Four new species Of Mexican Castilleja (subgenus Castilleja,Scrophulariaceae) and their relatives

Castilleja subgenusCastilleja in the northern half of Mexico consists of nine species, which are treated here. The subgenus is characterized by a conspicuously colored calyx that is much more deeply cleft in front (abaxially) than in back (adaxially).Castilleja rhizomata,C. linifolia,C. mcvaughii, andC. pterocaulon are described as new, and are illustrated and mapped. The first three are compared toC. patriotica and C.tenuiflora, their closest relatives in the Tenuiflorae group, and the fourth is compared toC. ortegae, with which it constitutes the Ortegae group.Castilleja roei andC. tenuifolia of the Epichroma group are included in order to complete the census of subgenusCastilleja as encountered in the region of the new species. A key to the nine species of subgenusCastilleja from the northern half of Mexico is provided.     

Castilleja chambersii (Scrophulariaceae), a new rare species from the northern Coast Range of Oregon

Castilleja chambersii is described from several collections made in the Coast Range of southwestern Clatsop County, Oregon. The new species is a member of subgenusCastilleja and is most closely related toC. parviflora andC. rupicola. This rare species is known from only three small and geographically restricted populations. Two new meiotic chromosome counts ofn=12 are reported for the new species.     

Cissus xerophila (Vitaceae), a new species from the xerophytic vegetation of northeastern Minas Gerais, Brazil

A new species of Vitaceae is described and illustrated:Cissus xerophila, a simple-leaved species similar toC. verticillata (L.) Nicolson & C. E. Jarvis and related species. A key to the group in South America is presented.     

A contribution to the taxonomy of Piptadenia (Mimosaceae) in South America

Four new species ofPiptadenia are described:P. anolidurus (from Amazonian Ecuador, Peru and Brazil),P. buchtienii (from trans-Andean Bolivia),P. cuzcoënsis (from southern Peru), andP. imatacae (from Venezuelan Guayana); andP. adiantoides var.peruviana J. F. Macbr. is raised in rank toP. peruviana. In relation toP. imatacae the transfer ofP. uaupensis Benth. andP. floribunda Kleinhoonte toAdenopodia Presl is shown to be ill-advised. The affinities of each new species are discussed and critical characters are illustrated.Mimosa tessmanii Harms is newly synonymized withP. uaupensis.

     

Calathea maasiorum (Marantaceae), a new species from French Guiana and Surinam

Calathea maasiorum from French Guiana and Surinam is described as new. It belongs toCalathea sectionBreviscapus Bentham. The foliage is patterned with a light green band along the midrib above. This new species has previously been confused withC. cyclophora Baker from Amazonian Colombia, Brazil, Venezuela, and Guyana but it is distinguished fromC. cyclophora by the absence of bracteoles, the elliptic to obovate leaf blade, and shorter (1–2 cm long) bracts.     

A new species of Cestrum (Solanaceae) from the Cordillera de Mérida, Venezuela

A new species ofCestrum from the Cordillera de Mérida in Trujillo state is described and illustrated.Cestrum darcyanum, morphologically similar toC. microcalyx Francey, is distinguished by dendritic pubescence on its branchlets and leaves, larger corolla, stamens distended and geniculate above their point of adnation to the corolla, and larger calyx. A key is provided for species of VenezuelanCestrum possessing dendritic pubescence.     

Materials for the rust flora of Japan VI

Ten rust species are reported with new information on range of distribution and host relations. Among these,Puccinia fagopyricola andUromyces junci were new to Japan, andAecidium araliae was newly found in northern Honshu. Additional collections were made ofBlastospora smilacis, Puccinia malvacearum andP. orbicula in northern Honshu. New hosts were added toColeosporium solidaginis, C. tussilaginis, Phragmidium miyakeanum andPuccinia caricis, and a new Japanese host toPuccinia malvacearum.V: Trans. Mycol. Soc. Japan29: 471–478, 1988.     

Jacquinia pauciflora (Theophrastaceae), a new species from Puerto Rico

A new species,Jacquinia pauciflora, is described from subtropical moist forest on karst hills (mogotes) in northwestern Puerto Rico.Jacquinia pauciflora is similar toJ. stenophylla Urban, from which it differs in several floral and leaf characters, but is possibly most closely related toJ. umbellata A. DC. A key to the species ofJacquinia occurring in Puerto Rico is provided.     

Jaltomata II: new combinations for five South American species (Solanaceae)

The following species, originally described in the genusSaracha Ruiz & Pav., are transferred toJaltomata, in accordance with contemporary generic boundaries.Jaltomata auriculata (Miers) Mione is distributed from Venezuela to Peru;J. contorta (Ruiz & Pav.) Mione andJ. diversa (J. F. Macbr.) Mione both occur in Peru;J. herrerae (C. V. Morton) Mione is distributed in Peru and Bolivia;J. nitida (Bitter) Mione occurs in Venezuela.     

Coccothrinax torrida (Arecaceae), a new species from southeastern Cuba

A new palm species,Coccothrinax torrida, endemic to a karst hill of semidesert southeastern Cuba, is described and illustrated. The new species is small sized, related toC. pauciramosa, and is characterized by the following features: narrow semiorbicular flat leaves that are covered on the adaxial surface by white wax; a small irregular palman; long and erect inflorescences; and small, white, smooth fruits.     

Two new species of Ophiocaryon (Sabiaceae) from South America

Ophiocaryon barnebyanum from the Serra da Neblina (Venezuelan-Brazilian border) andO. neillii from southern Ecuador are described and illustrated, and their morphological relationships with allied spcies are discussed.Ophiocaryon barnebyanum is morphologically similar toO. duckei, but it differs by its larger leaves, leaflets, petioles, petiolules, and inflorescences, the higher number of secondary veins, and the ciliate sepals.Ophiocaryon neillii is a small tree related toO. klugii but differs by its smaller leaflets, petiolules and inflorescences, fewer secondary veins, lanceolate-acuminate sepals, and orbicular staminodes. An updated key to the species ofOphiocaryon is provided.     

Craniometrical variations among eastern Brazilian marmosets and their systematic relationships

The craniometrical variations among marmosets on the eastern coast of Brazil or theCallithrix jacchus group (C. jacchus, C. penicillata, C. kuhli, C. geoffroyi, C. flaviceps, andC. aurita) were analyzed to test various hypotheses for the arrangement of the species and phylogenetic relationships ofC. kuhli andC. flaviceps. Q-mode correlation coefficients and principal component analysis were employed to extract important shape factors from the craniometrical data. On this basis, the shape distances among the eastern Brazilian marmosets were found to be larger than those between the marmosets which are recognized as distinct species. This evidence supports the hypothesis that the members of theC. jacchus group are distinct species.C. kuhli shows the strongest resemblance toC. geoffroyi within theC. jacchus group.C. flaviceps is the most similar toC. aurita in its cranial shape. These findings indicate thatC. kuhli is most closely related toC. geoffroyi, whileC. flaviceps is toC. aurita.     

Genetic polymorphism of serum complement components in the chimpanzee

Significant polymorphism of serum complement components Bf, C2, C3, C6, and C8 in the chimpanzee has been demonstrated. The data are consistent with the hypothesis thatC2 andBf are closely linked toChLA and argue against close linkage ofChLA toC3 or toC8, as in man. In addition, a blank allele for C6 and C6 deficiency was detected in several chimps.     

Isolation and potential cancer chemopreventive activities of phenolic compounds of beer

Beer contains a variety of phenolic compounds. During the brewing process, some of these compounds are removed by polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) to prevent haze formation. We have analyzed the phytochemical composition of a PVPP residue as well as of unstabilized beer and isolated a total of 51 compounds. Eight structures were identified as novel, i.e., 2-(4′-hydroxyphenyl)-3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (6), 2′-(4″-hydroxyphenyl)isoferulic acid ester (12), 1,2,5,7-tetrahydroxyanthraquinone (23) and 4,7-dihydroxy-5-(2′,4′,6′-trihydroxyphenyl)-indan-1,2-dione (24) from the PVPP residue, and catechin-7-O-β-(6″-O-nicotinoyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (41), ent-epigallo-catechin-(4αto8, 2αtoOto7)catechin (44), ent-epigallocatechin (4αto6, 2αtoOto7)catechin (45) and 2,3-cis-3,4-trans-2-[2,3-trans-3,3′,4′,5,7-pentahydroxyflavan-8-yl]-4-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)3,5,7-trihydroxybenzopyran (46) from the unstabilized beer. Most of the compounds were tested for potential cancer chemopreventive activities in in vitro test systems detecting a modulation of carcinogen metabolism (inhibition of phase 1 cytochrome P450 1A (Cyp1A) activity, induction of NAD(P)H:quinone oxidoreductase (QR) activity) and anti-inflammatory mechanisms (inhibition of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-mediated induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), inhibition of cyclooxygenase 1 (Cox-1) activity). 1,2,5,7-Tetrahydroxyanthraquinone (23) and xanthohumol (25), a prenylated chalcone derived from hop, were identified as the most potent compounds and were additionally tested for inhibition of chemically-induced preneoplastic lesions in an ex vivo mouse mammary gland organ culture model (MMOC). Importantly, both agents inhibited lesion formation with halfmaximal inhibitory concentrations (IC₅₀) of 0.1 and 0.02 μM, respectively. Our results demonstrate that beer is an interesting source of potential cancer chemopreventive agents and should be further investigated with this respect. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Two new species of Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae) from Brazil and Peru

Aristolochia dalyi, from western Peruvian and Brazilian Amazonia, andA. bahiensis, from Bahia, Brazil, are described and illustrated. The species belong toAristolochia ser.Thyrsicae andA. ser.Hexandrae subser.Anthocaulicae, respectively. A key to the eight western Amazonian species of the seriesThyrsicae is presented.Aristolochia dalyi closely resemblesA. silvatica Barb. Rodr. from the Río Negro basin, andA. bahiensis—the first cauliflorous species ofAristolochia known from the Mata Atlantica—is similar toA. guentheri O. C. Schmidt andA. klugii O. C. Schmidt, from the Western Amazon basin. Characters based primarily on the perianth shape, along with some vegetative features, are used to distinguish the two newly described species from their close relatives.

---

Resumen   Aristolochia dalyi, del occidente de la amazonía peruana y brasilera, yA. bahiensis, del estado de Acre, en Brasil, son descritas e ilustradas. Las especies pertenecen aAristolochia ser.Thyrsicae yA. ser.Hexandrae subser.Anthocaulicae respectivamente.Aristolochia dalyi es incluída en una clave para diferenciarla de las especies de la serieThyrsicae presentes en la Amazonía occidental, y resulta ser similar aA. silvatica Barb. Rodr, propia de la cuenca del río Negro; por su parte,A. bahiensis, hasta ahora la única especie deAristolochia cauliflora hallada en la Mata Atlántica, es similar aA. guentheri O. C. Schmidt yA. klugii O. C. Schmidt, propias del occidente de la cuenca amazónica. Los caracteres diagnósticos de las nuevas especies se basan principlalmente en la forma del perianto, aunque algunas diferencias vegetativas son también reconocidas.

     

Detection of anti-<Emphasis Type="Italic">Candida</Emphasis> antibodies in neonates from a neonatal intensive care unit

Anti-Candida antibodies were determined in a group of preterm neonates from a neonatal intensive care unit with serious diseases including candidemia. Antibodies toC. albicans blastospores,i.e. antibodies toC. albicans surface mannan and toC. albicans germ tubes were detected. Higher titers of antibodies to blastospores (1:320) occurred in all patients examined while antibodies toC. albicans germ tubes (with the highest titer of 1:160) were present in 32 out of 66 neonates examined. The highest titers of both anti-C. albicans blastospore antibodies and anti-C. albicans germ tube antibodies were detected in neonates with candidemia and disorders of saccharide metabolism.     

Mitracarpus longicalyx (Rubiaceae, Spermacoceae), a new species from northeastern Brazil

Mitracarpus longicalyx is here described and illustrated from sandy areas of the caatingas of northeastern Brazil. The new species is similar toM. hirtus andM. megapotamicus.     

A new orchid from Saül,French Guiana: Epidendrum oldemanii

A new species in theEpidendrum difforme complex is described and illustrated,E. oldemanii. Closely related toE. amapense, E. oldemanii is distinguished by the absence of a midlobe to the labellum.