Broad Crown Research Articles

Middle Miocene “Giraffa” from the Chinji Formation of Siwaliks, Pakistan

A comprehensive record of unique and endemic species of “Giraffa” priscilla has been documented and reported from the Chinji Formation of Lower Siwaliks, Pakistan. The material comprises incisors, canines, premolars, molars, mandibular and maxillary fragments which have been recovered from the Middle Miocene localities of Dhok Bun Ameer Khatoon, Rakh Wasnal, Bhelomar, and Lawa, Punjab, Pakistan. “Giraffa” priscilla is a primitive species of giraffids, having a broad crown, strong styles, and median ribs.

Структура разнообразия по вегетативной и генеративной структуре кроны кедра сибирского на плантации с разреженной посадкой

Studies of the diversity of economically valuable traits in forest tree species are of great interest not only for forest selection and practical silviculture, but also important as a general biological problem. Among the objects of attention of breeders, a special place is occupied by cone-bearing species such as Siberian stone pine. Its cultivation through the forest tree plantations for wood and for cone-bearing will allow in the future to reduce the damage for natural ecosystems significantly. The purpose of this work was to analyze the structure of diversity in growth and generative development of the Siberian stone pine crown on a specially created plantation, where a low level of natural selection makes it possible to more efficiently select for early reproduction, growth and seed productivity. This plantation is located in the south of the area (Western Siberia, south of Tomsk region). It was created from stone pine seeds of the local population, that were sown in 1977 as forest crops with standard density (0,75 х 3 м). At the age of 10, they were planted out at a distance of 8 x 8 m. The vegetative and generative development of 89 trees aged 40 years was analyzed. We used a retrospective method that allows reconstructing of the tree organogenesis and growth on the scars on the bark of the shoots. The start of sexual reproduction has been reconstructed; a comparative characteristic of the vegetative and generative development of the tree crown has been carried out. The results show that, in general, the initial idea of the dependence of the efficiency of selection on the conditions in which the trees were formed is confirmed. In the natural dense stands, many of the leader trees in cone-bearing, which we found in our study, could fall behind due to slow growth and did not live to reproductive age. On the plantation where sparse tree planting was applied, they survived and became the leaders in cone-bearing. Early start of reproduction, even under conditions of sparse tree planting, is positively correlated with the growth rate in the pre-generative period of ontogenesis (r = + 0.65). The level of variations in the generative development of trees was much higher than in the vegetative one. The abundance of male shoots in the crown and the relative length of the male generative zone of crown were determined primarily by the height of the trees. On the contrary, the active growth of the tree in height did not have a noticeable influence on the development of the female shoots and the female generative zone of crown. Contrasting differences in the traits of male and female crown development with growth traits are very interesting result, in our opinion. Tall trees with a narrow crown are most promising for pollen productivity breeding, since they have a longer male generative zone and because of this they have more male shoots in the crown. Trees with a broad crown are promising for seed production breeding. Although seed productivity is not in all cases a direct function of the size of the crown, but depends on the specific genotype of the tree. This is confirmed by the fact that in each group (high, medium and low trees) there are individuals of high-cone-bearing and low-cone-bearing, which is promising for seed production breeding in groups of different growth levels. Using the calculated relative traits «1 m2 of the area of the horizontal projection of the crown onto the ground surface» made it possible to select the best trees for seed production (combining the minimum size of the crown with the number of cones per unit area of the crown) and growth (combining greater height and narrow crown).For citation: Velisevich S.N., Popov A.V. Pattern of diversity in the vegetative and generative crown structure of the siberian stone pine on a seed orchard with sparse tree planting. Lesnoy Zhurnal [Forestry Journal], 2019, no. 5, pp. 35–47. DOI: 10.17238/issn0536-1036.2019.5.35Funding: This work is supported by the Russian Science Foundation under grant no. 18-16-00058. The article is published within the framework of implementation of the scientific journals development program in 2019, based on proceedings of XIX International conference of the young scholars “Forests of Euro-Asia – The Southern Ural” (August 25-30, 2019. Chelyabinsk).

Вплив паркових насаджень на температурний режим урбанізованого середовища

Наведено результати досліджень із впливу міських насаджень на температурний режим урбанізованого середовища. Встановлено, що різниця температур повітря на різних об'єктах озеленення залежить від розмірів зеленого масиву; чим більшим є деревний масив, тим більшим є його вплив на температуру повітря. З'ясовано, що найбільший вплив на температуру повітря мають стиглі й перестиглі насадження заввишки понад 20 м і дерева зі щільною широкорозкидистою кроною. Таким вимогам найбільше відповідають саме аборигенні види деревних рослин. Порівняно з іншими об'єктами озеленення, різниця температур, відносно контролю, у дендропарку становила 12,7 %, тоді, як на інших об'єктах цей показник не перевищив 6,9 %. Тобто, великі, вікові деревні масиви, створені аборигенними видами, найбільше впливають на зниження температури в літній період. За результатами проведених досліджень встановлено пряму залежність впливу розмірів парків на температурний режим. Чим більший деревний масив за площею, тим більша різниця температур між парком та відкритим простором або вулицею. Доведено, що деревні масиви (парки) доцільно створювати з аборигенних видів декоративно-листяної (тіньової) групи дубового типу. Відзначено, що чим більша площа деревного масиву, тим на більшу відстань поширюється вплив насаджень на температурний режим прилеглої території.

Responses of two genetically superior loblolly pine clonal ideotypes to a severe ice storm

An increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events, such as major ice storms, can have severe impacts on southern forests. We investigated the damage inflicted by a severe ice storm that occurred in February 2014 on two loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) ideotypes in Cross, South Carolina located in the southeastern coastal plain. The “narrow crown” ideotype allocates more resources to stem growth while the “broad crown” ideotype allocates more of its resources to leaf area. We sampled each clone in August of 2014 and assessed damage based on four mutually exclusive damage categories: crown damage (visual estimation of percent damage); bent bole (bending shape and angle); snapped bole (distance from ground to snapped height); and uprooted. Damage category was statistically different between clones (χ2=120.36;p=0.001); 67% of the individuals of the narrow crown ideotype suffered crown damage compared to 94% of the broad crown ideotype; 27% of the individuals of narrow crown ideotype suffered immediate mortality after the bole snapped, compared to only 3% for the broad crown. Of the individuals that incurred crown damage, the degree of damage sustained was statistically different by clonal type (F=8.73;p<0.01). The broad crown ideotype incurred greater crown damage than the narrow crown (38.0±1.34 and 31.8±1.6, respectively). Damage that resulted in a bent bole was minimal, with 4% for the narrow crown ideotype and 3% for the broad crown. The observed clonal differences in response to damage that incurred from an extreme ice storm may be attributed to differences in morphology and carbon allocation strategies between the two ideotypes. These differences are important to carbon sequestration projects and ideotype development in regions that are prone to extreme glazing events.

Morphological Tools for Describing the Male External Genitalia of Sapajus apella.

Sapajus apella is a wild monkey of South America distributed across almost all of Brazil. This species adapts to domesticated life and reproduces easily. The present study describes the macro- and microscopic morphology of male genital organs (penis, penis bone, glans penis, prepuce, bulb of penis, and urethra) of Sapajus apella. Four male monkeys were used in this study. For macroscopic description, the genitals were dissected, examined and photographed. For microscopic analysis, samples were stained by HE and Tricom Masson and analyzed by scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. The penis has a gutter shape with numerous spines on the free part of the penis and glans, and showed cavernous body elements in which mesenchymal cells appear. The glans penis is well developed with a broad crown shape. The prepuce does not cover the free part of the penis. The bulb displays well-developed muscle structure and the membranous urethra is very elongated. These results reveal that Sapajus apella shows specific male genital features, different from other primates.

不同生境栓皮栎天然更新幼苗植冠构型分析

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 不同生境栓皮栎天然更新幼苗植冠构型分析 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201304110676 作者: 作者单位: 西北农林科技大学西部环境与生态教育部重点实验室,西北农林科技大学西部环境与生态教育部重点实验室,西北农林科技大学西部环境与生态教育部重点实验室,西北农林科技大学西部环境与生态教育部重点实验室 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家林业局林业公益性行业科研专项(201004011) Architectural analysis of crown geometry of Quercus variablis BL. natural regenerative seedlings in different habitats Author: Affiliation: Education of Ministry Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology in West China,Northwest A F University,Education of Ministry Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology in West China,Northwest A F University,Education of Ministry Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology in West China,Northwest A F University,Education of Ministry Key Laboratory of Environment and Ecology in West China,Northwest A F University Fund Project: 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:栓皮栎存在于秦岭南坡的多种林分中,生活在不同生境中的个体往往形成不同的树冠形态和构型特征。为了说明不同生境条件下栓皮栎幼苗的植冠构型变化,采用典型抽样法,对秦岭南坡3种生境中(林冠下、林隙、林缘)的栓皮栎天然更新幼苗的侧枝、叶片特征及其空间分布进行了调查分析,结果表明:3种不同生境中栓皮栎幼苗植冠形态发生了明显的可塑性变化,(1) 林冠下的幼苗明显为开阔型树冠,林隙和林缘处的幼苗树冠相对紧密;(2) 幼苗的1级侧枝密度与分枝角度在3种生境下均差异显著(P < 0.05);从Ⅰ到Ⅳ层,林冠下幼苗的分枝角度在冠层内变化幅度不到5°,而林缘处幼苗的分枝角度变化高达40°;发生5个以上1级侧枝的概率以林冠下最大,为0.6;(3) 从林缘、林隙到林冠下,幼苗的叶长、叶宽、单叶面积、叶面积指数逐渐降低,数量叶密度和比叶面积则逐渐增大,与其它两种生境相比,林冠下幼苗的叶片逐渐向树冠上层集中,且以更高序的侧枝为主要着生枝条;(4) 林隙中栓皮栎幼苗的树高、地径明显优于林缘和林冠下,缩短了苗木进入主林层的时间,林隙对栓皮栎种群更新有利。在今后栓皮栎林的经营中,可以通过适当间伐来增加林隙数量,为森林更新和结构的优化的提供有利条件。 Abstract:Quercus variabilis distributes widely in a variety of forest stands on the south slope of Qinling Mountains, and this tree species often displays variety crown morphological and architectural features in different habitats. In order to illustrate the crown architectural variation of Q. variabilis seedlings in different habitats and understand the response and adaptation mechanisms of plant to different environment conditions, the typical sampling method was implemented, and the characteristics of lateral branch and leaf, as well as their spatial distribution for Q. variabilis seedlings, which grew in three different habitats (under canopy, forest gap and forest edge), were investigated in Shanyang in September 2012. The result showed that the crown morphological features of Q. variabilis seedlings changed in response to three kinds of habitats. (1) The seedlings under canopy had significantly broad crown, while the crown was relatively dense and narrow in forest gap and edge (P < 0.05), this was displayed by the crown width of seedlings, which were 22.8, 32.1 and 45.6 cm in forest edge, forest gap and under canopy respectively, and such a change in crown structure was an advantageous adaptation for enhancing light interception. (2) The density of first-order-branch and the branch angle were both different significantly among three kinds of habitats (P < 0.05), from I to IV stratum,the branch angle of seedlings under canopy were the widest, and the amplitude of variation didn't exceed 5°, while the same parameter in forest edge decreased gradually and the amplitude of variation reached up to 40°. meanwhile, the probability of forming more than 5 first-order-branches for seedlings under canopy was the largest, the maximum was 0.6, and the mean branching number could be up to 5.1. (3) Affected by the lateral branches distribution, the leaves distribution of seedlings were different among three habitats. the leaf morphological charecteristics of Q. variablis seedlings including leaf length, leaf width, leaf area and leaf area index gradually decreased from forest edge, forest gap to under canopy, while quantitative leaf density and leaf area per unit dry mass showed reverse trend. Compared with the other two habitats, the seedling leaves in under canopy tended to distribute in upper crown and insert on the higher order branches, and this distribution pattern of branches and leaves could enhance the light interception of the seedlings in this kind habitats. (4) The height and collar diameter of seedlings in forest gap were obviously greater than those in other two habitats, this advantage could shorten the time of seedlings entering into the main storey, so forest gap was advantageous to the population regeneration and cultivate the large diameter timber of Q. variabilis, and this might be caused by the better radiation condition, air temperature and soil moisture etc., which were benefit to the growth of seedlings, In the future, appropriate thinning techniques should be used to increase the number of the forest gap and provide favorable conditions for regeneration and structure optimization of Q. variabilis forests. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

Do wide crowns in arid woodland trees reflect hydraulic limitation and reduction of self-shading?

In arid regions many tree species develop broad crowns. A number of hypotheses involve trade-offs between growth in height and horizontal spreading, but there is no explanation for the switch from vertical to horizontal growth during development. Using Acacia papyrocarpa Benth as a model, we measured tree height and crown shape across different sites and topographic positions. We also measured δ13C of phyllodes from crown tops and lateral spreading branches. Trees were significantly taller at the base of a hill, where water availability is typically greater, than on the adjacent steep hillslope. In contrast, δ13C from the treetops was not significantly different across this topographic gradient, despite variation in tree height. In addition, δ13C was higher at treetops than in lower, lateral branches. These observations are consistent with hydraulic limitation to tree height. The shape of mature and young crowns in open environments was not symmetrical. At all sites, branches were shortest, but tree crowns tallest, on south-facing (i.e. shadiest) aspect of crowns. This suggests that light limitation may also affect crown development. If upper branches become water-limited and lower branches light-limited, then middle lateral branches become the less-stressed part of the crown and may grow more, producing a broad crown.

Hyperchiria incisa incisa(Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) on Plants ofClitoria fairchildianain ViÇOsa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil

ABSTRACT. Clitoria fairchildiana Howard (Fabaceae) is a rustic and rapidly growing species with a broad leafy crown. This species naturally occurs in secondary forest of the Amazon region. In Brazil, this plant is also used in landscaping of streets, squares, roads and parking lots. This study identified a lepidopteran defoliator of C. fairchildiana at the Federal University of Vicosa in Vicosa, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. This species was identified as Hyperchiria incisa incisa Walker, 1855 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae: Hemileucinae). Larvae of this insect are yellowish-brown at early instars and pale green in the last ones with its body almost completely covered with stinging spines at all stages. Hyperchiria incisa incisa should be included in pest monitoring programs of C. fairchildiana.

In the Great Bend of the Souris River

My father, David Whippet, moved a family of eight from Lancaster, in the western Mojave, up onto the high plains of central North Dakota in the summer of I952. He rented a two-story, six-bedroom house near Westhope. It was shaded by cottonwoods and weeping willows and I lived in it for eleven years before he moved us again, to Sedalia in central Missouri, where he retired in 1975. I never felt the country around Sedalia. I carried the treeless northern prairie close in my mind, the spine-shattering crack of June thunder-tin drums falling from heaven, Mother called it-an image of coyotes evaporating in a draw. I went east to North Carolina to college the year Father moved us to Missouri. When my parents died, within a year of each other, my brothers and sisters sold the Sedalia house. I took no part of the proceeds. I looked back always to the broad crown of land in Bottineau county that drained away into the Mouse River, a shortgrass plain of wheat, oats, and barley, where pasqueflower and blazing star and long-headed coneflower quivered in the summer wind. I came to see it in later years as the impetus behind a life I hadn't managed well. That first summer in North Dakota, 1952, the air heated up like it did in the desert around Lancaster, but the California heat was dry. This humid Dakota weather staggered us all. I got used to the heat, though the hardest work I ever did was summer haying on those plains. I'd fall asleep at the supper table still itching with chaff. I grew to crave the dark cold of winter, the January weeks at thirty below, the table of bare land still as a sheet of iron. Against that soaking heat and bone-deep cold the other two seasons were slim, as subtle and erotic as sex. Considering my aspirations at the university in Chapel Hill-I majored in history, then did graduate work in physics-the way my life took shape seemed not to follow. The summary way to state it is that I became an itinerant, a wanderer with an affinity for any kind of work to be done with wood. I moved a lot-back to California from North Carolina, then to Tucson for a while before going to the Gulf Coast, Louisiana-always renting. After that, I worked in Utah for six years, then moved to eastern Nebraska. I considered moving to North Dakota, but that country seemed better as a distant memory. I felt estranged from it. Over those twenty years of moving around I installed cabinets and counters in people's homes, made fine furniture, and built a few houses. In my notebooks, dozens of them, I wrote meticulous descriptions of more than a hundred kinds of

Gemination, fusion and confusion – unravelling a developmental dental anomaly

Specimens of a tooth and soft tissue were submitted from a 4-year-old boy with a large radiolucency in the left anterior maxilla associated with apex of malformed deciduous left central incisor and the crown of the unerupted permanent maxillary left central incisor tooth. Macroscopically the tooth submitted had a broad crown composed of three fused crowns and a single root mass with three distinct longitudinally-orientated components. The soft tissue was consistent with an inflamed dentigerous cyst associated with the permanent central incisor. Decalcified sections of the hard tissue showed a small amount of enamel matrix remaining after decalcification. The dentine was normal and contiguous across the width of the tooth with a single (widened) pulp space containing vital pulp. Correlation with the radiographs demonstrated that the teeth submitted were of the deciduous series. Taking into account the number of identifiable deciduous teeth present, the specimen submitted must have represented fusion of the deciduous maxillary left central and lateral incisor tooth germs with an attempt at separation (gemination or twinning) of one of these tooth germs to form two separate teeth. Anomalies of the permanent teeth were also identified radiographically. The crowns of the maxillary left permanent central and lateral incisor teeth were aligned horizontally. There also appeared to be gemination of the unerupted mandibular left permanent lateral incisor tooth to give a crown wider than the contralateral tooth. This case appears to represent a rare (and possibly unique) example of fusion and gemination of the same tooth as well as other developmental dental anomalies elsewhere in the jaws.

Pinus taeda clones and soil nutrient availability: effects of soil organic matter incorporation and fertilization on biomass partitioning and leaf physiology

The combined effects of intensive management and planting of improved seedlings have led to large increases in productivity on intensively managed pine forests in the southeastern United States. To best match clones to particular site conditions, an understanding of how specific clones respond to changes in nutrition in terms of biomass partitioning, leaf physiology and biochemistry will be necessary. This study measured the response of biomass partitioning, light-saturated net photosynthesis (A(Sat)) and photosynthetic capacity to a range in soil fertility and fertilization between two contrasting Pinus taeda L. clone ideotypes: a 'narrow crown' clone (NC) that allocates more resources to stem growth and a 'broad crown' clone (BC) that allocates more resources to leaf area (LA). Under field conditions, we found consistent clone by environment (i.e., varying nutrient regimes) interactions in biomass as well as leaf physiology. Nutrient limitations induced by logging residue incorporation resulted in a 25% loss in stem growth in BC, while NC showed no response. We postulated that the decrease in BC was due to the differences in canopy architecture leading to a reduced canopy CO(2) assimilation, as well as to increased belowground maintenance costs associated with fine-root production. In contrast, N and P additions resulted in a 21% greater increase in stem volume in NC relative to BC. Fertilization increased A(Sat) temporarily in both clones, but A(Sat) eventually decreased below control levels by the end of the study. Although we found a clone by fertilization interaction in leaf physiology, the greatest genotype by environment interaction was found in the LA that appeared to have a greater influence than A(Sat) on growth. This research demonstrates the potential importance of selecting appropriate clonal material and silvicultural prescription when implementing site-specific silviculture to maximize productivity in intensively managed southern pine forests.

Biomass allocation and leaf life span in relation to light interception by tropical forest plants during the first years of secondary succession

Summary 1. We related above-ground biomass allocation to light interception by trees and lianas growing in three tropical rain forest stands that were 0.5, 2 and 3-year-old regeneration stages after slash and burn agriculture. 2. Stem height and diameter, leaf angle, the vertical distribution of total above-ground biomass and leaf longevity were measured in individuals of three short-lived pioneers (SLP), four later successional species (LS) and three lianas (L). Daily light capture per individual ( Φ d ) was calculated with a canopy model. Mean daily light interception per unit leaf area ( Φ area ), leaf mass ( Φ leaf mass ) and above-ground mass ( Φ mass ) were used as measures of instantaneous efficiency of biomass use for light capture. 3. With increasing stand age, vegetation height and leaf area index increased while light at the forest floor declined from 34 to 5%. The SLP, Trema micanthra and Ochroma pyramidale , dominated the canopy early in succession and became three times taller than the other species. SLP had lower leaf mass fractions and leaf area ratios than the other groups and this difference increased with stand age. 4. Over time, the SLP intercepted increasingly more light per unit leaf mass than the other species. Lianas, which in the earliest stage were self-supporting and started climbing later on, gradually became taller at a given mass and diameter than the trees. Yet, they were not more efficient than trees in light interception. 5. SLP had at least three-fold shorter leaf life spans than LS and lianas. Consequently, total light interception calculated over the mean life span of leaves ( Φ leaf mass total = Φ area × SLA death leaves × leaf longevity) was considerably lower for the SLP than for the other groups. 6. Synthesis . We suggest that early dominance in secondary forest is associated with a high rate of leaf turnover which in turn causes inefficient long-term use of biomass for light capture, whereas persistence in the shade is associated with long leaf life spans. This analysis shows how inherent tradeoffs in crown and leaf traits drive long-term competition for light, and it presents a conceptual tool to explain why early dominants are not also the long-term dominants.

Sleeping sites of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) at Baima Snow Mountain, China

AbstractData on sleeping sites of a group of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys Rhinopithecus bieti (Colobinae, Primates) were collected between April–July and September–December 2001 to try to determine the factors affecting site selection at Nanren (99°04′E, 28°34′N, Baima Snow Mountain, China). Sleeping trees were tall emergents (27.5±3.2 m) with large diameter at breast height (57.9±16.9 cm) and broad crown diameters (6.3±1.4 m), and significantly larger than other trees. The use of large sleeping trees could provide effective shelters from attacks of terrestrial and aerial predators, heavy snow and rain. Sleeping sites were changed nightly and located at significantly lower altitudes in winter months than in other seasons, which might be a thermoregulatory adaptation or related to snow covering. Such sites tended to be at the middle of sun‐oriented slopes, possibly trading off predator avoidance and foraging efficiency.

AC Nordica alfalfa

AC Nordica alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was developed by the Agriculture Canada Research Station at Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. It is similar to Beaver alfalfa in having a broad crown and a tap root with many branches. AC Nordica is 1–2 d earlier in maturity than Beaver. It is shorter than Beaver at 10% bloom, is slightly slower in regrowth following harvest, and displays less spring vigor. However, it excels in winter hardiness, rating similar to Anik and Drylander alfalfa. AC Nordica is highly resistant to bacterial wilt (Clavibacter michiganense subsp. insidiosum [McCulloch] Davis, Gillaspie, Vidaver &amp; Harris), and moderately resistant to snow mold (Coprinus psychromorbidus Redhead &amp; Traquair). AC Nordica is intended as a special-purpose cultivar for the northern prairies, the Peace River area of Alberta, and other high snowfall areas where snow mold (winter crown rot) may occur and where extreme winter hardiness is required. Key words: Alfalfa, Medicago sativa, winter hardiness, winter crown rot, snow mold, cultivar description

An ancient technique for ripening sycomore fruit in East-Mediterranean Countries

Sycomtiore trees (Ficus sycomorus L.) are widespread in the Near East, in Egypt, Israel, Lebanon and Cyprus. They grow chiefly in plains and along rivers, where the soil remains humid even during the hot and dry sumnmer. They are tall trees with a broad crown and spreading branches, standing out conspicuously from other plants. Sycomores originate from the savannas of eastern Central Africa and fromn Yemen, where they grow spontaneously and reproduce by seeds. The flowers are pollinated regularly by the small ehalcidoid wasp Ceratosolen arabicus Mayr. It is not known how the sycomnore was introduced into the Near East. Perhaps seeds or branehes were swept with the Nile flood, or man may have brought it along from the south (20). In any case, remains of the sycomore tree (wood, roots and fruit), discovered in Egypt, date as far back as the predynastic period; i.e., more than 3000 years B. C. (17). The original pollinators of the sycomore did not reach the Mediterranean countries, and, consequently, seeds were not formed there, nor in Egypt nor Israel. Theophrastus (372-287 B.C.) stated that the sycomore did not produce seeds in Egypt. Dry sycomore fruit found in the grave of Ani of the XXth dynasty (about 1100 B.C.) contained neither seeds nor Ceratosolen wasps (7). Thus, sycomore trees growing in the Near East are outside the spontaneous area of the plant and depend on man for their propagation. They are easily increased through cuttings and stakes. Apart fro}m its imiiportance as a good shade tree, the sycomore also provides timnber and fruit. In desert-dry Egypt, which