Showing papers in "Taxon in 1998"

Medicinal Plants of South Africa

Abstract: Medicinal plants of South Africa is a guide to the most commonly utilised medicinal plants in South Africa. The title includes: Detailed species descriptions of 132 medicinal plants. Each entry includes the following information: a description of the plant, the plant parts used, medicinal uses, preparation and dosage, active ingredients, pharmacological effects, and distribution. Distribution maps are included for each plant. More than 500 excellent full-colour photographs that will assist in the identification of medicinal plants and plant parts. Introductory chapters on cultural aspects of healing, methods of collection and storage, dosage forms and methods of preparation, and methods of administration. Plants listed according to ailments and a glossary of medical terms.

The tallgrass restoration handbook : for prairies, savannas, and woodlands

Abstract: Prairies are among the most severely degraded ecosystems on the North American continent, with virtually no original prairie land extant in a pristine state. Because of the amount and severity of environmental damage visited upon them, prairies have become a proving ground for the fledgling craft of ecological restoration.The restoration of ecosystems is a practical science, with little theoretical knowledge available to guide the work of practitioners. Information is acquired primarily through an arduous process of trial and error, and the need for sharing information is immense. "The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook" is thus an essential contribution to the literature.The book is a hands-on manual that provides a detailed account of what has been learned about the art and science of prairie restoration and the application of that knowledge to restoration projects throughout the world. Chapters provide guidance on all aspects of the restoration process, from conceptualization and planning, to execution and monitoring. Chapters cover: conserving biodiversity restoring populations of rare plants plowing and seeding obtaining and processing seeds conducting burns controlling invasive plants animal populations monitoring vegetation and more Other resources include a key to restoration options that provides detailed instructions for specific types of projects and a comprehensive glossary of restoration terms. Appendixes present hard-to-find data on plants and animals of the prairies, seed collection dates, propagation methods, sources of seeds and equipment, and more."The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook" is a state-of-the-art compendium that can serve a vital role as a sort of "parts catalogand repair manual" for the tallgrass prairies and oak openings of the Midwest. Written by those whose primary work is actually the making of prairies, it explores a myriad of restoration philosophies and techniques and is an essential resource for anyone working to nurture our once-vibrant native landscapes to a state of health.

Plastid rbcL sequence data indicate a close affinity between Diegodendron and Bixa

Abstract: Summary Diegodendron humbertii Capuron (Diegodendraceae Capuron) is endemic to Madagascar. The family is monospecific, and whereas various affinities have been suggested, its phylo- genetic position has remained unclear. Analysis of rbcL sequence data indicates a close re- lationship to Bixa. Together these taxa form a monophyletic group with a somewhat more distant relationship to other groups of Malvales s.l. including Cochlospermaceae. Cochlo- spermaceae (Cochlospermum and Amoreuxia) should be maintained as a family distinct from Bixaceae but if Bixaceae are expanded to include Cochlospermaceae they should also include Diegodendron. DNA extraction from herbarium specimens, involving modifications to the standard extraction and amplification techniques, is described.

Muntingiaceae, a new family of dicotyledons with malvalean affinities

Abstract: The family Muntingiaceae, here described, includes the Neotropical, monotypic genera Muntingia and Dicraspidia, and probably Neotessmannia, which have previously been included in Elaeocarpaceae, Tiliaceae, or Flacourtiaceae. Morphological data discussed here and molecular data published elsewhere indicate that none of these families can be regarded as closely related to these genera. Muntingiaceae belong to a clade that comprises core Malvales (Sterculiaceae, Tiliaceae, Bombacaceae, and Malvaceae) and several other families. Within this alliance, relationships are presently unresolved.

Reclassification of Actaea to include Cimicifuga and Souliea (Ranunculaceae): phytogeny inferred from morphology, nrDNA ITS, and cpDNA trnL‐F sequence variation

Abstract: Phylogenetic analyses using parsimony were performed on three independent data sets to test generic relationships between Actaea, Cimicifuga, and Souliea. Analyses of morphology and nuclear ribosomal DNA ITS were performed on 23 species of Cimicifuga, 4 species of Actaea, and the single species of Souliea. Analysis of chloroplast DNA trnL-F was applied to the same species, less two of Cimicifuga. The outgroup taxa Eranthis and Anemonopsis both resolved outside the ingroup in all parsimony analyses, whereas Souliea resolved within it. Jukes-Cantor pairwise sequence distances confirm Eranthis and Anemonopsis to be most distant. Souliea distances are comparable with those of taxa within the Actaea-Cimicifuga assemblage. A strongly supported monophyletic clade including all studied species of Actaea, Cimicifuga, and Souliea was found in all analyses. Evidence presented here allows a broader concept of Actaea to be adopted, reverting to the circumscription of Linnaeus in 1753. Seven sections, based on clades found in the total analysis, could be defined by morphological characters: A. sect. Actaea, sect. Podocarpae, sect. Cimicifuga, sect. Dichanthera, sect. Oligocarpae, sect. Pityrosperma, and sect. Souliea. One species, A. taiwanensis, is newly described and 23 new combinations are made in the ranks of section, species, and variety. Keys are provided to identify taxa at all ranks within the revised circumscription of Actaea. Maps showing the distributions of all seven sections and their constituent species are presented. Phytogeographic patterns suggest a Tertiary origin for the newly redefined genus, with species surviving in refugia during the glacial periods of the Pleistocene.

The Oxford dictionary of the world

Abstract: This map aims to combine readability and interest. Both text and maps reflect the latest political realities, including entries on the new nations of Slovakia, Eritrea, and the states of the former USSR and Yugoslavia. Each of the 15,000 entries incorporates detailed statistics and descriptions of population, topography, history, industry, and special features of interest. Each country's description includes a locator map, and federal maps are included for major nations. There are also 16 pages of world maps in colour, as well as an appendix containing world geographical and statistical information.

World Weeds: Natural Histories and Distribution

Abstract: This book provides comprehensive information on 104 principle weeds of the world, covering species that are responsible for a high proportion of all the world's crop losses. It includes 122 original maps and botanical illustrations, original data collected by the authors themselves in research travels around the world.

A comparison of traditional and phylogenetic nomenclature

Abstract: The traditional method of biological nomenclature and the phylogenetic nomenclature method are reviewed. Under a phylogenetic nomenclature, ranks would not be required, and names of taxa would be given definitions based on descent. The phylogenetic nomenclature method, as currently proposed, would be in conflict, not only with the Linnaean hierarchy, but also with the notion of nomenclatural types. While the phylogenetic method would increase explicitness and universality regarding the application of names, it may do so at the expense of taxonomic flexibility and circumscriptional stability of a taxon represented by a given name. Suggestions are provided on how a code of nomenclature could be designed so as to accommodate both systems.

Diervillaceae and Linnaeaceae, two new families of caprifolioids

Abstract: Two new families of caprifolioids, Diervillaceae and Linnaeaceae, are proposed. They correspond to the former subfamilies Diervilloideae and Linnaeoideae. A key to their genera and those remaining in Caprifoliaceae is provided.

Taxonomic reassessment of some Central Asian and Himalayan scale‐leaved taxa of Juniperus (Cupressaceae) supported by random amplification of polymorphic DNA

Abstract: Analysis of central Asian Juniperus using RAPD revealed that J. centrasiatica, J. turkestanica, and J. pseudosabina appear to belong to a single species, to be named J. pseudosabina. This conclusion is also supported by previous work on terpenoids. Putative J. indica from Nepal (shrub form) was found to be distinct from J. pseudosabina. It appears that the common scale-leaved shrub or tree juniper of the Himalayas should be called J. indica not J. pseudosabina.

The limitations of molecular systematics: a palaeobotanical perspective

Abstract: In a recent issue of Molecular Evolution and Systematics, Chaw & al. (1997) presented a phylogeny of modern seed plants based on comparisons of rRNA sequences. Studies of this kind, which use only characters available in extant taxa to reconstruct the phylogeny of a group known to have numerous extinct members, serve to keep alive the controversial issue of the role of fossils in phylogeny reconstruction. Historically, advocates of cladistic methodology, particularly those known at least to their detractors as "pattern" or "transformed" cladists, have suggested that the cladistic revolution can be thought of as a "reform of paleontology" (Nelson & Platnick, 1984). They present one of the manifest goals of this research programme as an effort to reclaim the perceived hegemony of palaeontology in phylogeny reconstruction. This view reached its most extreme expression in Patterson's (1981: 219) often quoted pronouncement that "... it is rare, perhaps unknown, for fossils to overthrow theories of relationship based on recent forms". Naturally, many palaeontologists took this rhetoric as a challenge and have clearly demonstrated that fossils can play an indispensable role in reconstructing phylogeny, particularly in ancient groups with many extinct members. The pitfalls of ignoring fossil evidence have been demonstrated with actual data sets, such as the Gauthier & al. (1988) amniote phylogeny, as well as simulation studies (Huelsenbeck, 1991). Using examples from seed plant phylogeny, Doyle & Donoghue (1986) have shown that fossils can have a major impact on hypotheses of character evolution even when they do not alter tree topology. The relatively new molecular techniques for sequencing and comparing DNA and RNA have spawned numerous phylogenetic studies which promise to resolve many problems that have not yielded to morphological study. Despite the power of sequencing techniques however, the problem of extinct taxa is even greater since intact nucleic acid sequences can be extracted from fossils only in very rare circumstances. The pitfalls of excluding fossil taxa from some analyses apply to molecular phylogenies as well as morphological studies. Therefore, the complexities and subtleties of phylogenetic reconstruction and character analysis cannot be forgotten in the rush to produce trees of living taxa based on nucleic acid sequences. Unfortunately, this seems to be the trend, as we point out in the following critique of aspects of the Chaw & al. (1997) nuclear 18S rRNA phylogeny of the seed plants. As palaeobotanists, our expertise is not in assessing the techniques used in sequencing or tree construction. We are concerned mainly with Chaw & al.'s apparent misunderstanding of fundamental phylogenetic concepts in their interpretations of the published trees, as well as their assessments of competing character evolution hypotheses. We reject the implicit assumption that such molecular studies are capable of resolving palaeobotanically based hypotheses in the manner in which these authors attempt.

Additions and corrections in American Ipomoea (Convolvulaceae)

Abstract: Additions and corrections The following additions and corrections to the paper by Austin & Huaiman (1996). The order of presentation is alphabetical, with accepted names in bold-face type. Bracketed page references are to the earlier paper; asterisked (*) entries refer to Old-World species absent from the Americas. Ipomoea arborescens (Kunth) G. Don [p. 5]: parenthetical authorship to be added. * Ipomoea bracteata Wight 1848 (non Cav. 1799) [p. 21] = Ipomoea deccana D. F. Austin (an Asian species). * Ipomoea campanulata L. [p. 21] is not a synonym of Stictocardia tiliifolia, but is the correct name for an Asian species. There has been confusion with Stictocardia (cf. Austin & al., 1978), and the previous entry should have read: "Ipomoea campanulata" sensu auct. (non L. 1753) = Stictocardia tiliifolia (Desr.) Hallier f. Ipomoea cruckshanksii Choisy [p. 23] = Alona sp. (fide O'Donell, 1957: 184). Ipomoea demerariana Choisy [p. 23] = Operculina turpethum var. ventricosa (Bertero) Staples & D. F. Austin (not = I. phyllomega (Vell.) House; see Notes). Ipomoea elegans Meisn. (non Dietrich 1836) [p. 24] = L patula Choisy (of which I. monticola [q.v.] is now considered a synonym). Ipomoeafederalis K. Afzel. [p. 24] = Ipomoea neurocephala Hallier f. (see Notes). Ipomoea heptaphylla Voigt, nom. illeg. = L cairica (L.) Sweet (not I. wrightii A. Gray; see Notes). Ipomoea igualensis Weath. [p. 7] = Ipomoea neurocephala Hallier f. (see Notes).

Recircumscription of the Lecythidaceae

Abstract: The phylogenetic relationships of the genera of Lecythidaceae and representatives of Scytopetalaceae were assessed using cladistic analysis of both molecular (rbcL and trnL sequences) and morphological data. The results show that the pantropical family Lecythidaceae is paraphyletic. Support was found for the monophyly of three of the four subfamilies: Lecythidoideae, Planchonioideae, and Foetidioideae. The fourth subfamily, Napoleonaeoideae, was found to be paraphyletic, with members of the Scytopetalaceae being nested within it forming a strong clade with Asteranthos. Both families share a number of morphological features, including several distinct characters such as cortical bundles in the stem. The combined analysis produced three trees of 471 steps and consistency index CI = 0.71 and retention index RI = 0.70. Asteranthos and members of Scytopetalaceae should be treated as a subfamily of Lecythidaceae, while Napoleonaea and Crateranthus (the latter based solely on morphological features) should remain in the subfamily Napoleonaeoideae. The Lecythidaceae are recircumscribed, and Asteranthos and members of Scytopetalaceae are included in Scytopetaloideae. A formal taxonomic synopsis accommodating this new circumscription is presented.

The Antarctic Plant Database: a specimen and literature based information system

Abstract: The British Antarctic Survey's Antarctic Plant Database holds over 50,000 herbarium records for Antarctic and sub-Antarctic flowering plants and cryptogams held in herbaria world-wide. In addition, it holds information on species occurrences recorded in the literature for southern polar regions and synonymy indexes for relevant species. The database has been linked to a geographic information system, which can aid record validation and resource management as well as the study of species distributions and biodiversity.