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A highland (altitude 1600 m) and a lowland (altitude -2 m) population of the perennial herb Silene vulgaris were tested on the effects of elevated levels of UV-B radiation on their reproductivity. Highland populations receive higher natural UV-B doses than lowland populations. Therefore adaptation to high UV-B levels of the highland population is to be expected. The lowland population showed a decrease in the number of seed producing flowers and the number of seeds produced per plant under elevated UV-B levels. The highland population increased the number of seeds per plant under elevated UV-B levels. In both populations individual seed mass as well as seed germination percentages were unaffected by the UV-B flux received by the parental plant. Possible effects of UV-B induced alterations in reproductivity on the geographical distribution of the different populations are discussed.

The common crownvetch, Coronilla varia L. (Fabaceae), is a perennial herb growing on field boundaries and bushy slopes from lowlands to foothills. As this plant does not suffer from diseases, it is not attacked by pests and it is slightly poisonous for non-ruminants, it appears to be a promising source for obtaining various active compounds. To obtain new natural substances to regulate cardiac activity, tenths of compounds of C. varia were isolated in the course of recent phytochemical and pharmacological research.

The genus Inu1a L. includes 200 species in Europe, Asia and Africa, some of which are known as medicinal plants. Among them I. viscosa is a very common Mediterranean perennial herb or chamaephyte, with hairy leaves and young stems and a very strong characteristic smell. The leaves and roots are used in folk medicine: in bath fumes for rheumatic diseases; for inhalations to cleanse the nasal passages; as a herb tea for bronchial and lung diseases; the leaves are also placed on wounds (4, 12).