Species relationships inFestuca (sect.Ovinae,Poaceae)

Morphological and seed protein studies of selected species ofFestuca were performed to elucidate the relationships between species of sect.Ovinae and their affinity with other fescues.Festuca rubra andF. heterophylla (extravaginale group) had higher phenetic affinity with taxa of sect.Scariosae, Montanae andBovinae than with members of their own section. 5 species of the intravaginale group (F. ovina, F. capillata, F. valesiaca, F. sulcata, F. trachyphylla) were fairly uniform and well defined by protein and morphological data. This supports current systematic thinking and does not agree withHackel's (1882) classification of this group.     

Relationships between seven species ofVulpia (Poaceae)

Seven species ofVulpia were subjected to morphological and protein studies using principal component and cluster analysis and theJaccard's Similarity Coefficient. Studies showed all species were uniform and distinct from each other. Species of sect.Loretia were very dissimilar from those of sect.Monachne and sect.Vulpia. The latter section comprises taxa of high mutual affinity.     

A phylogenetic analysis ofDuguetia (Annonaceae) based on morphological data

In this paper we present a phylogeny based on a study of the general morphology of 61 of the ca. 80 species ofDuguetia. Analyses were performed with PAUP. The resulting phylogeny is compared with the classification ofDuguetia as suggested byFries (1934, 1937, 1939, 1959). The results are partly corresponding withFries's classification. SectionAlcmene includingD. rionegrensis, and sects.Geanthemum, Synsepalantha, andCalothrix withoutD. uniflora, are upheld by this analysis. It is concluded that sect.Xylopipetalum should be united with sect.Duguetia. Before other taxonomic decisions at the section level can be made, more solid data must be available. Most dissimilarities found are considered to be not strong enough to propose alterations.Studies inAnnonaceae XXIII. For 22nd part seeZuilen & Maas (1994).     

An Iranian floristic link with Socotra inHypericum (Hypericaceae)

Hypericum dogonbadanicum Assadi, a local species from theQuercus brandtii forests of the Zagros Mountains in south-western Iran, belongs to sect.Campylosporus (Spach)R. Keller and is most closely related to a Socotran endemic,H. socotranum Good subsp.smithii N. Robson. Despite the inclusion of these forests in the Irano-Turanian Element of the Iran flora byZohary (1963),H. dogonbadanicum appears to belong rather to the Mediterranean dwarf-shrub maquis type of community and therefore to be a member ofZohary's (1963) Mediterranean/Irano-Turanian group of Iranian species.—The key position of the Socotran endemics to the understanding of the inter-sectional relationships is discussed.Dedicated to Prof.K. H. Rechinger on the occasion of his 80th birthday.     

Variation and taxonomy ofFritillaria graeca (Liliaceae) in Greece

The geographic variation inFritillaria graeca, an endemic of Greece, is explored, using multivariate techniques. Eleven morphological features were measured in each of 630 individual plants from 38 localities throughout the range of the species.Scheffe's a posteriori test revealed an almost continuous geographic variation and did not identify groups clearly. Discriminant analysis of the groups derived from an F significance test ofMahalanobis distance resulted in five major groups on the first two discriminant axes representing the subspeciesgraeca, ionica, guicciardii, thessala and its var.othria. A diagnostic key to theF. graeca subspecies is provided.This paper is a part of a doctoral dissertation dealing withFritillaria in Greece, to be submitted to the department of Biology of the Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki.     

Delimitation ofPelargonium sect.Glaucophyllum (Geraniaceae)

Pelargonium otaviense Knuth andP. spinosum Willd. are excluded from sect.Glaucophyllum, whileP. grandiflorum (Andr.)Willd.,P. patulum Jacq. andP. tabulare (Burm. f.)L'Hérit. of sect.Eumorpha are included. Sect.Glaucophyllum is characterized by green to glaucous vegetative organs and zygomorphic white to pink corolla with five narrow petals. All the species have an identical pollen and chromosome morphology, the same basic chromosome number (x = 11) and similar flavonoid patterns. A close relationship between sect.Glaucophyllum and sect.Pelargonium is indicated by the occurrence of natural hybrids and concordant characters. Isorhamnetin and luteolin have been detected in the genus for the first time.     

Restriction enzyme analysis of the chloroplast and nuclear 45s ribosomal DNA ofAllium sectionsCepa andPhyllodolon (Alliaceae)

Estimates of the phylogenetic relationships among cultivated and wildAllium species would benefit from identification of molecular characters. Restriction enzyme analysis of the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) of the bulb onion (Allium cepa), Japanese bunching onion (A. fistulosum), wildAllium species in sect.Cepa andPhyllodolon, and the outgroupsA. ampeloprasum andA. tuberosum detected 39 polymorphisms.Allium cepa andA. vavilovii were identical for all characters. Cladistic analysis generated three most-parsimoniousWagner trees of 44 steps differing only in a zero-length branch.Allium fistulosum andA. altaicum (sect.Phyllodolon) comprised a monophyletic lineage separated from theA. cepa andA. vavilovii of sect.Cepa. The unresolved node was composed ofA. galanthum, A. roylei, and the lineage containingA. cepa, A. vavilovii, A. fistulosum, andA. altaicum. The clade containingA. altaicum, A. cepa, A. fistulosum, A. galanthum, A. roylei, andA. vavilovii remained resolved for strict consensus ofWagner trees of 48 steps or less.Allium pskemense andA. oschaninii were increasingly distant.Allium oschaninii has been proposed as the progenitor of the bulb onion, but was more closely related to the common progenitor of all species in sect.Cepa andPhyllodolon. Phylogenies estimated from cpDNA characters usingDollo parsimony resulted in a single most-parsimonious tree of 46 steps and agreed with phylogenies based onWagner parsimony. Polymorphic restriction enzyme sites in the 45s ribosomal DNA were not used to estimate phylogenies because of uncertain homologies, but are useful for identifying interspecific hybrids. The maternal phylogenies estimated in this study help to distinguish wildAllium species closely related to the bulb onion. Although not in agreement with classifications based on morphology, the phylogenies closely reflected crossability among species in sect.Cepa andPhyllodolon.     

Subdivision ofPelargonium sect.Cortusina (Geraniaceae)

The sect.Cortusina (Dc.)Harv. s.l. is divided into the sectt.Cortusina (Dc.)Harv. s. str. andReniformia (Knuth)Dreyer, comb. nov.,P. cortusifolium L'Hérit.,P. crassicaule L'Hérit.,P. echinatum Curt.,P. magenteum J. J. A. Van der Walt, andP. sibthorpifolium Harv. remain in the sect.Cortusina s. str., while the speciesP. album J. J. A. Van der Walt,P. dichondrifolium Dc.,P. odoratissimum (L.)L'Hérit.,P. reniforme Curt., andP. sidoides Dc. are removed from the sect.Cortusina s.l. and included in the revised sect.Reniformia. Both sections are well characterized by morphological, anatomical, karyological and palynological features. The chromosomes ofCortusina s. str. are small and based upon x = 11; those ofReniformia are larger and based upon x = 8. The size and surface sculpture of the pollen grains differ markedly between the two sections. Flavones and hydrolysable tannins occur in sect.Reniformia, but are absent in sect.Cortusina s. str. After hydrolysis hydroxybenzoic acids, which are present in large amounts inReniformia, occur only in traces inCortusina. The two sections also occupy distinctly different geographical areas. A close relationship between sect.Reniformia and some species of sect.Ligularia (Sweet)Harv. is indicated by the occurrence of artificial hybrids.     

Phenetics andFumaria

A paper byWilson & al. (1990) on the taxonomy ofFumaria is commented upon. It is concluded that the lack of congruence between the authors' results and evidence from morphology, chemistry, and crossing experiments renders their approach questionable.     

A newFerulago (Apiaceae) species from Turkey

Ferulago antiochia Saya & Miski is newly described: it is known only from the type locality in Hatay province and has affinities toF. trachycarpa Boiss. of sect.Anisotaenia.     

Phenetic investigation of non-nodulating African species ofAcacia (Leguminosae) using morphological and molecular markers

Morphological and RAPD markers were used to assess the relationships among nodulating and non-nodulating species of AfricanAcacia. Non-nodulating species of AfricanAcacia are only found within subg.Aculeiferum sect.Monacanthea. African species of sect.Monacanthea examined were found to form a group distinct from the other African species examined on a morphological and molecular basis. All lack the ability to nodulate, suggesting that non-nodulation may be used as a taxonomic tool. The species of sect.Aculeiferum were separated by RAPD and morphological analysis into two groups depending on whether they were armed with prickles in pairs and/or prickles in threes, or solitary. A third group of species was identified within sect.Acacia: further subdivision of this group was achieved into subsectt.Pluriseriae andUniseriae. The position ofA. albida relative to other AfricanAcacia species was found to be distinct but not totally independent of the genus. The partitioning and distribution of the genetic variability within the genus is further elucidated by the RAPD analysis of populations ofAcacia species. A population analysis ofA. polyacantha demonstrated geographical and site-specific variation.     

Rapid cytofluorimetric determination of leaf nuclear DNA content in the polyploid seriesRanunculus marsicus (R. auricomus agg.,Ranunculaceae)

A cytofluorimetric method for DNA amount determination on nuclei released from fixed leaves has been successfully tested on samples belonging to the polyploid series ofRanunculus marsicus Guss & Ten. (sect.Auricomus). The procedure was devised to screen rapidly for different ploidy levels within topodemes and progenies.     

Hair morphology inPlantago sect.Coronopus (Plantaginaceae)

The presence of bottle-like hairs has been described in four hitherto uninvestigated taxa ofPlantago sect.Coronopus sensuDietrich. This hair type is a feature characteristic of sect.Coronopus.     

Normania,an endemic Macaronesian genus distinct fromSolanum (Solanaceae)

Morphological data and results from scanning electron microscopy of seeds and pollen show thatNormania Lowe [syn.Solanum L. subg.Potatoe (G. Don)D'Arcy sect.Normania (Lowe)Bitter] (Solanaceae: Solaneae) should be considered as a distinct genus fromSolanum L. It has two species, one restricted to the island of Madeira [Normania triphylla (Lowe)Lowe] and the other to Tenerife and Gran Canaria [Normania nava (Webb & Berthel.)Franc.-Ort. & R. N. Lester]. These species are extremely rare and had not been found for about 100 years, untilN. nava was rediscovered in two different localities in Tenerife in 1973 and 1982.Normania triphylla was reported in two different places from northern Madeira in 1991. Both species have the highest conservation priority in the Macaronesian region.     

A reconsideration of the genusRabdosiella (Lamiaceae,Nepetoideae, Ocimeae)

The two generaPlectranthus andIsodon are compared and found to be very dissimilar.Isodon ist considered to be misplaced inOcimeae subtribePlectranthinae and apparently is more closely related to subtribeHyptidinae. The disjunct genusRabdosiella is compared to these two genera and regarded to be polyphyletic. The AfricanR. calycina (Benth.)Codd is returned toPlectranthus and calledP. calycinus Benth., while the AsianR. ternifolia (D. Don)Codd is placed inIsodon sect.Pyramidium and calledI. ternifolius (D. Don)Kudo.     

Medicago truncatula f.laxicycla (Leguminosae), a new taxon with loose fruit coiling promoting rapid germination of the fruit-retained seeds

Medicago truncatula is a member ofMedicago sect.Spirocarpos, in which all 34 species have coiled fruit, usually tightly coiled, that permanently retain the seeds. A variant ofM. truncatula from Libya is unique for the species in possessing very loosely coiled fruits, and is here recognized as a new forma,M. truncatula f.laxicycla E. Small. In germination tests of a number of species ofMedicago, the unusual Libyan variant proved to be the only one in which rapid and simultaneous germination of most of the seeds occurred while still within a fruit. The loose coiling of the fruit of the Libyan variety appears to facilitate water entry and seedling escape. Its rapid germination might adapt it to respond quickly to intermittently available moisture, but at the cost of abandoning the strategy of intermittent germination adopted by other populations ofMedicago sect.Spirocarpos.     

Nectar by day and night:Siphocampylus sulfureus (Lobeliaceae) pollinated by hummingbirds and bats

Most species of the neotropical genusSiphocampylus are believed to be bird-pollinated. The pollination biology ofSiphocampylus sulfureus was studied in a montane region in SE Brazil. This species has features intermediate between ornithophilous and chiropterophilous syndromes: it presents a striking combination of yellowish flowers with strong odour (chiropterophilous features), and diurnal anthesis and sucrose-dominated nectar (ornithophilous features). Major pollinators were hummingbirds by day, and a phyllostomid bat by night.Siphocampylus sulfureus may be viewed as a recent derivate from the presumed ornithophilous stock within sect.Macrosiphon, and thus benefits from the activity of both diurnal and nocturnal vertebrate pollinators.Dedicated to DrIlse Silberbauer-Gottsberger and Prof. DrGerhard Gottsberger for their pioneer contribution to floral biology in Brazil.     

Distribution of a 375 bp repeat sequence inAllium (Alliaceae) as revealed by FISH

Information about evolutionary relationships between species of the genusAllium is desirable in order to facilitate breeding programmes. One approach is to study the distribution of repetitive DNA sequences among species thought on taxonomic grounds, to be closely related. We have used fluorescent in-situ hybridisation (FISH) to examine seven species within sect.Cepa of the genus (A. altaicum, A. cepa, A. fistulosum, A. galanthum, A. pskemense, A. oschaninii andA. vavilovii), one species from sect.Rhizirideum (A. roylei), two species from sect.Allium (A. sativum andA. porrum) and one species from sect.Schoenoprasum (A. schoenoprasum). Each species was probed using a 375 bp repeat sequence isolated fromA. cepa (Barnes & al. 1985), which was generated and labelled by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). No signals were detected in anyAllium species not belonging to sect.Cepa with the exception ofA. roylei, whose designation in sect.Rhizirideum is now questioned. Within sect.Cepa the probe was found to hybridize to the terminal regions of the chromosome arms of all the species examined. In addition a number of interstitial bands were detected. Use of FISH reveals a more detailed map of the location of the repeat sequences than has previously been obtained by C-banding and other staining procedures. The distribution of the terminal and interstitial sites when compared, allow us to identify three species groups namely,A. altaicum andA. fistulosum; A. cepa, A. roylei, A. oschaninii andA. vavilovii; andA. galanthum andA. pskemense.     

Sero-systematics ofCytisus sect.Trianthocytisus (Fabaceae)

The serological reaction of seed proteins provides evidence for a partly new systematic arrangement ofCytisus sect.Trianthocytisus and ofCytisus s.l. Proposed modifications agree with recent advances in morphological taxonomy. Sect.Trianthocytisus includes only two species,C. villosus andC. aeolicus. Its position is central within the genus, and this fact agrees with the proposed retypification ofCytisus (type species:C. villosus).C. emeriflorus, formerly included in the same section, constitutes the monospecific sect.Emeroides, which is intermediate towards the genusLembotropis. This is serologically isolated and includes onlyL. nigricans. It is confirmed thatC. sessilifolius should be removed from the genusCytisus as a monospecific genus:Cytisophyllum Lang which is closely allied toHesperolaburnum and toPodocytisus, the most primitive genera ofGenisteae.     

A reexamination of infraspecific taxa of a wild potato,Solanum microdontum (Solanum sect.Petota:Solanaceae)

Current taxonomic interpretations ofSolanum microdontum Bitter partition the species into two or three infraspecific taxa, variously recognized as subspecies or varieties. The present study reexamines these taxa using morphological data from four individuals each of 69 accessions from most of the range of the species, planted in a common field plot. Our results show that the character states used to recognize infraspecific taxa inS. microdontum often vary within accessions and have no correlation with geography. We conclude that past hypotheses have used typological concepts and that infraspecific taxa are not warranted. This study questions other hypotheses of infraspecific taxa in sect.Petota.