A New Coastal Species of Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) from Southeastern Spain

A new species, Limonium scopulorum (Plumbaginaceae), is described from the maritime cliffs of Alicante province, Spain (southeastern part of the Iberian Peninsula). This new taxon belongs to the group of Limonium delicatulum, which is highly diversified in the Mediterranean territories of the Iberian Peninsula. It is related to the Balearic species L. biflorum, though several leaf, floral and chromosomal features warrant its easy recognition. Molecular divergence, shown in previous studies, also supports its separate treatment. Major affinities and differences with other related taxa are discussed. Moreover, morphological, ecological, chorological, biogeographic features of the new taxon are discussed, and its conservation status is reported. An identification key is provided for Spanish taxa of the Limonium delicatulum group.     

新疆拟橙衣属地衣研究

报道新疆拟橙衣属地衣的6个分类单位。其中南方拟橙衣Fulgensia australis,荒漠拟橙衣F.desertorum和苔生拟橙衣F.schistidii为中国新记录种。在形态学、解剖学、化学及生态学方面对它们进行了简短的论述。此外,还提供了形态特征和内部解剖特征照片以及新疆种类的分种检索表。研究所用的标本采自托木尔峰、铁力买提达坂、阿尔金山和准葛尔盆地等,保存于新疆大学生命科学与技术学院地衣标本室。     

A new species and two new combinations of Leontodon (Asteraceae, Hypochoeridinae)

Leontodon palisiae sp. nov. occurring in the Iberian Peninsula, Morocco and the Canary Islands is described and illustrated. Cytological data as well as some preliminary results of self-incompatibility tests in L. palisiae are presented. A comparative carpological study of L. muelleri, L. palisiae and L. salzmannii using the SEM is made, and an identification key of these three species is provided. Two new combinations, L. muelleri ssp. trivialis comb. nov., from Morocco, and L. kralikii comb. nov., from Libya and Tunisia, are proposed. All taxa belong to the series Annui of sect. Kalbfussia in subgenus Oporinia. The basic chromosome number x=5 is here reported for the first time within the genus.     

Revision of Launaea Cass. (Compositae) in Egypt with special references to cypselar diversity

A systematic revision for the species of Launaea Cass. in Egypt has revealed the presence of fourteen taxa belonging to 12 species, of which L. acanthodes (Boiss.) Kuntze is a new recorded. One new combination “L. fragilis subsp. tenuiloba (Boiss.) Zareh & Mohamed” is made. Achene diversity of the studied taxa of Launaea was studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. The taxonomic relationships between the studied taxa were discussed as well as SEM micrographs of achenes are provided. Synonyms and key for the identification of the investigated taxa based on morphological characters as well as notes on distribution are provided.     

The relevance of bryophytes in the macrophyte-based reference conditions in Portuguese rivers

The identification of macrophyte reference communities represents a significant challenge in Mediterranean zones, where few aquatic taxa exist compared to other regions of the world. In the highly seasonal rivers of Portugal, we explored the contribution of bryophytes to enhance the compositional and ecological characterization of reference conditions. We performed partitioning, classification, and ordination analyses and obtained eight groups of bryophytic assemblages explained by water availability and quality. Groups A, B, and H assemblages are type-specific of the inland areas of the northern eco-region, reflecting the neutral minerotrophic currents with summer low currents. Groups C and D are type-specific of acidic oligotrophic shifting currents dependent of precipitation events in the mountainous streams of the North Atlantic eco-region. Groups E, F, and G are widespread in continental northern, central, and southern zones in neutral and highly mineralized watercourses with seasonal dryness. We propose bryophytes as a tool in the characterization of the reference conditions for two main reasons: (i) many of the recorded taxa are capable of withstanding the natural seasonal desiccation, and (ii) the type-specific bryophytes have perennial life-strategies and can be assessed at any time of year as a support for other type-specific macrophytes in compositional assessments of reference conditions.     

地黄属（Rehmannia）和崖白菜属（Triaenophora）植物的叶表皮形态特征

利用扫描电子显微镜对车前科(P lantaginaceae)地黄属(Rehmannia)和崖白菜属(Triaenophora)8种植物成熟叶片的背面进行了观察。地黄属和崖白菜属的气孔都突出于叶表面,气孔类型均为无规则型;毛被有2种类型,即单列多细胞疏柔毛 单列多细胞腺毛和单列多细胞棉毛 单列多细胞腺毛。气孔和毛被在种间无明显的差异,不能作为分种依据,但毛被在属间具有明显的差异,具有一定的属间分类意义。     

Floristic notes from Crete

TURLAND, N. J., 1992. Floristic notes from Crete. Phytogeographical and ecological notes are given for 24 taxa of vascular plants occurring on the south Aegean island of Crete. These cover infrequent, localized and endemic species and include five new records: Daphne gnidioides, D.jasminea, Fraxinus ornus, Hemarthria altissima and Teline monspessulana. The occurrence of Orobanche lavandulacea and Ranunculus velutinus is confirmed. A second site is reported for the extremely rare endemic Convolvulus argyrothamnos and additional sites for a number of other localized endemics are provided.     

The Miocene peat-forming vegetation of northwestern Germany: an analysis of wood remains and comparison with previous palynological interpretations

New methods of sampling, preparing and identifying fossil wood fragments preserved in browncoal are presented and used to aid in reconstructions of the vegetation from the Miocene Lower Rhine Basin (Germany). The technique involves laboratory charring wood specimens followed by routine identification with reflected light microscopy. Problems concerning the taxonomic identification of the fossil wood are discussed. A list of taxa is presented for the Garzweiler Seam and the implications for reconstructing the Miocene palaeoenvironment are discussed with reference to ecological comparisons of extant taxa: the nearest living relative approach. Results indicate a dominance of conifer wood types, mostly representing members of the Taxodiaceae and Cupressaceae; extensive sampling is required of both small (macroscopic) and large fragments to obtain results comparable with palynological assemblages. Up to now, twenty-one taxa of gymnosperms and angiosperms have been recognized from the Garzweiler seam. Data obtained are compared with those from pollen analysis and corroborate the previously identified trend consisting of increasing concentrations of Taxodium towards the upper section of the seam.     

地黄属(Rehmannia)和崖白菜属(Triaenophora)植物的叶表皮形态特征

利用扫描电子显微镜对车前科(P lantaginaceae)地黄属(Rehmannia)和崖白菜属(Triaenophora)8种植物成熟叶片的背面进行了观察。地黄属和崖白菜属的气孔都突出于叶表面,气孔类型均为无规则型;毛被有2种类型,即单列多细胞疏柔毛+单列多细胞腺毛和单列多细胞棉毛+单列多细胞腺毛。气孔和毛被在种间无明显的差异,不能作为分种依据,但毛被在属间具有明显的差异,具有一定的属间分类意义。     

Sentinel Nematodes of Land-Use Change and Restoration in Tallgrass Prairie

Changes in land use and the associated changes in land cover are recognized as the most important component of human-induced global change. Much attention has been focused on deforestation, but grasslands are among the most endangered ecosystems on Earth. The North American tallgrass prairie is a dramatic example, exhibiting a greater than 95% decline in historical area. Renewed interest in prairie conservation and restoration has highlighted the need for ecological indicators of disturbance and recovery in native systems, including the belowground component. The tallgrass prairie differs from the agricultural systems that have replaced it in having greater diversity and heterogeneity of resources, less physical soil disturbance (although other disturbances, such as fire and grazing, are prominent), and greater nitrogen limitation. Understanding the responses of nematode taxa to these characteristic differences is crucial to the development and improvement of community indices, but while knowledge of disturbance responses by individual taxa is accumulating, the level of necessary taxonomic resolution remains in question. Although nematode communities generally are better described for temperate grasslands than for other natural ecosystems, identification of sentinel taxa is further confounded by high levels of diversity, and both spatial and temporal heterogeneity.     

Birds of the late neopleistocene of the middle Yenisei River, based on the material from Elenev Cave

The study of 14100 bone specimens of birds from the Neopleistocene sandy beds of the well-known archeological site Elenev Cave of the Middle Yenisei near Krasnoyarsk resulted in the identification of 68 taxa to species and six to genus. Taphonomic, avifaunal, and paleoecological analyses of the material are provided. A complex assemblage dominated by tundra and forest species is recognized. The data obtained provides the most complete characteristics of the dynamics of the Yenisei avifauna of southern Siberia from the terminal Neopleistocene to Holocene, after degradation of periglacial tundra-steppes.     

The two-horned chamaeleons of East Africa

There have been numerous attempts to resolve the taxonomy of the two-horned chamaeleons of East Africa. However, the high levels of intraspecific variation and reported sympatry of morphologically distinct taxa indicate that their current classification is unsatisfactory. Tissue samples were collected from specimens from most mountain massifs (excluding the Nguu) where two-horned chamaeleons are known to occur and were used to sequence partial 12S and 16S rRNA, as well as ND2 mtDNA genes. These specimens and further museum material were used to review morphological variation and to define discriminating characters for each taxon. Phylogenetic analyses of gene sequences show clear genetic divergence between allopatric populations, although two lineages occur in sympatry in the East Usambara Mountains, and is supported by divergent morphology. In light of these results a formal revision of the taxonomy of all East African two-horned chamaeleons is proposed and seven species are recognized ( Kinyongia boehmei , K. fischeri , K. matschiei , K. multituberculata , K. tavetana , K. uluguruensis and K. vosseleri ). These taxa form a monophyletic group except for K. uluguruensis , which seems to be more closely related to one-horned species. Most of these taxa have been previously described and subsequently reduced to synonyms. Two other previously described two-horned taxa are not recognized as valid: Chamaeleo tornieri is considered species inquiriendae , and C. fischeri werneri is placed in synonymy with K. multituberculata . A dichotomous key is provided for the identification of these taxa and some aspects of their conservation, ecology and evolutionary origins are also discussed.  © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2008, 152 , 367–391.     

Lichens of Barla Mountain in Isparta,Turkey: Diversity study and ecological assessment of the area

This study reports on 230 infrageneric lichenized and lichenicolous taxa from Barla Mountain, Isparta, Turkey and assesses the ecological features of the area using the distribution of the lichens in the region and their poleophoby and solar irradiation ecological indicator values. One lichenized fungus, Protoblastenia terricola, and one lichenicolous fungus, Zwackhiomyces dispersus, are recorded as new in Turkey and 194 taxa are reported for the first time from Barla Mountain. After this research, number of the lichenized and lichenicolous fungi taxa of Barla Mountain rose to 241. Based on assessments using the ecological indicator values, the area is dominated by natural or semi-natural and well-preserved habitats.