Botany Commons^™

Map-Making Of Plant Biomass And Leaf Area Index For Management Of Protected Areas, Loretta Gratani, Maria Fiore Crescente

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

An inventory of the vegetation types of Castelporziano Estate (Rome), including examples of Mediterranean ecosystems in excellent preserved condition, was compiled. Because Leaf Area Index (LAI) changed with forest structure and developmental stages, maximum LAI provided a good estimate of maximum biomass accumulation. Plant biomass estimation, ranging from 61 tons ha^-1 to 360 tons ha^-1, fitted well into 14 biomass classes; the highest values (from 301 tons ha^-1 to 360 tons ha^-1) were related to stratified forested vegetation types, including the more mature Pinus pinea plantations, Quercus ilex evergreen forests and broad leaf mixed …

A Floristic Study Of Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, Sonoma County, California, Frederica S. Bowcutt

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

A ist of 400 vascular plants was compiled for Sugarloaf Ridge State Park, a 1142 hectare (2820 acre) park in the outer North Coast Ranges within Sonoma County and adjacent western Napa County, California. Relatively undisturbed stands of native perennial bunchgrasses occur the understory In portions of both the oakwood land and the mixed evergreen forest. Grasslands on serpentine in the park are typically dominated by Nassella. One of the sttlte's eastentmost coast redwood forests occurs in the park. Nonnative Centaurea solstitialis rapidly invades annual grasslands and other disturbed in the park. The California Oepanment of and Recreation (DPR) …

Potential Utility Of Chloroplast Trnl (Uaa) Gene Intron Sequences For Inferring Phylogeny In Scrophulariaceae, C. Edward Freeman, Ron Scogin

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Whereas chloroplast DNA-derived sequence data from protein coding regions have been utilized successfully at many taxonomic levels in recent years, sequences which are variable enough to allow for efficient phylogenetic inference (maximum information with relatively low sequencing costs and effort) at the subfamilial level huve been few. Sequence data were obtained in this study from a noncoding region, the trnL (UAA) gene intron, from a selection of taxa from the Scrophulariaceae and closely related families (representing 41 species in 26 genera). Groups of species from commonly recognized tribes and subtribes were included to determine if these taxa were grouped together …

Laboulbeniales On Semiaquatic Heteroptera. Viii. Monandromyces, A New Genus Based On Autophagomeces Microveliae(Laboulbeniales), Richard K. Benjamin

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

A new genus of Laboulbeniales (Laboulbeniaceae: Stigmatomycetinae), Monandromyces, was described. Its type species, M. hemipteralis, was based on Autophagomyces hemipteralis. The latter, which parasitizes a riparian bug, a species of Microvelia (Heteroptera: Veliidae), was characterized by Roland Thaxter in 1931. Ten new species of Monandromyces- taken from members of three genera of Veliidae-were described as follows: M. australis, M. falcatus, M. polhemorum, M. protuberans, M. tenuistipitis, and M. umbonatus (on Microvelia spp.); M. neoalardi (on Neoalardus sp.); and M. elongates, M. longispinae, and M. pseudoveliae (on Pseudovelia spp.). Keys …

Articulated Cork In Calotropis Procera (Asclepiadaceae), Simcha Lev-Yadun

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The cork of the small tree. Calotropis procera, which grows in a very hot district of Israel, is remarkable for its thickness and brittleness. The cork of the stems and large branches is composed of longitudinal ridges that extend over several internodes. The cork ridges have deep fissures around the circumference at almost every node. I propose that these nodal fissures in the cork serve as joints for two functions: (1) to prevent breakage of the fragile cork layer when branches bend under wind stress, and (2) to allow thermal expansion while avoiding tissue cracking on extremely hot days, …

The Palms (Arecaceae) Of Sonora, Mexico, Richard S. Felger, Elaine Joyal

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

This publication is an account of the palms (Arecaceae) in the state of Sonora in northwestern Mexico. Six native palm species in three genera are recorded for Sonora: Brahea with four species, and Sabal and Washingtonia each with one species. Relationships and taxonomy within Brahea, especially B. elegans, remain unresolved. Brief botanical descriptions, taxonomic synopses, local names, identification keys, conservation status and recommendations, and distributional and ethno- botanical information are provided for each species. Basionyms and types are cited. Distributions are documented with citations of nearly all herbarium specimens known to us from Sonora. Many palm populations in …

Wood Anatomy Of Agdestis (Caryophyllales): Systematic Position And Nature Of Successive Cambia, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Features in which Agdestis differs from Phytolaccaceae s. s. include presence of both libriform fibers and vasicentric tracheids (rather than one or the other); bands and strands of thin-walled apotracheal parenchyma (in addition to paratracheal scanty parenchyma}, and raylessness (also reported for Bougainvillea of Nyctaginaceae, a family close to Phytolaccaceae). Dimorphism in vessel diameter in Agdestis (narrow vessels like libriform fibers in diameter) is attributable to the lianoid habit. Packets of crystals coarser than typical for raphides occur idioblastically in Agdestis, as do raphides in Phytolacca. ln Phytolacca and in other Phytolaccaceae, one finds an unusual feature that …

Wood And Bark Anatomy Of Schisandraceae: Implications For Phylogeny, Habit, And Vessel Evolution, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Qualitative and quantitative features are reported for mature wood and bark of two species of Kadsura and five species of Schisandra. Newly reported for the family are predominance of simple perforation plates (all species); presence of pit membrane remnants in vessels of first-formed secondary xylem; two to three series of pits per facet on tracheids; diffuse axial parenchyma (Kadsura); multiseri- ate rays more than three cells wide at the widest point (all species); ethereal oil cells in axial xylem; and certain details of comparative bark anatomy. Differences in wood anatomy between Illiciaceae and Schisandraceae are nearly all …

An Expanded Circumscription Of Bouteloua (Gramineae: Choridoideae): New Combinations And Names, J. Travis Columbus

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Cladistic analysis of nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast DNA sequences has revealed that the New World grass genus Bouteloua (Chloridoideae) is not monophyletic. Indeed, some species of Bouteloua are more closely related to species in other genera than to congeners. The problem was dealt with by expanding the circumscription of Bouteloua to include species formerly positioned in the satellite genera Buchloe (1 species), Buchlomimus/em> (1), Cathestecum/em> (4), Cyclostachya/em> (1), Griffithsochloa (1), Opizia (2), Pentarrhaphis (3), Pringleochloa (1), and Soderstromia(1). Thirteen new combinations and names were necessary. As here circumscribed, Bouteloua is monophyletic and comprises 57 species.

Glume Absence In The Orcuttieae (Gramineae: Chloridoideae) And A Hypothisis Of Intratribal Relationships, Eric H. Roalson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

This study addresses glume absence in tribe Orcuttieae. In Orcuttia califomica, O. inaequalis, and O. viscida, all spikelets possess two glumes except for the terminal spikelet of the inflorescence, which lacks both glumes. In O. pilosa and Tuctoria greenei the terminal spikelet lacks only the first (proximal) glume, whereas in O. tenuis, T. fragilis, and T. mucronata both glumes are developed on all spikelets. This is the first report of glume absence in species of Orcuttieae other than Neostapfia colusana, which has been long reported to lack both glumes on all spikelets. A hypothesis …

Eleocharis Yecorensis (Cyperaceae), A New Species Of Spike-Sedge From México, Eric H. Roalson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Eleocharis (Cyperaceae) includes approximately 200 species and is particularly diverse in the New World. A newly discovered species of subgenus Limnochloa is described from the states of Sonora and Mexico, Mexico. Eleocharis yecorensis is related to E. acutangula, E. mutata. and E. quadrangulata and can be distinguished from these species by its five-angled culms, obdeltoid achenes. and narrow neck between tubercle and achene body. In addition. E. yecorensis possesses root storage structures similar to those found in the Chinese water chestnut, Eleocharis dulcis.

Vascular Flora Of The Liebre Mountains, Western Transverse Ranges, California, Steve Boyd

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The Liebre Mountains form a discrete unit of the Transverse Ranges of southern California. Geographically, the range is transitional to the San Gabriel Mountains, Inner Coast Ranges, Tehachapi Mountains, and Mojave Desert. A total of 1010 vascular plant taxa was recorded from the range,representing 104 families and 400 genera. The ratio of native vs. nonnative elements of the flora is 4:1, similar to that documented in other areas of cismontane southern California. The range is noteworthy for the diversity of Quercus and oak-dominated vegetation. A total of 32 sensitive plant taxa (rare, threatened or endangered) was recorded from the range.

Nomenclatural Changes In Polemoniaceae, J. Mark Porter

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Recent molecular phylogenetic analyses of nuclear, chloroplast and mitochondrial DNA of Polemoniaceae have prompted a reexamination of morphological data and a reassessment of current taxonomy. These studies prompt several nomenclatural changes in the family. Eight taxa formerly included in Gilia section Giliastrum are transferred to the genus Giliastrum. In addition, two new tribes of Polemoniaceae are recognized.

Shifting Paradigms In Island Biology, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The ease of travel by jet aircraft has opened up island areas not only for study but also for introduction of weeds, pests, and pathogens. We are at a critical juncture in the study of island organisms, which have become more accessible at the same time that they are vanishing. With the urgency for study of island organisms, we have many new tools, especially molecular ones, which have validated the existence of long-distance dispersal in unexpected ways. These tools, together with the ease of staying for longer periods on islands, have permitted us to understand many aspects of evolutionary adaptation …

Conserving Plants As Evolutionary Entities: Successes And Unanswered Questions From New Zealand And Elsewhere, Ian A. E. Atkinson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Saving a species from extinction may not insure that its future will continue as before, even when the surviving population is in a wild habitat. Former selection forces may be missing or replaced by others so that the species develops along a different evolutionary pathway. Such disruption of evolutionary direction may be particularly important for island taxa given that modification by humans and their introduced organisms is making many islands more similar to continental habitats. In restoring habitats for island species, special attention should therefore be given to identify ing the major selective forces likely to have been operating during …

Landscape Management Challenges On The California Channel Islands, William L. Halvorson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Managing for sustained biodiversity and restoration of natural habitat has become increasingly important over the last two decades, first as mitigation for development (especially in wetlands), and , more recently in natural areas. The latter has come about as land managing agencies like the Department of Defense and Bureau of Land Management have seen the need to reverse the impact of past land uses and agencies like the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy have taken on the responsibility for less-than-pristine lands.

On the California Channel Islands, the need for restoring and managing biodiversity is great, but this restoration …

Plant Conservation In A Changing World, Peter H. Raven

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Wood Anatomy Of Resedaceae, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Quantitative and qualitative data are presented for seven species of four genera of Resedaceae. Newly reported for the family are helical striations in vessels, vasicentric and marginal axial parenchyma, procumbent ray cells, and perforated ray cells. Wood features of Resedaceae may be found in one or more of the families of Capparales close to it (Brassicaceae, Capparaceae, Tovariaceae). Lack of borders on pits of imperforate tracheary elements is likely a derived character state. Wood of Reseda is more nearly juvenile than that of the other genera in ray histology; this corresponds to the herbaceousness of Reseda. The quantitative features …

Wood Anatomy Of Portulacaceae And Hectorellaceae: Ecological, Habital, And Systematic Implications, Sherwin Carlquist

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Qualitative and quantitative wood data are given for 13 species of 10 genera of Portulacaceae (secondary xylem from additional species of Anacampseros and Lewisia were studied but not quantitatively analyzed). Most Portulacaceae show modifications that can be related to the succulent habit, including wide, tall rays mostly composed of thin-walled cells; total or partial substitution of axial parenchyma for libriform fibers ; and modified patterns of pitting on lateral walls of vessels. Pseudoscalariform pitting is more common in Portulacaceae than in other dicotyledon families. In vessels of Anacampseros wood, wide helical bands of secondary wall materi al are present. Similar …

A Floristic Study In The Diamond Creek Drainage Area, Gila National Forest, New Mexico, Eric H. Roalson, Kelly W. Allred

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The Diamond Creek drainage is one of the major watershed systems of the Gila National Forest in southwestern New Mexico. The purposes of this study were to catalog the vascular plants of a portion of this drainage area, describe the vegetation zones, locate any threatened, endangered, or sensitive plant species, and assess plant regeneration in areas that have been burned. The study area is located in the eastern portion of the Gila National Forest along the Black Range in the northwest corner of Sierra County. It covers approximately 5600 hectares (14000 acres) and ranges in elevation from 2250 to 3000 …

Aliciella, A Recircumscribed Genus Of Polemoniaceae, J. Mark Porter

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Recent phylogenetic analyses within Polemoniaceae have provided evidence that the current circumscriptionof Gilia recognizes and gives taxonomic status to a polyphyletic assemblage of species. As a first step in rectifying this problem, the genus Aliciella Brand (Polemoniaceae) is resurrected and recircumscribed to include Gilia section Giliandra and Gilia subgenus Gilmania sensu Mason & Grant, a monophyletic (=holophyletic) group as here described. Twenty-one recombinations are proposed: Aliciella cespitosa, A. formosa, A. haydenii, A. haydenii subsp. crandallii, A. heterostyla, A. humillima, A. hutchinsifolia, A. latifolia, A. latifolia subsp. imperialis. A. leptomeria. A. lottiae. A. mcvickerae.A. micromeria. A. nyensis, A. pentstemonoides, A. …

Ecophysiological Observations On Lane Mountain Milkvetch, Astragalus Jaegerianus (Fabaceae), A Proposed Endangered Species Of The Mojave Desert, Arthur C. Gibson, M. Rasoul Sharifi, Philip W. Rundel

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Astragalus jaegerianus, the Lane Mountain milkvetch, a perennial herbaceous legume, is a rare and very narrow endemic of the central Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California, and currently proposed to be listed as an endangered species. This herb grows in the protection of low shrubs. Anatomical observations revealed that leaflets are amphistomatic and have isolateral mesophyll, typical of full-sun desert leaves, and the green stem is an important photosynthetic organ, having abundant stomata and a cylinder of cortical chlore nchyma. Ecophysiological studies showed that this species requires high PFD (1400-1500 μmol m^-2s^-1) to achieve …

Phylogeny And Adaptation In The Encelia Alliance (Asteraceae: Helliantheae), Curtis Clark

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The three related genera Encelia, Enceliopsis, and Geraea comprise the alliance. The first consists primarily of shrubs and the latter two of herbaceous perennials and an annual. With the exception of two Encelia species of arid South America, all inhabit southwestern North America. Enceliopsis and Geraea are sister groups, and together form the sister group to Encelia, which includes two major clades. Especially in Encelia, there are diverse morphologies and a variety of ecological strategies marked by differences in habitat, vestiture, water balance, and photosynthetic parameters. The North American species of all three genera are obligate …

Cheilanthoid Ferns (Pteridaceae: Cheilanthoideae) In The Southwestern United States And Adjacent Mexico-A Molecular Phylogenetic Reassessment Of Generic Lines, Gerald J. Gastony, David R. Rollo

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Cheilanthoids are the most commonly encountered fern species of the arid southwest and other xeric habitats throughout the world. Cheilanthes, Notholaena, Pellaea, and Bommeria are the best known southwestern genera, but some authors recognize segregate genera such as Argyrochosma, Aspidotis, Astrolepis, and Pentagramma. Others reject distinctions among some of these genera as artificial, leaving cheilanthoid generic concepts in a state of flux. This unsettled taxonomy is often attributed to morphological homoplasy associated with adaptation to xeric habitats, suggesting the need for new analyses that do not depend on potentially misleading morphology. Nucleotide sequences …

New Names And Combinations In Encelia Frutescens Sensu Lato (Asteraceae: Heliantheae, Curtis Clark

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Plant Systematics: Beginnings And Endings, Billie L. Turner

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Arabis Hirshbergiae (Brassicaceae), A Narrow Endemic From The Cuyamaca Mountains, San Diego County, California, Steve Boyd

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

A narrow endemic from the Cuyamaca Mountains of southern California is described as a new species, Arabis hirshbergiae. Closest relationships appear to be with A. johnstonii and A. parishii, also narrow endemics from the San Jacinto and San Bernardino Mountains respectively. All three species are associated with pebble plain habitats in montane areas characterized by relatively gentle relief compared with surrounding canyons and ridge systems.

Introduction, Edward L. Schneider, Roy L. Taylor

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

No abstract provided.

Wood Anatomy Of Calyceraceae With Reference To Ecology, Habit, And Systematic Relationships, Sherwin Carlquist, Melanie L. Devore

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

Qualitative and quantitative data are presented for secondary xylem of 14 species of four genera of Calyceraceae; root wood is studied for acaulescent perennials and one annual. The wood anatomy of most species of Calycera has character states identical to those seen in wood of most Asteraceae (including phylads of Asteraceae thought to be basic in that family). Goodeniaceae have two features (tracheids, diffuse parenchyma) more primitive than corresponding conditions in Asteraceae and CaIyceraceae according to traditional criteria. Diversity in wood anatomy within Calyceraceae is explainable in terms of adaptation to particular ecological conditions. Although woods of the family as …

Phylogenetic Relationships Of Polemoniaceae: Inferences From Mitochondrial Nad1b Intron Sequences, J. Mark Porter, Leigh A. Johnson

Aliso: A Journal of Systematic and Floristic Botany

The most recent assessments of phylogenetic relationships and diversification in the flowering plant family Polemoniaceae have relied on nuclear ribosomal and chloroplast DNA sequences. We employed the mitochondrial nad1b intron, located within the second transcription unit of the first subunit of NADH dehydrogenase, for phylogenetic inference. Maximum parsimony analysis of these data provided evidence that Polemoniaceae are more closely related to families Fouquieriaceae, Diapensiaceae, Styracaceae, and Primulaceae than to families of the Solananae, where it has been classified. Fouquieriaceae are inferred to be the sister group of Polemoniaceae; however, when indels are treated as additional characters and given twice the …