Spore morphology of pteridophytes from China Ⅱ. Sinopteridaceae

Spores of 61 species and 6 varieties in 9 genera of the Sinopteridaceae were examined under scanning electron microscope (SEM). Based on surface ornamentation and other features, the spores of the Sinopteridaceae are divided into three types. In type Ⅰ , the exospore is smooth and the surface ornamentation, which is reticulate, cristate, echinate or rugate, is formed by the perispore. All the other genera of this family, except for Onychium and Cryptogramma, have this pattern of spores. In type Ⅱ, the surface ornamentation is formed by both perispore and exospore. This pattern is found only in Cryptogramma. In type Ⅲ, the perispore is thin and the surface ornamentation is formed by the exospore. Onychium is characterized by this type of spores. Those genera with spores of type Ⅰ of the Sinopteridaceae seem to be closely related to each other and should be natural members of this family. The systematic position of Cryptogramma and Onychium, with spores of type Ⅱ and type Ⅲ respectively, however, should be reconsidered. Aleuritopteris might be the mostprimitive member of the Sinopteridaceae from the evidence of spore morph     

Spore morphology of pteridophytes from China Ⅲ. Thelypteridaceae 1. Cyclosorus Link.

Spore morphology of 51 species of Cyclosorus in the Thelypteridaceae from China was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The spores are monolete, bilaterosymmetric, ellipsoidal in polar view, and kidney-shaped in equatorial view. On the basis of the variation in their surface ornamentation, the spores fall into three main types. Type I: The surface of spores is echinate or perforate with fimbriate wings. 19 species belong to this type. Type Ⅱ: The surface of spores is cristate. 11 species belong to this type. Type Ⅲ: The surface of spores is echinulate. 10 species belong to this type. The remaining 11 species have spores with mixed surface ornamentation of the above three types, which are considered as intermediate types. The results are valuable for a better understanding of the taxonomy and palynology of the genus Cyclosorus.     

Spore Morphology of Pteridophytes from China Ⅵ .Pteridaceae

The spore morphology of 30 species 4 variety of 2 genera of Pteridaceae from China was investigated under scanning electron microscope (SEM) . Among them, 29 species 4 variety belong to the genus Pteris . The spores of Pteris are trilete , radiosymmetrical , subtriangular in polar view and hemispherical or subhemispherical in equatorial view . The polar axes are 26 - 54μm long , and equatorial axes are 34 - 97μm long . The perispore is thin and the surface ornamentation is formed by the exospore . The types of ornamentation are tuberculiform-rugulate , verruciform-rugulate or lophate , the spore of most species with the equatoial flange, some species with proximal ridge and distal ridge . The spore morphology of Pteris is stable, and the difference between species is distinct , but the features of spore and sporophyte are not related. The spore of Histiopteris is monolete and bilaterally symmetrical, elliptical in polar view and kidney-shaped in equatorial view . The polar axes are 22 - 23μm long , and equatorial axes are 29 - 36 μm long . The perispore is thin and the surface ornamentation is formed by the exospore . The surface is rugulate . The spore morphology of Histiopteris and Pteris is very differential , put genus Histiopteris in family Pteridaceae is not suitable, according to the feature of spore morphology .     

Ecology of the pteridophytes on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro – I. Altitudinal distribution

140 taxa of 61 genera in 24 families of pteridophytes were recorded on the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro. These represent about one third of the entire pteridophyte flora of Tanzania. The families richest in species are the Aspleniaceae, the Adiantaceae, the Dryopteridaceae, the Thelypteridaceae and the Hymenophyllaceae. Due to its luxuriant montane rain forest, which receives a precipitation of up to over 3000 mm, Mt. Kilimanjaro is distinctly richer in pteridophyte species than other volcanoes in East Africa. However, compared with the mountains of the Eastern Arc, the number of pteridophytes on Mt. Kilimanjaro is smaller. This can be explained by the widely destroyed submontane (intermediate) forest rather than by the higher age of the Eastern Arc Mts.The altitudinal distribution of all ferns was investigated in 24 transects. On the southern slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro they were found in an altitudinal range of 3640 m. Cyclosorus quadrangularis, Azolla nilotica, Azolla africana andMarsilea minuta are restricted to the foothills, while Polystichum wilsonii, Cystopteris nivalis and Asplenium adiantum-nigrum are species found in the highest altitudes.Based on unidimensionally constrained clustering and on the analysis of the lowermost and uppermost occurrence of species, floristic discontinuities within the transects were determined. From these data and from an evaluation of the distribution of ecological groups and life forms, 11 altitudinal zones could be distinguished: a colline zone (–900 m asl), a submontane zone (900–1600 m asl) with lower and upper subzones, a montane zone (1600-2800 m asl) divided into 4 subzones, a subalpine zone (2800–3900 m asl) with lower, middle and upper subzones, and finally a (lower) alpine zone above 3900 m. The highest species numbers were observed in the lower montane forest belt between 1600 and 2000 m altitude. The zonation of ferns found at Mt. Kilimanjaro corresponds well with the vegetational zonation described by other authors using bryophytes as indicators in different parts of the humid tropics.     

Notes on dead wood dematiaceous hyphomycetes Ⅰ. Two newly recorded species from China

A recent investigations of dematiaceous hyphomycetes occurring on dead wood in various subtropical and tropical zones of southern China have yielded two species new to China, and they are reported in this paper.     

Cephalaria Schrad. ex Roem. et Schult. of Dipsacaceae—A New Record from China

A new recorded genus, Cephalaria Schrad. ex Roem. et Schult. (Dipsacaceae), is reported here and C. gigantea (Ldb.) Bobr. is found for the first time inXinjiang, China.     

Hymenopyramis Wall. ex Griff.—A New Recorded Genus of Verbenaceae from China

The present paper reports the first record of the genus Hymenopyramis in China. H. cana is a new record on Hainan Island of Guangdong Province. It grows in deciduous monsoon forests or shrubby savanna (western Hainan) at 50 to 150 m alt.     

Taxonomic revision of Lepisorus （J. Sm.） Ching sect. Lepisorus （Polypodiaceae） from China

The taxonomy of Lepisorus （J. Sm.） Ching sect. Lepisorus in China was revised based on herbarium specimen examinations, field observations, and microscopic study of rhizome scales, soral paraphyses, leaf epidermis, and spores. As a result, nine species were recognized： Lepisorus macrosphaerus （Baker） Ching, Lepisorus asterolepis （Baker） Ching, Lepisorus marginatus Ching, Lepisorus kuchenensis （Y.C. Wu） Ching, Lepisorus megasorus （C. Chr.） Ching, Lepisorus kawakamii （Hayata） Tagawa, Lepisorus subsessilis Ching ＆ Y.X. Lin, Lepisorus affinis Ching, and Lepisorus nudus （Hook.） Ching. Lepisorus kawakamii （Hayata） Tagawa was reinstated; Lepisorus gyirongensis Ching ＆ S.K. Wu and Lepisorus longus Ching were reduced to synonyms ofL. nudus and L. affinis, respectively. The subdivision ofLepisorus macrosphaerus was not accepted. Rhizome scales and paraphyses are the most useful characters for species delimitation as well as for infrageneric classification. Characteristics of the leaf epidermis and spore ornamentation are usually stable and thus of great significance in understanding the relationships among groups within the genus.     

New records of Stixis Lour. (Capparaceae) from China

1CHEN Wen-Hong,1SHUI Yu-Min,2YANG Zhi-Guo,1CHENG Xiao 1(Kunming Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China) 2 (Hekou Forestry Bureau, Forestry Department of Yunnan Province, Hekou 661300, China) 2003,41（1）.—89～90 Abstract：Two taxa of Stixis　Lour., S.ovata(Korth.) Hall.　f. ssp. fasciculata(King) Jacobs and S. scandens　Lour., are reported as new records from China .     

Studies on some new red algae from China (Ⅰ)

The present paper reports four new species of Chinese marine red algae belonging to Ahnfeltiales and Gigartinales. They are Ahnfeltia yinggehaiensis Xia et Zhang, Ahnfeltiopsis guangdongensis Xia et Zhang, Ahnfeltiopsis hainanensis Xia et Zhang, Ahnfeltiopsis masudai Xia et Zhang. Key words Ahnfeltia;A．yinggehaiensis;Ahnfeltiopsis;A．guangdongensis;A．hainanensis;A．masudai;Hainan;Guangdong;New species     

Regulation of leucoplast morphology in roots: Interorganellar signaling from mitochondria?

The appearance of leaf mesophyll chloroplasts in angiosperms is characterized by their uniform and static shape, which is molded by symmetric division of the preexisting organelles, involving three prokaryote-derived proteins: the division executor protein, FtsZ, and the division site positioning proteins, MinD and MinE. On the other hand, noncolored plastids in roots, where the involvement of the known chloroplast division factors in plastid morphogenesis is yet unclear, are morphologically heterogeneous and transform dynamically. This is further emphasized by the active formation of long tubular protrusions called stromules from the main body of those plastids. Molecular regulation and physiological significance of such dynamic morphology of root plastids also remain unknown. In this context, we have recently demonstrated that the mitochondrial respiratory inhibitor antimycin A induces rapid and reversible filamentation of root plastids (leucoplasts) in Arabidopsis thaliana. In contrast, the same treatment with antimycin A did not affect the morphology of amyloplasts in the columella cells at the root tip. The alternative oxidase inhibitor salicylhydroxamic acid suppresses the antimycin-induced plastid filamentation, perhaps implying an alternative oxidase-mediated interorganellar signaling between the mitochondria and the leucoplasts in the root cells. Our data may provide some clues as to how the formation of stromules is initiated.Key words: antimycin A, interorganellar crosstalk, plastid morphology, respiration, stress response, stromule