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Information on the reproductive anatomy in genera of the tribe Naucleeae, particularly Cephalanthus, is scarce and fragmented. Of the six species in the genus, only the mature megagamethophyte of Cephalanthus occidentalis has been described. This study aims to provide information on embryological aspects in flowers of C. glabratus and to analyze the morphology and anatomy of the flowers, fruit, and seed in the six species of the genus. Cephalanthus glabratus have imperfect flowers: pistillate (PF) and staminate (SF). In the PF, the ovules are functional, while in the SF, they atrophy during the formation of the embryo sac. The mature ovule has a single integument, corresponds to the Phyllis type and the embryo sac is a Polygonum type, forming only in the PF. The presence of pollenkitt and secondary presentation of pollen were observed in the SF, as well as in the pollen formation previously described, whereas in the PF, they are absent, due to the collapse of the pollen grains inside the indehiscent anthers. The analysis of the ontogeny of the ovular excrescence in C. glabratus determined its funicular origin, calling it an aril. Its development is a pre-anthesis event, initiated during megasporogenesis. In seeds, the aril is a fleshy, white appendage which almost completely envelops the seeds of Cephalanthus, except for Cephalanthus natalensis where it is noticeably more reduced. Studies of the fruit in Cephalanthus species indicate that the infructescence is a dry schizocarp which separates into uni-seminated mericarps, except in C. natalensis that has fleshy indehiscent fruit.

Cephalanthus belongs to Rubiaceae tribe Naucleeae, and is characterized as shrubs to a small trees, mainly from the lowlands, with verticillate leaves. We hypothesized that the foliar morphoanatomy of Cephalanthus species provides characters informative to our taxonomic study, and that their leaves present adaptations to waterlogged habitats. To test these hypotheses our aims were to describe the macro- and micromorphology and anatomy of leaves in all Cephalanthus species. We describe and characterize leaf disposition, shape, size of blade and petiole, characteristics of the epidermis and indumenta, including the micromorphology of the cuticle and stomata, and the types of leaf domatia, if present. The anatomy of the petiole and leaf blade was also analyzed, including the mesophyll, vascular systems, ontogeny of the stomata, presence and typification of oxalate of calcium crystals, and their distribution in the foliar tissues. Uniformity in the morphoanatomical characters allows us to define the genus Cephalanthus, but inside this uniformity we can also differentiate between the species by means of a dichotomous key. The presence of domatia in pockets in C. occidentalis, in contrast to the tuft of hairs in C. salicifolius and C. tetrandrus, shed light on the taxonomic delimitation of the former because historically they were considered a single species. Cephalanthus species show variability in micromorphological characters, but have a strong uniformity in anatomical organization. The leaves of Cephalanthus show adaptations to seasonal environments; some are typical hydromorphic traits while other reflect adaptations to their heliophilic habitat and tolerance to dry periods. Fil: Romero, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Salas, Roberto Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: González, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina

Como parte de la revisión del género Cephalanthus para las Américas, hemos encontrado que los nombres C. peruvianus y C. breviflorus necesitan una adecuada lectotipificación. Por esta razón, los materiales recolectados por Richard Spruce y depositados en BR son aquí seleccionados como lectotipos. As part of the review of the genus Cephalanthus for the Americas, we have found that names C. peruvianus and C. breviflorus need a properly lectotypification. For this reason, materials collected by Richard Spruce and deposited in BR are here selected as lectotypes. Fil: Romero, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Salas, Roberto Manuel. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: González, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina

This paper is the first embryological report on the genus Cephalanthus L. and contributes to future studies in other genera in the tribe Naucleeae. The development of the anther wall in Cephalanthus glabratus (Spreng.) K. Schum. corresponds to the dicot type and microsporogenesis is simultaneous. The young wall of the anther has four layers: epidermis, endothecium, one middle layer and the secretory tapetum. The tissue of the septum has idioblasts with crystalline sand. In the wall of the mature anther, only the endothecium and remnants of epidermal cells were preserved. The occurrence and morphology of orbicules were observed in the mature anthers of all three species of Cephalanthus with scanning electron microscopy. The orbicules have taxonomic value at species level, since these structures allow us to distinguish between the species analyzed. The presence of a protruding oncus was observed for the first time in Cephalanthus in non-acetolyzed pollen grains. According to our observations, this structure is not affected by the state of anther dehiscence in Cephalanthus glabratus, because the oncus is visible and prominent in the mature pollen grains in both indehiscent and dehiscent anthers. Fil: Romero, María Florencia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina Fil: Salas, Roberto Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Naturales y Agrimensura; Argentina Fil: González, Ana María. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Nordeste. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste. Universidad Nacional del Nordeste. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias. Instituto de Botánica del Nordeste; Argentina

Herons generally breed in mixed flocks and their nests are made in shrub wetlands and on islands. Waterbirds can select different tree species in the heronries which can influence the vertical stratification of the heron nests. The aim of the present study was to determine the vertical nest stratification among four Ardeidae species in heronries in southern Brazil. The study was carried out during four breeding seasons between 2004 and 2009. No significant species-specific difference in mean nest height was observed between the three heronries. However, there was some variation in nest heights per species in the four years of the study and among the heron species. Nest height was correlated with the body size of the heron species. The smaller species, Bubulcus ibis, Egretta thula, and Nycticorax nycticorax, occupied mainly the lower stratum and the largest, Ardea alba, the higher stratum. The colonist species B. ibis did not show a clear preference, occupying both Mimosa bimucronata and Cephalanthus glabr...

Rubiaceae are one of the largest families of plants, with ∼13,000 species. In this study, we have estimated the phylogeny for 534 Rubiaceae taxa from 329 genera with up to five different chloroplast regions by Bayesian analysis. It resulted in a highly resolved tree with many strongly supported nodes. There is strong support for the three subfamilies (Cinchonoideae, Ixoroideae, Rubioideae) and most of the 44 included tribes. A scaled‐down data set of 173 Rubiaceae taxa was used with a Bayesian approach to estimate divergence times for clades classified as tribes and subfamilies. Four fossils were used as minimum age priors, one inside each subfamily and one for Rubiaceae as a whole (Faramea‐type pollen, Scyphiphora pollen, Cephalanthus pusillus fruits, and Paleorubiaceophyllum eocenicum leaves). The estimated lineage (stem) divergence time for Rubiaceae is 90.4 Ma. The estimated lineage divergence times for the subfamilies are 84.4 (86.6) Ma for Rubioideae, 73.1 Ma for Ixoroideae, and 73.1 Ma for Cinchono...

In the central hardwoods region of the US, several small trees have potential for landscaping as either understory plants or in full sun where their fall color, wide adaptability, and apparent resistance to pests make them attractive. I outline 6 species of deciduous trees, representing the genus Sassafras, Oxydendron, Nyssa, Cladrastis, Cephalanthus, and Viburnum, that I find particularly interesting and deserving of more widespread use.

We present an analysis of modern pollen and diatom assemblages in surficial sediments in a coastal marsh at Rondeau Provincial Park, on the northern shore of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario, Canada. The objectives of the study were (1) to determine how pollen and diatom assemblages in surface sediments vary as a function of the dominant vegetation community and moisture availability at the sampling site and (2) to analyze pollen-vegetation relationships of four dominant wetland plants: Cephalanthus occidentalis, Phragmites australis, Typha spp., and Zizania aquatica, in order to improve interpretations of fossil sequences. Canonical variate analysis (CVA) was used to compare pollen and diatom spectra from sampling sites in three marsh zones delineated on the basis of moisture availability. Using the pollen or the diatom datasets, the resulting discriminant functions correctly classified 86% of the wettest sites, 72% of those with intermediate moisture availability, and only 25% of the sites in the driest parts of the wetland. Since 35% of the sampling sites were misclassified by the CVA on the basis of pollen assemblages, a representation factor approach is needed to complement the comparative approach when analyzing pollen datasets from wetland contexts. Percent cover vegetation data at sediment sampling sites are used to illustrate pollen-vegetation relationships for the ecologically important wetland plants at the site. Phragmites australis and Typha spp. produce small amounts of pollen relative to their abundance, while Cephalanthus occidentalis and Zizania aquatica produce abundant pollen, which is deposited highly locally in the case of Cephalanthus. These data will enable improved interpretations of fossil pollen and diatom sequences from wetland contexts.

The analysis of sediments from six wetlands (cienegas) in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona, U.S.A., and Sonora, Mexico, document a marked expansion of wetland taxa—particularly woody plants—about 200 years ago at the beginning of the historic period, following a decrease in charcoal percentages and increased percentages of the dung fungus Sporormiella . The presence of charred seeds and fruits of wetland plants in prehistoric sediment establishes burning of the cienega itself. The charcoal decline ca . 250 years ago precedes the first occurrence of the pollen exotic plants at several sites, the change of cienega sediment from silt to peat, and the increase of percentages of the decay fungus Tetraploa . We conclude that prior to the historic period, burning was frequent enough to exclude most woody plants ( Celtis , Cephalanthus , Populus , Fraxinus , Salix ) from the wetlands and suppress the abundance of bulrush ( Scirpus ). The cienegas were probably burned seasonally as a management tool to harvest animals and promote agriculture. Prehistoric agricultural utilization of the cienegas is demonstrated by the presence of corn ( Zea ) and pre-Columbian weeds. This study also records post-settlement ( ca . 200 years ago) change of upland vegetation; i.e. an increase in the abundance of Juniperus , Quercus , Larrea , and Prosopis pollen. Historic fire suppression may have permitted the expansion of these non-wetland woody species.

A two-year study was conducted to determine the growth response of six different wetland/riparian plant species receiving swine lagoon effluent. Wastewater from the third lagoon of the University of Georgia main swine unit at Tifton, Georgia, was applied to replicates of the species Ilex cassine (‘Dahoon Holly’), Cephalanthus occidentalis (‘Buttonbush’), Itea virginica (‘Virginia Sweetspire’), Spartina patens (‘Saltmeadow Cordgrass’), Juncus effusus (Soft Rush), and Panicum hemitomon (‘Maidencane’). The plants were grown in open ended steel containers recessed in the soil at a field site so that they received natural weather conditions in addition to applied wastewater. Measurements were taken periodically of plant height, plant width, biomass, leaf area, and N and P content. All six plant species responded to wastewater with increased growth, and were tolerant of the level of wastewater application. It was found that of the broad-leaved species Cephalanthus had the greatest growth response, while of the non-broad-leaved species Spartina had the greatest growth.

This study describes floral morphology and phenology, self-incompatibility, and pollen tube growth rates in self- and cross-pollinations of C. occidentalis

The great diversity of flora in tropical regions transforms them into very important food and phytotherapy sources. Flora surveys are indispensable for a profounder knowledge of this biodiversity. Research work aimed at improving knowledge on the flora of the high river Parana with special emphasis to the tribes Psychotrieae, Coussareeae and Morindeae . The area lies in the states of Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul at 22o41’-22o51’S and 53o12’-53o28’W. Botanic samplings were carried out from 1992 to 1995 and species identification keys, description and illustrations were elaborated. Four genera and six species were surveyed, or rather, Palicourea ( P. crocea ), Psychotria ( P. carthagenensis and P. leiocarpa ), Coussarea ( C. contracta and C. platyphylla ) and Cephalanthus ( C. glabratus ).

The circumscription of the tribe Naucleeae has been under debate for a long time. This is the first study to test if the previous circumscriptions are supported as monophyletic. Parsimony analyses of the rbcL sequence data of Rubiaceae, followed by separate and combined analyses of the ITS, rbcL, and morphological data were performed in attempt to propose a new tribal delimitation for Naucleeae. Results did not support any of the previous delimitations of Naucleeae. All favoured a broader circumscription, which includes not only all members of Naucleeae sensu Ridsdale, but also Cephalanthus, Hallea, Mitragyna, and Uncaria, formerly placed in Naucleeae, Corynanthe and Pausinystalia. Naucleeae sensu Ridsdale were shown to be monophyletic without support in the morphology- and combined ITS-rbcL-morphology-based trees. The tribe Coptosapelteae sensu Andersson & Persson appeared polyphyletic. A new tribe Hymenodictyoneae is created to accommo- date Hymenodictyon and Paracorynanthe. Descriptions and diagnostic features of the newly circum- scribed Naucleeae and Hymenodictyoneae are provided.

Twenty-four fresh marsh-wet prairie wetland sites in southwestern Florida were studied with respect to vegetation zonation, substrate characteristics, and morphometry. Six major wetland zones were identified. TheHypericum zone occupied the shallowest position (closest to the upland edge) and was confined to sandy substrates. ThePanicum-Rhynchospora zone typically followed downslope and was also associated with sandy substrates. TheMixed Emergent,Cladium,Cephalanthus andFraxinus-Salix zones all occurred on organic soils in wetland interiors. In addition to depth and substrate type, other important determinants of zone composition included fire and disturbance due to feral hog rooting and cattle grazing.

Pollen preserved in a peat deposit from a large swamp, the Old Field in the Mississippi River Valley near Advance, Missouri, records radiocarbon-dated vegetation changes between 9000 and about 3000 years ago. The principal feature of both the percentage and influx pollen diagrams is the replacement of arboreal pollen, primarilyQuercus, Fraxinus, andCephalanthus, with Gramineae and NAP between 8700 and 5000 years BP. This vegetation shift is interpreted as reflecting a decrease in the extent of the Old Field swamp and its associated bottomland forest species along with the expansion of a grass-dominated herb community, as a result of a reduction in available ground water. The desiccation of the swamp during this period indicates a reduction in precipitation within the ground-water source area and a shift to a drier climate in the southern Midwest. The pollen suggests that the lowest water levels and driest climate in southeastern Missouri lasted from 8700 to 6500 years BP, at which time there is a partial reappearance of swamp species. Relatively dry conditions, however, continued until at least 5000 years BP. Although pollen influx data are lacking from the upper part of the profile, the relative pollen frequencies suggest an increase in trees after 5000 BP. The replacement of the arboreal vegetation by grasses and herbs between 8700 and 5000 years BP reflects the period of maximum expansion of the Prairie Peninsula in southeastern Missouri. The Old Field swamp provides the first pollen evidence that the vegetational changes along the southern border of the Prairie Peninsula were chronologically similar to those on the northern and northeastern margins.

The revision of the Naucleeae for the Malesian flora entailed, besides a taxonomic survey, nomenclatural evaluation and typification of the genera. Unfortunately there has been a great deal of confusion, since the time of Linnaeus's Species Plantarum, as the material then available was extremely scrappy and the nature of the head-like inflorescences in this group were not properly understood. Hence these plants were all lumped under a few generic names such as Nauclea, Cephalanthus, and Sarcocephalus. Merrill correctly pointed out in 1917 that the evaluation by Haviland (1897) in his monograph of Malesian Naucleeae was incorrect; but, again, a closer study of the conclusions reached by Merrill, who was mainly concerned with the nomenclature and systematics of Nauclea versus Sarcocephalus, cannot be fully approved. The situation is extremely complicated. I have tried to cover all generic names involved and have reached the conclusion that

We have isolated from Cephalanthus spathelliferus (Rubiaceae) five compounds: umbelliferone, skimmin, 7,4′-dimethylkaempferol,7,4′-dimethylaromadendrin and its 5-glucoside. The latter two are new compounds.

According to VESQUE, the characteristics of the Rubiaceae are the simple hairs; the absence of glandular hairs; the stomata accompanied by at least one pair of subsidiary cells parallel with the stoma; the crystals simple, druids, raphides, or as crystalline sand; the absence of laticiferous ducts. The peculiar glandular hairs which I found in Mitchella and Houstonia are not glandular hairs in the same sense as this term is generally used. SOLEREDER (p. 504), who records them from the stipules of Isertia for instance, calls them Drusenzotten, but I am at present unable to suggest any better English name than ``glandular hairs.'' The other characters enumerated by VESQUE, are readily recognized in the plants described above. The epharmonic variations are also discussed by velutina, (p. 202), but these are not exactly comparable with those observed in our plants, since the genera treated by velutina are so very different. However, the same degree of variation takes place in several instances, and we might c...

Annual production of the isopod, Asellus obtusus, and the amphipod, Crangonyx gracilis sp., in a small wetland pond in NW Georgia was estimated using the Hynes method. Both species were found in two distinct vegetation zones: a central Cephalanthus occidentalis zone and a marginal Nyssa biflora zone. In the Nyssa zone, the crustaceans occurred in the aufwuchs and benthos, but in the Cephalanthus zone, only in the aufwuchs. Five samples were taken each month in each of these three habitats during one year to obtain life history and standing stock data. Although growth of each species was relatively asynchronous, they each appeared to have one generation per year. Combined aufwuchs-benthos production in the Nyssa zone was 2.44 g/m2 dry wt for Crangonyx and 1.44 g/m2 for Asellus. Annual turnover ratios were 6.1 and 6.0, respectively. Aufwuchs production in the Cephalanthus zone was 1.63 g/m2 for Crangonyx and 0.65 g/m2 for Asellus. Annual turnover ratios were 6.8 and 8.1, respectively. Benthos in Nyssa contributed by far the greatest crustacean production to this zone based upon standing stock values, but aufwuchs populations were the only significant source of production in the Cephalanthus zone.

Nerium salicinum Vahl, Symb. Bot. 2:45 (1791). Type: N. Yemen, Hadie, Mar. 1763, Forsskal 236 (C-1 sheet, syntype leaves only, IDC 2200 microfiche 70:111.3, 4); 237 (C-1 sheet, syntype leaves only, IDC 2200 microfiche 70:111.5, 6). Nauclea microcephala Delile, Cent. Pl. Mero&: 67 (1826). Type: Sudan, Cailliaud (MPU). Adina microcephala (Delile) Hiern in Fl. Trop. Afr. 3:40 (1877); Brown & Massey, Fl. Sudan :257 (1929); Schwartz, Fl. Trop. Arab. :262 (Mitteil. Inst. allge. Bot. Hamburg :10) (1939); Aubreville, Fl. For. Soud.-Guin. :474 (1950); Andrews, Fl. P1l. A-E. Sudan 2:423, fig. 156 (1952); Dale & Greenway, Kenya Trees and Shrubs :424 (1961); White, For. Fl. N. Rhod. :398 (1962); Hepper, Fl. W. Trop. Afr., ed. 2, 2:163 (1963); Keay, Onochie & Stanfield, Nigerian Trees 2:398 (1964); Cufodontis in Bull. Jard. Bot. Brux. 35:998 (1965); Wickens, Fl. Jebel Marra :129 (1976). Breonadia microcephala (Delile) Ridsdale in Blumea 22:549 (1975) and 24:362 (1978). Nauclea verticillata Baill. in Adansonia 12:284 (1879). Lectotype: Madagascar, Boivin s.n. (P). Cephalanthus spathelliferus Baker in Journ. Bot. 20:137 (1882). Type: Madagascar, Baron 86 (K). Adina spathel/ifera Oliv. in Hook. Ic. Pl.:t.2386 (note in text) (1895). A. galpinii Oliv. in Hook. Ic. Pl.:t.2386 (1895). Type: Swaziland, Galpin 1213 (K). A. lasiantha K. Schum. in Engler, Pflanzenw. Ost-Afr. C:261 (1895). Type: Malawi, Buchanan 6 (Bt).