Recent phylogenetic studies have investigated the tribe Phlomideae and, in particular, the degree of “inclusiveness” of the genus Phlomoides. As a result, Eremostachys, Lamiophlomis, Notochaete and all Chinese Phlomis, excepted for cultivated Pfruticosa, were transferred to the latest redefined Phlomoides. The newly circumscribed Phlomoides is easily distinguished from Phlomis by its herbaceous habit and several other traits. Although the necessary new combinations for the Chinese species have been made elsewhere, unfortunately, eleven names were omitted by previous researchers. Therefore, this paper proposes 11 new nomenclatural combinations in Phlomoides, and provides a checklist and a key to all Chinese Phlomoides.
This paper reports the chromosome numbers of 11 species and two varieties of Isodon from 16 populations in China. For all taxa except Ilophanthoides var. graciliflorus, chromosome numbers are reported here for the first time. All taxa are counted as diploid (2n=24): Ialbopilosus, Icoetsa, Iflabelliformis, Iforrestii, Igesneroides, Ilophanthoides var. graciliflorus, Ioreophilus var. elongatus, Iparvifolius, Ipleiophyllus, Ipolystachys, Iracemosus, Iscoparius, and Iweisiensis. Thus, x=12 is inferred as the basic chromosome number of Isodon. In addition, the chromosome number 2n=48, which is newly recorded for the genus, is also reported in one population of Icoetsa, indicating the species to be diploid and tetraploid.
The genus Clematoclethra (Franch.) Maxim. (Actinidiaceae) is endemic in the temperate and subtropical regions in central and western China. Species delimitation in the genus has been highly controversial. It has been treated as including 20 species and four varieties or only one species (Cscandens) with four subspecies. In this paper, pollen grains of 15 individuals from 14 populations representing the genus Clematoclethra were examined under scanning electronic microscope (SEM). The pollen is smallsized, usually spheroidal in shape, sometimes subprolate and prolate, with the aperture 3colporoidate, and falls into three types in respect of exine sculpture, namely, rugulate, granulate, and finely verrucate. The types of pollen are somewhat correlated with the types of indumentum of plants, indicating that pollen morphology is helpful for the classification of Clematoclethra.
Floristic study on lichens from Khanas natural reserve and Bayinbulak grassland was carried out. Lichen genus Xylographa (Fr.) Fr. was found as new recorded genus to China, one species, Xylographa parallela (Ach.) Fr. was found in this genus. The description of the genus and species including its anatomy, chemistry, and ecology with photographs is presented in this paper.
A new species of Gigantochloa Kurz ex Munro, Gigantochloa callosa NH. Xia, Y. Zeng & RS. Lin was described and illustrated. It is differed from Gparvifolia (Brandis ex Gamble) TQ. Nguyen by its smaller size; culm sheath proper covered with both dark brown and silvery appressed hairs abaxially; ligules 2-3mm tall, entire; leafligules 2-3mm tall, entire; one side of the apex of leaf sheath developed into a 2-3mm long, thin, scalelike callus.
Camellia tonkinensis is recollected after more than 100 years with extending distribution in northern Vietnam. CJ. Pitard described this species in 1910 based on the collections of B. Balansa in 1887 from Mt. Bavi. Added description of flower and location of new collection are provided.
In this study, original materials of 16 names, Cyananthus petiolatus, Gentiana crassuloides, Gentiana rosularis, Primula vialii, Salvia brevilabra, Salvia tatsienensis, Salvia tricuspis, Saussurea caudata, Saussurea scabrida, Saussurea souliei, Saussurea tatsienensis,Saxifraga longistyla, Senecio plantaginifolius, Senecio setchuenensis, Senecio souliei, Tanacetum myrianthum, described by Franchet in 1891 were examined. After tracing potential original material, the lectotype of 16 names was designated or further designated in this study.
The maintenance of membrane function is critical to the ability of plants to resist environmental stresses; specifically, the stability and appropriate fluidity of membranes are crucial to their normal function. We previously demonstrated that plants adapt to longterm potassium (K+) deficiency by accumulation of membrane lipids in leaves and maintenance of the lipid composition in roots. In this study, which involved Arabidopsis thaliana and its K+deficiencytolerant relative Crucihimalaya himalaica, we first calculated the doublebond index (DBI) as an indicator of membrane fluidity. After exposure to longterm K+deficiency stress, the DBI of the total lipids in leaves of Athaliana and Chimalaica showed no significant changes, whereas the DBI of the total lipids in the roots of these species showed slight increases. Changes in lysophospholipids (lysoPLs) levels, and digalactosyldiacylglycerol/monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (DGDG/MGDG) and phosphatidylcholine/phosphatidylethanolamine (PC/PE) ratios, all of which strongly reflect membrane stability, were also studied in K+stressed Athaliana and Chimalaica. After longterm K+ deficiency, total lysoPLs levels increased in Athaliana and Chimalaica leaves, but showed no significant changes in roots. DGDG/MGDG and PC/PE ratios were higher in Chimalaica leaves and roots than in those of Athaliana. These results indicate that Chimalaica exhibits superior membrane stability compared with Athaliana. This may explain its superior growth and tolerance under K+deficient conditions.
Epiphytic lichen is one of the important structural components of montane moist evergreen broadleaved forest ecosystem in Ailao Mts. The photosynthesis light response curves of three dominant epiphytic lichens Sticta nylanderiana, Lobaria retigera and Cetrelia olivetorum, were determined in the region under different water conditions. The results showed that the three epiphytic lichens had high light compensation points (LCP) and light saturation points (LSP). The epiphytic lichens were able to adapt to strong light conditions. The maximum net photosynthetic rates (Pmax) of three epiphytic lichens were low, with the range of 17~50nmol·g-1·s-1, under water stress (water content of 5%~10%). With the increasing water content, the Pmax, respiration rate (Rday), the LSP of three lichens increased while the LCP decreased. These epiphytic lichens have the characteristics of “sun plants”, and they are able to adapt to the strongilluminated shrubs and branches. The initial chlorophyll fluorescence (F0) and maximum photochemical efficiency parameter (Fv/Fm) were deceased with water content decreasing, indicating the photosynthetic reaction center of lichens had a strong sensitivity to water condition. The photosynthetic reaction center would recover into an active physiological state with the improvement of the water condition.
Increases in the concentration of atmospheric CO2 and plant invasion are two important problems that face humans worldwide. In some plants, exposure to a shortterm elevated concentration of CO2 (SE［CO2］) promotes photosynthesis, but the promotion of elevated ［CO2］ (E ［CO2］) to photosynthesis might disappear after longterm treatment (socalled “CO2 acclimation”); this might result from the associated inhibition of nitrate assimilation. The present study investigated the physiological effects of shortterm (8 days) and longterm (40 days) exposure to E［CO2］ when these were combined with different forms of inorganic N (full N; nitrate (NO3-)N) in the invasive species Eupatorium adenophorum. Exposure to E［CO2］ increased the biomass of Eadenophorum, regardless of the duration of exposure to E［CO2］ and the type of inorganic N that was supplied. E［CO2］ could promote the photosynthesis of Eadenophorum seedlings fertilised with nondepleted Hoagland solutions (full N). For plants fertilised with NH4+depleted Hoagland solution (NO3-N), LE［CO2］ treatment promoted the photosynthesis of Eadenop horum, but the promotion of photosynthesis by E［CO2］ disappeared under SE［CO2］ conditions. Photosynthetic pigments contents were determined to estimate potential changes in the photosynthetic capacity of Eadenophorum. For plants fertilised with nondepleted Hoagland solution, there were no significant differences in chlorophyll among the three ［CO2］ treatments, but the treatment of SE［CO2］ increased the levels of chlorophyll in leaves. The apparent promotion of biomass accumulation and photosynthesis at LE［CO2］ without a decrease in chlorophyll indicates that Eadenophorum might not acclimate to longterm exposure to E［CO2］. NH4+ depletion did not affect the capacity of LE［CO2］ to promote the photosynthesis of Eadenophorum. Thus, considering some plants fertilised with NO3- acclimating to LE［CO2］, Eadenophorum might be more competitive in areas where the soils are relatively poor in NH4+ as levels of atmospheric CO2 continue to rise.
In this study, a partial ACC oxidase (ACO) genelike cDNA sequence was obtained through homologybased cloning from Yali (Pyrus bretschneideri cv. ‘Yali’) plant. Primers were designed according to the highly conserved regions of published ACO gene sequences, and RTPCR cloning was conducted by using Yali fruit cDNA. The obtained ACOlike cDNA fragment contains 831 base pairs which encodes 276 predicted amino acid residues, and shares no less than 94% nucleotide sequence identity with all published ACO genes. We further inversely inser ted the ACOlike cDNA fragment into pBI121 expression vector, and transformed it into tissue cultured Yali plants by using Agrobacterium LBA4404. Finally, 4 independent transgenic lines harboring the antisense ACOlike fragment were obtained and validated by PCR analysis. Southern blotting assay revealed 3 transgenic lines containing single copy of the foreign gene, and 1 line with 2 insertion copies.
Insect predation on oak trees played an important role in population regeneration and seed dispersal. Insect infestation on the acorns of Cyclobalanopsis glaucoides and Castanopsis delavayi were compared between the plots at different slope position in two years at Xishan Mountain, Kunming, China. We established three plots for each tree species to observe seed rain and to collect seeds from early September to late November, covering whole seed falling season. The results showed: 1) Parasitic insects in Cyglaucoides acorns were Curculio megadens Pelsue and Zhang and Curculio sp. Within Cadelavayi acorns, they were Curculio sp. and Cyllorhynchites sp. 2) Infestation rates of Cyglaucoides were not significantly changed among plots (2484%~2760%) and in two years (2547% in 2005, and 2711% in 2006). In contrast, there were significant spatial and temporal variation for Cadelavayi, 1794%~2655% among plots, and 2669% in 2005, and 1690% in 2006. 3) Weevilinfested acorns were heterogeneous in falling time. Infestation rate reduced gradually among the falling acorns, and there were two peaks of weevilinfested acorns, middle to late September and middle to late October. Retention time of larvae inside the fallen acorns of Cyglaucoides was longer than in Cadelavayi’s. 4) Seedling recruitment may be related to insect predation. However, the weevil infestation rate was not significant related to the seedlings density among plots. There were more seedlings around big trees and at sites with higher herb coverage.
High frost, a common natural disaster, means heavy damage to plants with temperature dropped below 0℃. In midDecember 2013, Kunming suffered from severe frosts, resulting in largeareadamage of the plants, which brought huge losses. To provide a reference for scientifically and reasonably preventing and reducing frost freezing to garden plants, it is necessary to understand resistance of various plant catagories to extreme cold hazards. In this paper, a sample survey on 225 plant species from 90 families was performed for victimized plants in Kunming Botanical Garden. With the statistical analysis of the relationship between damage degree and plant systematics, morphology, distribution or other factors, we drew several conclusions. For example, ferns had a relatively poor frost resistance while gymnosperms mostly were strong, and angiosperms showed larger differences in frost resistance; annual herbaceous and evergreen woody had a stronger resistance than perennial herbaceous and deciduous woody respectively; native species exhibited greater resistance than introduced species. According to the results, some suggestions were given for protecting existing garden plants and constructing new landscapings. That is based on the strength of frost resistance of different plants, on one hand to give the garden plants a positive and effective protection and prevention measures against frost damage, on the other hand to select species suitable for planting combined environmental conditions with characters of plants.
In this paper, sexspecific differences in flowering phenology and floral morphology of Humulus scandens were tested using a pot experiment under watercontrolled condition. Obvious differences between the male and female individuals were observed in response to different water regime. Drought stress induced Hscandens population to flower earlier and last longer. Compared with males, flowers of female opened earlier. Moreover, inflorescence axis length, inflorescence axis diameter and anther length in droughtstressed males were significantly reduced 2481%, 2907%, and 514% (P<0001, P=0003, P=0024), respectively. Concomitantly, pollen quantity and the pollen vitality were also decreased significantly. In contrast, the inflorescence axis length, style length and average number of flowers per inflorescence in droughtstressed females were increased 978%, 7062%, and 5704% (P=0039, P<0001, P<0001), respectively. Furthermore, the seed length, and seed width, singleseed weight, and 1000seed weight under drought stress were significantly reduced 1212%, 1259%, 4343%, and 1538%, respectively (P<0001). On the other hand, compared with contrast, the aboveground biomass decreased significantly in both male and female Hscandens individuals under drought stress (P=0002, P=0020). However, the reproductive investment of females was significantly higher than males under drought stress (P=0049). In a word, effects of drought stress on flowering phenology and floral organs are significantly different between two sexes. To alleviate the negative influences on reproductive ability caused by drought, females of Hscandens individuals may allocate more biomass to reproductive organs than males under drought stress.
A fundamental goal of ecology and evolution is to explain patterns of species distribution and abundance. However, the way in which stable distribution ranges are shaped by natural selection is still poorly understood, especially whether patterns of resource allocation have contributed to the range size and the formation of range boundary received little attention. For annual herb, the maximum reproductive allocation is predicted to be 50%, and thus we predicted that reproductive allocation might contribute to the formation of range boundary since plant will enhance allocations to reproduction in stressful environments. In this study, we presented our data on resource allocation between population from the glacial refegium and those from the marginal populations in Gymnaconitum gymnandrum, an alpine biennial native to the QinghaiTibet Plateau, aiming to find the contribution of resource allocation to the formation of range boundary. Our results showed that resource allocations to vegetative organs, including roots, plant height and stemleaf biomass, were significantly higher in the refugium population that in the two marginal populations, and allocations to reproductive organs, including flower number and flower biomass, were significantly lower in one marginal population (Haibei population) than in the other marginal population (Xinghai population) and the refugium population (Tongren population). However, reproductive allocation was significantly higher in the marginal populations than in the refugium population. In addition, in each of the three populations, we found a positive relationship between the plant size and flower biomass but a negative relationship between the plant size and reproductive allocation. Our results indicated a sizedependent reproductive allocation in Ggymnandrum, but we did not find a size threshold for reproduction in each of the three populations of this plant, which might be attributed to the life history of this biennial herb. We also suggested that reproductive allocation was increased during the process of range expansion and may rise to the optimal reproductive allocation in the marginal populations, which suggested the important role of sexual reproduction for plants in more stressful environments and the formation of range boundary. However, these conclusions need to be further proved in other plant species.
Using the Pearson correlation coefficient and Spearman rank correlation coefficient, the interspecific association of 13 species in different communities in Wuling Damu Mountain Nature Reserve were investigated, and the niche breadth and niche overlap of 13 species were studied. The results showed that the utilization ability of resources of Taxus chinensis community was relatively stronger, and the value of niche breadth was relatively larger. Comparing with other species, Taxus chinensis had a difference on ecological characteristics, and the value of niche overlap was relatively smaller. Besides, the independence between each population was relatively weaker, and the Taxus chinensis community had a positive correlation with other species. The species, which had a larger value of niche breadth, had a larger value of niche overlap. Moreover, the species, which had a larger value of niche overlap, showed a great significantly difference in interspecific ssociation.
The study on traditional knowledge and experience of using plants by Uyghurs folk people has a potential application in socioeconomic development and resource protection. Populus euphratica Oliv and Ppruinosa Schrenk are major plants in Taklimakan desert ecosystem of Xinjiang. This study aims to ascertain the Lopnur Uyghurs traditional knowledge on two Populus species and their cultural system related to these species. We investigated the key informants for interviews on using Populus plants. The Populus plants were used for various purposes. The white alkali crystals are using for the treatment of bloating, sore throat, stomach ulcers, duodenal ulcers and indigestion and also in soda, while black crystal is used for the treatment of back pain, leg pain, swelling and relieve pain. Alkali crystals are even used as shampoo after a simple processing and also as a laundry detergent. Populus plants water is applied as a treatment of neurasthenia. It is also used for antiaging, reducing blood pressure, high cholesterol and heart morbidity. Plants foliages are used as veterinary medicine such as bloating and rot of muscular and stomach of livestock. In addition, Lopnur people used the plants to build the Desert Ecological Park and controlling desertification. This article ascertained the two Populus speceis and Lopnur Uyghurs cultural system. Present study will improve the conservation of Lopnur Uyghurs folk indigenous/ traditional knowledge on Populus plants and to promote the sustainable development in the socioeconomic diversity.
