SPORE MORPHOLOGY IN THE CYATHEACEAE. I. THE PERINE AND SPORANGIAL CAPACITY: GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

The literature on cyatheaceous spore morphology relative to the presence of a perine layer is reviewed, and evidence based on a sodium-hydroxide assay is presented indicating that the outer scultpine layer in certain cyatheaceous spores is perine. Perine so defined characterizes Metaxya, paleotropical and certain neotropical species of Sphaeropteris, nearly all species of Alsophila, all species of Nephelea, and certain species of Trichipteris and Cyathea. It is lacking in Lophosoria, many species of Trichipteris and Cyathea, and all species of Cnemidaria. Two major patterns of spore number per sporangium in the family are reported. Lophosoria, Sphaeropteris, Trichipteris, Cyathea, Cnemidaria, and probably Metaxya are characterized by 64-spored sporangia, whereas most species of Alsophila and all species of Nephelea are characterized by 16-spored sporangia. The congruence of this generic distribution of sporangial-capacity types with Tryon's phyletic arrangement of cyatheaceous genera supports the naturalness of his system. The intrasporangial germination of spores retained in dehisced and dispersed sporangia supports the suggestion that decreased spore number per sporangium in Alsophila and Nephelea may relate to the role of the sporangia as dispersal units. The decreased number of spores per sporangium is associated with a trend toward increase in the number of sporangia per sores, with the highest known count approaching 1000 sporangia per sorus. The Alsophila-Nephelea evolutionary line has probably not been ancestral in the phylogeny of the more advanced groups of ferns.     

SPORE MORPHOLOGY IN THE CYATHEACEAE. III. THE GENUS TRICHIPTERIS

Scanning electron microscopy supported by light microscopic L-O analysis is used in a palynological study of the genus Trichipteris of the tree fern family Cyatheaceae. The spores of all but two of the 55 species are investigated and the results are related to previous findings for Trichipteris species in the literature. A perine layer consisting of a network of slender, smooth- or rough-textured interlocking strands with free ends uniformly characterizes the genus and is the same as the perine type previously reported in neotropical species of Sphaeropteris excluding the S. horrida group. The exine is analyzed both in spores which have not yet developed the perine layer and in spores whose perine has been removed by chemical treatment. Exine sculpturing shows great variation in the genus, ranging from essentially psilate to variously pitted (foveolate, foraminate), with topography ranging from plane to verrucate-tuberculate, and with the verrucae-tubercles themselves often variously pitted. In many instances, exine sculpturing types correlate with the infrageneric species groupings or affinities hypothesized by the recent monographers. In other cases, palynological characters offer new insight into species relationships that were previously unclear to monographers or that were interpreted differently on the basis of other characters. The exine sculpturing types reinforce the relationship evident between Trichipteris and neotropical Sphaeropteris on the basis of perine morphology.     

SPORE MORPHOLOGY IN THE CYATHEACEAE. II. THE GENERA LOPHOSORIA,METAXYA, SPHAEROPTERIS,ALSOPHILA, AND NEPHELEA

Scanning electron microscopy and transmitted light microscopy are used in a palynological study of Lophosoria, Metaxya, Sphaeropteris, Alsophila, and Nephelea of the tree fern family Cyatheaceae. The monotypic American genera Lophosoria and Metaxya each have a unique spore morphology which reinforces the taxonomic distinctness of these genera as indicated by their other characters. All investigated paleotropical species of Sphaeropteris develop a single type of perine characterized by coarse, pointed projections. In the neotropics, the Sphaeropteris horrida group shares this perine type, whereas all other neotropical Sphaeropteris species appear to have a different kind of perine with fine hair-like processes. The exine in paleotropical Sphaeropteris appears uniformly unsculptured, whereas in the neotropics several exine morphologies are found. In Alsophila all investigated neotropical species and the vast majority of the paleotropical species are characterized by a basically ridged perine morphology and an unsculptured exine. In several paleotropical Alsophila species, however, a perine with hair-like processes similar to those in neotropical Sphaeropteris is found, and the exine in several species is variously pitted. In at least one paleotropical Alsophila species, the porate exine morphology is indistinguishable from that in the neotropical genus Cnemidaria. The spores of the American genus Nephelea are similar to those of the majority of Alsophila species in ridged perine morphology and unsculptured exine. Several new instances of atypical spore numbers per sporangium are reported in Sphaeropteris and Alsophila. These and the palynological data are discussed in a taxonomic framework. The spore morphology in these genera is consistent with Tryon's recent generic revision of the family.     

GRACILARIOPSIS MCLACHLANII SP. NOV. AND GRACILARIOPSIS PERSICA SP. NOV. OF THE GRACILARIACEAE (GRACILARIALES,RHODOPHYCEAE) FROM THE INDIAN OCEAN1

Two new species of Gracilariopsis from the Indian Ocean are proposed—Gracilariopsis (Gp.) mclachlanii Buriyo, Bellorin et M. C. Oliveira sp. nov. from Tanzania and Gracilariopsis persica Bellorin, Sohrabipour et E. C. Oliveira sp. nov. from Iran—based on morphology and DNA sequence data (rbcL gene and SSU rDNA). Both species fit the typical features of Gracilariopsis: axes cylindrical throughout, freely and loosely ramified up to four orders, with an abrupt transition in cell size from medulla to cortex, cystocarps lacking tubular nutritive cells and superficial spermatangia. Nucleotide sequence comparisons of rbcL and SSU rDNA placed both species into the Gracilariopsis clade as distinct species from all the accepted species for this genus, forming a deeply divergent lineage together with some species from the Pacific. The new species are very difficult to distinguish on morphological grounds from other species of Gracilariopsis, stressing the importance of homologous molecular marker comparisons for the species recognition in this character‐poor genus.     

THE GAMETOPHYTES OF OPHIOGLOSSUM PALMATUM L.

Gametophytes of the epiphytic species Ophioglossum palmatum L. are described for the first time, bringing the number of Ophioglossum species with known gametophytes to 11. Although somewhat unusual in terms of (a) degree of branching, (b) the marked expansion of the basically cylindrical axis in some cases, and (c) production of stout, papilla-like rhizoids, the gametophytes of O. palmatum are more similar to other Ophioglossum gametophytes than they are to the gametophytes of Botrychium or Helminthostachys. Gametophyte characters do not provide strong evidence for placing O. palmatum into a separate genus, viz., Cheiroglossa. The gametophytes of O. palmatum most closely resemble those of the other epiphytic species in the genus, O. pendulum. This similarity suggests a need for a revaluation of modern taxonomies which, in general, treat the two species as only distantly related.     

CHROMOSOME NUMBERS OF CAMPANULACEAE. II. THE LOBELIA TUPA COMPLEX OF CHILE

Gametic chromosome numbers are reported for 27 collections representing the four species of the Lobelia tupa complex (Campanulaceae, Lobelioideae) in Chile; all are n = 21. This represents the first report of chromosome numbers for L. bridgesii Hook. & Arn., L. excelsa Bonpl., and L. polyphylla Hook. & Arn., and confirms previous reports of this number in L. tupa L. As the basic chromosome number of Lobelioideae is x = 7, these species are interpreted as hexaploids. Higher polyploids are extremely rare among Lobelioideae; most of those previously reported have been either sporadic individuals or populations within an otherwise diploid or tetraploid species, or occasional species within an otherwise diploid and tetraploid lineage. This is the first report of an entire complex of lobelioid species that is uniformly hexaploid. This suggests that the Chilean endemics are relatively derived within Lobelia, and offers some support for the monophyly of the complex.     

BIOSYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE GENUS AGROPYRON. I. CYTOLOGICAL STUDIES OF SPECIES KARYOTYPES

Schulz -Schaeffer , Jurgen (Montana State Coll., Bozeman), and Peter Jurasits . Biosystematic investigations in the genus Agropyron. I. Cytological studies of species karyotypes. Amer. Jour. Bot. 49(9): 940–953. Illus. 1962.—Twenty-five species of the genus Agropyron are analyzed cytologically in this presentation. Accession numbers, names of collectors, locations where seed was collected, and observed chromosome numbers are listed. Chromosome numbers of A. panormitanum (2n = 28), A. lolioides (2n = 58), A. brachyphyllum (2n = 42), A. ciliatiflorum (2n = 28), A. kosanini (2n = 56), A. pseudorepens (2n = 28), A. squamosum (2n = 42), and A. subulatum (2n = 56) are reported. No previous counts in these species are known to the authors. Chromosome counts of A. caespitosum (2n = 42) and A. elongatiforme (2n = 58), deviate from previous reports. Idiograms of all species and photomicrographs of mitotic metaphase root tip cells of 14 species are presented. The distribution of 11 satellite-chromosome types in 25 Agropyron species is shown in Table 2. The proportions of these 11 satellite-chromosome types are recorded in Table 3. The significance of these satellite chromosomes as indicator chromosomes for genome relationships is discussed together with the pertinent literature.     

STUDIES IN SOME FOLIOSE RED ALGAE OF THE PACIFIC COAST. I. CRYPTONEMIACEXE1

Pacific coast species of the red algae Halymenia and Cryptonemia are described Of the 8 previously reported species of Halymenia 3 (H. abyssicola Dawson, H. megaspore Dawson, H refugiensis Dawson) hive been placed in synonymy with other species. Halymenia hollenbergii from southern California is described as new; H cocinea is transferred from Schizymenia (and includes Aeodes gardneri Kylin) and H. templetonii is a transfer from Weeksia. Five species of Cryptonemia are described; one of them, C. taylorii from the Revillagigedo Archipelago, as new. Wider distribution ranges are given for the remaining species, C. ovalifolia, C. obovata, C. bore alis and C. angustata. Keys to genera of the west coast Cryptonemiaceae and to the species of Halymenia and Crypronemia are provided.     

NOTES ON SOME GRASSES. XVI. EMBRYO STRUCTURE OF THE GENUS ORYZA IN RELATION TO THE SYSTEMATICS

Three distinct types of embryo have been found in 18 species of the genus Oryza. Type 1 is characterized by lateral fusion of the epiblast and the scutellum and also by the development of auricles. Type 2 has no auricle, and the epiblast is not laterally fused with the scutellum. Type 3 has a cleft between the lower part of the scutellum and the coleorhiza, a long epiblast which is free from the scutellum, and lacks auricles. Type 1 has been found in 13 species of section Sativae, Type 2 in 4 species of sections Granulatae and Coarctatae, and Type 3 in O. coarctata only. The results indicate that species of section Sativae are more or less closely related, while section Coarctatae is a heterogeneous group. A new section, Ridleyianae, has been described for Oryza ridleyi and some other species. Oryza coarctata has unique features in embryo structure, morphology and leaf anatomy, and this species has been moved from the genus Oryza to a separate genus, Sclerophyllum, which is here revived.     

THE COMPARATIVE MORPHOLOGY AND RELATIONSHIPS OF THE MAGNOLIACEAE. III. CARPELS

Canright , James E. (Indiana U., Bloomington.) The comparative morphology and relationships of the Magnoliaceae. III. Carpels. Amer. Jour. Bot. 47(2): 145—155. Illus. 1960.–The morphology and vascular anatomy of the carpels of 49 species in 9 of the 10 genera of the Magnoliaceae are described. Assuming that the conduplicate carpel of Australasian species of Drimys (Winteraceae) represents the primitive condition, various carpellary modifications are indicated for the Magnoliaceae. These evolutionary spcializations from the basic type include: basal adnation, lateral concrescence, reduction in number of ovules, closure of the ventral suture, and localization of stigmatic areas. Among the examined species it was determined that carpels of the genera Elmerrillia and Manglietia retain the most primitive features, whereas those of the genus Liriodendron possess the most advanced. Comparisons are made with the gynoecia of related ranalean families, viz., Himantandraceae, Degeneriaceae and Annonaceae.     

NEW TAXONOMIC CRITERIA IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF CHLOROCOCCUM SPECIES. III. ISOZYME ANALYSIS1,2

Proteins of whole cell extracts from 16 Chlorococcum species and 3 Tetracystis species (formerly Chlorococcum) were analyzed for isozymes of nonspecific α-esterases, leucine aminopeptidase, and malate dehydrogenase using starch gel electrophoresis. Each species could be identified by the banding patterns. Chlorococcum species are heterogenous regarding the presence, number, electrophoretic mobility, concentration, and distribution of isozymes. The data are discussed in relation to current knowledge of each species. Taxonomic applications of algal isozymes are considered.     

STUDIES OF PACIFIC ISLAND PLANTS. XXVII. THE GENUS GARDENIA (RUBIACEAE) IN THE FIJIAN REGION

The genus Gardenia (Rubiaceae), noted for its beautiful and fragrant flowers, is widespread throughout the Old World tropics. In the Fijian Region it is represented by eleven indigenous species, of which eight are endemic to Fiji; an additional oriental species is occasionally found in cultivation. The taxonomic relationships and nomenclature of these species are discussed, and one new Fijian species, G. anapetes, is described.     

SOME PRYMNESIACEAE (HAPTOPHYTA,PRYMNESIOPHYCEAE) FROM THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA,WITH THE DESCRIPTION OF TWO NEW SPECIES: CHRYSOCHROMULINA LANCEOLATA SP. NOV. AND C. PSEUDOLANCEOLATA SP. NOV.1

Five species belonging to the family Prymnesiaceae (one Prymnesium and four Chrysochromulina) have been identified in cultures obtained from water collected in the Bay of Banyuls‐sur‐Mer (Mediterranean Sea, France) using LM, SEM, and TEM. Two are described as new species, Chrysochromulina lanceolata sp. nov. and C. pseudolanceolata sp. nov. Both species are large and lanceolate with an acute posterior and two anterior arms. They are easily detectable with LM but difficult to distinguish to species level with live cells, without experience. EM reveals two completely different scale patterns in the two species. Cells of C. lanceolata are 21–38 μm long, 7–12 μm wide, and 3–7 μm thick. They possess two subequal flagella (30–51 and 29–44 μm), and the haptonema is shorter than the flagella (23–37 μm). The cell body is covered by plate and spine scales. Cells of C. pseudolanceolata sp. nov. are slightly smaller (15–18 × 6–8 μm) with more rounded extremities, two subequal flagella (19–26 and 17–24 μm), and the haptonema is longer than the flagella (about 35 μm). Three types of plate scales are observed in this species. Other findings are C. alifera Parke et Manton and C. throndsenii Eikrem (a new record for the Mediterranean Sea). Prymnesium faveolatum Fresnel, a new toxic species recently described, is illustrated with both LM and SEM.     

STUDIES IN SOME FOLIOSE RED ALGAE OF THE PACIFIC COAST. III. DUMONTIACEAE,WEEKSIACEAE, KALLYMENIACEAE1

The female reproductive structures and their development, and the vegetative structure are studied in 17 species of red algae in the Cryptonemiales (Rhodophyceae). Three genera, Weeksia, Constantinea, and the type species of Leptocladia, are removed from the Dumontiaceae to a newly created family, the Weeksiaceae, because of differing postfertilization events leading to the development of the gonimoblast from a cell of the carpogonial branch. Three genera of Dumontiaceae are studied: Pikea, including P. californica, the type species, and Pikea robusta a newly described species; Dilsea californica, and a newly described species of Neodilsea, a genus heretofore known only from the northwestern Pacific. Two transfers are made from the genus Leptocladia, 1 to Farlowia, as F. conferta, and 1 to Rhodophyllis (Gigartinales) as R. peruviana. Three species in the Kallymeniaceae are redescribed: Kallymenia pacifica, a rare and nearly unknown species from southern California and adjacent Pacific Mexico; K. norrisii from central California; and K. oblongifructa from Washington, Oregon, and northern California.     

STUDIES IN THE QUERCUS UNDULATA COMPLEX. II. THE CONTRIBUTION OF QUERCUS TURBINELLA

Tucker , J. M. (U. California, Davis), W. P. Cottam , and R. Drobnick . Studies in the Quercus undulata complex. II. The contribution of Quercus turbinella. Amer. Jour. Bot. 48(4): 329–339. Illus. 1961.—Quercus undulata has been interpreted as a hybrid complex involving Q. gambelii and several other species, including Q. turbinella (Tucker, 1961). In the present paper, the total distribution of the hybrids between Q. gambelii and Q. turbinella is given. Lacking direct genetic evidence, proof of hybridity is sought in a demonstration of the morphological intermediacy of these putative hybrids. Population samples of both parental species, other samples containing hybrids, and numerous individual hybrids, are analyzed on the basis of 6 differences between the parental species. The data obtained, presented in the form of pictorialized scatter diagrams, clearly show the general intermediacy of the hybrids. Of the various binomials that have been applied to forms in the Q. undulata complex, Quercus pauciloba Rydb. applies to this hybrid. The appropriate change in status (Quercus × pauciloba Rydb.) is made.     

STUDIES IN THE QUERCUS UNDULATA COMPLEX. III. THE CONTRIBUTION OF Q. ARIZONICA

Tucker, J. M. (U. California, Davis.) Studies in the Quercus undulata complex. III. The contribution of Q. arizonica . Amer. Jour. Bot. 50(7): 699–708. Illus. 1903.—Of the 7 oak species involved in the Quercus undulata complex, Q. arizonica contributes the least of all. The latter has hybridized with Q. gambelii at a few widely separated localities (listed in Table 1) in central Arizona, and northern Sonora and Chihuahua, Mexico. The putative hybrids (identifiable as Quercus undulata) occur as isolated individuals with the parental species. The parents, although regionally sympatric, are usually ecologically isolated. They differ in a number of morphological characters, 6 of which were analyzed in detail. The resulting data, presented as pietorialized scatter diagrams, demonstrate that the putative hybrids are intermediate, in general. This is taken as evidence of their hybrid nature. Factors limiting hybridization in oaks are discussed. It is speculated that hybridization between Q. arizonica and Q. gambelii has occurred since the postglacial hypsithermal interval.     

MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY AND TAXONOMY OF THE AEGAGROPILA CLADE (CLADOPHORALES,ULVOPHYCEAE), INCLUDING THE DESCRIPTION OF AEGAGROPILOPSIS GEN. NOV. AND PSEUDOCLADOPHORA GEN. NOV.1

The Aegagropila clade represents a unique group of cladophoralean green algae occurring mainly in brackish and freshwater environments. The clade is sister to the species‐rich and primarily marine Cladophora and Siphonocladus lineages. Phylogenetic analyses of partial LSU and SSU nrDNA sequences reveal four main lineages within the Aegagropila clade, and allow a taxonomic reassessment. One lineage consists of two marine ‘Cladophora’ species, for which the new genus Pseudocladophora and the new family Pseudocladophoraceae are proposed. For the other lineages, the family name Pithophoraceae is reinstated. Within the Pithophoraceae, the earliest diverging lineage includes Wittrockiella and Cladophorella calcicola, occurring mainly in brackish and subaerial habitats. The two other lineages are restricted to freshwater. One of them shows a strong tendency for epizoism, and consists of Basicladia species and Arnoldiella conchophila. The other lineage includes Aegagropila, Pithophora and a small number of tropical ‘Cladophora’ species. The latter are transferred to the new genus Aegagropilopsis. Previously, polypyramidal pyrenoids had been suggested to be apomorphous for this clade, but we report the finding of both polypyramidal and bilenticular pyrenoids in members of the Pithophoraceae, and thus show that this character has no diagnostic value.     

1. BIRD-LIFE AT THE ORANGE RIVER MOUTH

Kalejta, B. 1993. Diets of shorebirds at the Berg River estuary, South Africa: spatial and temporal variation. Ostrich 64: 123–133.

The diets of three common migrant waders; Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea. Grey Plover Pluvialis-squatarola and Greenshank Tringa nebularia and three resident species, Blacksmith Vanellus armatus, Kittlitz's Charadrius pecuarius and Whitefronted Plovers C. marginatus, were studied at the Berg River estuary, South Africa from December 1987 to April 1989. Direct observations of feeding were combined with analyses of stomach contents, pellets and droppings. Nereid worms, Ceratonereis erythraeensis and C. keiskama, were the principal food of all species studied except Greenshanks, which fed mostly on crabs, Hymenosoma orbiculare. Despite considerable overlap in the diets of all bird species, there were differences in the size classes of nereids taken by different bird species. Visually-foraging plovers (Charadriidae) were highly selective, feeding on the largest nereids regardless of their abundance. Tactile foragers, represented by Curlew Sandpipers, were non-selective, and consumed different size-classes of worms in proportion to their abundance in the substratum. Seasonal variations in the diet of waders are linked to seasonal changes in the availability of prey species.     

CHROMOSOME NUMBERS IN THE LEGUMINOSAE. III. SPECIES OF THE SOUTHWESTERN UNITED STATES AND MEXICO

Turner, B. L., and Olin S. Fearing. (U. Texas, Austin.) Chromosome numbers in the Leguminosae. III. Species of the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Amer. Jour. Bot. 47(7) : 603–608. Illus. 1960.—Chromosome counts for 43 species of the Leguminosae from the southwestern United States and Mexico have been reported. These include first reports for 42 taxa of which 16 are for the subfamily Mimosoideae. Olneya tesota (2n = 18) is the only new generic count listed. Chromosome reports of particular significance include a single polyploid count for a North American species of Acacia, as well as diploid and tetraploid counts for closely related taxa in this genus. Four species of the genus Schrankia were found to be diploid with In = 26, indicating a base of x = 13 instead of the x = 8 reported by some previous workers. Leucaena pulverulenta was found to have a diploid count of 2n = 56 indicating a base of x = 14.