Frammenti cotiledonari di Aesculus hippocastanum L. coltivati in vitro. Primi dati sul comportamento dell'amido e dell'escina

Abstract

Fragments of Aesculus hippocastanum L. cotyledons grown in vitro. First results about starch and aescin characteristic features.—Cotyledon fragments of Aesculus hippocastanum grown in vitro in different media have been able to form callus and roots. The starch granules in the new cells are compound in structure and morphologically different from the simple cotyledon granules, whereas they are similar to the granules of the other parts of the plant in toto. Moreover, the callus has no aescin even though it originates from the cotyledor tissues.     

Pollen morphology of Justicia L. (Acanthaceae) from Thailand and its taxonomic value

The acetolysed pollen of 33 species of the genus Justicia in Thailand is investigated using both light and scanning electron microscopy. The pollen of the genus is characterised as being isopolar, bilaterally or radially symmetrical, with mostly prolate or prolate spheroidal shape. Based on characters with high factor loading in the cluster analysis and principal components analysis, the studied species are divided into two major groups; one with 3-colporate with six pseudocolpi and the other with 2-porate or 2–3-colporate with aperture areas. The pollen morphology of each group is described and illustrated. Pollen characters are useful for taxonomic delimitation and relationships among Thai species.     

Estimating ancestral distributions of lineages with uncertain sister groups： a statistical approach to Dispersal-Vicariance Analysis and a case using Aesculus L. （Sapindaceae） including fossils

We propose a simple statistical approach for using Dispersal-Vicariance Analysis （DIVA） software to infer biogeographic histories without fully bifurcating trees. In this approach, ancestral ranges are first optimized for a sample of Bayesian trees. The probability P of an ancestral range r at a node is then calculated as P（rY） = ∑t^n=1 F（rY）t Pt where Y is a node, and F（rY） is the frequency of range r among all the optimal solutions resulting from DIVA optimization at node Y, t is one of n topologies optimized, and Pt is the probability of topology t. Node Y is a hypothesized ancestor shared by a specific crown lineage and the sister of that lineage ＂x＂, where x may vary due to phylogenetic uncertainty （polytomies and nodes with posterior probability 〈 100%）. Using this method, the ancestral distribution at Y can be estimated to provide inference of the geographic origins of the specific crown group of interest. This approach takes into account phylogenetic uncertainty as well as uncertainty from DIVA optimization. It is an extension of the previously described method called Bayes-DIVA, which pairs Bayesian phylogenetic analysis with biogeographic analysis using DIVA. Further, we show that the probability P of an ancestral range at Y calculated using this method does not equate to pp＊F（rY） on the Bayesian consensus tree when both variables are 〈 100%, where pp is the posterior probability and F（rY） is the frequency of range r for the node containing the specific crown group. We tested our DIVA-Bayes approach using Aesculus L., which has major lineages unresolved as a polytomy. We inferred the most probable geographic origins of the five traditional sections of Aesculus and ofAesculus californica Nutt. and examined range subdivisions at parental nodes of these lineages. Additionally, we used the DIVA-Bayes data from Aesculus to quantify the effects on biogeographic inference of including two wildcard fossil taxa in phylogenetic analysis. Our analysis resolved the geographic     

Estimating ancestral distributions of lineages with uncertain sister groups: a statistical approach to Dispersal–Vicariance Analysis and a case using Aesculus L. (Sapindaceae) including fossils

Abstract We propose a simple statistical approach for using Dispersal–Vicariance Analysis (DIVA) software to infer biogeographic histories without fully bifurcating trees. In this approach, ancestral ranges are first optimized for a sample of Bayesian trees. The probability P of an ancestral range r at a node is then calculated as where Y is a node, and F(r_Y ) is the frequency of range r among all the optimal solutions resulting from DIVA optimization at node Y, t is one of n topologies optimized, and Pt is the probability of topology t. Node Y is a hypothesized ancestor shared by a specific crown lineage and the sister of that lineage “x”, where x may vary due to phylogenetic uncertainty (polytomies and nodes with posterior probability <100%). Using this method, the ancestral distribution at Y can be estimated to provide inference of the geographic origins of the specific crown group of interest. This approach takes into account phylogenetic uncertainty as well as uncertainty from DIVA optimization. It is an extension of the previously described method called Bayes‐DIVA, which pairs Bayesian phylogenetic analysis with biogeographic analysis using DIVA. Further, we show that the probability P of an ancestral range at Y calculated using this method does not equate to pp*F(r_Y ) on the Bayesian consensus tree when both variables are <100%, where pp is the posterior probability and F(r_Y ) is the frequency of range r for the node containing the specific crown group. We tested our DIVA‐Bayes approach using Aesculus L., which has major lineages unresolved as a polytomy. We inferred the most probable geographic origins of the five traditional sections of Aesculus and of Aesculus californica Nutt. and examined range subdivisions at parental nodes of these lineages. Additionally, we used the DIVA‐Bayes data from Aesculus to quantify the effects on biogeographic inference of including two wildcard fossil taxa in phylogenetic analysis. Our analysis resolved the geographic ranges of the parental nodes of the lineages of Aesculus with moderate to high probabilities. The probabilities were greater than those estimated using the simple calculation of pp*F(r_y) at a statistically significant level for two of the six lineages. We also found that adding fossil wildcard taxa in phylogenetic analysis generally increased P for ancestral ranges including the fossil's distribution area. The ΔP was more dramatic for ranges that include the area of a wildcard fossil with a distribution area underrepresented among extant taxa. This indicates the importance of including fossils in biogeographic analysis. Exmination of range subdivision at the parental nodes revealed potential range evolution (extinction and dispersal events) along the stems of A. californica and sect. Parryana.     

凤仙花属（Impatiens L.）10种植物花粉形态的扫描电镜观察

利用扫描电镜观察了10种凤仙花属（Impatiens L.）植物的花粉形态。结果表明：本属花粉为单粒花粉,呈长圆形至长矩圆形,大小为20.3～46.7 μm,具角萌发孔,网状纹饰,网眼明显;根据花粉网状纹饰中网眼内是否具颗粒状突起可将其分为2类：（1）网眼内无或近无颗粒状突起,黄金凤（I. siculifer）和婺源凤仙花（I. wuyuanensis）的花粉纹饰属于这一类型;（2）网眼内有明显颗粒状突起,其余8个种的花粉纹饰均属于该类型。研究表明,花粉特征,特别是花粉粒网状纹饰中网眼内有无颗粒状突起及颗粒状突起的形态等特征,在凤仙花属内常具种水平上的可见变异,因而可作为种类划分的依据,它们在分类学上的价值应予以关注。     

The genus Koenigia L. emend. Hedberg (Polygonaceae)

Pollen morphological studies revealed the occurrence of the characteristic spinulose pollen type of Koenigia not only in the three species earlier recognized in the genus (A" islandka, K. nepalensis and K. pilosd) but also in three additional species earlier treated under Polygonum , viz. K delicatula (Meisn.) Hara, K. forrestii (Diels) Mesicek & Soják, and A" nummularifolia (Meisn.) Mesicek & Soják. Further studies of flower morphology, fruit and petiole anatomy, basic chromosome number, etc., revealed additional similarities between those species, which led to a taxonomic revision of the genus Koenigia. This genus seems to be most closely related to Persicaria Mill, sections Cephalophilon (Meisn.) Gross and Echinocaulon (Meisn.) Gross, with Koenigia delicatula as a connecting link. There arc also interesting similarities with the genus Aconogonon (Meisn.) Rchb. Koenigia exemplifies the derivation from montane ancestors of a high mountain-dwelling genus displaying adaptive radiation to fit diverse alpine niches. Five species out of six are confined to high mountain areas in southeastern Asia, primarily in the Himalayas, whereas the sixth has spread to Arctic and alpine areas in the northern hemisphere and even penetrated to southern South America. The latter species shows progressive reduction in size in combination with adaptation to a very short summer under severe climatic conditions.