We, the plant people from UofA, took the herbarium van down to Monticello, AR, this past weekend to attend the Arkansas Native Plant Society! We had the chance to learn about diseases affecting the loblolly pine, enjoy fantastic talks from students who received ANPS grants last year, and join several field trips to explore the amazing plant biodiversity in that part of the state. Huge congratulations to this incredible society that truly makes a difference in advancing the study of botany in Arkansas. Also, I bought a really cute hat to support the society! ☺️
Dr. Latvis joined Leo and me for the second part of the trip! Our first stop was Serra do Cipó National Park, where we found Esterhazya nanuzae and Agalinis brachyphylla. We also admired a waterfall where Maribeth had collected A. angustifolia more than ten years ago, but unfortunately, we did not find the population this time (at least not flowering). We then continued north through Minas Gerais, visiting Sempre-Vivas National Park, where we had the amazing help of Norton, who drove us through some challenging roads and helped us search for plants. After a major thunderstorm, we successfully found our first population of A. angustifolia! We also explored the city of Diamantina, known for its beautiful architecture and very steep, narrow streets. Before leaving Diamantina for our next stop, we explored the surrounding region and found more A. brachyphylla and A. angustifolia populations.
I had the opportunity to return to my home country to sample species from the group that is the focus of my postdoctoral research, Agalinis and Esterhazya. We began our fieldwork in Minas Gerais, a region considered a biodiversity hotspot for this group, especially because many species are endemic to the campos rupestres ecoregion. This ecoregion constitutes less than 1% of Brazilian territory but is extremely biodiverse, consisting of discontinuous and isolated highland grasslands and rocky outcrops in eastern Brazil, where Agalinis and Esterhazya species particularly thrive. For the first part of the trip, I had the amazing help of Dr. Leonardo Gonçalves and Dr. Alice Backes. We started in Belo Horizonte and drove to Serra da Canastra National Park. After driving on some terrible dirt roads in a non-4x4 car, we managed to find Esterhazya macrodonta and E. splendida, in addition to admiring beautiful landscapes, waterfalls, sunsets, plants and animals—and enjoying delicious food (seriously, if you have the chance, try it—it is so worth it! “Comida mineira” is nationally famous and considered one of the best in the country). Unfortunately, we did not find Agalinis nana, which is endemic to Serra da Canastra National Park and has not been collected in over ten years.
The conference season of 2024 wrapped up with the Evolution conference in Montreal. I presented a talk about species delimitation in Petunia, which you can watch here. Evolution is always a fun conference to attend. I had the chance to see some old friends, make new ones, and witness the amazing science on evolution being done worldwide. Special shoutout to the wonderful societies that organized the conference. Also, Montreal is a beautiful city with stunning sunsets, great food, and beautiful architecture. If you have the chance, visit the Montreal Botanical Garden. Merci beaucoup to everyone!
I had the chance to attend the BOTANY conference in person for the first time! It was so much fun—I met amazing people, gave my first talk at a conference, and learned so much about the cool science everyone is doing. I was also lucky enough to be part of the PLANTS program, where I got to share experiences with Elizabeth Mandala and Kandiss Dowdell. Big thanks to everyone in the Latvis lab for the company, as well as to the BSA, the PLANTS program, and everyone who made this experience so enjoyable! This was also my first time in Michigan, and we got to see a beautiful sunset at the beach (the water was cold, but it was so worth it!).
Great news! I’ve just relocated to Fayetteville, Arkansas, to start a postdoctoral position at Maribeth Latvis’s lab at the University of Arkansas. We will focus on the South American Agalinis species, an intriguing system as they migrated from North America to South America, where they underwent two rapid radiations—one in the Andean region and another in Brazil—and hummingbird pollination evolved at least twice. During my time in Brazil, I had the opportunity to observe A. communis in its natural habitat, which happened to be on my old campus! I’m thrilled to start this new chapter of my academic journey and grateful for the warm welcome by the team at the Latvis lab! Go Razorbacks! 🐗
Alice and I visited Morro do Osso (Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil) in search of the different morphotypes of Calibrachoa ovalifolia. Alice is using genomic data to determine whether these variations represent merely different colorations (that could change with the individual’s age), hybrids between a light and a dark corolla species, or potentially even a distinct species. In the same area, we can also find Calibrachoa excellens - which displays a much darker purple corolla - and Petunia integrifolia. Stay tuned for exciting results coming soon!
Thanks to the ESEB Godfrey Hewitt Mobility Award, I had the opportunity to adventure myself in cytogenetics at Dr. Rocio Deanna’s lab in Cordoba, Argentina. I spent a month there, where I learned a lot and had the pleasure of meeting some amazing people and collaborators (Amália Ibiapino, David Hoyos, Juan D. Urdampilleta). I was fortunate enough to explore the beautiful Argentinean landscape and indulge in its amazing cuisine (🥐 media lunas for breakfast - delicious!). I want to express my gratitude to everyone for the warm welcome and the wonderful experience! 💖
There’s nothing better than starting my posts here (although I’m a few months late, haha 🤭) by saying that I successfully defended my dissertation! After 4.5 years of hard work, I completed my thesis with five chapters covering several aspects of hybridization in the diversification process of Petunia. It was truly special to share this moment with my family, friends, and the members of the committee: Prof. Dr. Clarisse Palma-Silva, Dr. Alexandre Rizzo Zuntini (who actually encouraged me to create this website!), and Prof. Dr. Nelson Fagundes. Here are some photos from the celebration! A special thanks to my advisor Prof. Dr. Loreta B. Freitas, and everyone who has been part of this journey! 💖
