Angiosperm Flora Research Articles

Nesting characteristics, floral resources, and foraging activity of Trigona iridipennis Smith in Bankura district of West Bengal, India

For successful establishment of meliponiculture with Trigona iridipennis Smith, several attributes such as nesting substrates, orientations, elevation, internal characteristics of nests, floral resources, and foraging activity were studied in Bankura district of West Bengal, India. The most commonly found nesting substrate was tree trunks, especially within the cavities in tree trunks of Butea monosperma. Majority of the wild nests were oriented westward direction with an elevation of > 2–≤ 3 m from the ground level. The mean cavity size was 204.3 ± 92.45 × 159 ± 17.59 × 174.5 ± 26.13 mm3. The diversified local angiosperm flora supports the broad polylectic foraging habit of the bee species. Most of the visited plants were of tree habits and had small-sized flowers with yellow, white, and cream colours. The best represented families were Fabaceae and Asteraceae. The plants intensely utilized by the bee species were Acacia auriculiformis, Borassus flabellifer, Brassica nigra, Eucalyptus globulus, and Lannea coromandelica. In contrast to majority of multifloral honey samples, all the pollen loads were unifloral which reflects the high degree of floral fidelity behaviour of the bee species. The foraging activity of the bee species varied according to time hours, plant species, weather conditions, and seasons. It was confined to daytime from 5.00 to 18.00 h, reaching its zenith during 9.00–11.00 h and 15.00–1600 h. Maximum activity was observed in spring, followed by winter, late autumn, summer, autumn, and monsoon. Mean number of foragers without pollen load and resin load was much higher than pollen foragers and resin foragers.

Riqueza y distribución de angiospermas herbáceas a lo largo de gradientes de elevación y perturbación del bosque en el centro de Veracruz, Méxic

Antecedentes: Las hierbas terrestres son un elemento florístico importante de los bosques tropicales; sin embargo, aún es escasa la investigación centrada en este grupo de plantas.
 Pregunta: ¿Cuáles son los patrones de distribución de especies de angiospermas herbáceas a lo largo de gradientes de altitud y de perturbación en el Cofre de Perote, centro de Veracruz, México?
 Especies de estudio: Angiospermas herbáceas terrestres.
 Sitio de estudio y años de estudio: Vertiente este del Cofre de Perote, centro de Veracruz, México; desde 2012 hasta 2014.
 Métodos: Establecimos un gradiente altitudinal (40 a 3,520 m), donde realizamos un muestreo florístico en ocho sitios de estudio dentro de pisos altitudinales de aproximadamente 500 m cada uno. Registramos la presencia de angiospermas herbáceas terrestres dentro de 135 parcelas de 20 × 20 m, distribuidas en bosques maduros, degradados, secundarios, así como vegetación azonal. Se analizó la riqueza de especies, la composición florística y luego comparamos los datos resultantes entre los diferentes pisos altitudinales y los grados de perturbación del bosque.
 Resultados: Se registraron 264 especies de plantas, 31 endémicas de México y tres amenazadas. Esta riqueza representa 5.7 % de la flora de herbáceas angiospermas en Veracruz. Los pisos altitudinales con mayor riqueza de especies fueron 2,500 m (76) y 1,500 m (52). En la mayoría de los casos, los bosques secundarios tuvieron la mayor riqueza de especies en el gradiente altitudinal, mientras que los bosques maduros tuvieron menos especies.
 Conclusiones: La riqueza de especies observada, incluyendo elementos endémicos, resalta la importancia de esta zona para la conservación de plantas, que se encuentra amenazada por el cambio de uso del suelo. Además, sugerimos que la variación de la vegetación formada por bosques maduros, perturbados y secundarios es aceptable (e inevitable) y puede incluso incrementar la riqueza de especies.

Comparison of angiosperm flora of Afghanistan and Iran in accordance with APG IV system

Comparison of angiosperm flora of Afghanistan and Iran in accordance with APG IV system

Pollen and stamen mimicry: the alpine flora as a case study

Many melittophilous flowers display yellow and UV-absorbing floral guides that resemble the most common colour of pollen and anthers. The yellow coloured anthers and pollen and the similarly coloured flower guides are described as key features of a pollen and stamen mimicry system. In this study, we investigated the entire angiosperm flora of the Alps with regard to visually displayed pollen and floral guides. All species were checked for the presence of pollen- and stamen-imitating structures using colour photographs. Most flowering plants of the Alps display yellow pollen and at least 28% of the species display pollen- or stamen-imitating structures. The most frequent types of pollen and stamen imitations were (mostly yellow and UV-absorbing) colour patches on petals (65% of species displaying imitations), patterns of inflorescences (18%), stamen-like pistils (10%), and staminodes (6%), as well as three-dimensional structures such as convex lower lips and filamental hairs (<5%). Dichogamous and diclinous species display pollen- and stamen-imitating structures more often than non-dichogamous and non-diclinous species, respectively. The visual similarity between the androecium and other floral organs is attributed to mimicry, i.e. deception caused by the flower visitor’s inability to discriminate between model and mimic, sensory exploitation, and signal standardisation among floral morphs, flowering phases, and co-flowering species. We critically discuss deviant pollen and stamen mimicry concepts and evaluate the frequent evolution of pollen-imitating structures in view of the conflicting use of pollen for pollination in flowering plants and provision of pollen for offspring in bees.

Polyploid species rely on vegetative reproduction more than diploids: a re-examination of the old hypothesis.

Polyploidy is arguably the single most important genetic mechanism in plant speciation and diversification. It has been repeatedly suggested that polyploids show higher vegetative reproduction than diploids (to by-pass low fertility after the polyploidization), but there are no rigorous tests of it. Data were analysed by phylogenetic regressions of clonal growth parameters, and vegetative reproduction in culture on the ploidy status of a large set of species (approx. 900) from the Central European Angiosperm flora. Further, correlated evolution of ploidy and clonal traits was examined to determine whether or not polyploidy precedes vegetative reproduction. The analyses showed that polyploidy is strongly associated with vegetative reproduction, whereas diploids rely more on seed reproduction. The rate of polyploid speciation is strongly enhanced by the existence of vegetative reproduction (namely extensive lateral spread), whereas the converse is not true. These findings confirm the old hypothesis that polyploids can rely on vegetative reproduction which thus may save many incipient polyploids from extinction. A closer analysis also shows that the sequence of events begins with development of vegetative reproduction, which is then followed by polyploidy. Vegetative reproduction is thus likely to play an important role in polyploid speciation.

Nine New Additions for the Angiosperm Flora of Chhattisgarh

Nine species of angiosperm viz., Arthraxon hispidus (Thunb.) Makino, Cardamine flexuosa With., Eragrostis patula (Kunth) Steud., Ipomoea triloba L., Ischaemum bombaiense Bor, Mitracarpus hirtus (L.) DC., Sida mysorensis Wight & Arn., Solanum aculeatissimum Jacq. and S. sisymbriifolium Lam. are reported for the first time from the state of Chhattisgarh.

Influence of biological and social-historical variables on the time taken to describe an angiosperm.

By convention, scientific naming of angiosperm species began in 1753; it is estimated that 10-20% of species remain undescribed. To complete this task before rare, undescribed species go extinct, a better understanding of the description process is needed. The South American Cerrado biodiversity hotspot was considered a suitable model due to a high diversity of plants, habitats, and social history of species description. A randomized sample of 214 species (2% of the angiosperm flora) and 22 variables were analyzed using multivariate analyses and analysis of variance. Plants with wide global distributions, recorded from many areas, and above 2.6 m were described significantly earlier than narrowly distributed, uncommon species of smaller stature. The beginning of the career of the botanist who first collected the species was highly significant, with an average delay between first collection and description of 29 yr, and between type collection and description 19 yr; standard deviations were high and rose over time. Over a third of first collections were not cited in descriptions. Trends such as scientific specialization and decline of undescribed species were highlighted. Descriptions that involved potential collaboration between collectors and authors were significantly slower than those that did not. Results support four recommendations to hasten discovery of new species: (1) preferential collecting of plants below 2.6 m, at least in the Cerrado; (2) access to undetermined material in herbaria; (3) fieldwork in areas where narrow-endemic species occur; (4) fieldwork by knowledgeable botanists followed by descriptive activity by the same.

Angiosperm flora on the páramos of northwestern Colombia: diversity and affinities.

Páramos are high-elevation isolated ecosystems in the Andes characterized by specific flora. This flora includes a number of endemic species and some taxa phylogenetically related to temperate lineages (van der Hammen and Cleef 1986). There are six páramo units or complexes in the Department of Antioquia, located in northwestern Colombia. For five years, we conducted botanic explorations in order to quantify the richness of angiosperm flora in these units. We estimate the richness of angiosperms in these páramos at 693 species, 277 genera, and 86 families, which represent almost 10% of the floral diversity in Antioquia, but contained in only 0.7% of its area. We found that Frontino-Urrao is the most species-rich páramo with 465 species from 225 genera. Our results show that the most diverse angiosperm families of the páramos of Antioquia are Asteraceae, Orchidaceae, Melastomataceae, and Poaceae, which together represent 245 species. Groupings between páramos by Sørensen’s similarity index show that the complexes of the Central Andes Cordillera form a cluster of greater affinity than Páramos from other regions. Of the species found, 80 have a CITES or IUCN diagnosis. The expeditions allowed the identification of 21 species not previously registered in Antioquia and a considerable number of endemisms (35 species), further proof of the high plant diversity in these ecosystems.

A mid-Cretaceous angiosperm-dominated macroflora from the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah, USA

AbstractAngiosperms first appeared in the fossil record as pollen during the Valanginian–Hauterivian; they spread out of the tropics in the Aptian and Albian, and radiated in the Late Cretaceous. Despite these general patterns, details of the taxonomic, geographic, and ecological evolution of Cretaceous angiosperms are relatively poorly known because only a handful of Early and mid-Cretaceous macrofloras have been reported. This is the first detailed report of a fossil leaf flora from the Cedar Mountain Formation from the mid-Cretaceous of the Western Interior. We describe a flora that is overwhelmingly dominated by angiosperms (152 of 153 identified specimens are angiosperms) from the Albian–Cenomanian transition that is preserved in a clay- and carbonate-rich, lacustrine mudstone from the uppermost Cedar Mountain Formation of Emery County, Utah. We recognize 18 leaf morphotypes, all of which are dicotyledonous angiosperms. The majority of the Cedar Mountain morphotypes have taxonomic affinities with forms of similar age described from the Atlantic and Gulf coastal plains and other localities from the Western Interior. From this, we infer that a relatively diverse angiosperm flora grew along the margins of a small pond on the coastal plain. Palynological preparations of the fossil matrix were barren; however, previous studies of other facies within the formation showed that both conifers and ferns were important components of the regional vegetation during Cedar Mountain time. The effective absence of conifers and ferns in this macroflora and low leaf mass per area values among the angiosperms measured suggests that even at the Early–Late Cretaceous transition, angiosperms had come to dominate some sites, particularly those that were disturbed or seasonally ephemeral, where fast-growth or seasonal deciduousness would have been favored.

Vegetation of the Koobi Fora Region Northeast of Lake Turkana, Marsabit County, Northern Kenya

ABSTRACT The Koobi Fora region east of Lake Turkana in northern Kenya ranges in elevation from ca. 360 to 560 m, has a mean annual temperature of ca. 32°C, and rainfall of ca. 130 mm per year. The area, much of which lies within Sibiloi National Park, supports a diverse flora. Here we provide a list of 367 plant species (361 angiosperms) collected from an area of about 2600 km2 between 2012 and 2014, compare the region's angiosperm flora with the only other documented floras nearby, discuss the principal vegetation types in the study area, and highlight occurrences of some less common plants and plants of restricted distribution. Some 137 plant species (131 angiosperms) are newly documented in this region, none of which have been recorded in the Marsabit region to the east-southeast or in the lower Omo Valley to the northwest. Comparison of the flora of this region with reported floras of the Omo Valley and the Marsabit region show that only 98 species are common to all three areas, and that each area has...

New records of Philcoxia minensis (Plantaginaceae) and Mitracarpus pusillus (Rubiaceae): conservation status assessment and notes on type specimens of two threatened species from the Espinhaço Range, Minas Gerais, Brazil

The Espinhaço Range is a vast chain of mountains comprising ca. 120,000 km2 in the central portions of Minas Gerais and Bahia states, eastern Brazil (Ribeiro et al. 2014). Although this range represents less than 1.5% of the Brazilian territory, it harbors ca. 10% of Brazil’s angiosperm flora (Ribeiro et al. 2012). Furthermore, estimates suggest that ca. 30% of the Espinhaço Range flora is endemic (Giulietti et al. 1987). This high percentage of diversity and endemism may relate to the microhabitat heterogeneity in the “campos rupestres”, a savanna-like vegetation associated with quartzite and ironstone outcrops and white sand patches, at elevations above 900 m (Conceição &amp; Pirani 2005, Ribeiro et al. 2014). The Diamantina Plateau, a quartzite formation of the Espinhaço Range in Minas Gerais, extends from the Araçuaí Basin, in the high Jequitinhonha Basin, to the Rio das Velhas Basin (Ribeiro et al. 2014). The Serra do Cabral, another part of the Espinhaço Range, is a rectangular mountain plateau in the same state in the São Francisco Basin, located to the west of the Diamantina Plateau and separated from it by a valley ca. 40 km wide (Hatschbach et al. 2006).

Fire and Late Oligocene to Mid-Miocene peat mega-swamps of south-eastern Australia: a floristic and palaeoclimatic interpretation

The Late Oligocene to Mid-Miocene (25–13 million years ago) brown coals of the Gippsland Basin in southern Victoria, Australia, were deposited in peat mega-swamps, unlike any in the world at the present day. The swamps preserve a rich botanical suite of macro- and microfossils, many of which can be identified with plant genera and families present today in Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand and New Guinea. The peat-forming environments also preserve evidence of past burning in the form of micro-charcoal as well as macro-charcoal, the latter being evident as regional lenses or layers of fusinite, generally in coals of the darkest colour termed dark lithotypes. The presence of micro-charcoal in dark and some other lighter lithotypes indicated that fires also burnt locally, although they may have been extinguished before regional-scale burning occurred. It is also feasible that some peat mega-swamp plant communities dominated by rainforest angiosperm plants may have been fire excluders and prevented widespread fires from developing. Pollen and macrofossil evidence is presented of a distinctive southern conifer and angiosperm flora with an open canopy, primarily associated with the darkest coals that formed in the wettest parts of the peat-forming environment. Elsewhere, swamp forests with a large rainforest component grew on swamps raised appreciably above the regional groundwater table in a structural context akin to the ombrogenous peats of tropical coastal Sumatra and Sarawak. These vegetation types were not fire prone, but may have occasionally burnt at a local scale or at forest margins. Evidence is presented for the existence of seasonal climatic conditions that would appear to have facilitated a drying-out of the peat swamps in the warmest months of the year. A mesothermal climate was invoked where mean annual precipitation was at least 1500 mm, and possibly as much as 2000 mm, and mean annual temperatures were ~19°C.

TheCenozoic biogeographical evolution of woody angiosperms inferred from fossil distributions

AbstractAimWe test whether the modern regionalization of the angiosperm flora is the result ofCenozoic barriers to dispersal.LocationGlobal.MethodsWe used a database ofCenozoic woody angiosperm fossils to build a matrix of family and genus occurrence at 11 continents/regions for five time periods of theCenozoic, thus defining 55 floras. We used ordinations and cluster analyses to infer the relationships among these floras. We tested for the effects of time, land connections and dispersal barriers on the similarities between these woody angiosperm floras.ResultsFor all time periods of theCenozoic the world's woody angiosperm floras were grouped into three large clusters: a very compactNorthernHemisphere cluster (NorthAmerica,Europe, temperateAsia andPalaeogene southChina), a somewhat less compactPalaeotropical cluster (Africa,India,SoutheastAsia andNeogene southChina) and a rather diffuseGondwanan cluster (Antarctica,Australia,NewZealand, temperateSouthAmerica and theNeotropics). The primary clustering is evidently geographical, and reflects the barriers formed by theTethys and the southern Atlantic–southernIndian oceans. There is evidence that the more recent Gondwanan floras are more divergent than the older floras, possibly due to long isolation by oceans and multiple extinction events, whereas the similarities amongNorthernHemisphere floras increased during theNeogene.Main conclusionsThe modern regionalization is mainly the result of dispersal barriers that existed at diverse times in theCenozoic, resulting in several woody angiosperm floras that evolved in parallel. Climatic change and dispersal also played important roles in shaping biogeographical patterns ofCenozoic woody angiosperms.

Additions to Angiosperm Flora of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India-III

Five Angiosperm species are being reported as new distributional records for Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Cyanotis and Biophytum form new generic records for the eco-region. Brief description and photographs are provided for all the species.

Global patterns and drivers of phylogenetic structure in island floras.

Islands are ideal for investigating processes that shape species assemblages because they are isolated and have discrete boundaries. Quantifying phylogenetic assemblage structure allows inferences about these processes, in particular dispersal, environmental filtering and in-situ speciation. Here, we link phylogenetic assemblage structure to island characteristics across 393 islands worldwide and 37,041 vascular plant species (representing angiosperms overall, palms and ferns). Physical and bioclimatic factors, especially those impeding colonization and promoting speciation, explained more variation in phylogenetic structure of angiosperms overall (49%) and palms (52%) than of ferns (18%). The relationships showed different or contrasting trends among these major plant groups, consistent with their dispersal- and speciation-related traits and climatic adaptations. Phylogenetic diversity was negatively related to isolation for palms, but unexpectedly it was positively related to isolation for angiosperms overall. This indicates strong dispersal filtering for the predominantly large-seeded, animal-dispersed palm family whereas colonization from biogeographically distinct source pools on remote islands likely drives the phylogenetic structure of angiosperm floras. We show that signatures of dispersal limitation, environmental filtering and in-situ speciation differ markedly among taxonomic groups on islands, which sheds light on the origin of insular plant diversity.

Phylogenetic constraints and trait correlates of flowering phenology in the angiosperm flora of China

AbstractAimThe phylogenetic constraint hypothesis of flowering phenology states that closely related species flower at similar times of the year. We test this hypothesis for the Chinese angiosperm flora and assess additional effects of growth form, deciduousness, pollination mode and fruit type. We further examine whether the phylogenetic conservatism of flowering phenology tends to increase from tropical to temperate latitudes.LocationChina.MethodsThe midpoint of flowering time for 19,631 angiosperm species present in China was compiled. The phylogenetic signal for flowering time was evaluated for the whole country using the Blomberg K‐value (adjusted for circular data). We then regressed the phylogenetic signal for 28 provinces as a function of their latitude. An analysis of variance for circular data was conducted to test the differences among growth forms. Watson–Williams tests for circular flowering data were used to compare flowering dates between deciduous and evergreen species, animal‐pollinated and wind‐pollinated species, and fleshy and non‐fleshy fruits.ResultsThe results support the phylogenetic constraint hypothesis. The phylogenetic signal at the whole country scale was lower than that at the province scale. Phylogenetic signal was also lower at tropical latitudes than at temperate latitudes. Flowering dates were associated with biological traits, with growth form having the largest effect.Main conclusionsFlowering phenology was constrained by phylogeny, and so one should account for phylogeny when studying the underlying drivers of phenology. The strength of phylogenetic conservatism appears weaker at larger scales and becomes stronger towards temperate regions. Flowering phenology also varies predictably according to biological traits such as growth form, suggesting that both phylogeny and traits could be used to inform the flowering times of species for which no phenology data are available. It remains to be tested whether the phylogenetic signal for other functional traits putatively related with flowering time also increases with latitude.

Paleoclimatic reconstruction for the Albian–Cenomanian transition based on a dominantly angiosperm flora from the Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah, USA

The Soap Wash flora from the Cedar Mountain Formation of Emery County, Utah (Albian–Cenomanian boundary) consists almost entirely of angiosperms and is positioned stratigraphically near the first appearance of flowering plants in this region. We applied both univariate (leaf margin analysis—LMA, and leaf area analysis—LAA) and multivariate (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program—CLAMP) methods to the 17 morphotypes recognized in the flora to reconstruct palaeoclimate. LMA produced a mean annual temperature (MAT) estimate ranging from 19 °C to 26 °C. CLAMP yielded 16 °C–18 °C. LAA produced a mean annual precipitation (MAP) of 81 cm, while CLAMP generated a mean growing season precipitation of 134–187 cm, within the range of standard error for the LAA estimation. CLAMP also estimated a nine to ten month growing season with some temperature seasonality and substantial seasonality in precipitation. This reconstruction is broadly consistent with sedimentological data that suggested a semiarid to monsoonal precipitation regime for the region and with climate models that predict warm summers and strong winter seasonality in precipitation. Leaf physiognomic parameters of the Soap Wash flora fall within the range of variation circumscribed by the calibration sets of all three methods, so the differences in reconstructed MAT values cannot be explained exclusively by this kind of systematic error. We propose two alternative hypotheses: First, modern leaf form-climate relationships may not yet have evolved. This seems unlikely because CLAMP has been successfully applied to older material elsewhere. Second, the Soap Wash flora may be out of equilibrium with its prevailing climate due to contemporaneous rapid climate flux. If correct, this pattern may suggest a link between mid-Cretaceous environmental perturbations and the rapid diversification and geographic spread of flowering plants.

Costs and benefits of reticulate leaf venation.

BackgroundRecent theoretical and empirical work has identified redundancy as one of the benefits of the reticulate form in the evolution of leaf vein networks. However, we know little about the costs of redundancy or how those costs depend on vein network geometry or topology. Here, we examined both costs and benefits to redundancy in 339 individual reticulate leaf networks comprising over 3.5 million vein segments. We compared levels of costs and benefits within reticulate networks to those within analogous networks without loops known as Maximum Spanning Trees (MSTs).ResultsWe show that network robustness to varying degrees of simulated damage is positively correlated with structural indices of redundancy. We further show that leaf vein networks are topologically, geometrically and functionally more redundant than are MSTs. However, increased redundancy comes with minor costs in terms of increases in material allocation or decreases in conductance. We also show that full networks do not markedly decrease the distance to non-vein tissue in comparison to MSTs.ConclusionsThese results suggest the evolutionary transition to the reticulate type of networks found in modern Angiosperm flora involved a relatively minor increase in material and conductance costs with significant benefits in terms of network redundancy.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12870-014-0234-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Angiosperm flora used by meliponine guilds (Apidae, Meliponina) occurring at rainforest edges in the state of Ceará, Brazil.

Information about the use of floristic resources of the immediate edges of ombrophilous forest (Atlantic rainforest) fragments by stingless bees is not readily available in the scientific literature. Considering the importance of these plant species for local guilds of stingless bees, this study aimed to identify and characterize the flora of the immediate borders of four Atlantic rainforest fragments situated in Baturité massif, state of Ceará, used as food resource by stingless bees. We studied the growth-form of the plants, the floristic similarity between edges and the effect of rainfall on the flowering, and suggested simple techniques for handling these areas. We compiled a total of 82 plant species with a predominance of tree and shrub form. There were different floristic richness between areas and rainfall had differentiated influence on flowering, according to the edge. We concluded that the florist components of the studied edges are relevant to the stingless bee guilds, but alternative management practices are needed to conserve both plant and bee species.

Flora Angiospérmica de Pico quemado, Formación Ñirihuau (Oligoceno Tardío), Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina

Palabras clave. Angiospermas fosiles. Cenozoico. Patagonia. Argentina. Abstract. ANGIOSPERM FLORA OF PICO QUEMADO, NIRIHUAU FORMATION (LATE OLIGOCENE), RIO NEGRO PROVINCE, ARGENTINA. Pico Quemado is located East of San Carlos de Bariloche, and stratigraphically placed in the lower member of the Nirihuau Formation (late Oligocene - middle early Miocene). Fossil leaves (compressions and/ or impressions) of dicotyledonous angiosperms were studied and twenty two morphotypes are described. The families identified were Nothofagaceae, Myrtaceae, Rosaceae, Myricaceae, Mal- vaceae and Fabaceae and the genus Nothofagus Blume was found to be the dominant. The macroflora is compared with twenty two tertiary paleofloras from Patagonia, and similarity indices obtained by the Jaccard coefficient, yielded values less than 13 %. This low index could be explained as due to the younger age of the Pico Quemado paleoflora compared to most of the other paleofloras and/ or because it thrived at a lower paleolatitude. The paleofloristic analysis suggests a temperate to cold-temperate climate and no analogous vegetation among other known Patagonian fossil floras.