Blog & News

Written explanations of the taxonomy, morphology, ecology and biogeography of the Melastomataceae — and of what the data in this database does and does not show.

What we publish here

• Genus profiles: what distinguishes a genus, where it occurs, and how many species are recognised.
• Identification guidance: the characters that actually separate species that are routinely confused.
• Explanations of the data: why a distribution map looks the way it does, and what collection bias does to it.
• Taxonomy and nomenclature: what changes when a name changes, and what a synonym means for a sequence record.
• Conservation: what the Red List assessments say about the family and where the gaps are.

Editorial standards

Articles are written and reviewed by the curators responsible for the taxa they discuss, and they carry their references. Where automated tools have been used in drafting or editing, that is disclosed in the article; the named author remains responsible for the text. Read the full editorial and corrections policy.

Spotted an error in an article? Report it and we will correct it.