Briggitthe Melchor Castro
I am a Peruvian botanist and researcher with MSc in Plant Systematics from Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santa in Brazil and BSc in Biological Sciences-Botany from Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos in Peru, where my studies focused on tropical botany. My experience in ethnobotany and plant taxonomy gave me a strong background in plant sciences.
Currently, as part of Tiina Särkinen's team at RBGE, my PhD proposal explores the taxonomy, morphology and evolutionary patterns of Torva clade, one of the remaining clades in the megadiverse genus Solanum, in the phylogenetic context to aid the understanding of agronomically interesting traits in the group. Torva Clade includes ca. 45 species and is almost restricted to the Neotropics, predominantly in the Andes. Results from the study on the identity and names of the pea eggplant wild relatives will contribute towards the management of genetic resources in global and national germplasm collections.
Photos detail: Pasco, Perú, Solanum asperolanatum
Twitter account: ros_brigt