Wild-collected Plants Research Articles

Wedded to wetlands: Exploring Late Pleistocene plant-use in the Eastern Levant

The mosaic ecology of the Late Pleistocene Levant has been referred to by many authors investigating Epipaleolithic use of wild cereals as a prelude to cultivation, but it has rarely been the focus of studies investigating hunter–gatherer adaptations and diverse wild plant collection strategies. Partly, this was due to poor preservation of macro-botanical remains at Epipaleolithic sites with the exception of Ohalo II. Our analyses of 100 phytolith samples from four sites in the eastern Levant, compared with phytoliths from Ohalo II, reveal evidence for how foragers used the unique local ecological opportunities in these regions. Abundant phytoliths from reeds and sedges indicate the critical importance of wetlands in hunter–gatherer subsistence strategies. Wild cereals and grasses point to steppe and parkland exploitation, and woody plants indicate use of woodlands. From the Late Upper Paleolithic through the Middle Epipaleolithic our evidence indicates that wetland, steppe/parkland and woodland zones formed an integrated resilient system of plant-use, with wetlands providing an especially important focal point. We also found that different wetland types and their productivity relative to the surrounding landscape have a clear impact on hunter–gatherer adaptation and plant-use. Focusing subsistence and settlement around the reliable wetland zones provided a dependable natural food-storage repository and allowed greater risk-taking strategies for other types of plant and animal exploitation beyond the wetland zones.

Exploring the Practice of Traditional Wild Plant Collection in Lebanon

The traditional harvesting of wild edible plants among Lebanese rural communities has contributed to the continued use of such plants in local recipes. The country, however, is witnessing rapid changes in lifestyles and eating habits that would seem to predict a decline in traditional forms of wild plant collection. Consequences could include the loss of dietary diversity, reduced food security and natural habitats. This study aimed to assess the perceived status of wild plant collection traditions in Lebanon via semi-structured interviews with key informants. The study revealed that although wild edible plants are no longer harvested to cope with wartime famines and crop failures, the plants are still highly valued as healthy foods, while the harvesting itself is enjoyed as a social activity. Unfortunately, losses in traditional knowledge transmission coupled with changes in land use that limit access to semi-natural areas are threatening the tradition. This is further aggravated by pollution, habitat destruction and over-collection of wild edible plants for commercial purposes. Strategies for the sustainable use of wild edible plant resources should build on this regional tradition and generate appreciation for it as an outdoor activity, as a culinary resource and as means to reinforce social and cultural values.

First evidence of mutualism between ancient plant lineages (Haplomitriopsida liverworts) and Mucoromycotina fungi and its response to simulated Palaeozoic changes in atmospheric CO2.

The discovery that Mucoromycotina, an ancient and partially saprotrophic fungal lineage, associates with the basal liverwort lineage Haplomitriopsida casts doubt on the widely held view that Glomeromycota formed the sole ancestral plant–fungus symbiosis. Whether this association is mutualistic, and how its functioning was affected by the fall in atmospheric CO2 concentration that followed plant terrestrialization in the Palaeozoic, remains unknown.We measured carbon-for-nutrient exchanges between Haplomitriopsida liverworts and Mucoromycotina fungi under simulated mid-Palaeozoic (1500 ppm) and near-contemporary (440 ppm) CO2 concentrations using isotope tracers, and analysed cytological differences in plant–fungal interactions. Concomitantly, we cultured both partners axenically, resynthesized the associations in vitro, and characterized their cytology.We demonstrate that liverwort–Mucoromycotina symbiosis is mutualistic and mycorrhiza-like, but differs from liverwort–Glomeromycota symbiosis in maintaining functional efficiency of carbon-for-nutrient exchange between partners across CO2 concentrations. Inoculation of axenic plants with Mucoromycotina caused major cytological changes affecting the anatomy of plant tissues, similar to that observed in wild-collected plants colonized by Mucoromycotina fungi.By demonstrating reciprocal exchange of carbon for nutrients between partners, our results provide support for Mucoromycotina establishing the earliest mutualistic symbiosis with land plants. As symbiotic functional efficiency was not compromised by reduced CO2, we suggest that other factors led to the modern predominance of the Glomeromycota symbiosis.

Fire-reliant subsistence economies and anthropogenic coniferous ecosystems in the Pre-Columbian northern American Southwest

Archaeologists working in the vast coniferous uplands of the American Southwest have commonly assumed that the subsistence economies of the prehistoric peoples who dwelt there focused on corn (Zea mays) agriculture, the erratic yields of which were supplemented with the unintensive collection of wild plants. In this paper, we develop an alternative to this orthodox view, in which we posit that human-controlled burning of understory biomass was a vegetation-community and successional-stage management strategy intended to propagate wild plants in bulk quantities. By comparing the relative frequencies and ubiquities of macrobotanical remains recovered from a variety of storage and consumption contexts with pollen frequencies from production and processing contexts, we show that the systematic encouragement of ruderals in pyrogenic resource patches (“niches”) was a sustainable practice that overcame natural limitations to biomass productivity and corn cultivation in pinyon-juniper (Pinus edulis and Juniperus sp.) woodlands. Importantly, these analyses indicate that low-intensity burning was a key aspect of fire-reliant subsistence economies that generated anthropogenic ecosystems whose composition and productivity were markedly different from today’s.

A Framework for Assessing Supply‐Side Wildlife Conservation

Market-based, supply-side interventions such as domestication, cultivation, and wildlife farming have been proposed as legal substitutes for wild-collected plants and animals in the marketplace. Based on the literature, we devised a list of the conditions under which supply-side interventions may yield positive conservation outcomes. We applied it to the trade of the orchid Rhynchostylis gigantea, a protected ornamental plant. We conducted a survey of R. gigantea at Jatujak Market in Bangkok, Thailand. Farmed (legal) and wild (illegal, protected) specimens of R. gigantea were sold side-by-side at market. These results suggest farmed specimens are not being substituted for wild plants in the marketplace. For any given set of physical plant characteristics (size, condition, flowers), the origin of the plants (wild vs. farmed) did not affect price. For all price classes, farmed plants were of superior quality to wild-collected plants on the basis of most physical variables. These results suggest wild and farmed specimens represent parallel markets and may not be substitutable goods. Our results with R. gigantea highlight a range of explanations for why supply-side interventions may lack effectiveness, for example, consumer preferences for wild-collected products and low financial incentives for farming. Our results suggest that market-based conservation strategies may not be effective by themselves and may be best utilized as supplements to regulation and education. This approach represents a broad, multidisciplinary evaluation of supply-side interventions that can be applied to other plant and animal species.

Integrated Remediation Strategies for Sustaining Agrobiodiversity Degradation in Africa.

Sub-Saharan Africa is richly endowed with natural agro biodiversity that is being threatened by the impacts of climate change, deforestation, flooding, water and air pollution, genetic erosion, incessant hunting and collection of wild plants and animal species as well as natural disasters. The challenge is thus for the people and government to work together in safeguarding the environment and preserving biodiversity by adopting an integrated conservation strategies which include; application of indigenous knowledge in biodiversity conservation, adoption of organic and sustainable farming practices, setting up of botanic and zoological gardens, gene banks and a deliberate government policy aimed at environmental protection and agro biodiversity conservation to avoid extinction of endangered plant, and animal species. Keywords; Agro biodiversity, climate change, genetic-erosion, deforestation, organic-framings, botanic and zoological garden, government policy.

DNA barcoding in a biodiversity hot spot: potential value for the identification of Malagasy Euphorbia L. listed in CITES Appendices I and II

The island of Madagascar is a key hot spot for the genus Euphorbia, with at least 170 native species, almost all endemic. Threatened by habitat loss and illegal collection of wild plants, nearly all Malagasy Euphorbia are listed in CITES Appendices I and II. The absence of a reliable taxonomic revision makes it particularly difficult to identify these plants, even when fertile, and thereby compromises the application of CITES regulations. DNA barcoding, which can facilitate species-level identification irrespective of developmental stage and the presence of flowers or fruits, may be a promising tool for monitoring and controlling trade involving threatened species. In this study, we test the potential value of barcoding on 41 Euphorbia species representative of the genus in Madagascar, using the two widely adopted core barcode markers (matK and rbcL), along with two additional DNA regions, nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the chloroplastic intergenic spacer psbA-trnH. For each marker and for selected marker combinations, inter- and intraspecific distance estimates and species discrimination rates are calculated. Results using just the 'official' barcoding markers yield overlapping inter- and intraspecific ranges and species discrimination rates below 60%. When ITS is used, whether alone or in combination with the core markers, species discrimination increases to nearly 100%, whereas the addition of psbA-trnH produces less satisfactory results. This study, the first ever to test barcoding on the large, commercially important genus Euphorbia shows that this method could be developed into a powerful identification tool and thereby contribute to more effective application of CITES regulations.

Kumpula Botanic Garden, Helsinki, Finland

Kumpula Botanic Garden was founded in 1987 on the grounds of an old manor estate. The garden is not particularly big but it was designed and subsequently realised with ambitious scientific and educational goals. It is divided into two main parts: the geobotanical garden and the garden of cultivated plants. The plants in the geobotanical garden are grouped according to their origin and are acquired according to rigorous criteria: only wild-collected plants are accepted and the source areas have been chosen on the basis of the Bioclimatic Zone System that Finnish researchers have been developing since the 1930s. The collection is thus exceptionally valuable for research and conservation. It has already been used for statistical tests on the validity of the bioclimatic vegetation scheme on which it is based. The road from an ambitious vision to a plant collection that is of a scientifically high standard yet also aesthetically pleasing has been long and winding. Here the history and design of the garden and the build-up of the plant collection is described, concluding with a brief account of the inauguration for the general public in June 2009.

Polyploidy and ecological adaptation in wild yarrow.

Chromosome evolution in flowering plants is often punctuated by polyploidy, genome duplication events that fundamentally alter DNA content, chromosome number, and gene dosage. Polyploidy confers postzygotic reproductive isolation and is thought to drive ecological divergence and range expansion. The adaptive value of polyploidy, however, remains uncertain; ecologists have traditionally relied on observational methods that cannot distinguish effects of polyploidy per se from genic differences that accumulate after genome duplication. Here I use an experimental approach to test how polyploidy mediates ecological divergence in Achillea borealis (Asteraceae), a widespread tetraploid plant with localized hexaploid populations. In coastal California, tetraploids and hexaploids occupy mesic grassland and xeric dune habitats, respectively. Using field transplant experiments with wild-collected plants, I show that hexaploids have a fivefold fitness advantage over tetraploids in dune habitats. Parallel experiments with neohexaploids--first-generation mutants screened from a tetraploid genetic background--reveal that a 70% fitness advantage is achieved via genome duplication per se. These results suggest that genome duplication transforms features of A. borealis in a manner that confers adaptation to a novel environment.

Endangered even before formally described: Bulbophyllum kubahense n.sp., a beautiful and assumedly narrowly endemic orchid from Borneo

B. kubahense J.J. Verm. & A. Lamb is described, a new species differing from B. refractilingue in having a longer rachis, longer lateral sepals and larger petals. This attractive species is known from a single locality within a national park in Sarawak, Malaysia. Nevertheless, wild-collected plants have turned up in nurseries in Singapore, causing concern about its continued existence in the wild.

Effects of Human Impact on Miombo Woodland in Northern Malawi

Miombo woodland is found throughout the Zambezian regional centre of endemism where most of the rural population make use of its wild plant species. This article presents the results of a study on the composition of the woody vegetation and its anthropogenous alteration in northern Malawi with particular respect to the impact caused by the collection of wild plants. The main vegetation type in this area is miombo woodland which is composed of 80 woody species. The collection of wild plants does not show an effect on the plant diversity but effects are visible in the decreasing number of tall trees.

The systematic value of nuclear genome size for “all” species of Tulipa L. (Liliaceae)

Nuclear genome size, as measured by flow cytometry with propidium iodide, was used to investigate the relationships within the genus Tulipa L. (Liliaceae). More than 400 accessions representing 123 taxa from mainly wild-collected plants were investigated. Most species of Tulipa have the same basic chromosome number, 2n = 2x = 24. However, the somatic DNA 2C value (2C) is shown to range from 32 to 69 pg for the diploids. The largest genome contains roughly 3.4 × 1010 more base pairs than the smallest and has chromosomes that are more than twice as large. These large differences in the amount of nuclear DNA predict that the hybrids, if any arise, are usually sterile. Depending on the size of the total genome, 1 pg amounts to several thousand genes. Moreover, genome sizes are evaluated here in combination with available morphological, geographical, and molecular data. Therefore, the taxonomy proposed here is not a single-character taxonomy based on genome size alone. The genus Tulipa, as here determined, has 87 species, 29 more than accepted by van Raamsdonk et al. [Acta Hort (ISHS) 430:821–828, 1997], but including 25 species that were not available to them. Of these 87 species, 28 were not seen by Hall (The genus Tulipa, The Royal Horticultural Society, London, 1940) in a living state and placed by him in an addendum. Species of the subgenus Clusianae (Baker) Zonn. differ strongly in nuclear DNA content (DNA 2C value), 32 versus 40–68 pg for all other tulips, and are placed here in a separate subgenus. Also Orithyia, the only group with a style and with only 38–39 pg is placed in a separate subgenus. Therefore, all tulips are attributed to four subgenera, Clusianae (Baker) Zonn., Tulipa, Eriostemones Raamsd., and Orithyia (D. Don) Baker and divided further into 12 sections. Seven of the eight series of section Eichleres (A.D. Hall) Raamsd. are now placed in four sections: (1) section Lanatae (Raamsd.) Zonn., mainly confined to species from the Pamir-Alay and including series Lanatae Raamsd., (2) section Multiflorae (Raamsd.) Zonn. (including series Glabrae Raamsd.), (3) section Vinistriatae (Raamsd.) Zonn. (including series Undulatae Raamsd.), and (4) section Spiranthera Vved. ex Zonn. and Veldk. Triploids, tetraploids, and pentaploids were found in several species. DNA content confirmed the close relationships of the species within the different sections. The rather similar looking and therefore often confused T. armena Boiss. (51.8 pg), T. systola Stapf (56.3 pg), and T. julia K., Koch (61.6 pg) could be clearly distinguished. The same is true for T. biebersteiniana Schult. f. (56.9 pg), T. sylvestris ssp. australis (Link) Pamp. (62.0 pg), and T. primulina Baker (64.6 pg). T. doerfleri Gand. and T. whittalli (Dykes) Hall could be placed as polyploid forms of T. orphanidea Boiss. ex Heldr. On the basis of DNA content, a systematic association between T. julia K. Koch and the triploid T. aleppensis Boiss. and between T. systola Stapf and the triploid T. praecox Tenore was suggested. The new species T. lemmersii Zonn., Peterse, and de Groot is described, and four possible new species are indicated. Genome size as measured by using flow cytometry may conveniently be used to produce systematic data. It is applicable even in the case of dormant bulbs or sterile plants for monitoring the trade in bulbous species.

Wild plants, Andropogon virginicus L. and Miscanthus sinensis Anders, are tolerant to multiple stresses including aluminum, heavy metals and oxidative stresses

To isolate high-tolerant plants against aluminum (Al), heavy metals and/or oxidative stresses as a final goal, screening of Al tolerant plants from a collection of 49 wild plants was first of all performed in this study. Andropogon virginicus L. and Miscanthus sinensis Anders showed high Al tolerant phenotypes (more than 35% values in both relative root growth and germination frequency even under 900 microM Al concentration) in our screening. Al tolerance mechanisms in these two plants were characterized and the results suggested that (1) a transport system of toxic Al ions from root to shoot, (2) a suppression of Al accumulation in root tip region and (3) a suppression of oxidative damages by an induction of anti-peroxidation enzymes, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase, were involved in the tolerance mechanisms. Six wild plants [Andropogon, Miscanthus, Dianthus japonicus Thunb, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv, Reynoutria japonica Houtt, and Sporobolus fertilis (Steud.) W. Clayton] were furthermore tested for their sensitivity against heavy metal stresses and oxidative stresses. The two high Al tolerant plants, Andropogon and/or Miscanthus, showed tolerance to Cr, Zn, diamide or hydrogen peroxide, suggesting common tolerance mechanisms among the tested stresses. Reynoutria showed tolerance to diamide and hydrogen peroxide, Sporobolus to Cr and Echinocholoa to Cd and Cu. Moreover, the collection of wild plants used in this study was a very useful kit to isolate tolerant plants against various abiotic stresses within a short period of time.

Bi-Parental Cytoplasmic DNA Inheritance in Wisteria (Fabaceae): Evidence from a Natural Experiment

Cytoplasmic inheritance was investigated in interspecific hybrids of Wisteria sinensis and W. floribunda. Species-specific nuclear, mitochondrial and plastid DNA markers were identified from wild-collected plants of each species in its native range. These markers provide evidence for the bi-parental transmission of plastids in hybrid swarms of these two species in the southeastern USA. These population level molecular data corroborate previous cytological evidence of this phenomenon in Wisteria.

Conservation of plant diversity in Korea

Korea is a land of contrasts. The mountainous Korean peninsula arches north and northwest towards the Russian and Chinese borders, where the last areas of old growth coniferous forest and the land formed five forest types. Plant and habitat diversity in Korea has been largely damaged by various kinds of human activities. The plant diversity of Korea is severely threatened due to the high population density and rapid industrialization since the 1960s, as well as the illegal collection of wild plants for ornamental, medicinal, and food purposes. Natural areas have been greatly fragmented and survive only as ecological islands surrounded by modified cultivated and industrial lands. For instance, more than 60 industrial parks are located along the coast, and these have contributed to the rapid destruction of plant diversity in the coastal areas of the peninsula. The modern concept of plant conservation in Korea is still in an infant stage. The cooperation of plant conservation bodies with disciplinary approaches based on conservation biology are essential strategies to pursue plant conservation. The capacity building for plant conservation in Korea has different management regimes by the relevant ministries. Since the late 1990s, the plant conservation body Korean Plant Specialist Group of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) has been closely linked with international conservation bodies for in situ and ex situ conservation management. Under the umbrella of the national plant conservation strategies, the different strategies and working agencies can be fully integrated. Furthermore, the systematic approaches for the recovery of threatened species, as well as habitat monitoring over the long-term basis, will need to be supported by a stable budget policy. Also, protocol for the conservation of rare and endangered plant species, including recovery works in Korea, is strongly needed.

Wild Food Plants Traditionally Used in the Province of Madrid, Central Spain

Abstract This paper reports an ethnobotanical investigation, performed between 1999 and 2002, to determine the wild food plants traditionally used in the province of Madrid (central Spain). One hundred and twenty-three vascular species belonging to 31 families were at one time used as vegetables, wild fruits, in the making of beverages, as seasonings, or as other preparations. Wild vegetables formed the largest group, with Scolymus hispanicus, Silene vulgaris, and Rumex pulcher the most frequently cooked vegetables, and Rorippa nasturtium-aquaticum and Montia fontana the most commonly used in salads. Also common was the consumption of asparagus and several species of climbing plants such as Bryonia dioica, Tamus communis, and Humulus lupulus. Ethnobotanical novelties included Sonchus crassifolius, the young sprouts of which were used in salads, and Inula salicina, used to make herbal tea. Some ecological and cultural aspects of the collection of wild plants for food are discussed, as well as the relations...

都市近郊農村における自然資源利用の変遷―身近な自然との関わりの視点から―

The dependence on a primary industry of local people declined in most rural areas in Japan with the changes of their lifestyle during the period of rapid economic growth. In a rural area near local city located in the eastern Yamanashi prefecture (Kamiohhata, Tsuru City), an interview survey was conducted on 80 households to clarify the changes of the use of natural resources available in forest with the changes of the subsistence activities. In accordance with the decline of sericulture, introduction of industrial materials, and fuel revolution, importance of gathering grass for animal feed, firewood, and fallen leaf for fertilizer decreased drastically from 1960 to 1980 in both number of households and area of collection. However, firewood and fallen leaf are still used for the specific purpose (persistence use) in 20 - 30% of subjected household which continues the cultivation of the self consumption crops. While, collection of wild plants for eating which has the factor of pleasure use declined in last 10 years. This decline could be explained by the degradation of natural environments close to the living area in the result of decrease in the opportunity of people contacting it after the period of rapid economic growth. It is necessary to manage the natural environments for guaranteeing both the amenity of people and regional biodiversity. For this purpose, the familiarity of people with the natural environments should be reconsidered from the viewpoint of persistence and pleasure uses of natural resources.

Stratification Improves and Is Likely Required for Germination of Aconitum sinomontanum

Aconitum sinomontanum is a robust perennial monkshood native to China that shows promise as a cultivated ornamental. However, nothing has been reported about the germination requirements of the species, and little is known about the requirements of the genus as a whole. The objective of this study was to test the influence of stratification (moist prechilling) on germination of A. sinomontanum seeds. The seeds were from wild-collected plants of identical provenance growing at the Arnold Arboretum (Jamaica Plain, Mass.). After harvest and before stratification, seeds were stored dry at 38 °F (3.3 °C) and percentage germination was assessed after seeds were stratified, also at 38 °F, for 0, 21, 42, or 84 days. It is likely that stratification is required for seeds of this species to germinate, as unstratified seeds failed to germinate through the duration of the experiment (73 days). The highest level of germination (90.8%) was achieved after 84 days of stratification, and as length of stratification increased, so did percentage germination and indices of peak value and germination value. Days to maximum germination decreased with additional days of chilling. Growers wishing to germinate seed of this species should stratify seed for 3 months to achieve the highest level of germination.

Novel natural products from marketed plants of eastern and southern Africa

Abstract

The bulb trade—a threat to wild plant populations

Every year millions of bulbs, corms and tubers are being dug up in the wild to supply the market for garden plants. In many cases the level of exploitation is so high that it threatens some species with extinction in their natural habitats. Some have already been lost. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which has been so successful in controlling damaging trade in certain species of animals, has yet to address the bulb trade effectively. One of the difficulties to be overcome is assessing its true extent and its effect on wild populations. In 1987 the FFPS contracted its staff botanist, Mike Read, to investigate the trade in wild-collected plants in Turkey. The findings reported here point clearly to the need for further research, more legislation and the promotion of sustainable methods of propagation in the countries of origin.