Cymose Inflorescences Research Articles

(2964) Proposal to conserve the name Boehmeria puya (Maoutia puya, Leucosyke puya) (Urticaceae) with a conserved type

(2964) Proposal to conserve the name <i>Boehmeria puya</i> (<i>Maoutia puya</i>, <i>Leucosyke puya</i>) (<i>Urticaceae</i>) with a conserved type

Transfer of six species of Spiradiclis Blume to Ophiorrhiza L. (Rubiaceae)

The genus Ophiorrhiza Linnaeus (1751: 150) (Ophiorrhizeae, Rubioideae, Rubiaceae) comprises of ca. 318 taxa in tropical and tropical subtropical Asia, extending to Australia, New Guinea and the Pacific Islands (Darwin 1976, Chen &amp; Taylor 2011, Bremer &amp; Manen 2000), with its greatest diversity in southeastern Asia (Davis et al. 2009, Hareesh 2017, Hareesh &amp; Sabu 2018). The genus has been revised taxonomically in some geographic regions such as Australia (Halford 1991), China (Lo 1990, Chen &amp; Taylor 2011), India (Deb &amp; Mondal 1997, Hooker 1880, Hareesh &amp; Sabu 2018) and the Pacific (Darwin 1976). In the Flora of China, 73 species were reported, in which 47 species are endemic (Chen &amp; Taylor 2011, Yang et al. 2018, Tu et al. 2018, Wu et al. 2017, 2018, Duan et al. 2019) and mainly occurring in southwestern region of China, commonly growing on humid slopes or along valleys under dense forest (Lo 1999, Yang et al. 2018). Generally, Ophiorrhiza species are annual to perennial suffrutescent herbs or small shrubs with cymose inflorescences. Fruit capsules are broadly obcordate, laterally flattened, papery, dry and usually dehiscent loculicidal (Lo 1990, Deb &amp; Mondal 1997, Chen &amp; Taylor 2011, Hareesh 2017, Wu et al. 2018). The Ophiorrhiza species (O. mungos L. (1753: 150), O. mungos L. var. angustifolia (Thwaites) Hook.f. (1880: 77), and O. rugosa Wall. (1824: 547) var. decumbens (Gardner ex Thwaites) Deb &amp; Mondal (1983: 228)) are commercially important as source of Camptothecin (CPT), a potent anticancer drug as well as antiviral and antimicrobial properties (Rajan et al. 2016, Taher et al. 2020).

A review on the ethnobotanical importance of Cosmostigma racemosum (Roxb.) Wight (Vaattuvalli)

Ethnobotany deals with the inter relationship between the humans and plant resources of a particular region. Cosmostigma racemosum (Roxb.) Wight is an ethnobotanically important plant of Apocynaceae family, having many traditional and folklore usages. A compilation of botanical description, ethnobotanical uses and research works of the plant are done. Cosmostigma racemosum (Roxb.)Wight which is known as Vaattuvalli in Malayalam is a twiner with simple, opposite, cordate leaf, terete, puberulous stem and racemose axillary or sublateral cymose inflorescence. Leaves have a peculiar chilly like odour. Leaf paste is used for healing of wounds by the tribal healers. Root bark of the plant are said to be excellent cholagogue. The bark is useful in chronic fevers. The flowers are edible and the plant is also eaten as a vegetable in diabetes among the tribals. Ethnobotanically important plants are to be documented and validated scientifically as it may lead to the preservation of many valid folklore knowledges and also that particular plant species.

Geranium indicum, a new scapigerous species of Geraniaceae from India

Geranium indicum, a new scapigerous species of Geranium subg. Robertium collected from two states of India i.e. Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand is described. In addition, a distribution map, micro and macro morphological photographs, conservation status and a taxonomic key is provided for the species of G. sect. Trilopha. The new species is morphologically similar to G. ocellatum and G. mascatense, but can be easily distinguished by its acaulescent habit, persistent rosette leaves, scapigerous cymose inflorescence, cleistogamous flowers and entirely eglandular indumentum on vegetative parts.

Functional specialization for pollination by scoliid wasps and solitary bees of Ampelopsis glandulosa (Vitaceae)

The insect visitors to the flowers of Ampelopsis glandulosa (Vitaceae) were surveyed in western Japan. This plant species has cymose inflorescences with many greenish open flowers that contain copious nectar. Diverse insect species visit the flowers and the number of wasps was greater than that of bees. The most frequent visitor at all study sites was the scoliid wasp Scolia oculata. Solitary halictine and andrenid bees were also relatively frequent visitors at some sites. Because a large amount of yellow pollen from A. glandulosa was attached to the bodies of both wasps and bees, they were considered to be effective pollinators. Although honey-bees and vespid wasps were also frequent visitors at many sites, a negligible amount of yellow pollen was found to be attached to the bodies of a majority of these; therefore, they were not considered to be effective pollinators. Vespid wasps are predators of herbivorous insects and observations revealed that they are nectar thieves of A. glandulosa. Because diverse insects were attracted to A. glandulosa flowers, these flowers appear to be generalists, however, only short-tongued scoliid wasps, halictine bees, and andrenid bees appeared to be effective pollinators. These results therefore suggest that A. glandulosa is functionally specialized for short-tongued hymenopteran pollinators. This study adds to a growing body of work on specialized wasp pollination, a system hitherto mostly known from South Africa.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Glycosmis nelliyampathiensis&lt;/em&gt; (Rutaceae), a new species from southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India&lt;br /&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

A new species, Glycosmis nelliyampathiensis from Nelliyampathy hill ranges of southern Western Ghats, Palakkad, Kerala, India is described and illustrated here. The plant differs from its allied species G. angustifolia in terms of its unifoliolate leaves, elliptic leaflets, 1–4 flowered monochasial cymose inflorescence, hairiness of the corolla apex, sub-capitate stigma and ellipsoid-oblong fruit.

(2813) Proposal to conserve the name Hedyotis diffusa (Oldenlandia diffusa, Scleromitrion diffusum) (Rubiaceae) with a conserved type

(2813) Proposal to conserve the name <i>Hedyotis diffusa</i> (<i>Oldenlandia diffusa</i>, <i>Scleromitrion diffusum</i>) (<i>Rubiaceae</i>) with a conserved type

&lt;strong&gt;&lt;em&gt;Mouretia oblanceolata&lt;/em&gt; (Rubiaceae), a new species from central Vietnam&lt;/strong&gt;

Mouretia oblanceolata, discovered in central Vietnam, is described as a new species of the tribe Argostemmateae in the family Rubiaceae. The new species is most similar to Mouretia tonkinensis and M. vietnamensis but differs from them by the following traits: erect to sub-erect habit, abaxially glabrous, obcordate stipules, oblanceolate leaves, 12–16 pairs of lateral veins, terminal, umbrella-like, cymose inflorescences, deltoid calyx lobes, and revolute, deltoid to ovate corolla lobes. The formal description, including color illustrations and basic information of ecology, phenology and conservation status, and a key to all currently known species of the genus are provided here.

Two new species of Spiradiclis (Rubiaceae) from limestone areas in southwestern China

Two new species of Spiradiclis (Rubiaceae), Spiradiclis repens L. Wu &amp; Yan Liu and S. reticulata L. Wu, Q Yuan &amp; Jian‐Ling Li are described and illustrated here. Spiradiclis repens is morphologically similar to S. karstana in having a creeping habit, puberulent stems, elliptic to oblong leaves and slenderly salverform corolla, but differ by having less numerous flowers on linear stipules, terminal cymose inflorescences, peduncles 4.0–12.0 mm long, and corolla lilac or pale pink and glabrous inside. Spiradiclis reticulata is close to S. emeiensis and S. malipoensis in that their capsules are ellipsoid and slightly compressed from both sides, but the former can be distinguished from the latter two by having 2‐lobed stipules, monostylous flowers and slenderly cylindrical corollas.

A new species of Aetanthus (Loranthaceae) from Colombia with notes on A. engelsii

Murillo-Serna, J.S., F.J. Roldán-Palacio, I. Carmona-Gallego & F. Alzate (2021). A new species of Aetanthus (Loranthaceae) from Colombia with notes on A. engelsii. Candollea 76: 71–76. In English, English and Spanish abstracts.Aetanthus alternifolius F.J. Roldán, Carmona, Alzate & J.S. Murillo (Loranthaceae) is newly described and illustrated from the department of Santander in northeastern Colombia. This new mistletoe species, known only from the type locality, is discriminate by its indeterminate shoots, alternate or subopposite, obovate leaves, cymose inflorescences bearing three dyads, flower buds c. 9 cm long, with a finely toothed and sometimes fissured calyculus. Its morphological affinities are discussed especially in relation to A. colombianus A.C. Smith and A. coriaceus Patsch. The rediscovery of original material in P of the poorly known Phyllostephanus engelsii Tiegh. (≡ Aetanthus engelsii (Tiegh.) Engl.) is discussed. An emended description is provided and a lectotype is designated. An identification key to the ten species of Aetanthus (Eichler) Engl. occurring in Colombia is also presented.

First record of the genus Cryptotaenia (Apiaceae, Oenantheae) in Colombia

Cryptotaenia japonica Hassk., a native species of Eastern Asia, is reported for the first time for the flora of Colombia. This taxon is easily recognized by its ternate leaves, rhombic leaflets, leaf margins irregularly serrate, cymose inflorescences, irregular rays and pedicels, white petals, cylindric stylopodium, erect stiles, and oblong fruits with five ribs. To date, this species has been recorded only in one locality in Cundinamarca department. A neotypification of C. japonica is proposed and keys for the genera of the tribe Oenantheae present in Colombia, and the species of Cryptotaenia s. str., are presented. Additionally, we report for the first time the family Empididae (Diptera) as floral visitor of this species.

A new species of Bredia (Sonerileae, Melastomataceae) from Sichuan, China.

Bredia hispida (Sonerileae, Melastomataceae), a species occurring in southeastern Sichuan, China, is newly described based on morphological and molecular data. The generic placement of B. hispida is well supported by phylogenetic analysis and morphological characters, including basally cordate, hairy leaf blade, cymose inflorescence, basally gibbous anthers and enlarged ovary crown enclosing an inverted frustum-shaped depression. Both molecular and morphological divergence showed that B. hispida is well separated from its close relatives, justifying its recognition as a distinct species. The new species resembles B. repens, B. changii and B. guidongensis in the prostrate habit and isomorphic stamens but differs markedly in the unequal opposed leaves, the 2–4 mm long, stout bristles on the adaxial surface of leaf blade and acuminate leaf apex. Bredia hispida co-occurs with B. esquirolii in the wild. No morphologically putative hybrids between them were observed despite their overlap in flowering season. The isolating mechanism remains unclear, pending further investigation.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Taxonomic revision of the genus &lt;em&gt;Stenocephalum&lt;/em&gt; (Vernonieae, Asteraceae)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

The genus Stenocephalum Sch.Bip. (Vernonieae, Asteraceae) can be distinguished from the remaining South American members of the tribe by 4–11 florets per capitula, cylindrical involucres and cymose inflorescences. It can also be separated from other American genera of the tribe by the pollen grains, which are tricolporate and echinolophate, with a total of 29 lacunae arranged in a regular pattern, with a lacuna at each pole and without equatorial lacunae (type “C” pollen). At present, the genus comprises 7 species distributed from Mexico to Argentina. In this paper, all the entities recognized up to now are described and illustrated and one species is added to the group. The possible phylogenetic relationships of the genus are also discussed and the geographic distribution of most species is revised to include larger areas.

The clock gene Gigantea 1 from Petunia hybrida coordinates vegetative growth and inflorescence architecture

The gene GIGANTEA (GI) appeared early in land plants. It is a single copy gene in most plants and is found in two to three copies in Solanaceae. We analyzed the silencing of one GI copy, Petunia hybrida GI1 (PhGI1), by hairpin RNAs in Petunia in order to gain knowledge about its range of functions. Decreased transcript levels of PhGI1 were accompanied also by a reduction of PhGI2. They were further associated with increased time period between two consecutive peaks for PhGI1 and CHANEL (PhCHL), the orthologue of the blue light receptor gene ZEITLUPE (ZTL), confirming its role in maintaining circadian rhythmicity. Silenced plants were bigger with modified internode length and increased leaf size while flowering time was not altered. We uncovered a new function for PhGI1 as silenced plants showed reduction of flower bud number and the appearance of two flower buds in the bifurcation point, were normally one flower bud and the inflorescence meristem separate. Furthermore, one of the flower buds consistently showed premature flower abortion. Flowers that developed fully were significantly smaller as a result of decreased cell size. Even so the circadian pattern of volatile emission was unchanged in the silenced lines, flowers emitted 20% less volatiles on fresh weight basis over 24 hours and showed changes in the scent profile. Our results indicate a novel role of PhGI1 in the development of reproductive organs in Petunia. PhGI1 therefore represses growth in vegetative plant parts, maintains the typical cymose inflorescence structure, and inhibits premature flower abortion.

&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Two new species, &lt;em&gt;Begonia dinhdui&lt;/em&gt; and &lt;em&gt;B. bacmeensis &lt;/em&gt;(Begoniaceae), from Vietnam&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Two new species, Begonia dinhdui and B. bacmeensis are described from Vietnam. Begonia dinhdui is somewhat similar to B. austrovietnamica C.-I Peng, C.W. Lin, D.D. Nguyen &amp; N.D. Truong, a limestone tuberous species also occurring in southern Vietnam. Both species have a periodically dormant habit and silvery variegated lamina, however, the new species differs in having a rhizomatous (vs. tuberous) rootstock, cymose (vs. racemose) inflorescence and 4-tepaled (vs. 6-tepaled) pistillate flower. Another new species, Begonia bacmeensis most closely resembles B. psilophylla Irmsch. in its stout rhizomatous rootstock, 4-tepaled staminate flower and 5-tepaled pistillate flower, but differs from the latter by having a strongly asymmetrical (vs. subsymmetric), lanceolate to oval-lanceolate (vs. ovate) lamina, tepals of staminate and pistillate flower pale green (vs. pink), ovary lateral wings surface verrucose or echinate (vs. nearly flat). Begonia dinhdui is currently known only from a single locality in Lâm Đồng Province while B. bacmeensis is rather common in Hà Giang Province.

Homologs of LEAFY and UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS Promote the Transition From Inflorescence to Floral Meristem Identity in the Cymose Aquilegia coerulea.

Homologs of the transcription factor LEAFY (LFY) and the F-box family member UNUSUAL FLORAL ORGANS (UFO) have been found to promote floral meristem identity across diverse dicot model systems. The lower eudicot model Aquilegia produces cymose inflorescences that are independently evolved from the well-studied cymose models Petunia and tomato. We have previously characterized the expression pattern of the Aquilegia homolog AqLFY but in the current study, we add expression data on the two UFO homologs, AqUFO1 and 2, and conduct virus-induced gene silencing of all the loci. Down-regulation of AqLFY or AqUFO1 and 2 does not eliminate floral meristem identity but, instead, causes the transition from inflorescence to floral identity to become gradual rather than discrete. Inflorescences in down-regulated plants generate several nodes of bract/sepal chimeras and, once floral development does commence, flowers initiate several whorls of sepals before finally producing the wildtype floral whorls. In addition, silencing of AqUFO1/2 appears to specifically impact petal identity and/or the initiation of petal and stamen whorls. In general, however, there is no evidence for an essential role of AqLFY or AqUFO1/2 in transcriptional activation of the B or C gene homologs. These findings highlight differences between deeply divergent dicot lineages in the functional conservation of the floral meristem identity program.

The Family Placement of Cyrtandromoea

Abstract—Cyrtandromoea is a genus consisting of about 12 species of perennial caulescent herbs with a distribution in China, India, Myanmar, Thailand, and western Malesia. The genus has previously been associated with either Gesneriaceae or the tribe Mimuleae in Phrymaceae (in former Scrophulariaceae) with morphology in favor of the latter and molecular plastid ndhF data the former. We addressed the placement of this genus by assembling a four gene dataset (matK, ndhF, rps16, and trnL-F) comprising 270 ingroup samples representing 270 species and 51 families of the core asterids, including all families of Lamiales currently recognized. These included 111 species representing 66 genera of Gesneriaceae. We used maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood, and Bayesian inference analyses to reconstruct phylogenies that showed Cyrtandromoea to be placed in Phrymaceae. A fine-scale analysis focusing on Phrymaceae using ITS and trnL-F and 79 samples revealed that Cyrtandromoea is most closely related to a clade of genera in Phrymaceae that included Mimulus s. s. A combination of morphological synapomorphies such as cymose inflorescences, 5-angled toothed calyx, flowers with bilocular ovary with axile placentation with numerous small seeds with endosperm, and loculicidal dehiscing capsule support this placement. Our results strongly support the placement of Cyrtandromoea in Phrymaceae.

Dispariflora robertae gen. et sp. nov., a mid-Cretaceous flower of possible Lauralean affinity from Myanmar amber

Three flowers of a fossil angiosperm preserved in amber from Myanmar (Burma) are described as the new genus and species Dispariflora robertae. Although joined in a single cymose inflorescence, the flowers are variable in size and, in addition, they possess an unusual perianth in which 1 sepal is much enlarged and leaf-like, while the remaining 4 are smaller and unequal. The flowers each have 1 superior pistil with a peculiarly plumose and bristly ovary. The number of stamens is uncertain because most were lost before floral preservation, but scars on the receptacle suggest that at least 15 were present. The bithecal anthers open by longitudinal slits and basal glands may have been present on the filaments. Taken as a whole, the floral features that characterize Dispariflora suggest an affinity with members of Laurales, especially several Southern Hemisphere families allied with the Monimiaceae.

Diversification of inflorescence types in Portulaca (Portulacaceae) and its systematic implications

Portulaca is the only genus in Portulacaceae and includes ca. 100 species with worldwide distribution. Inflorescence types in Portulaca have been used as an important character in infrageneric classifications and it has been suggested that capitula and solitary flowers derive from a cyme. The present paper focuses on the study of the diversification patterns of the inflorescence within Portulacaceae based on a phylogenetic approach. A phylogenetic framework was used to estimate the ancestral inflorescence type under parsimony and maximum likelihood criteria. The results, although ambiguous, suggest that a cymose inflorescence may have been the ancestral type for Cactineae. Diversification patterns within Portulacaceae are not clear, but it is plausible that capitula and solitary flowers are derived from a cymose inflorescence. In addition, the first two types may have evolved independently at least twice in the group. These results show that the inflorescence type has limited systematic utility, contrary to the current accepted infrageneric classifications of Portulaca, and only characterizes a group of Australian species with cymose inflorescences.

Valeriana vilcabambensis(Valerianaceae), a New Species from Undisturbed Upper Montane Forest of the Southern Peruvian Andes

Valeriana vilcabambensis Sylvester & Barrie (Valerianaceae), here described and illustrated, is found as a common constituent of the herbaceous layer in humid, high-elevation montane forests of the Cordilleras Urubamba and Vilcabamba, Peru, which are inaccessible to grazing livestock and the spread of human-induced ground fires. The species is unique in its combination of erect, simple, woody stems to 80 cm tall; pinnate-pinnatisect leaves with elliptic to obovate entire leaflets and usually with a gradually pinnatipartite apex; cymose inflorescence with purpletinged white flowers and purple anthers; and glabrous pappose fruits. A key is provided to help distinguish it from other Peruvian species with cymose or cymosepaniculate inflorescences and pinnate, pinnatisect, or deeply pinnatifid leaves.