Showing papers in "Economic Botany in 1979"

Uses and potential uses of leguminous trees for minimal energy input agriculture

Abstract: Leguminous tree orchards are proposed as an agricultural system requiring minimal input of fossil fuel, machinery, and capital. Legume orchards fix nitrogen, require neither tillage nor irrigation, and, potentially, provide large yields of nutritious pods. Further, our analytical data show seed protein contents ranging from 16 to 69 percent, with one species having an amino acid profile superior to that of casein.

Water hyacinth (eichhornia crassipes) productivity and harvesting studies

Abstract: Water hyacinth growth rates were monitored from May through October in two sewage lagoons with different nutrient loading rates. The lagoon receiving the heaviest load sustained the highest average growth rates throughout the summer. The lightly loaded lagoon averaged a 29% increase in weight per week over the six month period with the highest growth rate occuring during June with an average weekly weight gain of 71%. The heavily loaded lagoon sustained an average growth rate of 46% per week for the same six month period with the highest measured growth rate of 73% increase in weight per week also occuring in June. In addition, the performance of three harvesters was evaluated. One harvester, consisting of a chopper and conveyor, was capable of picking up and chopping approximately 2.3 t of plants per hour and delivering them to a waiting truck. The second harvester was a single 1.52 m (5 ft) wide conveyor, and the third one was a modified clamshell bucket attached to a dragline. The average harvesting rate of each of these harvesters was approximately 9.3 t of water hyacinths per hour.

Literature review and numerical taxonomy of Eragrostis tef (T’ef)

Abstract: Eragrostis tef (Zucc.) Trotter is a native Ethiopian cereal. It was recently classified into 35 cultivars which are united into 6 complexes based on inflorescence morphology, grain color, time to maturity and uses. These complexes do not show ecogeographic unity, and they cross ethnological boundaries. Thirty-nine collections of t’ef were studied in biosystematic detail, and compared withE. aethiopica Chiov. andE. pilosa (L.) Beauv., two putative ancestors of the cereal. The latter species is morphologically variable but closely allied to E. tef. Three morphologically distinct complexes are recognized within the cereal. The ethnological significance of these complexes of t’ef is not clear.

Chewing Stick Usage in Southern Ghana

Abstract: Results are presented from a survey in which a sample of 887 people living in southern Ghana were questioned as to the chewing sticks they use, reasons for choice, and whether sticks are collected or bought. It appears that four kinds of sticks account for more than 85% of the total usage. Differences were recorded in preferred species and in diversity of species used, reason for choice and source of supply, according to age, sex, ethnic origin, size of settlement and educational background.

Amazonian oil palms of promise: a survey

Abstract: A general discussion of the literature, and descriptions of 25 species and their products - mostly oil, used for food, drink, fodder, soap, cosmetics and industrial applications. Other uses include leaves for thatch, fibre, cordage and wax, extracted starch for sago, and trunks for posts and bridges.

Medicinal plants of Nepal — retrospects and prospects

Abstract: The major portion of the local population which is economically depressed is scattered in different hill terrains, which are beyond the normal mode of approach Sometimes it takes days to reach remote corners of the country, where the usual supply of allopathic medicine is out of the question Due to increasing export demand, dependence of the local people on the herbal flora and their implicit faith in the old tradition of Ayurvedic medicine would go a long way in exploiting the wild plants for commercial return and in expanding research activities to gain productive results

Diseases of maize in the wet lowland tropics and the collapse of the Classic Maya civilization

Abstract: The Classic Maya civilization was centered in lowlands of the Peten in northern Guatemala, and collapsed mysteriously in the ninth century AD. Abandoned were rich agricultural lands carved without metal tools out of a tropical rain forest, lands that had been farmed with increasing intensity for six to sixteen centuries. The Maya evidently resettled in highlands to the south or in less productive dry lowlands to the north. No reoccupation occurred of the Peten farms, homes or ceremonial centers until their discovery in the past two centuries. Sustained crop failure of maize (Zen mavs L.) due to an epidemic of the planthopper-borne virus, maize mosaic virus (MMV), is proposed as a primary contributing cause of the collapse. Major diseases and pests of maize in the tropics are assessed for their relative significance in and near the Peten vs. the highlands, and the viruses are highlighted. Maize mosaic virus is a devastating virus disease transmitted by the corn planthopper,Peregrinus maidis, an insect restricted to tropic lowlands. Maize and teosinte are its only definitively known hosts. Thus the disease has been serious only where maize is grown more-or-less continuously through the year in wet or irrigated tropics (e.g., Caribbean Islands, Venezuela, Hawaii, Tanzania, Australia). It is reported here for southern Mexico and the Peten of Guatemala. Resistance in maize occurs only in one known form, the gene Mv. that confers a high level resistance but not immunity. Resistance data are presented for 63 of the 67 races of maize thought to have evolved in the Northern Hemisphere. The Mv gene is shown to occur in all seven of the races of maize evolved in the Caribbean, but in none of the primitive Mexican or Central American races. It is proposed that maize mosaic virus originated in northern South America at or about the time maize was brought into the Caribbean by the Arawak around the time of Christ. The sympatric origin or selection in maize of the Mv resistance mutant in this region is assumed to have led to its incorporation in all seven Caribbean maize races. It is conjectured that viruliferous leafhoppers were blown from the Caribbean into the Peten around the eighth century allowing the disease to become epidemic in susceptible maize races such as Nal-Tel and Tepecintle, grown by the Peten Maya. Sustained failure of maize production due to MMV would have characterized areas of intensive maize cultivation, particularly where it was year-round. The disease would have been less severe in areas with a long dry season, as to the north of Yucatan and it would not have occurred in the highland areas to the south and west, areas to which surviving Maya presumably migrated.

Seed dispersal in relation to the domestication of Middle East Legumes

Abstract: Modification of seed dispersal was perhaps one of the most important steps towards domestication of seed crops. Among the legumes of the Middle East, four patterns of such modification can be distinguished in the process of domestication. The initial stage of domestication of lentil, pea and grass pea was apparently due to a single mutation in a major gene that prevented pod dehiscente. In chick pea the domesticated type was formed by accumulation of several mutations in minor genes that reduced the amount of pod dropping and shattering. From a seed dispersal point of view, fenugreek was preadapted to cultivation since the wild species do not shatter their seeds. In the bitter vetch and common vetch partial seed shattering apparently was tolerable and desirable under cultivation since the seed served merely for sowing the next year crop.

Some indigenous plants used domestically by east african coastal fishermen

Abstract: In a previous paper (Weiss, 1973), I examined several indigenous plants used by local fishermen on the East African coast to obtain a livelihood Any use mentioned therein has not been repeated here In this paper I have endeavored to determine some of the plants used in the everyday life of coastal people The list is not intended to be complete, and it is hoped that the gaps will be filled by more exact surveys The information was gained during visits to the coast over many years, 1950-66, and involved discussions with a variety of local people, many of whom became old friends Sadly many of them are now dead, often without passing on their knowledge to the young, mainly because the latter are not interested It has thus become increasingly difficult to establish the actual usage of a plant, or ingredient of a mixture It is now, unfortunately, also considered unfashionable, if not actually insulting, to question the semi-literate products of existing educational systems on the subject They will seldom admit to any knowledge at all of tribal traditions unless these have a useful political connotation The system I used was to find a potion, charm or food in use, then try to trace the source of the ingredients This system is more accurate than asking the use of a particular plant, for many Africans will give any answer they consider acceptable, not with any desire to mislead, but because of lack of knowledge and a disinclination to admit it Another very important local factor was the natural mobility of coastal people For centuries they acted as guides and porters for up country safaris, and on these expeditions acquired much knowledge not generally available on the coast Thus to ask what a specific plant was used for could result in an answer more applicable to Wakikuyu or Wanyumwezi tribal usage Additionally there is a fair amount of myth, legend, and "'old wives tales" associated in particular with herbal remedies, as can be found in any old established rural community Many plants were said to produce good dawa (medicine), and specific uses were quoted, but more detailed questioning often resulted in no one actually having used it for this purpose, or knowing anyone who had Snakebite cures and poison antidotes were the most common in this category One well known use of plants I have basically ignored is that of criminal poisoning, although this use is widespread and well understood in East Africa Many plants can be so used either singly or in combination, but fatal results are as frequently due to a complete lack of knowledge of the consequences involved in using herbal concoctions as in their deliberate use to kill Thus a case of poisoning due to a particular mixture may never occur again, yet a question could well elicit the reply that such and such a plant is used by "bad persons" for criminal purposes If the person questioned had, in fact, the knowledge and the ability to use it, little or no useful information was obtained I was, however, told by one well known local poisoner that if my wife became a nuisance or a shrew, he could supply a potion that would get rid of her very quickly and in a most natural manner! One aspect of sorcery which used plants, but not as their "active principles" was that of casting spells A practitioner often used a special wand pointed in the

The Amazonia as a source of new economic plants

Abstract: Those who understand and love the Amazon forest call it the Green Heaven. Those who misunderstand and despise it know it by the name of the Green Hell. A recent political figure has termed the Amazon a desert of trees which must be destroyed. Unfortunately this latter point of view seems now to be in the ascendency. Why should this vast area of 2,700,000 square miles be protected? There are many reasons for the preservation of this last great wet tropical forest which may comprise as many as 100,000 species of plants. Today I want to discuss with you only one of these reasons-but one which, for the future of mankind, appears to me to be one of the most compelling: its incalculable value as an untapped emporium of germ plasm for new economic plants. The great Russian botanist Vavilov postulated that there were eight major centres of the origin of cultivated plants. Some botanists have pointed out that these centres nearly cover the world's surface. This is not, however, a valid criticism. Most of Africa, with the exception of Abyssinia, has given little to the store of man's economic plants. Australia has yielded no major species. All of North America north of Mexico has been singularly parsimonious. What about the tropical Amazon forests? The tapioca plant, Manihot esculenta, appears to have originated in the Amazon. In pre-Columbian times, it had spread throughout tropical America. It now has taken its place as one of the dozen or thirteen major food plants of the world, having been accepted as the prime source of carbohydrate in many tropical parts of Africa and Asia. The cultivated pineapple, Ananas comosus, is thought to have originated in the western part of the Amazon Valley from wild types such as A. microstachys. Specialists now believe that the cultivated cacao tree, source of chocolate, arose through hybridization of wild species in the westernmost Amazon of Colombia and Ecuador. It is probable that the narcotic coca plant, Erythroxylon Coca, originated in the eastern or Amazonian slopes of the Ecuadorian Andes. The southwestern part of the Brazilian Amazon appears to be the home of achiote, Bixa Orellana, now widely cultivated throughout the tropics; it arose possibly from the wild B. excelsa of the Acre area. Another recently domesticated plant of the Amazon is timb6 or barbasco, various species of Lonchocarpus, especially L. utilis, a main source of the insecticide rotenone. For many years now, the guarana plant, Paullinia cupana, has been cultivated in the central part of the Amazon for the preparation of various caffeine-rich beverages. But undoubtedly no native of Amazonia has so altered human life around the globe as the Para rubber tree, Hevea brasiliensis, one of the most recently domesticated of our major crops. Were it only for the impact of three of these cultigens on modern living-

Some ethnobotanical notes from northeastern India

Abstract: This paper deals with the ethnobotany of 48 plants from Northeastern India. The information was derived from specimens deposited in the herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India at Shillong (ASSAM). Vernacular names of plants and voucher specimens are mentioned. The importance of ethnobotanical studies of herbarium materials is discussed.

Dissemination of soybeans (Glycine max): Seed protein electrophoresis profiles among Japanese cultivars

Abstract: Seed protein extracts from 477 Japanese soybean cultivars were analyzed by polyaery lamide gel electrophoresis to determine the distribution of the alleles of the Ti (Tia,Tib,Tic) and Sp1 (Sp1a,Sp1b loci with respect to maturity group and district of adaptation of each cultivar. About 60 percent of the soybean cultivars had theTia allele. The frequency of theTib allele was found to be highest in the southeast district and lowest in the northeast district. TheTic allele discovered in 6 cultivars was traced to two possible sources adapted in the Tohoku District. TheSpla, allele was found in 26 cultivars ranging from Maturity Group II through VIII. The summer season type cultivars adapted to the Kyushu District having the genotypeTib Splb probably played a major role in the peculiar accumulation of theTiub allele and the decrease of theSpla allele in the Japanese soybean cultivar population.

Bael fruit (Aegle marmelos)—A potential fruit for processing

Abstract: Bael fruit (Aegle marmelos Correa, Rutaceae) is an indigenous fruit of India. It grows throughout the Indian Peninsula as well as in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Burma, Thailand and most of the southeastern Asian countries. It is a very hardy subtropical, deciduous tree that can thrive well in various soil-climatic conditions (from swampy to dry soils) and can tolerate alkaline soil, and is not injured by temperatures as low as -7~ There is no organized orcharding of this fruit in India. Its cultivation is restricted, and it now grows mainly wild or in temple gardens. It has some demand from the native systems of medicine, such as the \"Ayurvedic.\" Because of the hard shell, the mucilaginous texture and the numerous seeds the bael fruit is difficult to eat out of hand and is not popular as a dessert fruit. In the excellent flavor and nutritive and therapeutic values of the bael fruit lies an untapped potentiality for processing. History.--The bael fruit has been known in India from prehistoric times. The leaves of the tree are traditionally used as sacred offerings to \"Lord Siva,\" according to Hindu customs. In the epic times, such as those of the \"Ramayana,\" bael fruit was known, and bael trees were found growing in the Chitrakuta Hills and Panchavati, as was mentioned by Aiyer (1956). Om Prakash (1961) found mention of the bael fruit in Vedic times (ca 800 to ca 200 B.C.) and also in early Buddhist and Jain literature (ca 800 to ca 325 B.C.). In the \"Upavana Vinoda,\" a Sanskrit treatise on silviculture (Majumdar, 1935) and in the \"Brihat Samhita\" (referred to by Aiyer, 1956), mention was made of bael fruit. It has been said that this tree indicates the presence of underground water. Its medicinal properties have been dealt with in \"Charaka Samhita,\" an early medicinal treatise in Sanscrit. Chemistry and medicinal properties.--Various chemical constituents (mainly alkaloids, coumarins and steroids) have been isolated and identified from different parts of bael fruit tree--from leaves (Chatterjee & Bose, 1952; Chatterjee & Roy, 1957; Chakravarty & Das Gupta, 1956, 1958; Das Gupta & Chakravarty, 1958), wood (Chatterjee & Roy, 1959), roots (Chatterjee & Choudhury, 1960; Shoeb et al., 1973) and bark (Chatterjee & Choudhury, 1955; Chatterjee & Bhattacharya, 1959). In bael fruits, coumarins like aUoimperatorin, imperatorin and fl-sitosterol have been identified by Saha and Chatterjee (1957). Some studies have also been made on the essential oils of the leaves (Baslas & Deshapande, 1949, 1951) and on the physical properties and uses of the gums (Badar-Ud-Din, 1950; Haksar & Kendurkar, 1961). The bael fruit is highly nutritious. According to Gopalan et al. (1971), it contains 61.5 g water, 1.8 g protein, 0.39 g fat, 1.7 g minerals, 31.8 g carbohydrates, 55 mg carotene, 0.13 mg thiamine, 1.19 mg riboflavin, 1.1 mg niacin, and 8 mg per 100 g of edible portion vitamin C. No other fruit has such a high content of riboflavin. Marmelosin (C~:~Hv_,O:0 is most probably the therapeutically active principle of bael fruits. It was isolated as a colorless crystalline compound (Dixshit & Dutt, 1932). Kirtikar and Basu (1935) have listed extensively the medicinal

The history and use of milkweed (Asclepias Syriaca L.)

Abstract: The common milkweed of northeastern America can easily qualify as the greatest underachiever among plants. Its potential appears great, yet until now it has never been continuously processed for commercial purposes. Highlights of its history, together with personal suggestions concerning its culinary use, are presented. From earliest days, this coarse plant with fragrant flowers, milky latex and stringy roots attracted much attention. Its seeds were among the first sent from New France to Paris by Louis H6bert, a Frenchman regarded as the first Canadian pharmacist, farmer and settler in Stadacona (presently Quebec City, Canada). Plants from these seeds were grown and later studied by Philip Cornut, a medical doctor and botanist. His treatise, Canadensium plantarum aliarumque nondum editarum Historia, published in 1635, is probably the first record on North American plants. Two of the present day milkweeds, Asclepias syriaca L. and A. incarnata L. are described. Cornut associated these plants with the dogbane of Asia Minor as described by Clusius, and identified the common milkweed as Apocynum majus syriacum rectum (in contrast to A. minor syriacum rectum = A. incarnata L.). A hundred years later, the plant was collected by Clayton and classified by Gronovius (1739) in Flora Virginica as Asclepias erecta. Linnaeus referred to both authors when he classified our common milkweed as A. syriaca L. in 1753. With the retention of the adjective syriaca of Cornut, he has puzzled many students of botany who have probably accused him of poor housekeeping because he did not know the provenance of the plants. Louis H6bert hoped that his plants would have medicinal value. Although another species of Asclepias, A. tuberosa L., an eastern species with a more southern distribution, was used extensively (Still6 et al., 1894, Culbreth, 1900, Martindale & Westcott, 1928), A. syriaca never attained the same importance. It was used as an expectorant (Knight, 1854), against asthma (Dragendorf, 1967), and as an emetic and cathartic, i.e., same as A. tuberosa (Anonymous, 1968). Still6 et al. (1894) attributed its function as a diaphoretic in the forming stages of fevers to the lowering of the action of the heart, thus producing sweating (contrary to the usual concept) and, by the same action, useful in acute rheumatism, bronchitis, pneumonia and pleurisy. The \"pleurisy\" that it was credited to relieve most probably represented muscular rheumatism of the walls of the chest. The latex was suggested as dressing for wounds and superficial ulcers to promote cicatrization (Still6 et al., 1894, Culbreth, 1900). The suggestion by Harris (1972) that the juice of A. syriaca is used by Indian women, especially the Tewas of the New Mexico Pueblos, to treat or prevent faulty lactation was found rather puzzling, for this region appears to be out of the range of the species. There is no record that A. syriaca was ever cultivated as a drug plant. The latex of the milkweed has repeatedly undergone scrutiny as a possible source of natural rubber. Schulz (1844) in Germany first reported the presence

Advances in microbial ecology

Abstract: Gerarde, John, of London, Master in Chirurgerie. 1597. The herball or generall historie of plantes. John Norton, London. The Green Herbal of Dioscorides. 1655. Robert T. Gunther (ed.) Translated to English by John Goodyer. Reprinted 1959. Hafner Publishing Co., New York. J/Schle, Wolfgang. 1974. Menses-inducing drugs: their role in antique, medieval and renaissance gynecology and birth control. Contraception 10(4): 425439. Langham, W. 1579. The garden of health. Printed by Thomas Harper with permission of the Company of Stationers, London. Lawrence, George H. M. 1965. Herbals, their history and significance. In George H. M. Lawrence & Kenneth F. Baker, History of Botany. The Clark Memorial Library, University of California, Los Angeles, and The Hunt Botanical Library, Carnegie Institute. Partridge, Eric. 1955. Shakespeare's bawdy: a literary and psychological essay and a comprehensive glossary. Revised edition. Routledge and Kegan Paul, London. Pliny. 1938. Natural history, with an English translation in ten volumes by H. Rackham. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. Pliny, the Elder. 1601. The history of the world commonly called the natural history of C. Plinius Secundus, translated into English by Philemon Holland, Doctor in Physic, and now selected and introduced by Paul Turner. 1962. Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Illinois. Prepositas his Practice. 1588. Translated out of Latin into English by L. M. John Wolfe for Edward White, London. Folger Library. Rohde, Eleanour Sinclair. 1922. The old English herbals. Longmans, Green and Co., London. Shakespeare, William. 1955. \"Hamlet,\" in a facsimile edition prepared by Helge Kokeritz, Mr. William Shakespeare's comedies, histories & tragedies. Yale University Press, New Haven and Geoffrey Cumberlege, Oxford University Press, London. Tabor, Edward. 1970. Plant poisons in Shakespeare. Economic Botany, 24(1): 81-94. Theophrastus. 1916. Enquiry into Plants, with an English translation by Sir Arthurs Hort, Bat., M.A., in two volumes. William Heinemann, London. Turner, William. 1568. Herbal. Collen. Folger Library. Turnley, William H. 1968. Shakespearean medicine, modernized. Vantage Press, New York. Vicary, Thomas. 1577. The anatomie of the bodie of man, the Edition of 1548 as reissued by the surgeons of St. Bartholomews in 1577. Published for the Early English Text Society by Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, London.

Kudzu ( Pueraria Lobata ): Potential agricultural and industrial resource

Abstract: Kudzu was introduced to the southern United States in the 1930s to help restore the soil and reduce erosion. However, since it is a legume with an extensive root structure and without natural enemies in the United States, it has adapted to the land too successfully. States like Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi are now invaded by kudzu which, at the present time, has no commercial outlet. It is suggested in this paper that the plant be considered for several uses: the root starch as a source of carbohydrate and as a medium for yeast and ethanol production; the fiber for use in paper, in grass wallpaper, and in textiles and clothing; and the leaves for a high protein animal fodder. Preliminary experiments indicate that the root provides a vitamin enriched source of starch for ethanol and yeast fermentations. The vine can also be processed to expose the desired high tensile strength fiber for apparel use. A process is also proposed for removing the low concentration ethanol from a fermentation solution, which requires only a small fraction of the external energy required for the conventional distillation process.

Floral morphology of wild and cultivated cowpeas

Abstract: Some lines of one of the wild subspecies of cowpeas, Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. subspecies mensensis, which is characterized by large, conspicuous flowers, were found to set fruits poorly in the absence of a pollinator, whereas others, including cultivated lines, set well. These differences were related to the separation of anthers and stigma, the orientation of the stigmatic surface and the hairiness of the style, and differed from other outbreeding mechanisms reported in cowpeas. The results support division of wild cowpeas into two groups and suggest that an increase in the rate of inbreeding has accompanied their domestication.

Medicine and magic in central Tigre: a contribution to the ethnobotany of the Ethiopian plateau

Abstract: The inhabitants of the Ethiopian highlands were long isolated from contact with other societies and over a period probably in excess of three thousand years, a distinctive life-style evolved. The isolation had its effects not only on the people but also, over a very much longer period of time, on the flora. The combination of endemism in the plant life and the maintenance of primitive beliefs and superstitions in the people, in spite of an early conversion to Christianity, resulted in an extensive and unique indigenous pharmacopoeia. Even though Ethiopia has had a written language for two thousand years, native medicines and treatments are an oral tradition-except possibly in church documents to which no layman is allowed access. This tradition has certainly played a part in the mystery attached to the cures by native practitioners. The plants used and the method of preparation are often closely guarded secrets, usually only passed from father to eldest son as the death of the former approaches. With each succeeding generation the chances of distortion or misrepresentation of the original plant or cure are greatly increased, and many mistakes are bound to occur. The impression of magic is also enhanced by the methods used in gathering and preparing the plants. Astrological influences are often invoked and, indeed, have become an integral part of the treatment. Many of the treatments are effective, many more are harmless and have no effect except psychosomatically, while a small number are certainly dangerous. Nevertheless, more than 85 percent of Ethiopians have no chance of access to a modern physician and, usually at a late stage in their illness, have to resort to traditional medicine. While many of the supposed medicinal properties have no basis in modern science, it would be facile to dispose of all treatments in this way. This paper is based on the personal knowledge of one of the authors, who has lived throughout his life in the Ethiopian highlands, and on observations and interviews carried out during the period June 1974 to February 1976. Plants and plant parts, where not known to either of us, have been identified in the Ethiopian National Herbarium in Addis Ababa. In addition, vernacular names have been used where appropriate, with due regard being paid to the anomalies inherent in this method of identification. The vernacular names included in Table I have been written down as phonetically as possible, there being no standard transliteration into English from the Tigrinya language current in northern Ethiopia. In this contribution we have not attempted to be exhaustive, but rather to add a little to the existing body of knowledge. For further information readers should consult, among other sources, Bally (1937), Cacciapuoti (1941), Chiovenda (1931), Getahun (1976), Innamorati (1973), Kokwaro (1976), Lemordant (1971), Siegenthaler (1960), UNESCO (1960) and Verdcourt and Trump (1969). To avoid undue rep

Interspecific hybridization in the grain legumes—a review

Abstract: The current position regarding reports in the literature on interspecific hybridization in the pulses is confused. Two major reasons can he advanced in explanation. The first is that frequently conspecific wild and cultivated forms have received different binomials and crosses between such are frequently regarded as interspecific hybrids. The second arises from mistaken interpretation of results of attempted interspecific hybridization when progeny strongly resembling the maternal parent are produced. It is suggested that these progeny might have been produced by failures in emasculation or rare accidental apomixis. All cultigens of the generaArachis, Cajanus, Cicer, Phaseolus andPisum are able to some extent to produce viable true interspecific hybrids as are the Asiatic forms ofVigna. True interspecific hybrids have not been produced withVicia faba nor withVigna unguiculata the cowpea.

Genetic System Relationships in Trifolium

Abstract: Examination of species of Trifolium in the Kentucky collection revealed that annual species generally have simple tap roots, low chromosome numbers (2n = 10−32), are usually self-pollinating and many were introduced from a Mediterranean type climate. Perennial species generally are tap-rooted, stoloniferous, or rhizomatous, possess higher chromosome numbers than annuals (2n = 12− 130), are mostly cross-pollinating and do not have specific climate-habitat relationships. Species introduced from Eurasia are more numerous and more diverse in base chromosome number (n = 5−8) than from other origins. Only species with diploid chromosome numbers of 16 or higher are stoloniferous or rhizomatous. Rhizomatous species, mostly cross-pollinated, were introduced from Eurasia, North and South America, but not from Africa, and not often from Mediterranean climates. Self- and cross-pollinated species occur in all origins. Different flower colors and leafmarks are not associated with origins, climates, and other morphological and physiological characteristics.

The breadfruit from colombia-a detailed chemical analysis

Abstract: A detailed chemical analysis of the breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is presented, followed by an analysis of the fat and a partial amino acid analysis of the globular proteins and their isoelectric point, determined by electrophoresis.

Evidence for bracken fern as a food for aboriginal peoples of western washington

Abstract: The aboriginal culture of the Northwest Coast is well known for its elaboration of cultural forms and reliance on the prolific fisheries of the region. Less well understood is the role indigenous plants played in the subsistence of the native peoples. A search of the historical and ethnographic literature indicates that bracken (Pteridium aquilinum Kuhn) was a major item in the dietary of the peoples of western Washington contributing both starch and fiber. This fern was collected and prepared by native women as a form of “flour” and baked or dried into cakes or bread. The record also indicates plant management by burning which has not previously been considered as a systematic method of production for the foraging societies of western Washington.

Economic botany of the Guahibo. I. Palmae

Abstract: The role of palms in the everyday life of the Guahibo is evident. They depend on this important family for much of their fiber, shelter, food and for other needs. The change in Guahibo life style over the past centuries has resulted in modifications of the local flora, and frequently in a reduction in the number of certain over-utilized palm species. It is vital that an attempt be made to halt the decline in the“value” of the forest. Studies must determine the species of most worth and a diligent effort be made to repopulate the gallery forests of this area with the kind of plants that once made the forest and its abundant palm flora both an “earthly paradise” and“universal larder” for the Guahibo.

Diversity of food beans in Kenya

Abstract: In order to have the consumers’ preferences in Kenya in beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) more clearly outlined and to survey the variation existing in local food bean material, 997 seed samples from plants selected in farmers’ fields and from agricultural shows were investigated and classified on the basis of colour, size and shape. For the classification a new number system was used to enable easy data transfer to punch cards. This exercise was primarily carried out to aid in setting the goals for a breeding and selection programme. Of the 997 samples the ten most common types were identified, and among those the Rose cocos occurred most frequently with 36.5%, second were the Canadian wonder types with 13.1%, followed by a Red haricot with 9.2%, Mwezi moja with 9.0% and Mwitemania with 2.4%. The types differed considerably, indicating that consumers’ preferences are very flexible. Personal communications lead to the same conclusion. Therefore a breeding and selection programme has, within certain wide limits, allowance to rank characters like disease and drought resistance higher in importance than seed type.

Use of indigenous plants as fish poisons in samoa

Abstract: Polynesian cultures in general have been very adept at discovering and utilizing native plants to provide food, shelter, clothing, transportation, medicine, and articles of cultural or religious value. As a result of the great antiquity of the Samoan culture, the plant lore of the Samoan people has been developed to a high degree. Unfortunately the rapid westernization of the Samoan islands has led to a loss of specialized knowledge of plants and their uses among many members of the general populace; however, a considerable body of plant lore still exists among the aged chiefs and inhabitants of the outer villages and islands of the Samoan group. The objective of the present study has been to investigate and document the use of native plants to poison fish. Interviews and field observations of the actual techniques in use were made in the villages of Taga and Fa'ala on the island of Savaii, and Malaela and Si'usega on the island of Upolu between December 1978 and February 1979. Some of the early European inhabitants of Samoa directed attention to the plants used as fish poisons in Samoa. Rev. Pratt listed 'Avasa (Tephrosia piscatoria Pers.) as a fish poison in his 1862 dictionary of the Samoan language (Pratt, 1862). Reinecke (1898) recorded the use of T. piscatoria and Barringtonia speciosa Forster. He also recorded the use of Phyllantus simplex Retzius; this, however, is probably an error arising from the fact that both P. simplex and Tephrosia piscatoria have the same Samoan name: 'avasa. Only the latter is used as a fish poison while the former is used medicinally (Parham, 1972). A. F. Kramer (1903) described in some detail the techniques used with T. piscatoria but unfortunately characterized them as being used with Barringtonia asiatica rather than T. piscatoria. As will be described shortly, the techniques used with these two fish poisons differ significantly. More recent workers have also directed some attention to the Samoan use of plants as fish poisons. The use of Barringtonia asiatica as a fish-stupefying agent is mentioned in one floristic work (Setchell, 1924) while both B. asiatica and T. piscatoria are mentioned in three other treatises (Lloyd and Aiken, 1934; Christopherson, 1935; Parham, 1972). A brief account of the use of B. asiatica may be found in Samoan Material Culture (Buck, 1930). The only plants currently used for fish poisoning in Samoa are Tephrosia piscatoria Persoon and Barringtonia asiatica (L.) Kurz. One chief on the island of Savaii reported that the fruits of Meryta sp. (lau fagufagu) were used anciently as fish poison; his report is substantiated by a notation I found on a herbarium sheet of Meryta capitata Christopherson (Garber #622) at the Bishop Museum which reads "'supposed to be useful for fish poisoning." Other than these two reports, however, I have found no evidence for the use of Meryta sp. as fish poison and have been unable to find any native informants who are knowledgeable in the techniques of its use.

Aquatic weed control versus utilisation

Abstract: During recent years a large number of articles have appeared in scientific periodicals, magazines and newspapers emphasizing the need for utilisation of various aquatic weeds, especially water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) (Boyd, 1970; Sharma, 1971; Rogers and Davis, 1972; Little, 1968; Bagnall et al, 1973; Varshney and Rzoska, 1976) The multiplicity of the publications and the interest in the subject is highlighted by the appearance of three papers in a single issue of Economic Botany (Boyd, 1976; Bates and Hentges, 1976; Wooten and Dodd, 1976) One of the latest publications is the report of the US National Academy of Sciences entitled Making Aquatic Weeds Useful: Some Perspectives for Developing Countries (Anonymous, 1976) A reading of these accounts makes one feel that man has discovered new resources which may substitute hitherto known materials for such valuable needs as proteins for man, feed for animals, pulp for paper and above all fuel (as biogas) There is hardly any need that cannot be fulfilled by using aquatic weeds in place of traditional materials! This communication intends to record our views and serious reservations against the plea for utilisation of aquatic weeds on the basis of available literature and our own studies We do not intend to review the whole literature but only to survey briefly to develop our viewpoint

Temperature Effects on Essential Oil Composition of Citronella Selections

Abstract: Four citronella [Cymbopogon nardus (L.) Rendle] selections indigenous to Sri Lanka were grown for 90 days at 27/21° or 32/27°C daylnight temperatures in controlled environments. Leaves were harvested and oil extracted by steam distillation. Analysis for chemical constituents was carried out by gas liquid chromatography. Growing temperatures affected oil composition with the response to temperature differing among selections. The commercially desired constituent. citronellal, was higher at 27/21°C than at 32/27°C in all selections, whereas the commercially undesirable constituent borneol was higher at 32/27°C than at 27/ 21°C. The production of total monoterpene hydrocarbons was enhanced at 27/ 21°C in selections C-4 and C-8 compared to 32/27°C. The level of methyl isoeugenol differed among selections.

Studies on Indian Solanum I. Alkaloid content and detection of solasodine

Abstract: Fruits and/or leaves of 31 species ofSolanum that grow in India have been assayed for total alkaloid content and the presnce of solasodine in them has been determined by TLC. This survey revealed that 12 species contained solasodine and thatS. khasianum, S. elaeagnifolium, S. auriculatum andS. giganteum contained sufficient quantity of total alkaloid to warrant further studies on these plants in order to determine whether they could be developed as sources of raw materials for the steroid industry.

Pre-Columbian tobaccos in the Pacific

Abstract: While it is true that the vast majority of modern peoples learned of tobacco from Europeans, the southwest Pacific has two special cases where Europeans had almost nothing to do with the spread of tobacco or indeed nothing at all to do with it. In the relatively simple case of central Australia in the dry country of the “outback” the native Australians chewed the native tobaccos or its lookalike(Duboisea hopwoodii) all quite unaffected by or uninspired by Europeans or those affected by them. In this one remote area of the world American tobaccos never penetrated in their modern forms and in alliance with the habit of smoking. To such tribes as the Aranda and their brothers goes the distinction of being like the South American Indians, unique originators of habits of using tobacco. In New Guinea the story is rather odd and difficult to explain. In this large island South American tobacco spread far and wide with tremendous rapidity immediately after it arrived. So far as we know, we have to say that tobacco was introduced to northwest New Guinea by the Moluccans shortly after their first contacts with Spanish and Portuguese sailors in greater Indonesia in some part of the 16th century, but not apparently as early as the time of Magellan (1519) or Albuquerque (1509 and later). It moved through a diversity of tribes, many of whom were in a chronic state of hostility with each other, and over several major changes in habitat, over the central mountain ridge to the tribes on the other side and along down to the south coast where Europeans in the first decade of the 17th century find themselves being offered tobacco in two different ports of call.

A study of the microscopic structure of the fiber strands of common Indian bast fibers and its economic implications

Abstract: Natural fibers, used since the dawn of civilization, are obtained from different plant organs. They are classified as stem (bast), leaf, seed, or fruit fibers. Fibers vary in their mode of origin, in yield, and in quality, which makes them suitable for different purposes. Each kind of plant fiber is present in a definite pattern within the specific plant organ. Fibers obtained from the stem (commercially known as bast fibers) lie embedded in the softer tissue of the bark and may be classified into two categories: some are primary in origin (ramie, flax, sunnhemp), others are secondary. Those of the second category are derived mostly from cambial meristematic activity which cuts off fiber initials that grow longitudinally along the axis within the bark. Each of these cells, pointed at both ends and with a lumen at the center, is called an ultimate fiber cell (Maiti, 1968). These ultimate fiber cells, connected end to end with the help of cementing materials of hemicellulose and pectose, form the fiber strands of commerce. The fiber strands thus formed are connected here and there along their longitudinal course to form the meshy structure of bast fibers. In stem transverse sections, the fiber strands appear as fiber bundles which are embedded in the soft parenchymatous tissue of the bark. Why different bast fibers vary in yield and quality (Wilson, 1967; Maiti & Chakravarty, 1977) is a question not yet fully answered although some attempts have been made in this direction. Differences may be due to variation of cellulosic fractions in the crystalline regions and non-cellulosic substances in the paracrystalline part. Fiber structure indicates to some extent the spinning and the yarn quality (Hearle & Peters, 1963). Structural organization of the fiber strands plays some role in governing the quality as demanded and defined by technologists. The main quality parameters of vegetable fibers are strength, fineness, surface structure, meshiness, color, and lustre. Attempts have been made to predict some of these quality parameters from anatomical structures in some fibers (Maiti, 1968, 1970a, 1970b, 1970c, 1974). Different jute and mesta varieties show variation in microscopic structure correlating with quality function (Maiti, 1970c; Maiti & Dasgupta, 1972). Ultimate fiber cells with higher length to breadth ratio (L/B) are related to higher strength not only in different fiber crops but also in the same species at different regions (Maiti & Basu, 1968). The morphology of ultimate fiber cells indicates their suitability of utilization in the manufacture of different types of papers (Maiti, 1973a). Cross-sectional area of fiber strands indicates the fineness of fibers (Maiti, 1973b). In the present study of microscopic structure of widely divergent fiber crops, the objective is to see whether variation in structure is related to quality and to make possible microscopic grading of quality.