Plant endemism in two forests in southern Bahia, Brazil

An important factor in determining species rarity is the geographic distribution of species. Estimates were made of the level of endemism of the flora of two sites in the southern Bahian wet forest zone. Estimates were made for endemism in the Atlantic forest biome and for the much more restricted area of southern Bahia and northern Espi´rito Santo and are derived from analyses of the distributions of the species known from each area. The species checklist for each area is based on identified specimens resulting from intensive collecting in a forest near Serra Grande (40km north of Ilhe´us) and the Una Biological Reserve (40km south of Ilhe´us). Slightly less than half of the species (45.2% at Una and 47.7% at Serra Grande) have widespread distributions and 7.4% at each site are disjunct between the coastal forests and Amazonia. In the Una Reserve, 44.1% of the species are endemic to the coastal forest and 28.1% endemic to southern Bahia and northern Espi´rito Santo. At Serra Grande, 41.6% of the species are endemic to the coastal forest and 26.5% endemic to southern Bahia and northern Espi´rito Santo.     

Spatial analyses of the phylogenetic diversity of Minaria (Apocynaceae): assessing priority areas for conservation in the Espinhaço Range,Brazil

The protection of areas that shelter high evolutionary diversity represented by geographically and phylogenetically isolated lineages is becoming an important conservation strategy. Nevertheless, the spatial distribution of this component of biodiversity is still unknown for most groups, which limits its application for selecting priority areas to conserve. In the present study, we reconstructed the phylogeny of Minaria (Apocynaceae) based on plastid (trnH-psbA, rps16, trnS-trnG and trnD-trnT) and nuclear (ITS and ETS) DNA markers and 34 morphological characters, and analysed the geographic distribution of the phylogenetic diversity (PD) and endemism (PE) in this genus. Minaria includes 21 species that are highly concentrated in the Espinhaço Range, in eastern Brazil, most of which (～75%) are narrowly distributed. The spatial analyses of PD and PE of Minaria indicate four evolutionary relevant areas in this region. The Serra do Cipó and the Diamantina Plateau contain 10 endemic species and present the highest levels of PD. However, the two other areas also deserve special attention. Rio de Contas has high levels of PE, because of two endemic sister species that represent a phylogenetically isolated lineage and the Southern Espinhaço Range houses the most critically endangered species of the genus. Most endemic species of Minaria occur in vegetation islands on rocky outcrops (campos rupestres). These low-fuel areas are less susceptible to fire, suggesting that the Espinhaço Range has served as a historical refuge for fire-sensitive lineages. Our results suggest that conservation units in the Espinhaço Range cover a great proportion of the evolutionary diversity of Minaria and that fire management is probably an important strategy to preserve this endemic biodiversity.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Luetzelburgia</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leguminosae</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papilionoideae</Emphasis>) from the caatinga of Bahia,Brazil and an identification key to all species of the genus

Three new species of the Brazilian genus Luetzelburgia Harms (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae, Sophoreae sensu lato (Vataireoid clade)) are described and illustrated under the names Luetzelburgia harleyi D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima, L. neurocarpa D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima and L. purpurea D. Cardoso, L. P. Queiroz &; H. C. Lima. All three occur in the caatinga vegetation of the State of Bahia, Eastern Brazil. A discussion of the morphological characters distinguishing the new species from their close relatives, as well as an identification key to all known species of Luetzelburgia, are presented.     

植物的特有现象与生物多样性

特有现象是生物多样性的依据,多样性是特有现象的体现,特圾现象是种系分化的结果,特有现象的成因是多方面的,包括地貌因子、土壤因子、气候因子、边缘效应、海洋岛屿隔离以及自然杂交。全球各大的自然条件的多样性,促成了各大陆各异的特有现象和生物多样性,生物多样性是生命运动的属性,它是在系统发育过程中发展壮大的,因此,它的发展有生的,既具有普遍性,又具有特殊性,保护生物多样性是当前的迫切任务。     

山东植物区系中的特有现象

对山东植物区系中的特有现象进行了初步研究。全省共有５３个特有种,可分为４种分布式样即全省布型、鲁中南－山东半岛间断分布型、鲁中南山地分布和山东半岛分布型;提出了山东植物区的两个特有现象中心,即崂山昆嵛山中心和泰山蒙山中心,并初步探讨了其形成原因。     

Phylogenetic endemism: a new approach for identifying geographical concentrations of evolutionary history

We present a new, broadly applicable measure of the spatial restriction of phylogenetic diversity, termed phylogenetic endemism (PE). PE combines the widely used phylogenetic diversity and weighted endemism measures to identify areas where substantial components of phylogenetic diversity are restricted. Such areas are likely to be of considerable importance for conservation. PE has a number of desirable properties not combined in previous approaches. It assesses endemism consistently, independent of taxonomic status or level, and independent of previously defined political or biological regions. The results can be directly compared between areas because they are based on equivalent spatial units. PE builds on previous phylogenetic analyses of endemism, but provides a more general solution for mapping endemism of lineages. We illustrate the broad applicability of PE using examples of Australian organisms having contrasting life histories: pea-flowered shrubs of the genus Daviesia (Fabaceae) and the Australian species of the Australo-Papuan tree frog radiation within the family Hylidae.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Allamanda calcicola</Emphasis> (Apocynaceae), an overlooked new species from limestone outcrops in the States of Minas Gerais and Bahia,Brazil

Summary   Allamanda calcicola Souza-Silva & Rapini, an overlooked new species endemic to the limestone outcrops along the S?o Francisco River Basin, in south-western Bahia and northern Minas Gerais, Brazil, is described and illustrated. It was confused with A. martii and A. schottii, two species from eastern Brazil, which (along with A. polyantha) form a different complex of closely related species. However, A. calcicola is more closely related to A. puberula, another species from the semi-arid region of Brazil.     

Endemism in the Flora of China—Studies on the Endemic Genera

China, under highly varied ecological conditions resulted from wide latitudinal and altitudinal ranges and from the adequate precipitation, has developed avery rich flora of great diversity. As far as flowering plants are concerned, there are2980 genera, 214 of which, belonging to 64 families, are endemic. Among these endemic genera, there are 9 genera of taxads and conifers, 19 genera of monocots andothers of dicots. Of the approximately 129 herbaceous endemic genera in the Chineseflora as a whole, about 22 (17%) are annual and 107 (83%) are biennial or perennial.In the present paper the ecological distribution, the nature of endemic genera and thecenters of endemism are discussed. 1. Three types of endemic genera are distinguished, neoendemics, palaeoendemicsand active epibiotics, The endemic genera in the flora of China are, for the most part, considered to be very old ones, and most of them are of temperate nature. 2. the degree of endemism in our 22 floristic regions is shown in Figure 1. Theareas richest in endemic genera in the Chinese flora as a whole are the 13, 16 and 17regions. The poorest are the 2, 4, 9 and 10 regions, and no one in the 1 and 3 regionsThese results on floristic richness are of general applicability. As shown in table 1, the difference in the degree of endemism among the sevenChinese floristic subkingdoms are most pronounced. 101 endemic genera are knownto occur in one subkingdom, 72 to occur in two subkingdoms, and 3 to occur in foursubkingdoms, only one genus widely distributed in five subkingdoms. However, thereis no genus occurring in seven subkingdoms. The difference in the degree of endemismin each subkingdom reveals that the distribution of endemic genera is not well-distributed in the Chinese flora as a whole. Analysis of the vertical distribution of the 200 endemic genera of the Chineseflora bears out that there is no evident increase in endemism as a whole with altitude. 3. Three centers of endemism are found (Fig. 2). These are as follows: a). Eastern Sichuan-western Hubei center. b). Southeastern Yunnan-western Guangxi center. c). Western Sichuan-northwestern Yunnan center. The degree of endemism andcharacters of endemic genera in each center are discussed.     

Chemical constituents of Brazilian Propolis from the state of Bahia and their growth inhibitory activities against cancer cells

A novel 2-phenoxychromone (1) and five known flavones (2-6) were isolated from northeastern Brazilian propolis in the state of Bahia. The chemical structures of these six compounds were determined by spectroscopic investigations and single-crystal X-ray analysis. The isolated compounds showed growth-inhibitory activities, in varying degrees, against human tumor cell lines. This is the first report on the discovery of a novel 2-phenoxychromone from propolis.