Aim The plant genus Bursera, with 104 species of trees and shrubs, has been used as a model for biogeographical analyses because of its high species richness and large number of endemic species. The biogeographical patterns of Bursera and their implications for its phylogenetic classification are reviewed in order that some hypotheses on the historical biogeography of tropical Mexico can be proposed.

Museums and herbaria in industrialized countries hold a huge amount of data in the form of labels associated with specimens collected in developing countries. These data represent a significant part of the existing information on biodiversity available for most developing countries. In this paper we first discuss the usefulness of the label information, providing some examples from Mexico. Acquiring and updating the information requires international cooperation, including the agreement of common policies for ownership and use of the data. Beneficiaries of such efforts will be not only the countries that assemble the databases from foreign museums, but the international scientific community as well, due to the increased scientific value that large databases coupled with modern computer technologies provide.Surveying the biological diversity of a nation in- (Margules & Redhead, 1995), and advanced methvolves the inventorying, cataloging, and mapping of ods using sensors and pattern recognition software, ecosystems, species, populations, and genes. It may The reasons different societies and cultures may also include research on the dynamic aspects of have for cataloging biodiversity run the spectrum

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