National Flora Research Articles

Karyological knowledge of the Italian vascular flora as inferred by the analysis of “Chrobase.it”

Chromosome number knowledge of the Italian vascular flora is stored in the online database Chrobase.it, which includes 6723 records, referable to 3428 taxa, 2799 accepted species and subspecies (about 35% of the national flora), and 3410 different chromosome countings (cytotypes). Appropriate queries to Chrobase.it allowed us to calculate mean, modal and median chromosome numbers for the Italian vascular flora, for geographical subgroups (islands, south, centre, north) and for selected orders, families and genera. Chromosome number data were available for 41 out of 55 orders (74%) and 107 out of 428 families (67%), represented by 664 out of 1297 genera (51%). The most studied administrative regions are Sicily (844 taxa), Tuscany (592 taxa), and Sardinia (390 taxa), while the most studied families are Asteraceae (465 taxa), Fabaceae (266 taxa), Brassicaceae (158 taxa), and Poaceae (144 taxa). Chromosome numbers range from 2n = 6, occurring in several species of Hypochaeris (Asteraceae), to 2n = 240, occurring in Ophioglossum (Ophioglossaceae), Dryopteris (Dryopteridaceae) and Arenaria (Caryophyllaceae) (mode is 2n = 18, and median is 2n = 24). Chromosome number variability was analyzed by frequencies (linear plots) and ANOVA, resulting in significant differences among geographical groups (mean chromosome number increasing from islands-south to centre-north) and selected taxa. B-chromosomes occur in 5.3% of data (148 taxa) and their number is not significantly different among geographical areas, while they occur only in 14 orders, 17 families, and 56 genera. The number of B-chromosomes ranges from 1 to 13 (mode = 1, median = 2).

DNA barcoding the native flowering plants and conifers of Wales.

We present the first national DNA barcode resource that covers the native flowering plants and conifers for the nation of Wales (1143 species). Using the plant DNA barcode markers rbcL and matK, we have assembled 97.7% coverage for rbcL, 90.2% for matK, and a dual-locus barcode for 89.7% of the native Welsh flora. We have sampled multiple individuals for each species, resulting in 3304 rbcL and 2419 matK sequences. The majority of our samples (85%) are from DNA extracted from herbarium specimens. Recoverability of DNA barcodes is lower using herbarium specimens, compared to freshly collected material, mostly due to lower amplification success, but this is balanced by the increased efficiency of sampling species that have already been collected, identified, and verified by taxonomic experts. The effectiveness of the DNA barcodes for identification (level of discrimination) is assessed using four approaches: the presence of a barcode gap (using pairwise and multiple alignments), formation of monophyletic groups using Neighbour-Joining trees, and sequence similarity in BLASTn searches. These approaches yield similar results, providing relative discrimination levels of 69.4 to 74.9% of all species and 98.6 to 99.8% of genera using both markers. Species discrimination can be further improved using spatially explicit sampling. Mean species discrimination using barcode gap analysis (with a multiple alignment) is 81.6% within 10×10 km squares and 93.3% for 2×2 km squares. Our database of DNA barcodes for Welsh native flowering plants and conifers represents the most complete coverage of any national flora, and offers a valuable platform for a wide range of applications that require accurate species identification.

The status of conservation of urban forests in eastern Amazonia

This study aims to identify the remnant tree flora in six forest fragments in the metropolitan area of Belém and to analyze these fragments in terms of biological conservation, species richness and diversity in the local urban landscape. The fragments and their respective sampling areas were as follows: Amafrutas reserve (15 ha), Trambioca Is. reserve (2 ha), Bosque Rodrigues Alves city park (15 ha), Combu Is. reserve (10 ha), Gunma Park reserve (10 ha) and Mocambo reserve (5 ha). Inventories were built from lineal plots of 250 m² and included trees with DBH equal to or greater than 10 cm at a height of 1.3 m above ground. Sixty-nine families and 759 species, of which eight were officially listed as endangered (Brazilian National Flora: Ministry of Environment, Normative Instruction of September, 2008; Pará State Flora: Decree Nº. 802 of February 2008) were recorded. These endangered species are: Aspidosperma desmanthum Benth. ex Müll. Arg. (Apocynaceae), Cedrela odorata L. (Meliaceae), Eschweilera piresii S.A Mori (Lecythidaceae), Euxylophora paraensis Huber (Rutaceae), Hymenolobium excelsum Ducke (Leguminosae), Manilkara huberi (Ducke) Chevalier (Sapotaceae), Tabebuia impetiginosa (Mart. ex DC.) Standl. (Bignoniaceae), Mezilaurus itauba (Meisn.) Taub. ex Mez (Lauraceae) and Qualea coerulea Aubl. (Vochysiaceae). Emergency actions such as implementing management plans for already existing Conservation Units, the creation of new such units in areas of primary forest fragments (as in the case of the Amafrutas reserve), as well as the intensification of actions of surveillance and monitoring, should be undertaken by Federal, State, and Municipal environmental agencies so as to ensure the conservation of these last primary forest remnants in the metropolitan area of Belém.

Does chromosome number count? Mapping karyological knowledge on Italian flora in a phylogenetic framework

Italian vascular flora is highly representative of the Euro-Mediterranean area, because the region includes high mountain territories, temperate areas, and regions dominated by the Mediterranean climate. Chromosome number information about the Italian flora stored in the online database Chrobase.it includes 6,756 records, referable to 3,539 cytotypes and 2,785 accepted species and subspecies (approx. 35% of the national flora). Appropriate queries to Chrobase.it enabled us to map chromosome numbers, at order rank, in a robust phylogenetic framework, derived from APGIII and other recent phylogenetic studies on vascular plants. Similar work was conducted for selected families and genera. Chromosome number data were available for 41 out of 80 vascular plant orders (51%) currently recognized world-wide and 107 out of 428 families (25%), represented by 661 genera (4.5%). The large number of records enabled us to compute the mean chromosome number for each taxon, and to highlight significant differences among all orders and among subsets of families and genera. For each taxon, we analysed the variability in chromosome number by use of common statistical methods, and computed the frequency of chromosome numbers, the coefficient of variation of chromosome number (CVCN), the frequency of B-chromosomes (fB), and that of odd chromosome numbers (fOCN). The phylogenetic relevance of our results is discussed and the usefulness of basic karyological data, often neglected in current phylogenetic studies, is stressed.

Nitrogen Fixing Legumes in the Plant Communities

Problems statement: Numerous authors have used energetic to explain the ecological success of N-fixing plants. Legume biodiversity assessment, species dynamics, nitrogen fixation monitoring and environment impact assessment of these ecological events in Al-Hassa Oasis, Saudi Arabia are rare and need to be continuous and more frequent. Approach: Thus the objectives of this study were to analyze legume abundance within and outside Al-Hassa Oasis and relate it to the distribution of the different genera. Results: Thirty two legume plant species from 20 genera have been recorded within and outside the Oasis. The largest genera were Cassia (4 species), Indigofera (4) and Acacia (3). Annual herbs were the dominant growth form (34% of species recorded), followed by shrubs (28%), perennial herbs (19%) and trees (19%). Eighteen alien plant species were recorded (maybe an underestimated number). The nitrogen fixation of the legume plant species in Al-Hassa Oasis was estimated/analyzing the fixing potentiality of these species and nonfixing reference species (Panicum turgidum) using the 15N natural abundance method. Species with great nitrogen fixing capacity in Al-Hassa include: Medicago sativa, Vicia faba, Vicia sativa, Melitotus indicus, Dolicus lablab, Melitotus alba and Cliforia ternate. The mean biological fixation contribution of most of the recorded legume plants were high, varying from 3.9% (Indigofera argentea) to 64.6% (Medicago sativa). Conclusion: Al-Hassa Oasis is richer than expected based on its location within the desert zone. This study confirms the importance of the Oasis for national flora conservation in the Kingdom. results showed a good potential for use of the 15N natural abundance methodology for evaluating the nitrogen fixation ability of the legume plants under field conditions as well as for the estimation of %Ndfa.

Infection of Arum Maculatum by the rust Puccinia sessilis at Carmel NNR, South Wales

rum maculatum is probably one of the most familiar plants of our native flora. It adorns our hedgerows and base-rich woodlands in spring and summer, the characteristic fruits lasting well into the autumn. Its common name is Lordsand-Ladies, although Prime (1960) records over a hundred English names for this plant throughout Britain, together with detailed information on its folklore, variation and ecology. It is very common throughout England and Wales, and according to Prime is frost sensitive. As a consequence its frequency declines northwards and it is local in Scotland (www.bsbimaps.org.uk/atlas/main.php). It is an extremely variable plant with differences recorded between individuals and between populations. Prime records differences in the floral structure, leaf shape, venation and pigmentation, but the most striking visible difference is the presence in some plants of dark purple-black markings on the leaves (hence the specific epithet “maculatum”, which means “spotted”) whilst other plants are unspotted. The purple-spotted plants are very conspicuous (Fig. 1) and the dark blotches are usually irregular in shape and vary in size from small dots of a few millimetres to a few centimetres in diameter. This pigmentation is confined to the central layers of the leaf and was once thought to be the result of a virus infection but is now known to be due to anthocyanin production. Local and national floras have not generally formally distinguished these forms, though Sell & Murrell (1996), while not accepting the varieties as part of the formal description of taxa, do give varietal names for plants with spots (var. maculatum) and those without (var. immaculatum) in their discussion. Prime carried out a comprehensive study across Britain in the 1950s and he showed in general that spotted plants became less common towards the north and east of Britain. Puccinia sessilis is a rust fungus. Many rusts have life cycles which involve the production of up to five different spore stages and the participation of two different host plants. P. sessilis exhibits this type of life cycle. Two spore stages are produced on Arum and the other three spore stages are produced on the alternate host Phalaris arundinacea (Reed Canary-grass). Arum is infected by the rust in the early spring and this results in the formation of discrete orangeyellow pustules on the upper surface of the leaf (Fig. 2). Within these pustules minute spherical bodies called pycnia are produced which are the first spore stage of the rust. After about 10–14 days these develop into the next spore stage, which is produced on the underside of the leaf. These structures (called aecia) look like little coronets (Fig. 3) and produce aeciospores, which in turn infect another plant from a different family (the alternate host), which in this case is Phalaris arundinacea. Infection of Phalaris occurs during the summer months, and two different spore types are subsequently produced. The first of these (urediniospores) are produced continuously during the summer and are responsible for spreading the disease throughout the stand of Phalaris. During late summer/autumn yet another type of spore (teliospore) is produced which is the overwintering stage of the rust. The following spring these teliospores themselves germinate to produce the final spore stage in the life cycle (the basidiospore), and it is this spore stage that reinfects Arum in the spring thus completing the life cycle of the rust (Wilson & Henderson 1966). For the rust to survive, therefore, both host plants must be present to allow cross infection to take place to enable the rust to complete its life cycle.

The Geo-Ecological Finland: Natural History Defining the Boundaries of a Nation

When Finland in 1809 was separated from the Swedish Kingdom and became an autonomous Grand Duchy in the Russian Empire, research on national flora and fauna and consequently on geology was intensified in the country’s only university, the Academia Aboensis, which in 1828, became the University of Helsinki. Already in 1837, the area to be studied as ‘Finland’ was considered to comprise not only the Grand Duchy but also the East Karelian territory and Kola Peninsula in the east of Finnish Lapland. During the 19th century, applying botanical and geological criteria, several attempts were made to deter-mine the boundaries of this ‘Geo-Ecological Finland’, especially in its SE corner. Although from 1917, with the Russian Revolution and independence of Finland, research was no more possible for Finnish naturalists and geologists in East Karelia and Kola, the concept remained in handbooks and maps for several decades even after 1944 when a great part of Finnish Karelia was ceded to the Soviet Union as a result of the war. Nowadays, the concept has gained new impact as collaboration of Finnish researchers with colleagues from Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Karelian Republic (earlier East Karelia), has again become possible.  Article in English

Molecular study of the Cardamine maritima group (Brassicaceae) from the Balkan and Apennine Peninsulas based on amplified fragment length polymorphism

The amphi-Adriatic region, and especially the Western Balkan Peninsula, belongs to the most important biodiversity hotspots in the temperate region. Nevertheless, detailed phylogeographic and molecular systematic studies in the Western Balkan are rare due to sporadic sampling in regions, where access has been, until recently, restricted by war. The Cardamine maritima group, which is the focus of this study, comprises not only the currently recognised species C. maritima and C. monteluccii, but also other taxa, which have been rendered to synonymy by most of the national floras and checklists. Molecular data acquired by the amplified fragment length polymorphism method showed a clear pattern within the group. Italian populations of C. monteluccii are well separated from Balkan taxa. In a step forward from previous taxonomic confusion surrounding Balkan populations, the present study confirms that five allopatric units—each with a clearly delimited and a rather restricted distribution range—can be easily recognised here. They correspond to C. fialae, C. serbica, C. rupestris, and two genetically distant and allopatric units within C. maritima. While individual taxa gained high bootstrap support in the neighbour-joining tree, there is low support for the internal nodes and it is hard to infer any relationships among taxa based on this information. The majority of Balkan populations of the C. maritima group exhibit features of genetic variability that enable us to hypothesise that these populations are relic ones.

The myth of plant species saturation

Plant species assemblages, communities or regional floras might be termed 'saturated' when additional immigrant species are unsuccessful at establishing due to competitive exclusion or other inter-specific interactions, or when the immigration of species is off-set by extirpation of species. This is clearly not the case for state, regional or national floras in the USA where colonization (i.e. invasion by exotic species) exceeds extirpation by roughly a 24 to 1 margin. We report an alarming temporal trend in plant invasions in the Pacific Northwest over the past 100 years whereby counties highest in native species richness appear increasingly invaded over time. Despite the possibility of some increased awareness and reporting of native and exotic plant species in recent decades, historical records show a significant, consistent long-term increase in exotic species (number and frequency) at county, state and regional scales in the Pacific Northwest. Here, as in other regions of the country, colonization rates by exotic species are high and extirpation rates are negligible. The rates of species accumulation in space in multi-scale vegetation plots may provide some clues to the mechanisms of the invasion process from local to national scales.

A Correction of the Scientific Name of Dryopteris bissetiana (Baker) C. Chr. vs Dryopteris setosa (Thunb.) Akasawa in Chinese Fern Flora

Dryopteris bissetiana(Baker) C.Chr.is a rather common and well known fern in China.Unfortunately in the Chinese national flora(Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae),it is recorded by an illegitimate name,i.e.Dryopteris setosa(Thunb.) Akasawa.The application of the correct scientific name of this plant is resumed.

Novitates Rio Munis 1. A new endemic Scaphopetalum (Malvaceae) from Mount Mitra, Equatorial Guinea

SUMMARY A new species of Scaphopetalum from Monte Mitra is described. Small shrub 20-150 cm tall. Petiole 3-5 mm. Leaves obovate, glabrous and shiny, 7.5-13 by 2.5-5.5 cm, base rounded, apex shortly caudate. Inflorescence raminascent, few-flowered cymes, peduncle 3-4 mm long, 1-5 flowers, pedicel 2-3 cm. Sepals 9-10 by 4-3 mm narrowly ovate, hairy on the inside of the tip. Petals hooded, whitish transparent and ribbed, 0.8-1 by 0.5-0.7 cm, apex with three short slips. Stamens fused in vase-like tube, 1 cm diam. and 0.5 cm high, with 5 sharply angled lobes, each lobe has a red ray, anthers inserted on the lobes. Ovary 5-lobed, style 1 mm long. Capsule glabrous, 1.5-2 by 0.6-0.9 cm, with 5 sharply angled ridges. Seeds 2 mm, adorned with a brown aril. Distribution — Equatorial Guinea, at the base of Monte Mitra. Habitat — Understorey of (submontane) rain forest at an altitude of 700 m. Note — Equatorial Guinea is the only country in central Africa without a national flora. Some believe that such a reference book is not needed arguing that the plants of Equatorial Guinea are completely a subset of those found in Cameroon and Gabon

Rapid inventory of wild medicinal plant populations in Sri Lanka

Sustainable use of wild populations of medicinal plants (as with other non-timber forest products) requires robust assessment of the distribution and abundance of target species. Long-term population dynamics datasets are typically unavailable in many developing countries, and then perhaps only for one to few high profile taxa. Given the scale and urgency of sustainability issues, one-off inventories provide the only realistic means for assessing the population status and harvest potential of assemblages of target resource species. Quantitative examples of such assessments are very rare, and limited in scale. As part of a national programme focusing on developing sustainable usage of medicinal plants in five biogeographically representative Medicinal Plant Conservation Areas (MPCAs) in Sri Lanka, we describe the rapid appraisal methodology developed for, and substantive results derived from, a resource inventory undertaken at respective MPCAs to provide: (a) baseline assessment of the distributions, associated population structures and densities, and ecological requirements of medicinal plant species; and (b) an informed basis for ongoing in situ conservation, management, and harvest sustainability of defined priority medicinal plant species. The applied methodology comprised: (a) quantitative assessment of medicinal plant populations and habitat features at 898 inventory plots, located using a strict hierarchical stratification; (b) standard numerical classificatory procedures to define major habitat types; and (c) areal estimates of habitats based on available fine-scale topographic mapping, augmented with refined mapping derived from Landsat TM imagery. Over 1400 medicinal plant species (ca. 40% of the national flora) were sampled during the inventory, occurring in habitat conditions ranging from dense-canopied, relatively undisturbed tropical forest, to savanna. Most vegetation was of a secondary nature reflecting ancient and varied histories of chena (slash and burn) cultivation, grassland/savanna burning for pastoral purposes, and recent logging. Medicinal plant species density was significantly correlated overall with higher rainfall, higher elevation, deeper and more acid soils. Derived population estimates and structures, and the potential for sustainable harvest from the wild, are assessed for 34 priority medicinal plant species. Results demonstrate the very low resource base of most priority species, and the varied habitat and disturbance requirements of medicinal plants in Sri Lankan reserves. It follows that (a) greater attention needs to be given to ex situ propagation and farming of medicinal plant resources—although for many long-lived perennial taxa this is likely to be impractical; (b) there can be no one management prescription which caters for all component species; and (c) for effective conservation local communities need to be actively involved in managing natural vegetation habitats (albeit under regulated conditions), including imposition of various forms of small-scale disturbances such as harvesting and, where appropriate, fire management.

Field records of Dr. Tchang-Bok Lee based on herbarium specimens deposited at SNUA

The period from 1946 until his retirement from Department of Forest Resources, Seoul National University was a time of research and professional activity on many fronts for Korean Plant Taxonomy. From 1952 to 1984, he travelled south Korea and collected more than 70,000 specimens. Working out of this project, Dr. Lee developed the SNUA herbarium (Herbarium of The Arboretum of Seoul National University) as the best University herbarium in Korea for the modem floristic work. Dr. Lee's first interest rests on his contributions to our understanding of the twig identification in early 1950. Asian deciduous oak taxa have attracted particular focus to him late 1950 and early 1960. Accordingly Dr. Lee has been one of the specialists on systematic study of Asian oak which is a basis of identification in eastern Asia now. Dr. Lee's contributions concerning rare and endangered plants in Korea provide a tremendous information after a Japanese taxonomist, T. Nakai did in early 1920 to late 1930 in Korea. During his fourteen year career from 1970 to 1984, Dr. Lee spent time to investigate flora of many local and National Park sites. Much of his effort was directed to the voucher specimens for which he worked for the Illustrated Flora of Korea and also served as a field collector. These collections at SNUA enabled us to extend our educational outreach from the local to the national flora research. Although Dr. Lee has been and continues to be the soul of SNUA, collection records about his purpose and aim for each trip are not well documented except date and field studied sites. This lesson enables us to tackle the same issue of balancing quantity and quality with well documented specimens now.

Diversity of native and alien plant species on rubbish dumps: effects of dump age, environmental factors and toxicity

Abstract. The flora of 96 rubbish dumps consisting of organic, inorganic and industrial wastes was studied in the Czech Republic. Some dumps contained toxic substances (heavy metals, chlorethylenes, phenols, polychlorinated biphenyls, oil hydrocarbons and biogas). Statistically significant factors explaining the number and proportional representation of native plant species, archaeophytes (introduced before 1500) and neophytes (introduced later) were determined. In total, 588 species of vascular plants were recorded, with archaeophytes (133 species) over‐represented and native species (322 species) and neophytes (133 species) under‐represented compared to their proportions in the national flora. Minimum adequate models were used to determine the effects of several factors on species numbers and proportions, independent of other factors. Dump area, human density in the region and altitude (non‐significant only in archaeophytes) were correlated positively with species numbers. Dump age, expressed as time since dump establishment, interacted with the dump toxicity; species numbers increased with dump age on non‐toxic dumps, whereas on toxic dumps no increase in numbers was noted. For neophytes, dump toxicity also interacted with human density; the increase in numbers of neophytes with human density is more pronounced on toxic than on non‐toxic dumps. The variables measured failed to explain observed differences in proportional representation of native species, archaeophytes and neophytes. This suggests that the occurrence of species growing in such extreme habitats is driven overwhelmingly by factors such as anthropogenic disturbance. A possible explanation for the positive effect of altitude on species numbers on dumps is that the effect of heating of the deposited substrate by microbiological processes, documented by previous studies, overrides the effect of altitude which was shown repeatedly to have a negative effect on species richness. Neophyte distribution is driven by an interplay of factors distinct from those influencing the distribution of native species, namely toxicity and human density (the latter we interpret as a surrogate for propagule pressure). Their distribution on studied dumps is more restricted than that of native taxa and archaeophytes, and they are more limited by toxic substrata; more intensive propagule pressure is required for their establishment at dumps with higher toxicity levels.

‘Giving Plants a Civil Status’: Scientific Representations of Nature and Nation in Costa Rica and Venezuela, 1885-1935

In a 1924 essay, the botanist Henri Pittier worried that many of Latin America's tropical products—particularly its plants—lacked a ‘civil status.’ By this, Pittier meant that they had not yet been identified and named scientifically. He likened the plants’ lack of a botanical ‘civil status’ to a person's lacking a passport or credentials that proved their citizenship. This was more than a casual analogy. Over the previous half-century, many states in Latin America had begun to take inventories of their plants, just as they had begun taking censuses of their citizens, and surveying and mapping their national territories. These botanical inventories helped states establish control over the natural world, just as censuses helped the state establish control over civil society. Between 1885 and 1935, governments throughout Latin America began to fund botanical research institutions and to finance the publication of national floras. Pittier had been actively involved in this process: he had helped establish national natural history museums in Costa Rica and Venezuela, and wrote or edited three national flora: thePrimitiae Florae Costaricensis(1891-1901), theEnsayo sobre las plantas usuales de Costa Rica(1908), and theManual de las plantas usuales de Venezuela(1926). National floras such as these were not simply ‘entertainment for intellectuals’ but also part of broader programs by Latin American governments to incorporate the natural world into the national political and economic order.

Inhibition of the Lethal and Myotoxic Activities of Crotalus durissus terrificus Venom by Tabernaemontana catharinensis: Identification of One of the Active Components

In Brazilian folk medicine, victims of bites by poisonous animals are usually treated with plant extracts derived from the diverse national flora. The chemical and pharmacological properties of most extracts were yet not investigated. In the rural community of Assis-SP, the root bark of Tabernaemontana catharinensis ("leiteiro", "cow milk") is applied to the site of the snake bite and believed to neutralize the effect of the venom. We report here the ability of the lyophilized aqueous extract (AE) and of a pure compound obtained from the ethanolic extract of T. catharinensis to inhibit the lethal and myotoxic activities of C. d. terrificus (South American rattlesnake) venom. Doses of 10 mg AE/100 g, injected (i.m., rat) 20 s after injecting (i.m.) the venom and that of 2.5 mg AE/100 g, incubated for 1 h at 25 degrees C with the venom before injection (i.m.) were able to neutralize the lethal activity of 2LD50. These data indicate that T. catharinensis could be used as a source of a model molecule able to neutralize the lethality and myotoxicity induced by C. d. terrificus venom. Its ethanolic extract was then fractionated on a silica gel 60 chromatography column affording fractions A to F. Fraction A consisted basically of non-polar compounds, terpenes and sterols. Fraction D showed a pronounced antiophidian activity which was later correlated with the presence of the quaternary alkaloid 12-methoxy-4-methylvoachalotine in this fraction. This alkaloid was isolated and inhibited 100% lethality when injected 20 s after 2 LD50 at 1.7 mg/100 g.

What Is Nasturtium tibeticum (Brassicaceae)?

The status of Nasturtium tibeticum is discussed, and the new combination Dontostemon tibeticus is proposed. Accounts of N. tibeticum in some Chinese floras are based on plants of the new species Phaeonychium fengii. The distinguishing characters of Nasturtium, Dontostemon, and Phaeo- nychium are presented. During the revision of Brassicaceae for the Flora of China, it became evident that the identity and generic placement of the poorly known Nasturtium tibeticum Maximowicz were erroneously interpreted in several accounts of the family for provincial and national Chinese floras. As shown below, such ac- counts involve two species more appropriately placed in Dontostemon Andrzejowski ex C. A. Mey- er and Phaeonychium O. E. Schulz. Unfortunately, treatments of these two genera (Al-Shehbaz, 2000; Al-Shehbaz & Ohba, 2000) were already in press when I started working on the N. tibeticum problem and, therefore, it was not possible to incorporate the following findings into those two publications. Although Maximowicz (1889) provided detailed description and illustrations of Nasturtium tibeti- cum, he did not discuss its generic placement and only indicated that it cannot be placed in Sisym- brium L. on account of its accumbent instead of incumbent cotyledons. That original disposition of N. tibeticum has not been questioned until the pre- sent, though Schulz (1933, 1936) recognized its anomalous position in Nasturtium R. Brown and placed it in the monotypic section Ktenokardamum O. E. Schulz. However, Schulz's broad concept of Nasturtium included also all of Rorippa Scopoli and a few species presently assigned to other genera. As delimited by Al-Shehbaz and Price (1998), Nasturtium includes five species, of which two are native to North America, two to Europe, and one to North Africa. It consists of aquatic perennials with hollow stems rooting at the submersed lowermost nodes, pinnately compound emergent leaves with nondecurrent lateral leaflets, and coarsely reticu- late seeds. Nasturtium tibeticum clearly does not belong to this genus because it is a terrestrial bi- ennial with solid stems not rooting at the lowermost nodes, pectinate-pinnatifid leaves with decurrent lateral leaf lobes, and minutely reticulate seeds. In every aspect of the plant, N. tibeticum is most at home in Dontostemon (including Dimorphostemon Kitagawa), an Asian genus of ten species (Al-Sheh- baz & Ohba, 2000). The species, hereafter known as D. tibeticus, has multicellular glandlike warts on the fruit valve but not the typical glands charac- teristic of four of the ten species of Dontostemon, nor does it have the connate median filaments found in eight of those ten species. However, it has broadly expanded and sometimes minutely dentic- ulate bases of the median staminal filaments, dis- tinctly 2-lobed stigmas, accumbent cotyledons, white flowers with purplish petal claws, and strong- ly divided leaves. In this, D. tibeticus is more sim- ilar to D. pinnatifidus (Willdenow) Al-Shehbaz & H. Ohba than to other Himalayan or Asian species. From other species of Dontostemon, D. tibeticus is readily distinguished by having pectinate-pinnatifid leaves, prominently 2-lobed stigmas with subde- current lobes, and free, basally flattened bases of the median staminal filaments. The descriptions and illustrations of Dontoste- mon tibeticus (as Nasturtium) in Flora Qinghaiica (Huang, 1997) and Flora Xizangica (Kuan, 1985) were accurate, but those in other floras (see below) were not. Because of the confusion in the identity of this species, a detailed description and citation of specimens are provided. Excellent illustrations of the species can be found in Maximowicz (1889) and Huang (1997).

Before the floras—Monographs

The proposal is made that writing of national or regional floras is premature, and that systematic resources should be directed toward the preparation of monographs with cladistic analyses. This proposal results from one major consideration: that the preparation of floras does not require rigorous analysis of species definition and delimitation, and therefore the basic data (i.e. the species circumscriptions) are more unreliable than that in monographs. Furthermore, contrary to some published arguments, the data in floras are not presented and summarised in a format compatible with other areas of comparative and applied biology, whereas it is otherwise in a monograph with cladistic analysis. This proposition is based on the author’s experience in preparing both monographs and floristic treatments.

Anchusa L. and allied genera (Boraginaceae) in Italy

ABSTRACT A revision of the Italian entities of Anchusa and of the related genera Anchusella, Lycopsis, Cynoglottis, Hormuzakia and Pentaglottis was carried out in view of the poor systematic knowledge of some entities of the national flora. The taxonomic treatment relies on a wide comparative basis, including macro- and micromorphological, karyological, chorological and ecological data. After a general description of some poorly known microcharacters of vegetative and reproductive structures, analytical keys, nomenclatural types, synonymies, descriptions, distribution maps and iconographies are provided for each entity. Pentaglottis (P. sempervirens) and Hormuzakia (H. aggregata) are monotypic genera, while Anchusella, Cynoglottis and Lycopsis each include two species of which only one is native to Italy: A. cretica, C. barrelieri and L. arvensis, respectively. The taxonomic autonomy of these “satellite” genera is supported by morphological, palynological and karyological evidence. In Italy Anchusa includes 9 entities: A. azurea, A. officinalis, A. undulata ssp. hybrida, A. crispa ssp. crispa and A. crispa ssp. maritima, A. sardoa, A. littorea, A. capellii and A. formosa. Some evolutionary aspects and systematic relationships of the taxa endemic to the Corso-Sardinian system are discussed in the light of phenetic, karyological and choro-ecological data.

Alkaloid Screening of Panamanian Plants. I

AbstractThe Flora of Panama is one of the richest in the world (Schultes, 1972) as plants from South and Central America as well as from the Caribbean area can be found here. However, with the exception of research carried out by our group, the Panamanian plants have not been subjected to any form of systematic chemical or pharmacological study. As a part of our continuing interest in the unexplored National Flora, we initiated a screening program to make a preliminary selection of plants for future phytochemical studies, and to uncover new sources of phytoconstituents which may eventually be found to have biological activities. Our initial studies, reported at this time, involve screening the plant extracts for alkaloids.Plant collections were made over a period of about three years, beginning in 1973, from different parts of the country.