Pedicularis L. Genus. Systematics, botany, phytochemistry, chemotaxonomy, ethnopharmacology, and other

In this review, the relevance of the plant species belonging to the Pedicularis L. genus has been considered from different points of view. Particular emphasis was given to phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology, since several classes of natural compounds have been reported within this genus and many of its species are well known to be employed in the traditional medicines of many Asian countries. Some important conclusions on the chemotaxonomic and chemosystematic aspects of the genus have also been provided for the first time. Actually, this work represents the first total comprehensive review on this genus

Molecular phylogenetics of Limonium and related genera (Plumbaginaceae): biogeographical and systematic implications

Phylogenetic relationships within Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) are evaluated using sequence data from three plastid regions (rbcL, the trnL intron, and the trnL-trnF intergenic spacer). Sixty-six species representing the major genera of Staticoideae, including representatives of all sections and genera formerly included in Limonium, have been analyzed using four species of Plumbaginoideae as an outgroup. Analyses of each separate and combined data set yield similar results. Afrolimon is embedded in Limonium and related to L. vulgare, the type of Limonium. Limonium is split into two major clades corresponding to subgenera, but otherwise the current infrageneric classification proved to be artificial. Some groups restricted to particular areas can be recognized, and their synapomorphies are discussed. The presence of an isolated taxon in the Canary Islands is used as a calibration point for age estimates of the major events in the genus, including migrations to the Southern Hemisphere, the Canary Islands, and Asia. The rapid radiation of Limonium in the Mediterranean basin appears to coincide with the desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea in the Messinian (late Miocene).Funding for this project was provided by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Consellería de Educación y Ciencia (Comunidad Valenciana, Spain)

Hybridization and divergent climatic preferences drive divergence of two allopatric Gentiana species on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Exploring how species diverge is vital for understanding the drivers of speciation. Factors such as geographical separation and ecological selection, hybridization, polyploidization and shifts in mating system are all major mechanisms of plant speciation, but their contributions to divergence are rarely well understood. Here we test these mechanisms in two plant species, Gentiana lhassica and G. hoae, with the goal of understanding recent allopatric species divergence on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP).We performed Bayesian clustering, phylogenetic analysis and estimates of hybridization using 561 302 nuclear genomic single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We performed redundancy analysis, and identified and annotated species-specific SNPs (ssSNPs) to explore the association between climatic preference and genetic divergence. We also estimated genome sizes using flow cytometry to test for overlooked polyploidy.Genomic evidence confirms that G. lhassica and G. hoae are closely related but distinct species, while genome size estimates show divergence occurred without polyploidy. Gentiana hoae has significantly higher average FIS values than G. lhassica. Population clustering based on genomic SNPs shows no signature of recent hybridization, but each species is characterized by a distinct history of hybridization with congeners that has shaped genome-wide variation. Gentiana lhassica has captured the chloroplast and experienced introgression with a divergent gentian species, while G. hoae has experienced recurrent hybridization with related taxa. Species distribution modelling suggested range overlap in the Last Interglacial Period, while redundancy analysis showed that precipitation and temperature are the major climatic differences explaining the separation of the species. The species differ by 2993 ssSNPs, with genome annotation showing missense variants in genes involved in stress resistance.This study suggests that the distinctiveness of these species on the QTP is driven by a combination of hybridization, geographical isolation, mating system differences and evolution of divergent climatic preferences

Salvia ayecarrenoi (Lamiaceae), a new species with exserted stamens from Guerrero, Mexico

Antecedentes y Objetivos: Durante una excursión a Atoyac de Álvarez, una región poco explorada de Guerrero, se recolectaron especímenes de Salvia con características poco comunes en taxones mexicanos. El objetivo de este trabajo es describir e ilustrar a Salvia ayecarrenoi y discutir sus afinidades morfológicas. Métodos: Se emplearon claves de identificación para determinar los ejemplares colectados a nivel de sección. Se comparó morfológicamente con los taxones de la sección Siphonantha usando bibliografía disponible, colecciones de herbarios y bases de datos. El estado de conservación de la nueva especie se determinó con base en los criterios de la IUCN. Resultados clave: Salvia ayecarrenoi es una especie endémica de Guerrero, con una combinación única de caracteres: inflorescencias hasta de 46 cm de largo, flores de color violeta, tubo ventricoso, estambres exsertos y curvados. Esta última característica es común en especies sudamericanas, pero rara en taxones mexicanos. Por lo tanto, su morfología está cercana a la sección Siphonantha, un grupo de cinco taxones de los Andes septentrionales. La nueva especie comparte algunas características morfológicas con Salvia sigchosica. Sin embargo, difiere de ella principalmente por la ausencia de guías de néctar, el tubo de la corola ventricoso, el labio inferior de la corola cuculado y la rama estigmática superior bien desarrollada y más larga que la rama inferior. De acuerdo con los criterios de la IUCN, la nueva especie está en Peligro Crítico (CR B1a). Conclusiones: Con Salvia ayecarrenoi, el número de especies mexicanas de Salvia subgénero Calosphace aumenta a 311. Las afinidades morfológicas de la nueva especie la ubican en una sección sudamericana. Sin embargo, otras secciones con distribución disyunta han resultado no monofiléticas. Por ello, es necesario reevaluar la clasificación infragenérica del grupo y los caracteres morfológicos usados para circunscribir secciones, con el objetivo de obtener agrupaciones más naturales.Background and Aims: During an expedition to Atoyac de Álvarez, a poorly explored region of Guerrero, specimens of Salvia with characteristics that are uncommon in Mexican taxa were collected. The aim of this work is to describe and illustrate Salvia ayecarrenoi and discuss its morphological affinities. Methods: Identification keys were employed to determine the collected specimens to sectional level. A morphological comparison with the taxa of the section Siphonantha was made using literature, herbaria collections and databases. The conservation state of the new species was determined based on the IUCN criteria. Key results: Salvia ayecarrenoi is a species endemic to Guerrero, with a unique character combination: inflorescences up to 46 cm long, violet-colored flowers, ventricose tube, exserted and curved stamens. The latter characteristic is common in South American species, but rare in Mexican taxa. Thus, its morphology is close to section Siphonantha, a group of five taxa from the Northern Andes. The new species shares some morphological characteristics with Salvia sigchosica. However, it differs from it mainly by the absence of nectar guides, the ventricose corolla tube, the cucullate lower lip of the corolla and the upper stigmatic branch well-developed and longer than the inferior branch. According to the IUCN criteria, the new species is Critically Endangered (CR B1a). Conclusions: With the description of Salvia ayecarrenoi, the number of Mexican species of Salvia subgenus Calosphace increases to 311. The morphological affinities of the new species place it in a South American section. However, other sections with disjunct distribution have resulted non-monophyletic. Thus, it is necessary to re-evaluate the infrageneric classification of the group and the morphological characters used to circumscribe sections, with the aim of achieving more natural groupings

An expanded molecular phylogeny of Plumbaginaceae, with emphasis on Limonium (sea lavenders): taxonomic implications and biogeographic considerations

Plumbaginaceae is characterized by a history of multiple taxonomic rearrangements and lacks a broad molecular phylogenetic framework. Limonium is the most speciesrich genus of the family with ca. 600 species and cosmopolitan distribution. Its center of diversity is the Mediterranean region, where ca. 70% of all Limonium species are endemic. In this study, we sample 201 Limonium species covering all described infrageneric entities and spanning its wide geographic range, along with 64 species of other Plumbaginaceae genera, representing 23 out of 29 genera of the family. Additionally, 20 species of the sister family Polygonaceae were used as outgroup. Sequences of three chloroplast (trnL‐F, matK, and rbcL) and one nuclear (ITS) loci were used to infer the molecular phylogeny employing maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses. According to our results, within Plumbaginoideae, Plumbago forms a nonmonophyletic assemblage, with Plumbago europaea sister to Plumbagella, while the other Plumbago species form a clade sister to Dyerophytum. Within Limonioideae, Ikonnikovia is nested in Goniolimon, rejecting its former segregation as genus distinct from Goniolimon. Limonium is divided into two major clades: Limonium subg. Pteroclados s.l., including L. sect. Pteroclados and L. anthericoides, and L. subg. Limonium. The latter is divided into three well‐supported subclades: the monospecific L. sect. Limoniodendron sister to a clade comprising a mostly non‐Mediterranean subclade and a Mediterranean subclade. Our results set the foundation for taxonomic proposals on sections and subsections of Limonium, namely: (a) the newly described L. sect. Tenuiramosum, created to assign L. anthericoides at the sectional rank; (b) the more restricted circumscriptions of L. sect. Limonium (= L. sect. Limonium subsect. Genuinae) and L. sect. Sarcophyllum (for the Sudano‐Zambezian/Saharo‐Arabian clade); (c) the more expanded circumscription of L. sect. Nephrophyllum (including species of the L. bellidifolium complex); and (d) the new combinations for L. sect. Pruinosum and L. sect. Pteroclados subsect. Odontolepideae and subsect. Nobiles.European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007–2013) under grant agreement no. 226,506, Grant/Award Number: SYNTHESYS project GB-TAF-5704; Georges‐und‐Antoine‐Claraz‐Schenkung; University of Zurich (Department of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany); Seventh Framework Programme, Grant/ Award Number: FP7, 2007 and 2013; University of Zuric

To be, or not to be a Stelis

Despite the availability of multiple sources of evidence and consistency in the support for a broadly circumscribed Stelis Sw. (Orchidaceae: Pleurothallidinae), some authors continue to be hesitant in its use. It is certain that the more typical species of Stelis, with their triangular, flattish flowers with very short fleshy petals and lip, form a monophyletic group that is easily recognized. However, it is likewise undisputed that they are not an isolated lineage in the subtribe and that several groups of species with a similar vegetative habit but lacking the typical Stelis flower are in fact very close relatives, sharing a relatively recent common ancestor. Those species groups need to be classified in a way that also reflects their own evolutionary history; alternatives to a broadly circumscribed Stelis are possible yet neither straightforward or practical at this time. An infrageneric classification for the whole group is provided here in an attempt to clarify which species belong where in this highly complex affinity. Emphasis is made on the difficulty of diagnosing the less typical members of each proposed subgenus or section, and on the importance of floral convergence and divergence as a result of pollinator adaptation. As here defined, Stelis is the largest genus in the Pleurothallidinae, with 1243 species.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Jardín Botánico Lankester (JBL

A taxonomic backbone for the Plumbaginaceae (Caryophyllales)

A taxonomic backbone of the Plumbaginaceae is presented and the current state of knowledge on phylogenetic relationships and taxon limits is reviewed as a basis for the accepted taxon concepts. In total, 4,476 scientific names and designations are treated of which 30 are not in the family Plumbaginaceae. The Plumbaginaceae are subdivided in three tribes with 26 genera and 1,179 accepted species. Two subgenera, 17 sections, two subsections and 187 infraspecific taxa are accepted. At the species and infraspecific level 2,782 synonyms were assigned to accepted taxa, whereas 194 names were excluded from the core checklist (i.e., unplaced taxa, infrageneric subdivisions with still uncertain application, names of verified uncertain application, invalid horticultural names, excluded names from other families, other excluded designations, and unresolved names). The EDIT Platform for Cybertaxonomy was utilized as the tool to compile and manage the names and further taxonomic data under explicit taxon concepts. Secundum references are given in case taxon concepts were taken from the literature, whereas this study serves as reference for newly circumscribed taxa. The family’s division into the tribes Aegialitideae, Limonieae, and Plumbagineae departs from earlier two-subfamily classifications, prompted by recent phylogenetic findings that challenge the subfamilial affinity of Aegialitis. The genus Acantholimon was extended to include Gladiolimon, as currently available phylogenetic and morphological data support this merger. In Limonium, all accepted species could be assigned to sections and subsections or the “Mediterranean lineage”, respectively, making use of the phylogenetic distribution of their morphological characters and states. A new combination and/or status is proposed for Dyerophytum socotranum, Limonium thymoides, Limonium × fraternum, Limonium × rossmaessleri, and Limonium sect. Jovibarba. Special attention is given to nomenclatural issues, particularly for Statice nomen ambiguum to resolve the names under accepted names. The use of artificial groupings like “aggregates”, “complexes” and “species groups” in alpha-taxonomic treatments is discussed. The taxonomic backbone will receive continued updates and through the Caryophyllales Taxonomic Expert Network, it contributes the treatment of the Plumbaginaceae for the World Flora Online

Hepatoprotective properties of Gentiana SPP: Against non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a metabolic disease characterised by the accumulation of fat in the liver. It is estimated that 33 % of the UK population have NAFLD with 2-5 % progressing to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Due to a lack of an outright therapy for NAFLD, treatment has been mainly focussed on managing the conditions associated with the disease such as obesity, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipidaemia. This study aimed to investigate the means by which hepatocyte protection is conferred by Gentiana plants (Gentiana lutea, Gentiana macrophylla, Gentiana scabra and Gentiana rigescens) used in herbal medicine for the management of non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLD). The role played by some of the inherent Gentiana phytochemicals including: gentiopicroside, sweroside and swertiamarin in promoting hepatocyte protection against the cytotoxic effects of fatty acids were also investigated. Gentiana species: lutea, macrophylla, rigescens, and scabra are known to protect and enhance hepatocyte viability via their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and bitter components including: amarogentin gentianine, iso-orientin, swertiamarin, gentiopicroside, and sweroside. This study was necessitated due to a lack of adequate research on the hepatoprotective effects of the above-named Gentiana species and phytochemicals with special emphasis on their effect on mitochondrial respiration in the presence of fatty acids. At the time of submission, this was the first study to utilise the seahorse mitochondria stress assay to investigate the Gentiana species as well as phytochemicals: gentiopicroside, sweroside and swertiamarin. It was also found that the most abundant phytochemical in all four Gentiana species was gentiopicroside (up to 4.6% g/g), followed by swertiamarin (0.21–0.45% g/g), and sweroside (0.03- 0.4 % g/g). Furthermore, it was also observed that the methanolic extracts of all four Gentiana protected HepG2 and THLE-2 cells by inhibiting arachidonic acid from diminishing cell replication but showed a mitogenic effect mostly observed in gentiopicroside, Gentiana lutea and Gentiana macrophylla. It was concluded that phytochemicals: gentiopicroside, sweroside and swertiamarin play key roles in the hepatocyte protection exerted by methanolic extracts of Gentiana lutea, Gentiana macrophylla, Gentiana scabra and Gentiana rigescens against the cytotoxic effects of fatty acids. This protection is conferred by enhancing mitochondrial function in terms of increasing maximal respiratory capacity in response to high influx of fatty acids, promoting ATP production as well as scavenging ROS produced as a result of high fatty acid influx and increased mitochondrial respiration. However, the mitogenic effect observed in gentiopicroside and Gentiana macrophylla requires further studies using unmodified primary hepatocytes to gain better understanding