A working checklist of accepted taxa worldwide is vital in achieving the goal of developing an online flora of all known plants by 2020 as part of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation. We here ...present the first-ever worldwide checklist for liverworts (Marchantiophyta) and hornworts (Anthocerotophyta) that includes 7486 species in 398 genera representing 92 families from the two phyla. The checklist has far reaching implications and applications, including providing a valuable tool for taxonomists and systematists, analyzing phytogeographic and diversity patterns, aiding in the assessment of floristic and taxonomic knowledge, and identifying geographical gaps in our understanding of the global liverwort and hornwort flora. The checklist is derived from a working data set centralizing nomenclature, taxonomy and geography on a global scale. Prior to this effort a lack of centralization has been a major impediment for the study and analysis of species richness, conservation and systematic research at both regional and global scales. The success of this checklist, initiated in 2008, has been underpinned by its community approach involving taxonomic specialists working towards a consensus on taxonomy, nomenclature and distribution.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
We describe a diverse taphocoenosis in a piece of Mexican amber that includes two morphotypes assignable to the leafy liverwort family Lejeuneaceae, an angiosperm seed, a putative bud scale, ...dematiaceous hyphomycetes as well as dipteran and hymenopteran insects belonging to Phoridae (genera Megaselia, Puliciphora, and Apocephalus), Cecidomyiidae, Psychodidae and Mymaridae (genus Alaptus). Liverworts are known from eight amber deposits but have only rarely been observed in Mexican amber. A perianth-bearing liverwort gametophyte in the piece of amber is classified as Mastigolejeunea extincta sp. nov., and several sterile gametophytes are described as Ceratolejeunea sublaetefusca sp. nov. With these new species, approximately 60 liverworts have been described from amber to date. Remarkable syninclusions include a hyphomycete which is the first darkly-pigmented filamentous microfungus with clear reproductive structures reported from Mexican amber. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy of a fragment of the investigated amber piece revealed a “Type I” Mexican amber. A whole solubility test suggested a mature resin, although the resin was not much oxidized during the process of amberization. Available evidence suggests that the amber was produced by a Hymenaea tree and that the resin was exposed on its bark, behaving as a sticky trap for insects and vascular plant fragments, and also embedding some epiphytic liverworts and fungi.
•We describe a diverse taphocoenosis in Mexican amber.•Two leafy liverworts are assigned to Lejeuneaceae.•Insects, fungi and tracheophytes are syninclusions.•FTIR analyses are presented.•The liverwort amber fossil record is reviewed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
A new Acanthocoleus R.M. Schust. species is described from the afroalpine belt of Mount Elgon, Uganda. Acanthocoleus elgonensis Gyarmati et Pócs is distinguished from the related A. madagascariensis ...(Steph.) Kruijt by stem, leaf lobule and underleaf structure, pigmentation of cell walls and finally by the shape of female bracts.
This study confirms the first certain occurrence of Juncus squarrosus L., an Atlantic species, in the Romanian native flora. Characteristic plant communities with J. squarrosus occur in the Apuseni ...Mts (Western Romanian Carpathians). At these sites J. squarrosus has the southeastern limit of its European distribution. The identified plant communities with J. squarrosus in Romania are devoid of some Atlantic species present in Western and Central European communities and therefore are assigned to the Nardo-Juncetum squarrosi (Nordh. 1920) Bük. 1942 association. This plant community is a new syntaxon for the Romanian vegetation.
Osmotic stress responses of water content, photosynthetic parameters and biomass production were investigated in wheat-Aegilops biuncialis amphiploids and in wheat genotypes to clarify whether they ...can use to improve the drought tolerance of bread wheat. A decrease in the osmotic pressure of the medium resulted in considerable water loss, stomatal closure and a decreased CO2 assimilation rate for the wheat genotypes, while the changes in these parameters were moderate for the amphiploids. Maximal assimilation rate was maintained at high level even under severe osmotic stress in the amphiploids, while it decreased substantially in the wheat genotypes. Nevertheless, the effective quantum yield of PS II was higher and the quantum yield of non-photochemical quenching of PS II and PS I was lower for the amphiploids than for the wheat cultivars. Parallel with this, higher cyclic electron flow was detected in wheat than in the amphiploids. The elevated photosynthetic activity of amphiploids under osmotic stress conditions was manifested in higher biomass production by roots and shoots as compared to wheat genotypes. These results indicate that the drought-tolerant traits of Ae. biuncialis can be manifested in the wheat genetic background and these amphiploids are suitable genetic materials for improving drought tolerance of wheat.
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IJS, IMTLJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
The prevalence of fructan-producing plants is primarily restricted to the temperate climate, while they are virtually absent from the tropical regions. Although the Sphagnum genus has a worldwide ...distribution and considerable ecological importance, it is relatively rare for the whole of tropical Africa. The island of Réunion is located in the tropical climate and has a rich Sphagnum flora containing 14 species. Sphagnum species - as an exception amongst mosses - synthesise fructan and have a considerable amount of sucrose as well. No data on fructan content of Sphagnum occuring in tropical habitats have been reported so far. This short paper provided data first, based on experimental results, on the non-structural carbohydrate pool, especially fructans in Sphagnum species from a tropical region, from Réunion Island. Fructans accounted for 2-4% of the total soluble carbohydrates in the examined Sphagnum species. We compared the fructan content of eight Sphagnum species collected from Réunion in relation to their altitude zone and their distribution. The species generally increased their fructan accumulation as the altitude increased. Our preliminary experimental results show that fructans as an alternative storage carbohydrate to starch may play a role in the ecological niche preference of the Sphagnum species according to altitudinal zones.
Reeb, C., R. Letsara, R.L. Andriamiarisoa, J.C. Brinda, G.-A. Abalo-Loko, E. Boucheron-Dubuisson, E. Fischer, N.G. Hodgetts, E. Lavocat-Bernard, F. Naniarimino, P.B. Phillipson, A. Sass-Gyarmati & A. ...Vanderpoorten (2019). A pilot workshop on Bryophytes at the Antananarivo Herbarium (TAN) revealed the presence of seven additional species for Madagascar. Candollea 74: 153–158. In English, English and French abstracts. We present a contribution to the knowledge of the Malagasy bryoflora that results from a BRYOTAN workshop organized in September 2018 at the Antananarivo Herbarium (TAN) housed at the Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza, Antananarivo, Madagascar, within the framework of the BRYOTAN project (Bryophytes of TAN). Seven taxa reported here as new for Madagascar were found among the specimens stored in TAN. These findings illustrate the interest of this sort of initiative, the potential richness of the unstudied material in herbaria, and the necessity of exploring regions that are bryologically poorly known within Madagascar.
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