Ornamental Garden Plants Research Articles

Seed biology and possibility of improvement of seed germination capacity on Virginia mallow (Sida hermaphrodita L. Rusby)

Sida hermephrodita or Virginia mallow is a perspective perennial herb in the Malvaceae family able to yield a biomass crop through the last two decades. Additionally, the plants have a lot of uses and benefits for instance it can use as a fodder crop, honey crop, ornamental plant in public gardens. It has favourable features like fast growing and resistance against the disease and climatic fluctuations, etc. Sida is in the beginning phase of domestication therefore it has a serious disadvantage: the low and slow germination as a big part of wild plants. Due to the expressly low germination percent the need of seed showing of driller is should tenfold, 200 thousand seeds/acre instead of 10–20 thousand what is not available and expensive Therefore practical purposes of our research of seed physiology was to increase the seed germination percent in a available, basically wild Sida population. In the first stage of our experiments we examined two factors relating to seed germination percent and seed germination power during our research: the influence of hot water treatment and the effect of exogenous or endogenous infection of seed. However, in our germination tests, utilizing scarified seeds with hot water (65 oC, 80 oC, 90 oC), from 29,3% to 46% germinated from those samples which were collected from the population of Sida hermaphrodita in Debrecen. The average germination for all season was 5–10% without treatment and rinsed using hot water up to almost 50%. When physically scarified used, the oldest seeds showed the best germination (46%) after the hot water operation in spite of the previous studies. We discovered that apparently there are close relationship between the seed fresh weight or water uptake capability and the percentage of infection. Following these recognition we modified our technique,in such a way that we fractionated the seeds based on their fresh weight/or relative density before we carried out the treatment. When we filtered the floating seeds on the surface of water, the hot water treatment was performed considerably better on the sunk seeds after separation. Therefore, by this special priming process we were able to reach 80% germination capacity of Virgina mallow seeds under laboratory conditions (26 oC without illumination).

The effects of the Reynoutria japonica species on the biodiversity in the Natural Park of Maramureș Mountains.

Reynoutria japonica was introduced in Romania as an ornamental plant in parks and botanic gardens or private gardens from where the plant has escaped being declared spontaneous, and later invasive. In the year 2000 was registered in more than 137 localities all around the country (1). The species has evolved along Vișeu River becoming a problem that affected everyone. Reynoutria japonica takes important surfaces along Vișeu River which initially have been cultivated by the ones inhabitants affecting biodiversity.

Quantifying variation among garden plants in attractiveness to bees and other flower‐visiting insects

Summary Pollinating insects are globally declining, with one of the main causes being the loss of flowers. With the value of countryside reducing, urban areas, particularly gardens, are increasingly recognized as of benefit to wildlife, including flower‐visiting insects. Many gardeners specifically select plant varieties attractive to wildlife. Given the wide public interest, many lists of recommended varieties have been produced by both amateurs and professional organizations, but appear not to be well grounded in empirical data. These lists, however, are not without merit and are an obvious starting point. There is clearly a need to put the process onto a firmer footing based more on data and less on opinion and general experience. We collected data over two summers by counting flower‐visiting insects as they foraged on 32 popular summer‐flowering garden plant varieties in a specially planted experimental garden, with two smaller additional gardens set up in year two to check the generality of the results. With many thousands of plant varieties available to gardeners in the United Kingdom, and other countries or regions, it would have been an impossible task to make a comprehensive survey resulting in a complete and authoritative list. Our results are valuable and encouraging. Garden flowers attractive to the human eye vary enormously, approximately 100‐fold, in their attractiveness to insects. Insects, especially bees and hover flies, can be attracted in large numbers with clear differences in the distribution of types attracted by different varieties. Our results clearly show that there is a great scope for making gardens and parks more bee‐ and insect‐friendly by plant selection. Horticulturally modified plant varieties created by plant breeding, including hybrids, are not necessarily less attractive to insects and in some cases are more attractive than their wild‐type counterparts. Importantly, all the plants we compared were considered highly attractive to humans, given that they are widely sold as ornamental garden plants. Helping insect pollinators in gardens does not involve extra cost or gardening effort, or loss of aesthetic attractiveness. Furthermore, the methods of quantifying insect‐friendliness of plant varieties trialled in this study are relatively simple and can form the basis of further research, including ‘citizen science’.

First Report of Leaf Spot Caused by Phyllosticta yuccae on Yucca filamentosa in Brazil.

Yucca filamentosa L. (Agavaceae), commonly known as Adam's needle, is known in Brazil as "agulha-de-adão." It is an ornamental garden plant with medicinal properties (4). In 2010, 100% of Y. filamentosa seedlings and plants were observed with a severe leaf spot disease in two ornamental nurseries located in the municipality of Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Initially, lesions were dark brown, elliptical, and scattered, and later became grayish at the center with a reddish brown margin, irregular and coalescent. Infected leaf samples were deposited in the herbarium at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (Accession Nos. VIC32054 and VIC32055). A fungus was isolated from the leaf spots and single-spore pure cultures were obtained on potato dextrose agar (PDA). The sporulating single-spore cultures were deposited at the Coleção de Culturas de Fungos Fitopatogênicos "Prof. Maria Menezes" (CMM 1843 and CMM 1844). On the leaf, the fungus produced pycnidial conidiomata that were scattered or gregarious, usually epiphyllous, immersed, dark brown, unilocular, subglobose, and 95 to 158 × 108 to 175 μm, with a minute, subcircular ostiole. Conidiogenous cells were blastic, hyaline, conoidal, or short cylindrical. Conidia were aseptate, hyaline, smooth walled, coarsely granular, broadly ellipsoidal to subglobose or obovate, usually broadly rounded at both ends, occasionally truncate at the base or indented slightly at the apex, and 7.5 to 13.5 × 6 to 10 μm. Conidia were also surrounded by a slime layer, usually with a hyaline, flexuous, narrowly conoidal or cylindrical, mucilaginous apical appendage that was 10 to 16 μm long. Spermatia were hyaline, dumbbell shaped to cylindrical, both ends bluntly rounded, and 3 to 5 × 1 to 1.5 μm. These characteristics matched well with the description of Phyllosticta yuccae Bissett (1). To confirm this identification, DNA was extracted using a Wizard Genomic DNA Purification Kit and amplified using primers ITS1 and ITS4 (2) for the ITS region (GenBank Accession Nos. JX227945 and JX227946) and EF1-F and EF2-R (3) for the TEF-1α (JX227947 and JX227948). The sequencing was performed by Macrogen, South Korea. The ITS sequence matched sequence No. JN692541, P. yuccae, with 100% identity. To confirm Koch's postulates, four leaves of Y. filamentosa (five plants) were inoculated with 6-mm-diameter plugs from a 7-day-old culture growing on PDA. The leaves were covered with plastic sack and plants were maintained at 25°C. In a similar manner, fungus-free PDA plugs were placed on five control plants. Symptoms were consistently similar to those initially observed in the nurseries and all plants developed leaf spots by 15 days after inoculation. P. yuccae was successfully reisolated from the symptomatic tissue and control plants remained symptomless. P. yuccae has been previously reported in Canada, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Iran, and the United States of America. To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. yuccae causing disease in Y. filamentosa in Brazil and it may become a serious problem for the nurseries, due to the severity of the disease and the lack of chemical products to control this pathogen.

First report of Phytophthora nicotianae causing wilting and desiccation on Buxus sempervirens in Italy

Boxwood ( Buxus spp.) is one of the oldest genus of ornamental garden plants in Europe and is mainly used for hedging and topiary work (Batdorf, 1997). The most commonly planted species is Buxus sempervirens . In late September 2012, collar…

First Report of Curvularia gladioli Causing a Leaf Spot on Gladiolus grandiflorus in Brazil.

Gladiolus (Iridaceae) is a popular bulbous plant grown worldwide as an ornamental garden plant or cut flower due to its attractive color, size, and flower shape. In April 2012, leaf spots were observed on plants of Gladiolus grandiflorus varieties T-704 and Amsterdam growing in a production area of cut flowers located in the city of Viçosa, Minas Gerais. The oval to round leaf spots were brown with a dark border surrounded by a halo of yellow tissue. Infected leaf samples were deposited in the herbarium at the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (VIC31897). A fungus was isolated from the leaf spots and a single-spore pure culture was initiated and grown on corn meal carrot agar (CCA) medium in petri dishes incubated at 25°C under a 12-h photoperiod for 4 weeks. A sporulating single-spore culture was deposited at the Coleção de Culturas de fungos fitopatogênicos "Prof. Maria Menezes" (UFRPE, Brazil) code CMM 4055. On CCA medium, the fungal isolate initially appeared white, becoming dark after 14 days. Thirty conidia and conidiophores were measured for identification to species. The septate, smooth to pale brown conidiophores were present singly or in groups. The simple, straight or flexuous conidiophores were 42.5 to 82.5 × 3.5 to 7.5 μm and some had a geniculate growth pattern. The majority of conidia were curved at the third (central) cell from the base, which was usually enlarged compared to the end cells. The cells at each end of the 3-distoseptate conidia were pale brown, the intermediate cell brown or dark brown, and the third (central) cell was often the darkest. The basal cell had a protuberant hilum. Conidia were smooth and 20.0 to 33.5 × 10 to 17.5 μm. These characteristics matched well with the description of Curvularia gladioli (1). To confirm this identification, DNA was extracted using a Wizard Genomic DNA Purification Kit and the internal transcribed spacer region (ITS) of rDNA was amplified using ITS1 and ITS4 primers and the partial 28S rDNA region using primers LR0R and LR5. The sequences were deposited in GenBank as accession nos. JX995106 and JX995107, respectively. The ITS sequence matched sequence AF071337, C. gladioli, with 100% identity. This pathogen was first identified as C. lunata, but based on the characteristic of the hilum, spore size, and pathogenicity testing, the fungus was renamed C. trifolii f. sp. gladioli (3). Due to the explicit curvature of the conidia at the third cell and molecular data, the fungus was reclassified as C. gladioli (1,2). To confirm Koch's postulates, 1-month-old healthy plants of G. grandiflorus var. T-704 and Amsterdam (five plants each) were inoculated with a conidial suspension (2 × 104 conidia mL-1) by spraying the foliage and then placed on a growth chamber at 25°C. The control plants were sprayed with distilled water. Symptoms were consistent with those initially observed and all plants developed leaf spots by 4 days post-inoculation. C. gladioli was consistently recovered from the symptomatic tissue and control plants remained symptomless. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. gladioli causing leaf spot on G. grandiflorus in Brazil. Due to a lack of chemical fungicides for management of this pathogen, further studies to evaluate the susceptibility of the main varieties of gladiolus grown in Brazil to C. gladioli may be necessary.

Relation between the germination and infection ratio on Sida hermaphrodita L. Rusby seeds under hot water treatment

Sida hermephrodita or virginia mallow is a perspective perennial herb in the Malvaceae family able to yield a biomass crop through between ten and twenty years. Additionally, the plants have a lot of uses and benefits for instance it can use it as a fodder crop, honey crop, ornamental plant in public gardens. It has favorable features like fast growing and resistance against the disease and climatic fluctuations, etc. Sida is in base stage of domestication therefore has a serious disadvantage the low and slow germination as a big part of wild plants. Due to the expressly low germination percent the need of seed showing of driller is should tenfold, 200 thousand seed/acre instead of 10-20 thousand what is not available and expensive Therefore practical purposes of our research of seed physiology was to increase the seed germination percent in a disposable ,basically wild Sida population. We examined two factors relating to seed germination percent and seed germination power during our research: the influence of hot water treatment and the effect of exogenus or endogenus infection of seed. However, in our germination tests, utilizing scarified seeds with hot water (65, 80 and 95 oC), 29,33 to 46% germinated of the seeds collected from the population of S. hermaphrodita in Debrecen. The average germination for all season was 5-10 % wihitout treatment and rised using hot water up to almost 50%. When physically scarified used, the oldest seeds showed the best germination (46 %) after the hot water operation in spite of the previus studys (Spooner 1985; Chudik et al. 2010; Doliński R. 2009.). We discovered that there are a distinguished close relationship between the seeds collecting time and the infection, as well as germination percentage. Thus, 2009 season was the most favourable in case of contamination (control:17,33 and 80 oC treatment:0%) as well as germination percent. It could be concluded that, the best season for our findings was 2009 due to autumn harvest of Sida seeds. In our oppinion, the autumn harvesting should be the best time to overcome the problem of the low germination and high infection percentage.

Chemistry and biological activities of Calceolaria spp. (Calceolariaceae: scrophulariaceae)

Calceolaria spp. is regarded both as a notorious weed and a popular ornamental garden plant and have medicinal application. Some taxa of the America distributed Calceolaria genus are toxic to insects and its effect has been associated with the presence of diterpenes, triterpenes and naphthoquinones. However, Calceolaria spp. also produces a number of flavonoids and phenylpropanoids that have been shown to possess interesting biological activities. All these aspects are considered in this review to allow an evaluation of the potential for utilization of the large biodiversity of Calceolaria available. The phytochemistry of many members of the Calceolaria genus is included.

First Report of Coleus blumei viroid Infecting Coleus in India.

Members of the genus Coleviroid (Coleus blumei viroid [CbVd]), family Pospiviroidae have been reported to infect Coleus (Solenostemon sp.). CbVd-1 was first reported from Brazil, CbVd-2, -3, and -4 were first reported from Germany, whereas CbVd-5 and -6 were recently identified in China (2). In India, Coleus is extensively cultivated as an ornamental plant in home gardens. In March to June 2012, Coleus leaf samples with irregular chlorotic spots/patches were collected from home gardens of two different districts of Karnataka (Kodagu and Mysore districts), India, suspecting the presence of Coleus blumei viroids (CbVd 1 to 6). Low molecular weight RNAs were extracted using 2% CTAB buffer containing 1.4 M NaCl, 20 mM EDTA, pH 8.0 and 100 mM Tris-Cl, pH 8.0 (1). Viroid-like RNA was enriched by fractionation 2M LiCl soluble nucleic acids (4). A DNA fragment with the expected size of CbVd-1 was detected in 10 (including both districts) of 14 analyzed (incident rate of 71%) from reverse transcription (RT)-PCR assay using Coleviroid specific primers (forward 5'-TGGATCCAGCGCTGCAACGGAATCCA-3' and reverse 5'-TTGGATCCGCCAGGGAACCCAGGTAAG-3'). RT was performed at 37°C for 60 min in 25 μl reaction mix containing 5 μl RNA extracts, 1 μl reverse primer, 1× first strand buffer, 10 mM dNTPs, and 200U M-MuLV-RT (Invitrogen, USA). For PCR, 2 μl RT was mixed in 25 μl PCR mix containing 0.2 μM each forward and reverse primers and 2U LA Taq (Takara-Bio, Japan) according to the manufacturer's instruction. PCR parameter was one cycle at 94°C for 2 min, 35 cycles at 94°C for 45 s, 53°C for 30 s, and 72°C for 60 s, followed by final extension at 72°C for 10 min (4). Sequence analysis of cloned amplicons detected CbVd-1 in India. To confirm the sequence of the primer regions, an additional set of tail-tail primers were designed, CbVd1-136F (5'-CTTCGTGGAACGGCTCCGCG-3') and CbVd1-136Rev (5'-GAAGAAGCCGAAGCAACTCTC-3') and were used for RT-PCR. Amplified products were cloned, sequenced and compared with previously obtained data. Further, the presences of CbVd-1 in Coleus samples was confirmed by a RNA gel blot assay using digoxigenin-labeled CbVd-1 cRNA probe (3). Alignment of 19 sequences obtained from four representative Coleus samples found the presence of two sequence variants of CbVd-1, namely Ind-1 (GenBank Accession No. AB740017) and Ind-2 (AB740018). Ind-1 was found to differ from Ind-2 by two nucleotide substitutions at position 40 (C to T) and 211 (T to C). BLAST analysis of Ind-1 showed 100% sequence similarity with CbVd-1 isolates from China (DQ178399) and South Korea (EU 410620), whereas Ind-2 was 99% identical to these two Chinese and Koreans isolates. Furthermore, 97% and 96% sequence identity with CbVd 1-RL RNA (Accession no. X95366) was observed for Ind-1 and Ind-2, respectively. Isolates from India were 88% similar with Coleus blumei viroid 1-RG (X95291). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first molecular evidence for the presence of CbVd-1 infecting Coleus in India. Coleus harbors various viroid species and CbVd-1, reported widely, can transmit efficiently through seed and also could infect the other herbaceous plants (3). This report from India will contribute further understanding of a potential risk of Coleus viroids in ornamental species.

Enhancement of phosphate absorption by garden plants by genetic engineering: a new tool for phytoremediation.

Although phosphorus is an essential factor for proper plant growth in natural environments, an excess of phosphate in water sources causes serious pollution. In this paper we describe transgenic plants which hyperaccumulate inorganic phosphate (Pi) and which may be used to reduce environmental water pollution by phytoremediation. AtPHR1, a transcription factor for a key regulator of the Pi starvation response in Arabidopsis thaliana, was overexpressed in the ornamental garden plants Torenia, Petunia, and Verbena. The transgenic plants showed hyperaccumulation of Pi in leaves and accelerated Pi absorption rates from hydroponic solutions. Large-scale hydroponic experiments indicated that the enhanced ability to absorb Pi in transgenic torenia (AtPHR1) was comparable to water hyacinth a plant that though is used for phytoremediation causes overgrowth problems.

Urban White-tailed Jackrabbits (<em>Lepus townsendii</em>) Eat Spike Plants (<em>Cordyline australis</em>) in Winter

We observed White-tailed Jackrabbits (Lepus townsendii) eating spike plants (Cordyline australis), a non-native ornamental garden plant, in our front yard within the city of Edmonton, Alberta. We have noted this persistent behaviour every winter between 2006-2007 and 2011-2012. By late January, the plants were usually eaten right down to the stem base. We suggest that the White-tailed Jackrabbits turn to this food source in winter when more preferred foods are lacking, are in short supply, or are not as readily accessible. Our observations add another plant species to the list of non-native plants consumed by White-tailed Jackrabbits.

Annual Growth of New Introduction Ornamental Plants in Gardens And Parks of Ganja

Annual Growth of New Introduction Ornamental Plants in Gardens And Parks of Ganja

Trace metals, peroxidase activity, PAHs contents and ecophysiological changes in Quercus ilex leaves in the urban area of Caserta (Italy)

Trace metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, severely affecting human, animal and plants health, highly contribute to the air pollution in urban areas mainly due to car traffic. In this study the air biomonitoring of the city of Caserta (South Italy) has been performed by using Quercus ilex L., a widespread ornamental plant in parks, gardens and avenues. The plant leaves from different sites within the urban area were collected and used to determine the concentrations of V, Cd, Cr, Pb, Ni, Cu, and PAHs as well as the free amino acid content and peroxidase enzyme activity as indices of the leaf physiological conditions.All the tested trace metals showed concentrations higher than the control site. Lead was positively correlated to Cd and Cr and showed, also, a positive trend with Ni and Cu that, in their turn, were highly correlated between them.Positive and significant correlations were evidenced between total PAHs and carcinogenic PAHs and negative correlations between those and all trace metals assayed except V. Cu and Cd contents evidence negative correlations with peroxidase activity, and the free amino acid contents. The PAHs, in particular Carc-PAHs, were negatively correlated to the tested heavy metals. POD was positively correlated only with V and negatively correlated with Cu and Cd.

Naturalising the Exotic and Exoticising the Naturalised: Horticulture, Natural History and the Rosy Periwinkle

Abstract The rosy periwinkle, a plant originating in the rainforest of Madagascar, is best known for its use in modern biomedicine as a cancer therapy and as a symbol of the importance of biodiversity conservation. Yet images of the plant as a novel therapeutic and an endangered exotic obscure its commonness, for it is both naturalised in many parts of the world as a weed and has long been used as an ornamental plant in greenhouses and gardens. This seeming contradiction is the result of the rosy periwinkle's long history as a horticultural variety, especially its transition over a two-hundred-year period from being understood as a hothouse exotic to being seen as native and commonplace. Horticultural practices generated changes in the distribution and biology of the rosy periwinkle and this in turn generated changes in people's valuation of the species. Through a horticultural history of the rosy periwinkle, this paper explores how ideas about what constitutes an exotic or naturalised species, and the value attached to these, can dramatically shape and then reshape the natural history of a species. It suggests why such attention to such plasticity is important both for historians and for conservation.

Molecular detection and phylogeny of phytoplasmas affecting cycads in India

Cycads are an ancient group of gymnosperms, often considered to be living fossils. Recently, abnormal yellowing symptoms were observed on two cycad species of the order Cycadales: Cycas revoluta (family Cycadaceae), and Zamia furfuracea (family Zamiaceae), grown as ornamental plants in gardens of the North Delhi region, India. C. revoluta exhibited yellowing symptoms on fully developed leaves in all the whorls on the rachis and the leaf lamina (Fig. 1a). Z. furfuracea showed a pale yellow colour in the leaf lamina and little leaf symptoms (Fig. 1b). Genomic DNA was isolated from the leaf midribs of five symptom-bearing and two symptomless C. revoluta plants, and three symptom-bearing and one symptomless Z. furfuracea plants, using the CTAB method (Saghai-Maroof et al., 1987). DNA was used as a template in nested-PCR with phytoplasma universal 16S ribosomal DNA primers P1/P7 (Deng & Hiruki, 1991) and fU5/rU3 primers (Lorenz et al., 1995). The amplicons were resolved on a 1.2% agarose gel, extracted, purified (QIAquick Gel Extraction Kit, QIAGEN, USA) and sequenced. Phylogenetic relationships were evaluated using the 16S rDNA sequences of phytoplasmas identified from C. revoluta (Cycas yellowing phytoplasma) and Z. furfuracea (Zamia yellowing phytoplasma), and from 18 other 16S rDNA sequences from GenBank reference phytoplasmas using the maximum parsimony method of MEGA version 4.01. The bootstrap consensus tree was inferred from 1000 replicates using Acholeplasma laidlawaii as the outgroup. Amplicons of desired size (~880bp) were obtained in all symptom-bearing plants while no amplification was observed for the symptomless ones. BLAST analysis of the phytoplasma 16S rDNA sequences from both Cycas and Zamia yellowing phytoplasmas showed 99% sequence identity with those of members of phytoplasma group 16SrII (‘Candidatus Phytoplasma aurantifolia’). The phylogenetic tree supported the sequence comparison analysis since the 16S rDNA sequences of Cycas and Zamia yellowing phytoplasmas (GenBank Accession Nos. HQ625434 and HQ625433, respectively) clustered in the same phylogenetic branch of 16SrII phytoplasmas (Fig. 2). Previous reports indicate that gymnosperms in India are highly sensitive to phytoplasma infection. ‘Ca. Phytoplasma pini’ (AJ632155, AJ310849), group 16SrV (Schneider et al., 2005) and a ‘Ca. Phytoplasma phoenicium’-related phytoplasma (AF515637), group16SrIX-E (Davis et al., 2010) have been associated with leaf abnormalities. Moreover, a ‘Ca. Phytoplasma trifolii’-related strain (FJ002570), group 16SrVI (Gupta et al., 2010) has been associated with Araucaria heterophylla little leaf and stunting. This is the first record of cycads (Cycadales) being infected by phytoplasmas of group 16SrII, the most widespread phytoplasma group in the region. The fact that gymnosperms are increasingly grown as ornamentals in India and have been identified as natural hosts for phytoplasmas, including those of 16SrII, has epidemiological impact possibly important for future disease control in the country.

Antinociceptive activity of methanol extract of flowers of Impatiens balsamina

Ethnopharmacological relevanceImpatiens balsamina Linn. (Balsaminaceae), an annual herb locally called “Dopati”, is cultivated as an ornamental garden plant in Bangladesh. Flowers of the plant are used in folk medicine to treat lumbago, neuralgia, burns and scalds. Aim of the studyThis study evaluated the antinociceptive effect of the methanol extract of I. balsamina flowers (MIB). Materials and methodsThe extract was evaluated for antinociceptive activity using chemical- and heat-induced pain models such as acetic acid-induced writhing, hot plate, tail immersion and formalin test. To verify the possible involvement of opioid receptor in the central antinociceptive effect of MIB, naloxone was used to antagonize the effect. The effect of MIB on central nervous system (CNS) was also studied using hole cross and open field tests. ResultsMIB demonstrated strong and dose-dependent antinociceptive activity in all the chemical- and heat-induced mice models (p<0.05). These findings imply the involvement of both peripheral and central antinociceptive mechanisms. The use of naloxone confirmed the association of opioid receptors in the central antinociceptive effect. MIB also showed significant central nervous system depressant effect (p<0.05). ConclusionThis study reported the peripheral and central antinociceptive activity of the flowers of I. balsamina and rationalized the traditional use of the flower in the treatment of different painful conditions.

First Record of Alfalfa mosaic virus in Teucrium fruticans in Italy.

The Teucrium genus (Lamiaceae family) contains ~300 species of evergreen and deciduous shrubs with some species widely used as ornamental plants in rock gardens. During the springs of 2010 and 2011, some plants of Teucrium fruticans L., also known as "tree germander", growing singly in pots in a Ligurian nursery (Savona Province, northern Italy), were noted for a bright yellow calico mosaic on the leaves (~1% of ~2,000 plants inspected exhibited symptoms). Preliminary electron microscope observations of leaf-dips showed semispherical to bacilliform particles, consistent with Alfamovirus and Oleavirus, in preparations obtained only from leaves of symptomatic plants. Three symptomatic and two asymptomatic plants were checked for Cucumber mosaic virus or Alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) in protein A sandwich (PAS)-ELISA with commercial kits (Bioreba, Reinach, Switzerland) and Olive latent virus 2 (OLV2) by immunodecoration of virus particles with an OLV2 antiserum produced against an Italian OLV2 isolate. Symptomatic plants were positive only to AMV and all asymptomatic plants were negative to all viruses checked. The virus was successfully transmitted mechanically to Chenopodium amaranticolor and Ocimum basilicum that reacted, as expected for infections caused by AMV (1), with a chlorotic local lesion followed by mosaic and bright yellow mosaic, respectively. The disease was transmitted also by grafting an infected scion on healthy T. fruticans. Symptoms appeared after ~3 weeks in one plant of six grafted. AMV infection in a symptomatic grafted plant was verified by PAS-ELISA, confirming that bright yellow mosaic symptoms observed in T. fruticans were induced by an isolate of AMV. Immunocapture reverse transcription (IC-RT)-PCR assay, following the protocol described by Wetzel et al. (4), was performed on leaf extracts from one symptomatic plant using a polyclonal serum raised against a French isolate of AMV, provided by H. Lot (INRA, Station de Pathologie Végétale, Avignon, France). Specific AMV primer pair was used in the RT-PCR reactions (2). A DNA fragment of ~750 bp, covering the entire coat protein gene (CP), was obtained after IC-RT-PCR. The amplicon was gel purified with the Wizard SV Gel and PCR Clean-Up System (Promega, Madison, WI), cloned into pGEMT-easy vector (Promega) and two independent clones sequenced on both strands at MWG Biotech (Ebersberg, Germany). The consensus sequence was submitted to EMBL (No. FR854391). Pairwise comparison of the AMV-T. fruticans isolate CP sequence (named Tef-1) with those of AMV reference isolates revealed the maximum (98.0 to 97.3%) nucleotide identities with isolates belonging to subgroup I, 95.5 to 94.0% identities with subgroup IIA isolates, and 95.6% identity with the subgroup IIB isolate Tec-1 (3). Among subgroup I isolates, Tef-1 had the maximum CP nucleotide identity with the CP gene belonging to an AMV isolate identified in 2010 in Lavandula stoechas in the same geographic area, suggesting a common origin for these two viral isolates. Overall results clearly indicate that an AMV isolate was the causal agent of the calico-type mosaic observed in T. fruticans. To our knowledge, this is the first report of T. fruticans as a natural host of AMV.

A New Dioleate Compound from Callistemon lanceolatus

Callistemon is a genus of 34 species of evergreen shrubs in the family Myrtaceae, most of which are endemic to Australia. These species are commonly named bottle brush trees because of their cylindrical brush-like flowers resembling a traditional bottle brush. In the southern parts of Korea including Jeju Island, C. lanceolatus is cultivated mainly as ornamental plants in gardens. A previous study disclosed that the essential oils from the leaves of C. lanceolatus possess antimicrobial and fungitoxic activities. 1 In addition, anti-inflammatory activities were observed in the methanol extract from these leaves. 2 Flavonoids isolated from the aerial parts displayed a preventive effect against Alzheimer’s disease. 3 DPPH radical scavenging and elastase inhibition activities were also exhibited by the extracts of the stems. 4 In previous phytochemical studies, the extraction of C. lanceolatus leaves resulted in the isolation of triterpenes, 4,5 flavonoids, 3,6 phenolic compounds 7 and tannin derivatives. 8

Identification and characterisation of incompatibility factors in Hamelia patens Jacq. (Rubiaceae)

SummaryHamelia patens Jacq., commonly called firebush, is a fast-growing, semi-woody, evergreen, perennial shrub in the family Rubiaceae. It is native to central southern Florida, USA and is cultivated on a wider scale as an ornamental plant in home gardens of India. From previous analyses, it was found that sexual reproduction in H. patens was limited due to self-incompatibility and was overcome by intraspecific pollination between morphologically different accessions. Diffusion plate assays, spectrophotometric analysis, and in vitro bioassays were conducted to measure RNase activity among stigma proteins. After compatible cross-pollination, the RNase activity was less than during incompatible pollination. RNase activity was present in extracts as well as leachates of the stigma. Diffusion plate assays and spectrophotometric assays were used to measure the RNase activity. In vitro assays revealed that RNase activity was essential for the inhibition of pollen tube growth. Our study confirmed that RNase-based gametophytic self-incompatibility operates in H. patens.

Karyology of Barleria grandiflora Dalzell (Acanthaceae), a potential ornamental endemic to Northern-Western Ghats of India

The genus Barleria L. (Acanthaceae) comprises some 300 species distributed in Africa and Asia. In India it is represented by 26 species, one subspecies and one variety. The genus includes distinct ornamental garden plants. Recent infra-generic classification of the genus recognizes seven sections under two subgenera. Of these, Barleria sect. Cavirostrata is represented by five species in India. All these species are endemic but so far only one species has been studied cytologically. The present communication is an attempt to provide basic cytological data on Barleria grandiflora Dalzell of this section. The species showed 2n = 44, which is the highest chromosome count for the genus so far studied. The karyotype of the species is moderately symmetrical.