Primulas are so much more than just brightly colored bedding plants. The older varieties of phlyanthus are perfect for spring mixed borders, and the long-stemmed candelabra primulas add beauty to ...waterside and bog gardens. Then there are small alpine species suitable for rock gardens and the infinitely collectible auriculas. Lynne Lawson and Jodie Mitchell of the famed Barnhaven Primroses nursery share their secrets for growing this diverse group and suggest the best varieties for every garden.--COVER.
The present work examines the ecological and biological characteristics of primrose plants and the regional characteristics of their distribution on the basis of field observations using the "releve" ...method and an examination of herbarium specimens. Point data were derived from field surveys from 2010 through 2020 and herbarium collections. Based on the results, 12 primrose taxa of the genus Primula (eight species and four subspecies) were found in the flora of Transbaikalia, in particular P. nivalis subsp. turkestanica (J. H. Haage & E. Schmidt) Kovt., P. bukukunica Kovt., P. macrocalyx Bunge, P. pallasii Lehm, P. maximowiczu Regel, P. serrata Georgi, P. denticulata Sm, P. nutans Georgi, P. matthioli subsp. altaica (Losinsk.) Kovt., P. matthioli subsp. brotheri (R. Knuth) Kovt., P. longiscapa Ledeb. and P. nivalis Subsp. nivalis Pall. All these species and subspecies are taxonomic elements of the Transbaikalia ecosystem as a model territory of Eastern Siberia. Consequently, the overall results can be extrapolated to the territory of Eastern Siberia, which can be used as additional material for further floristic research in that region. With regard to the number of taxa, the taiga and forest-steppe areas are the most dense natural areas of Transbaikalia with 4-6 species units of primrose in each area. However, further experimental studies are required to investigate the environmental effect on the distribution of primrose in eastern Siberia in order to prevent the extinction of the primrose.
The plant genus Oenothera has played an important role in the study of plant evolution of genomes and plant defense and reproduction. Here, we build on the 1kp transcriptomic dataset by creating 44 ...new transcriptomes and analyzing a total of 63 transcriptomes to present a large-scale comparative study across 29 Oenothera species. Our dataset included 30.4 million reads per individual and 2.3 million transcripts on average. We used this transcriptome resource to examine genome-wide evolutionary patterns and functional diversification by searching for orthologous genes and performed gene family evolution analysis. We found wide heterogeneity in gene family evolution across the genus, with section Oenothera exhibiting the most pronounced evolutionary changes. Overall, more significant gene family expansions occurred than contractions. We also analyzed the molecular evolution of phenolic metabolism by retrieving proteins annotated for phenolic enzymatic complexes. We identified 1,568 phenolic genes arranged into 83 multigene families that varied widely across the genus. All taxa experienced rapid phenolic evolution (fast rate of genomic turnover) involving 33 gene families, which exhibited large expansions, gaining about 2-fold more genes than they lost. Upstream enzymes phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) and 4-coumaroyl: CoA ligase (4CL) accounted for most of the significant expansions and contractions. Our results suggest that adaptive and neutral evolutionary processes have contributed to Oenothera diversification and rapid gene family evolution.
A new species, Primula luquanensis Z.K.Wu and Wei Zhou sp. nov. (Primulaceae) is described and illustrated from Yunnan Province, China. It is morphologically assigned to P. sect Aleuritia based on ...its dwarf and hairless habit and coverage by farina on both sides of the leaf blade and scape. This new species is similar to P. nutantiflora and P. yunnanensis, but it is easily distinguished by its stolons, solitary bract, bell-shaped corolla and monomorphic floral form. The new species also has a substantially reduced corolla tube, presenting a unique floral form in a genus where heterostyly typically prevails.
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