the species S. bigelovii Torr. and S. ambigua Michx. represented in Cuba. Keywords: Systematic botany, flora of Cuba, Amaranthaceae, halophytic plants, alternative crops. Introduction Currently, numerous taxa of Salicornioideae Dumortier (Amaranthaceae / Chenopodiaceae) have garnered significant interest globally due to their economic potential (Rueda, 2012; Ventura & Sagi, 2013). Cuba has also shown interest, at least promoted by the Geomining-Salt Business Group (Geominsal), which is keen on diversifying its productions and utilizing the available spaces in salt processing facilities. Fostering the economic exploitation of these plants will inevitably require applied research in the fields of agronomy and food processing, as well as in sales and quality certification of these products, to mention just a few of the most important aspects. Accordingly, precise taxonomic and nomenclatural information will be essential. This subfamily comprises 11 genera and around 100 species, distributed worldwide in saline, coastal, and inland habitats. They possess multiple morphological, anatomical, and physiological adaptations typical of halophytic plants, among which the most visible are succulence and articulated stems, as well as reduced leaves and flowers (Piirainen et al., 2017). Two of these species have been recorded in Cuba: Salicornia bigelovii Torr. and Sarcocornia perennis (Mill.) A. J. Scott (Acevedo & Strong, 2012; Greuter & Rankin, 2022). However, none of the sources referring to them in the national territory (Richard, 1850; Grisebach, 1866; Sauvalle, 1873; León & Alain, 1951; Acevedo & Strong, 2012; Greuter & Rankin, 2022) include the taxonomic and AGRISOST 2 AGRISOST ISSN-e 1025-0247 RNPS 1831 www.revistas.reduc.edu.cu January-December 2024 Volume 30  e246 nomenclatural precisions that have been achieved internationally in the last 25 years (Stevens, 2001; Kadereit et al., 2003; Alonso & Crespo, 2008; Ogundipe & Chase, 2009; Piirainen et al., 2017). The purposes of this contribution are to update the taxonomy and nomenclature of Cuban representatives of Salicornioideae Dumortier, in light of phylogenetic relationships revealed to date, and to assess the implications this will have for managing the information needed for applied research. Materials and methods The research is conducted within the framework of the business project titled Sustainable production and commercialization of halophytic plants at UEB Salinera El Real, implemented as part of the collaboration between the Geomining-Salt Business Group (Geominsal) and the Ignacio Agramonte Loynaz University of Camagüey. From the theoretical perspective, the historicallogical, analytical-synthetic, and inductive-deductive methods were used to evaluate empirical data from document analysis. The use of scientific names is based on the International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants (Turland et al., 2018). The family subdivision data within Amaranthaceae were taken from Stevens (2001). The generic delimitation follows Piirainen et al. (2017) and the species nomenclature follows Alonso & Crespo (2008), with the abbreviations and symbols proposed by Greuter & Rankin (2022). Results and discussion The contributions of phylogenetic studies conducted over the last 25 years have influenced changes in the systematics of Cuban representatives of Salicornioideae Dumortier regarding their family placement, generic delimitation, and the nomenclature of one of the taxa. Regarding family placement, all literature on Cuban flora (except Richard, 1850) has unanimously classified the group within Chenopodiaceae. However, modern systems, which assign a predominant role to molecular phylogeny, have demonstrated that the latter is monophyletic with the remaining subfamilies of Amaranthaceae (Stevens, 2001; Kadereit et al., 2003; Ogundipe & Chase, 2009). Therefore, they include the former within the latter, as a subfamily. This taxonomic decision has not yet been generalized in international scientific literature, so the genera of Salicornioideae Dumortier are sometimes placed in Chenopodiaceae (Redondo-Gómez et al., 2005; Shepherd et al., 2005; Kadereit et al., 2007; Alonso & Crespo, 2008; Beltrán et al., 2017) and sometimes in Amaranthaceae (Medina et al., 2008; Steffen et al., 2015; Piirainen et al., 2017; Coc-Coj et al., 2020; Custódio et al., 2021). For the purposes of the project aimed at the sustainable production and commercialization of halophytic plants, treating Salicornioideae Dumortier within Amaranthaceae is recommended, despite influential authors for Cuban flora studies (such as Acevedo & Strong, 2012; Greuter & Rankin, 2022) not yet having assumed this taxonomic decision. Obviously, not all former Chenopodiaceae passed as a single subfamily to Amaranthaceae s.l., as while Chenopodioideae Burnett exists within the latter, the genera analyzed in this article are not included in it. If it is necessary to refer to the subfamily rank for the plants under investigation, it should be Salicornioideae Dumortier. Regarding the genera, as already mentioned, Acevedo & Strong (2012), Greuter & Rankin (2022) include one of the species represented in Cuba in Salicornia L. and the other in Sarcocornia Scott. Actually, the latter was described in 1977, before which both were included in the taxon originally established by Linnaeus in 1753. But the independence of Sarcocornia Scott from Salicornia L. has been questioned since the moment the name of the taxon was made effective. A significant group of researchers maintains that the morphological characters commonly used to differentiate them (the woody, perennial habit and the arrangement of flowers at the same level in Sarcocornia Scott, versus the herbaceous, annual consistency and the flowers at two levels of Salicornia L.) do not constitute sufficient taxonomic evidence (Alonso et al., 2006). Recently, Piirainen et al. (2017), using molecular phylogeny, established that the taxa of Sarcocornia Scott are intercalated within the monophyletic clade of Salicornia L., making both unequivocally congeneric, with the priority for nomenclature logically belonging to the latter. Therefore, within the framework of the project in which the research is conducted, it is necessary to consider that, in light of current knowledge, the two species represented in Cuba should be treated within Salicornia L. Regarding the nomenclature of Cuban species, it is only necessary to establish precisions related to the taxon, which has been indistinctly named as Salicornia ambigua Michx. (= Sarcocornia ambigua (Michx.) M.A. Alonso & M.B. Crespo), by Grisebach (1866) and Sauvalle (1873) or as Salicornia perennis Mill.(= Sarcocornia perennis (Mill.) A. J. Scott.) by León & Alain (1951), AGRISOST 3 AGRISOST ISSN-e 1025-0247 RNPS 1831 https://revistas.reduc.edu.cu/index.php/agrisost January-December 2024 Volume 30  e246 Acevedo & Strong (2012), Greuter & Rankin (2022). Alonso & Crespo (2008) demonstrated that the taxon growing in America (and therefore also in Cuba), characterized by being perennial plants, erect or decumbent, only woody at the base, with slender stems, very long and narrow inflorescences, small seeds with appressed hairs, but generally limited to the edges, is Salicornia ambigua Michx. (≡ Sarcocornia ambigua (Michx.) M.A. Alonso & M.B. Crespo). Actually, Salicornia perennis Mill. (≡ Sarcocornia perennis (Mill.) A. J. Scott.) grows only in the Mediterranean region, characterized by shorter inflorescences and larger seeds, entirely covered with long, hooked hairs (Alonso & Crespo, 2008). Obviously, the name Salicornia perennis Mill. (≡ Sarcocornia perennis (Mill.) A. J. Scott.) was misapplied by a group of authors to the taxon growing in Cuba. However, it is still necessary to consider it when managing information needed for ongoing research, as a certain volume of data was previously shared using that name for the plant, though incorrectly. If it needed to be used in the documentation generated as a result of the project, it would be accompanied by a symbol indicating its incorrect application (in quotes, according to Greuter & Rankin, 2022). In this context, it is necessary to consider that all information referring to Salicornia perennis Mill. (≡ Sarcocornia perennis (Mill.) A. J. Scott.) obtained from plants originating from the American continent has a high probability of being attributed to the taxon growing in Cuba (although it will always be necessary to verify it through a contextualized analysis). Conversely, if it was obtained from specimens growing in the Mediterranean region, it should not be attributed to the taxon represented in the country, unless it is something inherent to the genus. Conclusions The updated classification system, available for applied research with Cuban representatives of Salicornioideae Dumortier, is as follows: Author contribution statement The three authors jointly worked on the compilation and evaluation of the information and on the writing of the article. Conflict of interest statement The authors declare the absence of conflicts of interest Acknowledgments The authors express their gratitude to Celio Moya López and Rosa Rankin Rodríguez for their assistance in locating the necessary information. References Acevedo, P., & Strong, M. (2012). Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. 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