Some New Taxa of Charophyta from Guangxi

Guangxi, Situated in the southern border area of China, is extremely rich in Charophytes. In this paper, however, reported are only new species and new varieties. Among the new taxa, Nitella haplodactyla has only one dactyl on the fertile branchlet, N. brachyclema and N. rarissima are provided with more than 4-celled dactyls, the fertile branchlet of N. pseudoflabellata var. tetradynana has tetradynamous rays, and Chara piniformis is characterized by thehaplostichous cortex, long spinecells, and rudimentary stipulodes.     

Some New Taxa and New Records of Charophyta from Guizhou

Guizhou is situated in the southwestern China and is very rich in algae However, our present knowledge of the Charophytes is scanty. Over 400 specimens were collected from 22 counties or cities and from them 41 species, 2 subspecies, 3 varieties were found. In addition to previously known species of this region, Nitella rasilis, N. paludosa, N. pseudopapillata and N. guizhouensis are new species, N. mirabilis var. libera is new variety, and N. penicillata, Chara burmanica, C. vulgaris var. gymnophylla are new records for China. In this paper, only the new taxa are reported.     

Some New Taxa of Chara from Guangxi and Gansu,China

In order to get a thorough understanding of the Characeae, the specimens collected from Guangxi and Gansu were identified. The result shows that the two provinces, especially Guangxi, are abundant in this family. In this paper, however, reported are only new species, new varieties and new records of Chara in China. They are Chara vernicosa sp. nov. C. globularis var. inflata var. nov. and C. howe-ana var. subgymnophylla var. nov., C. brionica stapf and C. calveraensis comb. nov.     

Some New Taxa of Charophyta from Xinjiang

In this paper, two new species, one new record of the Characeae from Xinjiang are reported. They are Chara brevibracteata Han, C.vesicata Fu et Q. F.Zhao and C. vandulurensis Sund.     

Some New Taxa of Chara from Northwest China

In this paper, two new species and one new record of the Chara from northwestern China are reported. They are Chara lanzhouensis Q. F. Zhao, C. pseudoglobularis Han, C.arcuatifolia Vilhelm.     

Gravity perception requires statoliths settled on specific plasma membrane areas in characean rhizoids and protonemata

Summary. The noninvasive infrared laser micromanipulation technique (optical tweezers, optical trapping) and centrifugation were used to study susception and perception, the early events in the gravitropic pathway of tip-growing characean rhizoids and protonemata. Reorientation of the growth direction in both cell types was only initiated when at least 2–3 statoliths settled on specific areas of the plasma membrane. This statolith-sensitive plasma membrane area is confined to the statolith region (10–35 μm behind the tip) in positively gravitropic rhizoids, whereas in negatively gravitropic protonemata, this area is limited to the apical plasma membrane (0–10 μm). Statolith sedimentation towards the sensitive plasma membrane areas is mediated by the concerted action of actin and gravity. The process of sedimentation, the pure physical movement, of statoliths is not sufficient to initiate graviresponses in both cell types. It is concluded that specific statolith-sensitive plasma membrane areas play a crucial role in the signal transduction pathway of gravitropism. These areas may represent the primary sites for gravity perception and may transform the information derived from the gravity-induced statolith sedimentation into physiological signals which trigger the molecular mechanisms of the opposite graviresponses in characean rhizoids and protonemata. Received September 10, 2001 Accepted November 16, 2001     

Materials for the Charaphyta of China

Reported in this paper are two new species, one new variety, and three new records of the Characeae collected in China. They are Nitella anhuensis sp. nov., Chara paucicarpa sp. nov., Nitella alleninda var. tenuireticulata var. nov., N. gracilliformis J. Grove., N. formosa T. F. Allen and Chara tenuispina A. Br.     

Some New Taxa of Nitella from Guangdong,China

Guangdong Province extends across the subtropical and tropical zones. With favorable climate and plentiful rainfall, this district is extremely rich in plants. However, the study on the Charophyta in this province is scanty. The specimens we identified were collected from 4 cities and 10 counties of the province. The result shows that there are abundant representatives of Chrophyta, especially in Nitella, in the province. In this paper, however, only reported are some new taxa of Nitella. The 2 new species are Nitella sessilis and N. guangdongensis; the 3 new varieties are Nitella flagelliformis var. conglomerata, N. brevidactyla var. hainanensis and N. pakistanica var. magniantheridii; and the 3 new records of distribution in China are Nitella bengalensis Kundu, N. madagascariensis Zanev. and N. tenuissima var. sanukensis Imah.     

New Taxa of Lappula from China

Two new species and one new variety are described from China. They are L.ramulosa, L. gansuensis and L. microcarpa var. heterogenea.     

New Taxa of Lespedeza (Leguminosae) from China

Lespedeza fasciculiflora Franch. var. hengduanshanensis C. J. Chen and L. davurica (Laxm.) Schindl. Subsp. huangheensis C. J. Chen are described from the Hengduan Mountains of SW China and from the Yellow Rivervalley respectively.     

New Taxa of Epimedium L. from China

Three new species and a new variety, Epimedium coactum, E. coactum var. longtouhum, E. trunctum, E. glandulosopilosum are described in this paper. The morphological characters of trichomes, cuticle of leaf surface and pollen grains of the new species and theirallies were studied under LM and SEM, and shown in plates 1-3.     

New Taxa of Salix L. from West China

Two new species and one new variety of Salix L. from western China, namcl. S. ludingensis T. Y. Ding et C. F. Fang, S. neoamnematchinensis T. Y. Ding et C. F. Fang, and S. taoensis Gorz var. leiocarpa T. Y. Ding et C. F.Fang, are reported in this paper.