Convallaria Majalis Research Articles

Смена аспектов растительности Национального парка «Хвалынский» и его охранной зоны

In article features of aspects’ change of National park’s Khvalynsky (Saratov region) vegetable communities are revealed by V. V. Alyokhin’s method of sequential descriptions. Five vegetable associations: 1) Stipeta pennatae –Bromopsisosa riparia – Pluriherbosa, 2) Stipeta capillatae – Festucosa valessiaca – Herbosa; 3) Stipeta pennatae – Festucosa valessiaca – Herbosa on sand; 4) Acer platanoides + Tilia cordata – Convallaria majalis; 5) Acer platanoides + Tilia cordata – Aegopodium podagraria are observed. In total 17 types of plants on blossoming rhythms are revealed. They are integrated in 5 cycles: spring, spring-summer, summer, summer-autumn and autumn. Plants of summer and late-spring blossoming types prevail in steppe phytocoenosis, plants of spring blossoming types dominate in forest cenosis. Aspects are formed by 23 species of grassy and shrub layer’ plants which belongs to such phytocoenotypes as forest, margin-forest, meadow-steppe, margin-forest-meadow, steppe. Information about the beginning, duration and end of blossoming of plants is used when arranging security, ecological education and tourism in the National Park.

Ontogenic spectrum of coenopopulations as indicator of species strategy under anthropogenic stress (on the example rare and protected plants of the natural and historical park “Bitsevsky forest”)

The authors investigated the structure of populations of rare and protected species included in the Red book of Moscow and Moscow region, in connection with the influence of increasing anthropogenic loads in the forest zone of the city of Moscow. For the first time in the Bitsa forest Park based on the features of ontomorphogenesis of species such as the Sanicula europaea L., Convallaria majalis L., Polygonatum multiflorum (L.) All., Coridalis intermedia (L.) Merat . described and analyzed the age structure of their populations. Comparing the structure of populations of protected species, the authors showed the existence of different strategies of these species under conditions of anthropogenic stress.

Ecological, biological and coenotic features of common lily-of-the-valley (Convallaria majalis L.) in the conditions of Zhytomyr Polissya

A study deals with the natural habitats of Convallaria majalis L., its biological characteristics and capabilities to the seed to renewal. The features of generative and vegetative reproduction Lily of the valley in terms of Polissya are determined. A lily of valley (Convalaria majalis L., is a valuable medicinal herb, as well as an ornamental plant. The healing properties of lily of valley are caused by the presence of glycosides and saponins. The popularity of the species leads to its reduction. Nowadays the possibilities of this valuable plant application are not determined. That is why; there is a necessity to explore the habitat of this plant, its bio ecological features and the possibilities of seed restoration. The purpose of investigation is to study ecological, biological and coenotic features of a lily of valley in Zhytomyr Polissya region. Conclusions and perspectives of further researches are proved. The favorable weather conditions in 2012 allowed sufficient germ number to form. It was 200 per generative sprout in 2013. The real seed productivity in years of the research was not high and it was from 20–30 to 38 seed per species. 2013 was the least favorable year for seed formation. A lily of valley forms from 10 to 18 germs of seeds. But some part of them is able to form seeds. So, 12 germs could form 4, 3 seeds in 2011, 10 germs could produce only 4, 4 in 2012. The number of seed germs increased in 2013, but seeds were not produced. The absence of seed materials is due to the bad weather conditions during the pollination and flowering period. So, the seed restoration of a lily of valley is rather slow and random. The population is restored because of its vegetative propagation. The further researches will be focused on Convalaria majalis habitat clarification in natural conditions of Zhytomyr region in order to develop the recommendations for the proper harvesting of pharmaceutical raw materials without damaging any other natural species.

Лесоводственная оценка сосновых насаждений в зоне рекреационного воздействия в Воронежской области

The paper presents a silvicultural assessment of the status and sustainability of the compo-nents of phytocenosis in pine plantations, analysis of the state density of the soil depending on the intensity of recreational activity. With increasing stage of recreational digression was clearly manifested by the reduction of biophysical parameters (diameter, height, completeness, margin). With increasing recreational pressure reduced the species diversity of underwood species, pro-jective cover of herbaceous plants, forest disappear (Lily of the valley, wild strawberry and mea-dow appear) and weed species.

Flora of the settlement Lukh of Ivanovo Region

In the article the floristic data of Lukh, one of the ancient Ivanovo region settlements, are given. The present Lukh settlement flora consists of 402 vascular plant species from 4 classes, 76 families and 255 genera. Compositae 53 species (13,2%), Rosaceae 39 species (9,7%), Poaceae 27 species (6,9%), Fabaceae 23 species (5,7%), Cruciferae 18 species (4,2%) are leading families of the flora. The basis of biomorphological structure of the Luch flora is made up by the perennial grass plants (233 species; 57,9%), arboreous plants include 60 species (14,9%), among which 23 species are trees, 33 species are shrubs. Geographical analysis ascertained prevalence of native species. The native component of Lukh flora comprises 247 species (61,6%), the аlien component 153 species (38,4%). The adventivity index is 0,38 which is typical for the small towns and large settlements of the Upper Volga region. 2 rare species (Gerntiana pneumonanthe, Populus nigra) included in the regional red data book, some native (Thelypteris palustris, Juniperus communis, Dactulorhiza fuchii, Platanthera bifolia, Convallaria majalis, Carex pilosa, Trollius earopaeus, Daphne mezerum) and alien (Atriрlex patens, Symphytum x uplandicum, Hesperis matronalis, Veronica persica, Zizania latifolia) rare plant species are briefly characterized.

Evaluation of allelopathic activity of 178 Caucasian plant species

<p>Seeking for new plant species as the main resources of bioactive chemicals is one of the fundamental steps in biological production science. The main objective of this paper was to screen for the allelopathic activity of Caucasian plant species in order to select the strongest allelopathic species for future studies. Dried leaves of 178 plant species collected from the Teberda State Reserve in the Caucasus region were assayed by the Sandwich method for allelopathic activity, using <em>Lactuca sativa</em> (lettuce) as the test plant. To evaluate allelopathic activity, standard deviation (SD) and SD of variance (SDV) of radicle growth inhibition were calculated. The highest (100%) inhibition was observed for <em>Artemisia austriaca</em> Jacquin, followed by <em>Oxalis acetosella</em> L., <em>Convallaria majalis</em> L. and <em>Polygonatum odoratum</em> (Miller). Among plant families, members of the Fabaceae caused greatest inhibition of radicle growth. Plants classified as “poisonous” had the highest allelopathic activities, followed closely by those designated “medicinal”. Results of this study will guide the identification of novel phytotoxic chemicals useful in medicinal and/or industrial applications.</p>

Flowering phenological changes in relation to climate change in Hungary

The importance of long-term plant phenological time series is growing in monitoring of climate change impacts worldwide. To detect trends and assess possible influences of climate in Hungary, we studied flowering phenological records for six species (Convallaria majalis, Taraxacum officinale, Syringa vulgaris, Sambucus nigra, Robinia pseudoacacia, Tilia cordata) based on phenological observations from the Hungarian Meteorological Service recorded between 1952 and 2000. Altogether, four from the six examined plant species showed significant advancement in flowering onset with an average rate of 1.9-4.4days per decade. We found that it was the mean temperature of the 2-3months immediately preceding the mean flowering date, which most prominently influenced its timing. In addition, several species were affected by the late winter (January-March) values of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. We also detected sporadic long-term effects for all species, where climatic variables from earlier months exerted influence with varying sign and little recognizable pattern: the temperature/NAO of the previous autumn (August-December) seems to influence Convallaria, and the temperature/precipitation of the previous spring (February-April) has some effect on Tilia flowering.

State Population Lily of the Valley (Convallaria Majalis L.) in Conditions Sugrudy Kiverzivsky Forestry Volyn Region

Purpose. The study of ecological and biological and environmental features cenotic growth of C. majalis (L.) in terms of forestry suhrudy Kivertsi Volyn region. Methods. Field, biometrics, statistics. Results. Researched environmental growing conditions lily of the valley (Convallaria majalis L.) in conditions sugrudy Kiverzivsky forestry. The characteristic species as one of the dominate species of grass-bush tier. Installed forest floristic composition of plant communities featuring species.Analyzed the «age» and «ontogenetic population structure» on the basis of the determination ontogenetic spectrums and types of populations.Described the impact of lighting on morphometric parameters aerial organs of C. majalis L.: width and length of the leaf blade, the number of flowers and fruits. Conclusions. The sugrudy conditions of population C. majalis (L.) is not complete spectra that belong to normal and invasive types. The light level is not significantly affect the morphometric parameters of the leaf blade, flowering and fruiting, and the state of the population C. majalis (L.) and its development depends, first of all, on the internal rhythms ontogenesis and human impact.

CONCERNING THE «BUZULUKSKY BOR» NATIONAL PARK FOREST COMMUNITIES MEDICINAL PLANTS

The are 266 medicinal vascular plants from 181 genera, 64 families, 5 phylum (Lycopodiophyta, Equisetophyta, Pteridophyta, Pinophyta, Magnoliophyta) in the Buzuluksky Bor national park. 67 species of medicinal vascular plants from 59 genera, 27 families and 4 phylum grows in forest communities, which are the most widespread such plants as Chelidonium majus L., Convallaria majalis L., Fallopia convolvulus (L.) A. Lve, Polygonatum odoratum (Mill.) Druce, Taraxacum officinalis L. and Pinus sylvestris L. Increasing number of medicinal plants has a considerable projective covering in oak forests. 30 species of medicinal plants, most of all their share in the maple forests are specific to a certain type of forest communities. The greatest similarities of specific structure of medicinal plants are oak and birch communities. The number of medicinal plants in forest communities decreases among: oak forests (35 species) birch forests (33 species) pine forests (30 species) maple forests (29 species). With increase in a gigrotope and reduction of a trofotope in community of the national park Buzuluksky Bor located in a forest-steppe zone a variety of medicinal plants increases, however the heliotope has no significant impact on number of medicinal plants. In the territory of national park Buzuluksky Bor it is recommended to collect herbs only in a recreational zone and a zone of informative tourism, and in oak and birch forests. Convallaria majalis, Pteridium aquilinum, Aegopodium podagraria, Polygonatum odoratum are less vulnerable when collecting medicinal raw materials.

Provenancing Flower Bulbs by Analytical Fingerprinting: Convallaria Majalis

The origin of agricultural products is gaining in appreciation while often hard to determine for various reasons. Geographical origin may be resolved using a combination of chemical and physical analytical technologies. In the present case of Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis) rhizomes, we investigated an exploratory set of material from The Netherlands, three other European (EU) countries and China. We show that the geographical origin is correlated to patterns of stable isotope ratios (isotope fingerprints) and volatile organic carbon (VOC) compounds (chemical fingerprints). These fingerprints allowed clear distinction using exploratory and supervised statistics. Isotope ratio mass spectrometry of 12C/13C, 14N/15N and 16O/18O isotopes separated materials from Europe and China successfully. The VOC patterns measured by Proton Transfer Reaction Mass Spectrometry (PTR-MS) allowed distinction of three groups: material from The Netherlands, the other EU countries and China. This knowledge is expected to help developing a systematic and efficient analytical tool for authenticating the origin of flower bulbs.

Species Structure of Plants in the Báb Forest Clearcuts

Abstract In the paper we have summarized the results of a research which was realized in the Báb forest (Veľký Báb, Nitra upland). The target of the research is the evaluation of species composition in the clearcuts in 2012. In the Báb forest, during spring records there were 80 and during summer records 102 taxa of taxons recorded. The woody plants of spring and summer reports were mainly represented by typical forest species. Moreover, these are woody plants of forest open parts and there are also two invasive woody Ailanthus altissima, Robinia pseudoacacia plants documented. During the summer reports, three new woody plants Clematis vitalba, Lonicera caprifolium, Ulmus minor appeared in the herb layer. Herbs are represented during the spring reports by typical spring ephemeroids, geophytes and forest herbs presenting the spring synusia. During the summer reports, ephemeroids are absent and there were new species, mainly Alliaria petiolata, Convallaria majalis, Lithospermum purpurocaeruleum, Melica nutans of forest herbs reported. In the clearcut areas also clearcut, synanthropic, mainly Cirsium vulgare, Lamium purpureum, Sambucus ebulus, Serratula tinctoria, Torilis japonica and invasive species Aster lanceolatus, A. novi-belgii agg., Erigeron annuus ssp. annuus, Impatiens parviflora occurred. Generally, we can state that the diversity of clearcut plant taxa is high. Taxa are represented by forest woody plants, woody plants of clearcuts, forest open parts and forest edges. Within clearcut herbs, there are typical forest species of oak-hornbeam forests represented, species of clearcuts and human-influenced posts and there are also invasive taxa found

Discovering herbalism through art. Plants in Polish symbolic painting (1890–1914)

Summary The article focuses on the historical link between herbalism and art at the turn of the twentieth century. The aim of this investigation is to recognize medicinal plants shown as symbols in Polish painting between 1890 and 1914 and find some cultural context of their presence in artworks. In this qualitative study online art galleries and museum collections were analyzed to select Polish symbolists’ artworks including plant images. Next, their botanical classification and medicinal context were examined. Twenty wild-growing plant species were recognized. Some of them had been used in traditional medicine (Alcea rosea, Angelica archangelica, Artemisia abrotanum, Betula pendula, Carduus marianus, Convallaria majalis, Crocus sativus, Lilium candidum, Matricaria chamomilla, Nuphar lutea, Paeonia officinalis, Papaver somniferum, Pelargonium hortorum, Populus nigra, Primula veris, Sorbus aucuparia, Taraxacum officinale, and Verbascum thapsus) and two species grown in the Carpathians (Digitalis purpurea, Lilium bulbiferum) at the time. Used to paint realistic objects, the symbolists made free-hand drawings in nature and in this way they recorded some wild-growing plants typical for surroundings of the town of Cracow and the Carpathian Mountains. Artistic images of plants were not intentionally aimed at taxonomic identification, however, sometimes classification was possible.

Cardiac Glycoside Plants Self-Poisoning

Summary Cardiac glycosides are found in a diverse group of plants including Digitalis purpurea and Digitalis lanata (foxgloves), Nerium oleander, Convallaria majalis (lily of the valley), Strophanthus gratus, etc. Nerium Oleander is an indoor and ornamental plant of an evergreen shrub. It’s widespread in countries with a Mediterranean climate. Oleander is one of the most poisonous plants known to humans. All parts of the nerium oleander are poisonous, primarily due to the contained cardiac glycosides - oleandrin, nerin, digitoxigenin, and olinerin of which oleandrin is the principal toxin. The bark contains the toxic substances of rosagenin which causes strychnine-like effects. Signs of poisoning appear a few hours after the adoption of the parts of the plant. Two cases of Nerium Oleander poisoning were presented. Clinical picture included gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and central nervous system effects. The clinical symptoms were characterized by nausea, vomiting, salivation, colic, diarrhoea, ventricular tachycardia, dysrhythmia, heart block, ataxia, drowsiness, muscular tremor. Treatment included administration of activated charcoal, symptomatic and supportive care.

Forest herbs show species-specific responses to variation in light regime on sites with contrasting soil acidity: An experiment mimicking forest conversion scenarios

Forest conversion from native deciduous forests to coniferous stands has been performed in many European regions and resulted in dramatic shifts in understorey plant community composition. However, the drivers for changes in specific understorey plant species remained unclear.Here, we experimentally determine the species-specific effects of light availability and chemical soil characteristics, on the vegetative and regenerative performance of five herbaceous forest understorey plants. Topsoil samples from both spruce and deciduous stands at four locations, with two levels of soil acidity, were collected and used in a common garden experiment. Additionally, three different light levels were applied, i.e., ‘light deciduous’, ‘dark deciduous’ (extra light reduction during summer) and ‘evergreen’ (light reduction during winter). In a second experiment we evaluated the germination of two of these species against the acidity and tree species at the site of origin of the soil samples.The light regime affected both the vegetative and regenerative performance of the understorey species: compared to light deciduous, Anemone nemorosa had a significantly lower performance under the evergreen light regime, Convallaria majalis under dark deciduous and Luzula luzuloides and Galium odoratum under both light regimes. The vegetative performance was lower in soil from acid sites for the acid-sensitive species G. odoratum and Primula elatior. Differences between the soils sampled under deciduous or spruce stands had no effect on the vegetative, or the regenerative performance of these species. By contrast, the germination of L. luzuloides and P. elatior was higher in soils sampled in deciduous stands and in neutral sites.Species-specific responses in vegetative and regenerative performance of adult plants to a changed light regime and soil acidification could be a reason for the changed vegetation composition in converted stands. Also lower germination and establishment of forest understorey species in spruce stands could influence the species distribution after conversion.

SPRING FLORA OF CEMETERIES OF ODESSA

The spring flora was analyzed on six cemeteries in Odessa, such cemeteries as Vtoroe xristianskoe, Troickoe, Tairovskoe, Trete evrejskoe, Oficerskoe (Dmitrievskое) and Severnoe. There were found and identified 235 species of plants, which belong to 186 genera and 67 families. There was taken a taxonomic analysis of flora of the cemeteries also of spreding of plants by ekobiomorphs, the analysis of hronotyp and origin. The proportion of the flora on the cemeteries is 1:2,8:3,5. The dominant family of the flora of Odessa’s cemeteries is Asteraceae . There are other leading families such as Rosaceae, Fabaceae, Poaceae, Brassicaceae, Lamiaceae . Herbs and trees are dominant among the life forms. Mesophytes and kseromezophytes are in the majority among hihromorphs. Heliophytes are on the first place by adapting to the light. Our results showed that the adventitious plants occupy up to 44% of all amount of plants at the cemeteries in Odessa. Kenophytes is a dominant group among them. Floragenetics analysis revealed the dominance of the plants from Asia. There have been allocated plants that were met at all six cemeteries independently of the location religious and age characteristics of the cemetery. Core of the flora of Odessa’s cemetery have made weed Acer negundo L., Ballota nigra L. and decorative Hedera helix L., Centaurea dealbata Willd., Buxus sempervirens L., Convallaria majalis L., Sedum kamtschaticum Fisch., Thuja occidentalis L., Hemerocalis fulva (L.) L. There were found 4 species of plants that belong to the rare and endangered plants of Odessa’s region: Convallaria majalis L., Hyacinthella leucophaea (K. Koch) Schur, Clematis integrifolia L., Paeonia tenuifolia L. Moreover Convallaria majalis L. grows on all six investigated cemeteries. Also two species: Hyacinthella leucophaea (K. Koch) Schur and Clematis Keywords: cemeteries, Odessa, flora, plants, ekobiomorphs.

The cell wall of the pollen mother cell at the tetrad stage in Convallaria majalis L.

The cell wall at the tetrad stage in <em>Convallaria majalis</em> L. has been studied by light microscope histochemical techniques. The standard PAS reaction has shown the persistence of the primary pecto-cellulosic pollen mother cell wall localized around the callosic special wall (determined both by Bauer's reaction and the fluorescence technique with aniline blue) of individual tetrcds. A PAS-positive spore precursor wall (primexime) is formed while the tetrad of microspores is still enclosed by intact callose and pollen mother cell walls. The pecto-cellulosic wall and callose layer dissolve simultaneously to release the microspores into another loculi.

The influence of shoot harvesting on the size and fecundity of Convallaria majalis L.

The paper presents results concerning the size and fecundity of <em>Convallaria majalis</em> L. in populations both disturbed and undisturbed by shoot cutting. The subject of the investigations were coenopopulations of <em>Betulo-Quercetum</em>, <em>Fago-Quercetum</em>, <em>Melico-Fagetum</em>, <em>Stellario-Carpinetum</em> and <em>Tilio-Carpinetum</em>, in which, over a period of four consecutive years, <em>C. majalis</em> shoots were cut once a year. In the undisturbed population the vegetative shoot is 22.2 ± 4.8 cm high, weighs 0.23 ± 0.16 g d.w., and most often has two leaves. The leaf lamina was 12.0 ± 2.5 cm long and 3.3 ± 1.1 cm wide. The largest shoots occur in the population in <em>Betulo-Quercetum</em>, and the smallest in the population in <em>Melico-Fagetum</em>. The generative shoot is higher and has larger leaves than the vegetative shoot. The inflorescence most often consists of six flowers and is 21.3 ± 3.9 cm high and weighs 0.08 ± 0.03 g d.w. In the population in <em>Betulo-Quercetum</em> the inflorescence is the highest and has the greatest number of flowers. Multiple raw material collection leads to the decrease of <em>C. majalis</em> shoot sizes. In the second year of the experiment the shoots were three times lighter. Collection of raw material leads to a decrease in lily of the valley fecundity. After the second cut generative reproduction was halted and the influx of genets to the population was almost entirely eliminated.

The impact of extensive clonal growth on fine-scale mating patterns: a full paternity analysis of a lily-of-the-valley population (Convallaria majalis)

The combination of clonality and a mating system promoting outcrossing is considered advantageous because outcrossing avoids the fitness costs of selfing within clones (geitonogamy) while clonality assures local persistence and increases floral display. The spatial spread of genetically identical plants (ramets) may, however, also decrease paternal diversity (the number of sires fertilizing a given dam) and fertility, particularly towards the centre of large clumped clones. This study aimed to quantify the impact of extensive clonal growth on fine-scale paternity patterns in a population of the allogamous Convallaria majalis. A full analysis of paternity was performed by genotyping all flowering individuals and all viable seeds produced during a single season using AFLP. Mating patterns were examined and the spatial position of ramets was related to the extent of multiple paternity, fruiting success and seed production. The overall outcrossing rate was high (91 %) and pollen flow into the population was considerable (27 %). Despite extensive clonal growth, multiple paternity was relatively common (the fraction of siblings sharing the same father was 0·53 within ramets). The diversity of offspring collected from reproductive ramets surrounded by genetically identical inflorescences was as high as among offspring collected from ramets surrounded by distinct genets. There was no significant relationship between the similarity of the pollen load received by two ramets and the distance between them. Neither the distance of ramets with respect to distinct genets nor the distance to the genet centre significantly affected fruiting success or seed production. Random mating and considerable pollen inflow most probably implied that pollen dispersal distances were sufficiently high to mitigate local mate scarcity despite extensive clonal spread. The data provide no evidence for the intrusion of clonal growth on fine-scale plant mating patterns.

Flora roślin naczyniowych rezerwatu „Jamno”

The 96 vascular plant species belonging to 36 families have been identified in "Jamno" nature reserve during field investigations which were done in 2011. The species repre­ sent different types of growth (= life forms in Raunkiaer's classification system), with hemicryptophytes being the dominant form. The flora contains plants from various eco­ logical groups depending on light requirements, moisture of the soil, soil acidity and soil trophy. Most of the plants tolerates shaded and semi-shaded sites, fresh and moderately acid or nearly neutral soils of intermediate fertility. The indigenous forest species are the most valuable components of flora. Among them "Convallaria majalis", "Frangula alnus" and "Viburnum opulus" are protected by law. The parasite plant "Monotropa hypopitis" and half-parasites: "Viscum abietis", "Malampyrum nemorosum" and "Melampyrum pratense", are "botanical curiosities" of the reserve.

Internal structure of an intact Convallaria majalis pollen grain observed with X-ray Fresnel coherent diffractive imaging

We have applied Fresnel Coherent Diffractive Imaging (FCDI) to image an intact pollen grain from Convallaria majalis. This approach allows us to resolve internal structures without the requirement to chemically treat or slice the sample into thin sections. Coherent X-ray diffraction data from this pollen grain-composed of a hologram and higher resolution scattering information-was collected at a photon energy of 1820 eV and reconstructed using an iterative algorithm. A comparison with images recorded using transmission electron microscopy demonstrates that, while the resolution of these images is limited by the available flux and mechanical stability, we observed structures internal to the pollen grain-the intine/exine separations and pore dimensions-finer than 60 nm. The potential of this technique for further biological imaging applications is discussed.