Distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic. Part 8

The eighth part of the series on the distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic includes grid maps of 106 taxa in the genera Abutilon, Achillea. Arctium, Arenaria. Arnoseris, Carex. Chamaecytisus, Cornus, Diphasiastrum, Echinops. Galeopsis. Galium, Huperzia, Isoetes. Lyco-podiella. Lycopodium. Moehringia, Orobanche, Phelipanche, Prunus, Ranunculus, Selaginella. Stachys, Telekia, Typha and Zannichellia. These maps were produced by taxonomic experts based on examined herbarium specimens, literature and field records. Many of the studied native species are on the national Red List. They are represented by plants that are rare in the Czech Republic, in extreme cases confined to single sites (Arenaria grandiflora. Galium austriacum, Isoetes echinospora, I. lacustris and Orobanche teucrii). or that have experienced a considerable decline (e.g. Arnoseris minima. Carex hordeistichos, C. secalina. Diphasiastrum tristachyum and Lycopodiella inundata), or a combination of both (e.g. Orobanche artemisiae-campestris. O. coerulescens, Phelipanche arenaria. Ph. caesia and Stachys germanica). Three species (Moehringia muscosa, Selaginella helvetica and Typha minima) have been extirpated from this country. Alien species are represented by both archaeophytes (e.g. Arctium lappa, A. tomentosum, Orobanche minor, Stachys annua and S. arvensis) and neophytes (e.g. Abutilon theophrasti and Typha laxmannii). Two species have become invasive: Echinops sphaerocephalus spreads mainly in dry and disturbed habitats along roads and railways in warm lowlands, whereas Telekia speciosa is now locally frequent in various habitats mainly at middle and high elevations. Echinops bannaticus is reported here as a new alien species in the Czech Republic that occasionally escapes from cultivation. Spatial distributions and often also temporal dynamics of individual taxa are shown in maps and documented by records included in the Pladias database and available in electronic appendices. The maps are accompanied by comments that include additional information on the distribution, habitats, taxonomy and biology of the taxa

Distributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic. Part 2

The second part of the publication series on the istributions of vascular plants in the Czech Republic includes grid maps of 87 taxa of the genera Antennaria, Aposeris, Astragalus, Avenula, Bidens, Carex, Cenchrus, Centunculus, Convallaria, Crocus, Cryptogramma, Cyperus, Dryopteris, Gladiolus, Gratiola, Helictochloa, Hierochloë, Lindernia, Maianthemum, Myriophyllum, Notholaena, Nymphoides, Radiola, Schoenoplectus, Sisyrinchium, Spergularia, Tillaea, Veratrum and Veronica. The maps were produced by taxonomic experts based on all available herbarium, literature and field records. The plants studied include 56 taxa registered in the Red List of vascular plants of the Czech Republic, some of which showed remarkable declines. Spatial and temporal dynamics of individual species are shown in maps and documented by records included in the Pladias database and available in Electronic appendices. The maps are accompanied by comments, which include additional information on distribution, habitats, taxonomy and biology of the species

Bromus arvensis L. - sveřep rolní

Na Šumavě u Borových Lad byl v roce 2010 zaznamenán přechodný výskyt sveřepu rolního (Bromus arvensis). Doklad je uložen v herbáři BRNU a ve soukromém herbáři L. Ekrta.Na Šumavě u Borových Lad byl v roce 2010 zaznamenán přechodný výskyt sveřepu rolního (Bromus arvensis). Doklad je uložen v herbáři BRNU a ve soukromém herbáři L. Ekrta.In 2010, Bromus arvensis was collected near the town of Borová Lada in the Šumava Mountains. The herbarium specimens are deposited at BRNU and in the private collection of L. Ekrt

Nutritional and Antioxidant Potential of Fiddleheads from European Ferns

Ferns are part of the diet and traditional medicine in East Asia, North America, and Oceania, however, their importance has been forgotten in Europe. Here, the nutritional and antioxidant potential of young fern fronds (fiddleheads) of eight families were studied. Most of the tested fern species excelled in high antioxidant capacity when compared to the reference leafy vegetables spinach and rocket. On average, the total phenol content reached 220 mg·g−1 of extract dry weight for all fiddleheads, and 15 out of 24 tested species exceeded 1 g Trolox equivalent per gram of extract dry weight in Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) assay. On the other hand, fiddleheads contained a comparable amount of carotenoids and ascorbic acid with the reference vegetables. In the case of fatty acid composition, fiddleheads contained especially high amounts of essential omega-3 (n3) and omega-6 (n6) polyunsaturated fatty acids with a beneficial n6/n3 ratio. The n6/n3 ratio in all tested species was between 2 and 6.4, whereas the ratio in the reference vegetables was below 0.4. All in all, fiddleheads from European ferns are a rich source of valuable antioxidants and essential fatty acids with a desirable n-6/n-3 ratio and may thus form an alternative source of these compounds, especially for those people not consuming fish and fish products

Continuous Morphological Variation Correlated with Genome Size Indicates Frequent Introgressive Hybridization among <i>Diphasiastrum</i> Species (Lycopodiaceae) in Central Europe

<div><p>Introgressive hybridization is an important evolutionary process frequently contributing to diversification and speciation of angiosperms. Its extent in other groups of land plants has only rarely been studied, however. We therefore examined the levels of introgression in the genus <i>Diphasiastrum</i>, a taxonomically challenging group of Lycopodiophytes, using flow cytometry and numerical and geometric morphometric analyses. Patterns of morphological and cytological variation were evaluated in an extensive dataset of 561 individuals from 57 populations of six taxa from Central Europe, the region with the largest known taxonomic complexity. In addition, genome size values of 63 individuals from Northern Europe were acquired for comparative purposes. Within Central European populations, we detected a continuous pattern in both morphological variation and genome size (strongly correlated together) suggesting extensive levels of interspecific gene flow within this region, including several large hybrid swarm populations. The secondary character of habitats of Central European hybrid swarm populations suggests that man-made landscape changes might have enhanced unnatural contact of species, resulting in extensive hybridization within this area. On the contrary, a distinct pattern of genome size variation among individuals from other parts of Europe indicates that pure populations prevail outside Central Europe. All in all, introgressive hybridization among <i>Diphasiastrum</i> species in Central Europe represents a unique case of extensive interspecific gene flow among spore producing vascular plants that cause serious complications of taxa delimitation.</p></div

Principal component analysis of <i>Diphasiastrum</i> taxa from Northern Europe.

<p>PCA of 57 individuals based on 16 vegetative morphological characters (the first and second ordination axis explain 29.0% and 23.9% of total variation, respectively) illustrates different pattern of morphological variation in Northern Europe. Genome size (values in pg DNA) is passively projected in the diagram using a local regression (loess) model. Individual accessions are designated by different symbols based on their independent taxonomic determination according to regional keys and floras (i.e. a passive illustrative projection). Outlaying <i>D. alpinum</i> accession (0.408, 0.198) is an example of extremely shaded ecotype (see also <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0099552#pone.0099552.s001" target="_blank">Figure S1</a>).</p

Distribution of absolute genome sizes of Diphasiastrum samples.

<p>Absolute genome sizes of <i>Diphasiastrum</i> individuals assigned to six European taxa in Central (A; 561 individuals, range 4.73–7.80 pg) and Northern (B; 63 individuals, range 5.13–7.33 pg) Europe. Different colors denote species as independently cross-check determined using several regional keys and floras (i.e. a passive illustrative projection; see Methods for details).</p

Principal component analysis of <i>Diphasiastrum</i> taxa.

<p>PCA of 466 individuals from Central Europe based on 16 vegetative morphological characters (the first and second ordination axis explain 33.4% and 27.2% of total variation, respectively). Genome size (values in pg DNA) is passively projected in the diagram using a local regression (loess) model. Individual accessions are designated by different symbols based on their independent taxonomic determination according to regional keys and floras (i.e. a passive illustrative projection).</p