Ricerche Sulla Vegetazione Dell'etruria Marittima

Summary

The dates of foundation of the oldest university botanical gardens.

The dates of foundation of the oldest Botanical Gardens in Italy are not well known to the greatest part of the students of Botanical History.

Also today Ms. A. Guillaumin in his « Histoire de la Botanique en France (Paris, 1954) pag. 188» writes it was « Serenissima Repubblica Veneta » who founded the first Botanical Garden in 1533, whilst in that year only the chair of Bonafede had been constituded and the foundation of the Botanical Garden in Padoa happened later in 1545.

Really the most ancient Botanical Garden in the world is not that of Padoa, but that of Pisa.

Recently in the « Archivio di Stato » of Florence has been discovered by Fedeli a letter dated July 4 th 1545 written by Luca Ghini. From it it is clear that already a month before that date Luca Ghini was collecting plants to be coultivated in the academic garden of Pisa « for utility of students ».

The critical analysis of many papers by Luigi Anguillara allowe us to establish that Luca Ghini with the same Anguillara collected plants in the surreoundings of Pisa and on the Apuane Alps, from 1543 to 1544, and planted them in the academic garden of Pisa, which therefore must be considered the first Botanical Garden in the world, founded in the Summer 1543.

The second Botanical Garden in order of time is that of Padoa having been established by the « Senato Veneto » in 1545 and actually founded on July 7 th 1545 (de Visiani). The first director of Botanical Garden of Padoa was Luigi Anguillara after having left Pisa where he cooperated with Luca Ghini to found the Botanical Garden of Pisa.

Finally the third Botanical Garden is that of Florence (« Giardino dei Semplici ») founded as a dependance of that of Pisa by Luca Ghini, for school utility during the holyday, when the Florentine students remained at home. The date of its founding is December 1st 1545, as it appears from an an attorney document dated November 16th 1545 preserved in the « Archivio di Stato » of Florence (Volpi).

In conclusion the right chronology of the oldest University Botanical Gardens in the world is as follows:

1st: Pisa, Summer 1543

2nd: Padoa, July 7th 1545

3rd: Florence, December 1st 1545.     

Criteria for assessing Italian <Emphasis Type="Italic">ex situ</Emphasis> collections of threatened plants

The ex situ conservation of plant species is a challenge for all signatories of the Convention on Biological Diversity to meet. In Italy, all conservation-related issues are supervised by the Ministry for the Environment and Protection of Land and Sea, but so far no national plan has been drafted, let alone funded, for ex situ plant conservation. As a contribution towards the establishment of a scientifically based policy, a national project has been launched, under the coordination of the Botanic Garden of Palermo. In its framework, the Botanic Garden of Pisa is developing a set of criteria for assessing Italian ex situ collections of threatened plant species. The criteria will be applied to datasets obtained by the Italian seedbanks through questionnaires. Requested data include resources and procedures, documentation systems, facilities and accessions. The expected results consist of the production of printed or electronic material concerning a) the technical-scientific profile of the Italian seed banks and of their collections; b) the ecogeographic profile of seed collections of selected species and c) the evaluation of the method used for gathering and analysing data. The project is currently under way and the results are due by September 2010. The documents and protocols which will be produced within the project will enable a stronger interaction of the Italian seed banks with other national and European seed bank networks.     

Dr Patrick Neill's herbarium of Scottish garden plants in the National Botanic Gardens,Glasnevin, Dublin (DBN)

Summary

Specimens (ex herb. William McNab) collected by Dr Patrick Neill (1776–1851), of Canonmills, Edinburgh, in his own garden and other Scottish gardens (including the Botanic Garden, Edinburgh), c. 1799–1805, are noted and catalogued. Some represent horticultural hybrids of local origin, and a few specimens originated from seeds captured from French naturalists during the Napoleonic Wars.     

966. CLAVIJA DOMINGENSIS

Clavija domingensis Urb. & Ekman was one of the many Haitian endemics that were described based on collections made by the great Swedish botanist Leonard Ekman between 1924 and 1928. The species is Critically Endangered sensu IUCN (criteria c2a(i); D) and it is currently the focus of conservation initiatives in Jardin Botanique des Cayes (Haiti), Jardín Botánico Nacional Dr. Rafael M. Moscoso (Dominican Republic), and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden (U.S.A.). Now known from only six localities from southern Haiti, each locality only represents a single individual. The species is illustrated based on plants grown in Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.     

A study on the lichen flora and vegetation of the Nuova Gussonea Botanic Garden (Mount Etna,Sicily)

Abstract

75 infrageneric taxa of lichens are reported from the Nuova Gussonea Botanic Garden, situated on the southern slopes of M. Etna (Sicily). The most significant aspects of lichen vegetation on rock and bark are briefly described.     

860. BOMAREA × CANTABRIGIENSIS

Bomarea ×cantabrigiensis Chitt. is a seldom grown, twining hybrid which was raised at Cambridge University Botanic Garden. The origin of the hybrid is discussed along with the taxonomic history of the genus and the parents.     

782. EMMENOPTERYS HENRYI

The Chinese tree Emmenopterys henryi is described and illustrated based on the rare blooming of a specimen at Cambridge University Botanic Garden in summer 2012. Other known flowerings in cultivation are reviewed with particular reference to Britain. The origin of the Cambridge tree, propagated from an original introduction at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and distributed in the early 1980s is discussed. Based on original herbarium collections and archive material the discovery and introduction of this species into cultivation is reviewed.     

850. MYRCEUGENIA LEPTOSPERMOIDES

Though extremely rare in British and Irish gardens, the South American genus Myrceugenia shows great horticultural potential and a number of species have entered cultivation in the last four decades, primarily through the efforts of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Two of the showiest of these, Myrceugenia lanceolata and Myrceugenia leptospermoides, both Chilean endemics, are discussed.     

Towards integrated conservation of Australian endangered plants—the Western Australian model

Four percent of the Australian flora is rare and endangered with over 100 taxa presumed extinct. Western Australia contains a large proportion of the endangered flora of Australia with 238 taxa in a critical state of conservation and 70 species presumed extinct. Kings Park and Botanic Garden in south-west Australia is responsible for developing specialized collections of rare and endangered indigenous flora. Macro-and micropropagation procedures are used including conventional cutting and seed propagation, grafting and in thein vitro programme whole seeds (asymbiotic and symbiotic germination), excised seed embryos, shoot apices and inflorescence sections. Wherever possible explants are collected from major provenances of the species and a wide cross section of a species population. Although many of the rare flora of Western Australia are now in theex situ collection maintained by Kings Park and Botanic Garden attempts are being made to develop slow growth storage forin vitro cultures and cryostorage. Trial recovery programmes have commenced with a number of species including the rare and endangered Purdie's donkey orchid (Diuris purdiei). Results of these recovery programmes will guide future efforts in conserving and recovering rare Australian species.     

Morphology and phylogeny reveal a novel hydnoid taxon from India: Mycorrhaphoides stalpersii gen. and sp. nov

Mycorrhaphoides gen. nov. and Mycorrhaphoides stalpersii sp. nov. are described and defined based on morphological details and phylogenetic inference of a hydnoid macrofungus collected in Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Indian Botanic Garden, Howrah (India). It is characterized by stipitate basidiomata with duplex context in stipe, presence of multi‐clamped septa, and smooth and hyaline cystidia.     

长苞刺蕊草,印度刺蕊草属(唇形科)植物一新记录种

报道了印度唇形科刺蕊草属一新记录种:长苞刺蕊草,该种在印度产于阿萨姆邦,凭证标本保存于英国皇家植物园爱丁堡植物园标本馆(E)。在形态特征上,该种与中国特有的北刺蕊草相似,但其茎叶被糙硬毛、花萼呈近管状等特征与之相异。     

731. MAHONIA × LINDSAYAE ‘CANTAB’

Mahonia×lindsayae P.F. Yeo ‘Cantab’ is illustrated, and its history is revealed. This continues a series of articles on plants connected with the Botanic Garden of Cambridge University – plants either raised there or distributed from there over the past 100 years or so. As with many of the others, this present plant has a complex history, involving accidental notice of seedlings and inferences about parentage; the original living plants have mostly disappeared, but descendants of some of them are still growing.     

Some new Darwin vascular plant specimens from the Beagle voyage

This paper reports 24 newly discovered specimens of 21 species made by Charles Darwin in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador and Uruguay while on the 1831–1836 voyage of HMS Beagle. They have been found in Cambridge University Herbarium and the herbaria of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Natural History Museum, London, New York Botanical Garden and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, since the earlier publications of Porter. Included are type specimens of Calceolaria darwinii (isotype; = C. uniflora), Cuscuta gymnocarpa (holotype and isotypes), C. sandwichiana var. mimosae (isolectotypes = C. gymnocarpa), Ephedra frustillata (lectotype and isolectotypes), Ourisia breviflora (isolectotype), Polypodium paleaceum (syntype?; = Ctenitis sloanei) and Urera gaudichaudiana (holotype; = Laportea aestuans). © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 159 , 12–18.     

JOHN BRADBY BLAKE AND JAMES KERR: HYBRID BOTANICAL ART,CANTON AND BENGAL,c. 1770

The collection of botanical paintings commissioned by John Bradby Blake (1745–1773) from a Chinese artist in Canton c. 1770, is one of the star items in the outstanding collection of botanical books and paintings assembled by Rachel Lambert Mellon and now housed in the library of the Oak Spring Garden Foundation. A remarkably similar collection, commissioned from several Indian artists by Dr. James Kerr (1737–1782) in Bengal and Bihar, is now scattered among the collections of the Natural History Museum London, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the New York Botanical Garden. Discussion of the Blake and Kerr collections is preceded by some introductory background to the creation of such art – its hybrid nature, its role in the visual documentation of useful plants in European, Asian and colonial contexts, and the botanical and artistic networks in which the two collections were created.     

Phylogeny of the tribe Colletieae (Rhamnaceae) – a sensitivity analysis of the plastid region trnL-trnF combined with morphology

The phylogenetic relationships within the tribe Colletieae (Rhamnaceae) were examined combining data from a previous morphological analysis with data from the trnL intron and trnL-F spacer. Previous studies have failed to confirm monophyly of the genus Discaria, the only genus of the tribe with an amphiantarctic distribution. The data set was analyzed using direct optimization as implemented in the computer program POY. Direct optimization searches for multiple optimal sequence alignments and is therefore well suited for analyzing DNA sequences including ambiguous alignable regions as found in the present study. Eight different costs were used for treating the indel information. Indels were treated as single events, equal to a fifth character state, or strings of gaps were treated as single events using different costs for opening a gap and extending the gap. The optimal cost set was selected by use of both character-based and topological congruence measures. Both congruence measures agreed upon a single optimal cost set. The resulting tree generally agrees with the current taxonomic treatment of the tribe Colletieae that recognizes six genera out of which three are monotypic. However, monophyly of Discaria was not supported and the results strongly suggest segregating D. nana and D. trinervis, and re-establishing the genus Ochetophila.We are grateful to the curator of the Herbario Gaspar Xuárez, Universidad de Buenos Aires (BAA), and to the curators of the Botanic Garden of the University of Copenhagen, Botanischer Garten und Botanisches Museum Berlin-Dahlem, Jardín Botánico Lucien Hauman (Facultad de Agronomía de la Universidad de Buenos Aires), Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, and Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, for permission to use material from their collections. María Elena Arce, María Martha Bianchi, Eugenia Chaia, and Neville Walsh kindly provided freshly collected material. We also thank Pablo A. Goloboff, Niels Klazenga, Pauline Y. Ladiges, Martín Ramírez, Ole Seberg, Llywela Williams, and two anonymous reviewers for critically reading earlier drafts of this paper. This work was supported in part by grants TG 028 (Universidad de Buenos Aires) and PIP 4027/96 (CONICET) to D. Medan. The University of Copenhagen supported Lone Aagesen (Ph.D. grant). Jürgen Kellermann received a Ph.D.-scholarship from the University of Melbourne.     

The Botanic Garden of Trinity College Dublin 1687 to 1987

WYSE JACKSON, P. S., 1987. The Botanic Garden of Trinity College Dublin 1687 to 1987. The first botanic gardens in Europe were Physic Gardens. In Britain the earliest established was at Oxford (1621) and in Ireland at Trinity College Dublin (1687). Apart from a short-lived garden at Harold's Cross the Physic Garden remained in the College until 1806 when land was leased at Ballsbridge.
In 1804 James Townsend Mackay was appointed as gardener in the College, marking a change in the College to pure botany for the first time. The new Botanic Garden was created and cared for by Mackay for almost 60 years. He was succeeded as Curator in 1862 by John Bain, who was followed by Frederick Moore in 1877. In 1879 Moore succeeded his father David Moore as Curator of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin. Frederick W. Burbidge then came to the post of Curator from England in 1879.
The Curatorship of the garden was abolished from 1905 to 1981, and the Professor of Botany became Director. In 1967, when the lease of the College's land at Ballsbridge was ending, a new Botanic Garden was established at Dartry and the valuable plant collection was transferred. Today-it has a high national and international reputation and is widely used for botany teaching and research.     

Histochemical studies on protease formation in the cotyledons of germinating bean seeds

Summary Protease formation in Phaseolus vulgaris L. cotyledons during seed germination was studied histochemically using a gelatin-film-substrate method. Protease activity can be detected by this method on the 5th day of germination, at approximately the same time that a rapid increase of activity was observed by a test-tube assay with casein as a substrate. At the early stage of germination, protease activity was observed throughout the cotyledon except in two or three cell layers below the cotyledon surface and in several cell layers around the vascular bundles. A highly active cell layer surrounding the protease-inactive cells near the vascular bundles is suggested to be a source of the protease.Brooklyn Botanic Garden Contribution No. 202.