Type studies in the Lejeuneaceae. II. Pteryganthus,a new subgenus of Lopholejeunea

Lopholejeunea subgenusPteryganthus is described as new based upon the Mauritian plantL. sphaerophora (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Steph.Lopholejeunea utriculata Steph. from Madagascar is included as well.Lopholejeunea sinuata (Mitt.) Steph. is reduced to synonymy withL. sphaerophora. The two species of subgenusPteryganthus are compared withL. herzogiana Verd. andL. pullei Verd., two Malaysian species, with superficially similar lobule construction, but not of thePteryanthus type.     

A preliminary account of colura (Hepaticae,Lejeuneaceae) in Australia

Four species of Colura not previously reported from Australia are: C. acroloba (Mont.) Jovet-Ast, C. ari Steph., C. conica (Sande Lac.) Goeb., and Colura queenslandica sp. nov. A key to all ten species occurring in Australia is provided. Saccate lobules of C. simplicior are described and illustrated for the first time. The name Colura sect. Lingua Jovet-Ast ex Thiers is validated.     

On Plagiochila section Cobanae Carl in Asia and melanesia

Section Cobanae Carl of the genus Plagiochila is characterized. Several Asian and Melanesian species are included in the section: Plagiochila bicornuta Steph., P. detecta So & Grolle, P. singularis Schiffn., P. tagawae Inoue, P. tixierí Inoue, P. trabeculata Steph. and P. zhuensis Grolle & So. Plagiochila laxissima Schiffn. is placed under the synonymy of P. bicornuta Steph.     

African Hepatics. XXX: The genus Radula Dumortier

Abstract

Fifteen species of Radula from Africa and the Mascarenes are described, of which R. pseudoflaccida is new. The following species are newly reduced to synonyms: R. angustata Steph., R. capensis Steph., R. guineensis Steph., R. macroloba Steph., R. molleri Steph., R. pirottae Gola and R. spongiosa Steph. R. caespitosa Steph. is transferred from R. tabularis Steph. to R. madagascariensis Gottsche.

Habit, stem-structure, leaf-cuticle, perianth and spores provide valuable taxonomic characters which have received little or no attention and which show some degree of correlation. The range of forms shown by the lobule in a single species represent stages in its development.     

Studies on Plagiochila (Hepaticae) in Australasia and the Pacific II

Fourteen species names of Plagiochila are newly placed in synonymy : P. aneitiana Steph. (= P. trapezoidea Lindenb.), P. colonialis Steph. (= P. arbuscula (Brid. ex Lehm. & Lindenb.) Lindenb.), P. comptonii Pearson (= P. arbuscula), P. innovans Steph. (= P. trapezoidea), P. laciniata Pearson (= P. arbuscula), P. leptocaula Gottsche ex Dugas (= P. bicornuta Steph.), P. longa Dugas (= P. arbuscula), P. microphyces Gottsche ex Dugas (= P. bicornuta Steph.), P. palmicola Steph. (= P. arbuscula), P. santoensis Steph. (= P. bicornuta), P. subangulata Steph. (= P. bialata Mitt.), P. taitica Gottsche ex Dugas (= P. arbuscula), P. tenuitexta Steph. (= P. propinqua Sande Lac.), and P. vulgarifolia Steph. (= P. trapezoidea Lindenb.). Female plants of P. bialata, P. bicornuta. and P. inflata Steph. are illustrated.     

Mrican hepatics. XXXIV. Some little-known or new Lejeuneaceae

Abstract

Lejeunea aethiopica E. W. Jones, sp. nov., L. amaniensis E. W. Jones sp. nov., L. hepaticola Steph., and Cheilolejeunea cordistipula (Steph.) Grolle ex Jones, 397 comb. nov. (Strepsilejeunea cordistipula Steph., Pycnolejeunea angustiflora Steph., syn. nov.) are described.     

Studies on Plagiochila in Asia,supplements to sections Abietinae,Annotinae, Ciliatae,Contiguae, Cucullatae,Poeltiae, Subtropicae and zonatae

Twenty-seven names are newly placed in synonymy, Plagiochila blepharophora (Nees) Lindenb. var. δ major Schiffn. (= P. sandei Dozy), P.boninensis Inoue (= P. fordiana Steph.), P. cadens Inoue (= P. sciophila Nees), P. cameronensis Inoue (= P. hampeana Gottsche), P. ceramica Inoue (= P. pulvinata Steph.), P. decidua Inoue & Grolle (= P. sciophila Nees), P. didyma Inoue (= P. parvifolia Lindenb.), P. euryphyllon Herzog (= P. sciophila Nees), P. flavovirens Steph. (= P. sciophila Nees), P. fraseri Steph. (= P. teysmannii Sande Lac), P. gedeana Schiffn. (= P. hampeana Gottsche), P. kaernbachii Steph. (= P. sandei Dozy), P. lagunensis Inoue (= P. junghuhniana Sande Lac), P. massalongoana Sande Lac. (= P. junghuhniana Sande Lac), P. minor Horik. (= P. fordiana Steph.), P. nilgherriensis Steph. (= P. semidecurrens (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Lindenb.), P. nubila Steph. (= P. sandei Dozy), P. nymanii Steph. (= P. sandei Dozy), P. orientalis Taylor (= P. sciophila Nees), P. seemannii Mitt. (= P. sandei Dozy), P. sepikensis Inoue (= P. inflata Steph.), P. spinosissima Steph. (= P. semidecurrens (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Lindenb.), P. subplanata Inoue (= P. sciophila Nees), P. trabeculata var. bifida S. Hatt. (= P. fordiana Steph.), P. trochantha Steph. (= P. sciophila Nees), P. tsutomui Inoue (= P. ungarangana Sande Lac), and P. wichurae Steph. (= P. renitens (Nees) Lindenb). Lectotypes are designated for P. junghuhniana, P. semidecurrens, and P. ungarangana. Plagiochila inflata Steph. is reinstated as a species of sect. Annotinae Carl.     

A morphological revision of the genus Herbertus S.Gray (Herbertaceae,Marchantiophyta) in Africa,including the East African islands

Abstract

The genus Herbertus S.Gray in Africa and the East African islands is revised. The division of the genus into two broad species complexes centred on H. dicranus (Tayl.ex Gottsche et al.) Trev. and H. juniperoideus (Sw.) Grolle is confirmed. H. capensis (Steph.) Sim, H. capillaris (Steph.) H. doggeltianus (Steph.) Demaret, H. lobatus (Steph.) Demaret, H. mascarenicus (Steph.) S.Arn., H. mollis (Steph.) Dusén, H. stuhlmannii (Steph.) Demaret and Schisma kilimandjarense Steph. are synonymous with H. dicranus. H. grossevittatus (Steph.) S.Arn. ex Grolle is synonymous with H. juniperoideus. Three new species are described: H. spicatus N.G.Hodgetts sp. nov., which is related to H. juniperoideus and appears close to the neotropical H. pensilis, with long, narrow leaf lobe apices and a sheathing leaf base; H. mauritianus N.G.Hodgetts sp. nov., also related to H. juniperoideus, has fewer basal slime papillae and the vitta bifurcating lower down; and H. pocsii N.G.Hodgetts sp. nov., which is related to H. dicranus but has setaceous leaf lobe apices composed of long, narrow cells. The relationships of the taxa and patterns of distribution, taking account of recent molecular work, are discussed.     

Early life history of mebaru,sebastes inermis (scorpaenidae), in sendai bay, japan

The early life history of the viviparous scorpaenid,Sebastes inermis, in Sendai Bay, Japan, was studied and early development described. Newborn preflexion larvae ofS. inermis were about 5.2 mm BL. Notochord flexion occurred at 5.4–8.0 mm BL and transformation at 14–20 mm BL. Preflexion and flexion larvae ofS. inermis were distinguished from similar larvae by the pigmentation pattern along the dorsal and ventral midlines of the tail. Pigmentation inS. inermis was light throughout the larval and early juvenile periods. Planktonic larvae were particularly abundant in coastal waters of Sendai Bay but not offshore. Vertical and horizontal larval sampling indicated that early larvae occupied near surface waters and horizontal larval sampling indicated that early larvae shift to a benthic habitat occurred at about 12 mm BL, at the end of the postflexion larval period.Sebastes inermis do not have a distinct pelagic juvenile stage, unlike many North Pacific species ofSebastes.     

African Hepatics. XXXI. Some new or little-known Lejeuneaceae and extensions of range

Abstract

Lejeunea brenanii sp. nov. and Microlejeunea ankasica sp. nov. are described. Lejeunea autoica Schuster and Pycnolejeunea contigua (Nees) Grolle are described and recorded as new to Africa. Lejeunea longirostris (Steph.) E.W. Jones, nom. inval., is a synonym of L. grossecristata (Steph.) E.W. Jones. Critical notes and/or new localities are provided for Colura digitalis (Mitt.) Steph., C. dusenii Steph., C. humbertii S. Jovet-Ast, C. sp. ad inornata Jovet-Ast, Marchesinia moelleriana Pearson.     

Stictocardia tiliifolia (Convolvulaceae) re-evaluated

Stictocardia tiliifolia (Desr.) H. Hall. is accepted as the correct name for the type species ofStictocardia. An earlier name,Ipomoea campanulata L., regarded as a synonym of S.tiliifolia for the last 50 years, is found to be synonymous withIpomoea illustris (C. B. Clarke) Prain, a species occurring in coastal/tidal riverine habitats of South Asia. Material from interior habitats, calledI. campanulata by authors of Indian floras, is believed to represent a variety of trueI. campanulata or a closely related species.     

Phenotypic instability in Gleditsia triacanthos (Fabaceae)

Absence of thorns in individuals ofGleditsia triacanthos varies through time. Originally thornless trees in the living collection of the Arnold Arboretum have become thorn-bearing after 40 to 55 years, indicating that the thornless phenotype is not genetically fixed or a simple recessive trait. The infraspecific taxoninermis is thus rejected at any rank inG. triacanthos.     

Antimicrobial activity of some Indian plants

Antimicrobial activity of 105 Indian plant species was tested. Among them, 30 showed antibacterial activity; 20 of these exhibited antifungal action as well. Seeds ofCarum copticum, stem ofPinus longifolia, roots ofPlumbago zeylanica andSaussurea lappa, and rhizome ofAlpinia officinarum have considerable antifungal activity, especially against pathogenic fungi. Antibiotic activity against a wide variety of microorganisms—pathogenic and nonpathogenic gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, yeast, and fungi—was also noted with leaves ofLawsonia inermis, roots ofPlumbago zeylanica, and fruits ofTamarindus indica,Terminalia belerica, andEmblica officinalis.     

Miscellanea hepaticologica 141-150

Abstract

141. Anomacaulis fiaccidus (Steph. 1917) Grolle c. n. has to replace A. hamatilobus (Grolle 1965) Schust. 142. Colura leratii (Steph. 1908) Steph. Has to replace C. apiculata Schiffn. ex Steph. 1916. 143. Herbertus sendtneri (Nees) Lindb. 1874 has to replace H. sendtneri (Nees) Evans 1917. 144. The redetected type of Herbertus stramineus (Dum.) Trev. in BR wholly justifies the recent usage of that name instead of H. aduncus auct. 145. The large styli of Jovetastella Tixier were misinterpreted as amphigastria. Jovetastella is reduced to subgeneric rank within Cololejeunea (Spruce) Schiffn., necessitating C. subg. Jovetastella (Tixier) Grolle n. st. et c. and C. paniensis (Tixier) Grolle c. n. 146. Lichenastrum Dill. 1811 is lectotypified with Jungermannia Ianceolata L. emend. Grolle, thus becoming a synonym of Jungermannia L. s. str. 147.Lophozia elongata Steph. has to replace L. elongata (Lindb. ex Kaal.) Steph. 148. Mannia triandra (Scop. 1772) Grolle c. n. has to replace M. rupestris (Nees 1817)Frye et Clark. A redetected type specimen of M archantia ludwigii Schwaegr. 1814 turned out to be Mannia triandra. Therefore Asterella gracilis (F. Web.) Underw. has to replace A. ludwigii auct. 149. Grimaldia chilensis Lindenb. ex Mont. 1839 was newly placed in synonymy of Sauteria berteroana Mont. 1839. 150. Telaranea nematodes (Gottsche ex Aust. 1879) Howe has to replace T. sejuncta auct., whereas the true T. sejuncta (Angstr. 1877) S. Arn. is a synonym of Arachniopsis diacantha (Mont. 1856) Howe. T. sejuncta yare breviseta (Herz.) Fulf. is still another species, thus the single record of T. nematodes or T. sejuncta from Juan Fernandez is rejected.     

Chemical fingerprinting of Lawsonia inermis L. using HPLC, HPTLC and densitometry

Introduction –  Lawsonia inermis L. is a natural red colouring agent, commonly named “Henna”, which is used to dye skin and hair. The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of L. inermis that is commercially available as a raw plant material or preparation in order to guarantee good quality products. Objective ?  To develop a simple protocol for the qualification of different samples labelled as L. inermis by using the HPTLC densitometry method and to identify possible adulterations with other plants. Methodology ?  Samples of leaves of L. inermis were extracted with methanol. Two chromatographic methods were developed to determine the chemical fingerprinting of L. inermis. The first was based on HPTLC identification followed by densitometric measurements at 337 nm. The second was based on RP‐HPLC separation with gradient elution and photodiode array detection at 337 nm. Samples of Cassia obovata Collad., and Indigofera tinctoria L., were treated in the same way. Results –  The simplicity of the sample preparation, and the possibility of analysing several samples of herbal products simultaneously in a short time, make HPTLC the method of choice. The HPTLC method was feasible for the comprehensive quality evaluation of herbal products. From the comparison of their “fingerprint”, it was possible to detect substitution of plants that are different from those declared on the label. Conclusion ?  The HPTLC may be used as a rapid method by which to control the quality of raw plant materials and formulations based on the title plant. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.