Taxonomy, occurrences, phylogeny, traits and uses of the entire plant genus Scleria (Cyperaceae)

This resource includes several datasets:

(1) Taxonomy (261 species): Updated taxonomy of the genus Scleria at the species level based on Bauters et al. 2016 and 2019.

(2) Occurrences (latitude/longitude): data was compiled using observations from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Red List, research grade identifications from iNaturalist (accessed 13/08/2023) and records for collections from BR, K, GENT, L, MO, NY, P, US and WAG which were georeferenced using Google Earth. The dataset includes 22,759 observations from 248 species. Methodology follows Larridon et al. (2021).

(3) Phylogeny of the genus based on three markers (ITS, ndhF, rps16) from Larridon et al. (2021) (136 species).

(4) Traits. (i) We measured maximum height, maximum blade length, maximum blade width, stem width, nutlet length and nutlet width from 1,254 specimens of 209 species housed at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris. (ii) We also compiled another dataset of 16 continuous and categorical traits for all 261 Scleria species derived from protologues and descriptions from regional floras. (iii) We measured nutlet weight for 141 species.

(5) Uses & ecology: ethnobotany (mostly medicinal uses) and references to its ecology in several ecosystems (e.g., pollination, dispersal, ecological role). This data was gathered from several bibliographical sources, also provided.

(6) Pictures of nutlets from 141 species.