Search

Summary: Crepidiastrum grandicollum (Koidz.) Nakai (Compositae: Lactuceae: Crepidinae) is described and illustrated. The current synonymy is provided, together with type citations for each of the names and statements of the type material. A selection of verified illustrations of the species in the literature is provided. Statements of the species' distribution, habitat and ecological preferences (with observations on the phytosociological classification), phenology, conservation status, and the etymology of both generic and specific epithets are given along with vernacular names, some of which are apparently literal translations of the Latin binomial. Cultivation, propagation, and availability notes are provided, although the species is Critically Endangered and currently only cultivated Koishikawa Botanical Garden, University of Tokyo, Japan, as part of the Ministry of the Environment's Rare Wild Fauna and Flora Species Protection and Breeding Project. Discussions include pollination syndromes in Crepidiastrum in the Bonin Islands, the intricacies of the involvement of the HoneyBee in their pollination (compared with conservation measures) and the displacement of native insect pollinators, mention of seed/achene dispersal and evolution within the genus, conservation proposals, including the use of exclosures to prevent destruction by feral goats (Capra hircus), and electric fences, adhesive traps and Teflon™ sheets to help control the lizard known as the Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis); typhoon damage and the potential for issues with ants ‐ Pheidole (Westwood) spp. (including the African Big‐headed Ant,P. megacephala) are also mentioned. Some consideration for the rôle of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal (AM) associations with the endemics in conservation programmes should not be overlooked. Attention is drawn to observations on some bizarre web sites with somewhat bogus information on the species, and why they should be disregarded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Eupatorium japonicum Thunb. (Compositae: Eupatorieae: Eupatoriinae) is described and illustrated. The current synonymy is provided, together with type citations for each of the names and statements of the located type material, together with appropriate notes and comments on this material, including lectotypifications if present in the literature. A selection of verified illustrations of the species in the literature is provided. Statements of the species' distribution, habitat and ecological preferences, phenology, conservation status, and the etymology of both generic and specific epithets are given, along with an impressive array of vernacular names, reflecting its relatively wide distribution and long cultivation. Cultivation, propagation, and availability notes are provided. The probability of this plant having been 'exported' to China many centuries ago both for its scent and festival significance almost mirrors that of the Chrysanthemum, that came in the opposite direction a few centuries earlier. The author citation for this well‐known Japanese endemic is discussed, as is the long‐standing confusion between E. chinense L., E. japonicum and the separation of E. fortunei Turcz. in many references. Comments on Robert Fortune's Chinese collections relevant to the type material of Eupatorium fortunei are also provided. Included within the synonymy of E. fortunei is E. stoechadosmum Hance, published in a short paper, Manipulus ..., in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles, the Monitum, is dated '7 kal. Februar. 1863', suggesting publication of Cahier 4 post that date when it was published. Hance's novelties (some collected as late as November 1862), and those of Triana & Planchon in their Prodromus florae Novo‐Granatensis ... (from Cahier 5) are listed in major databases as having been published in 1862; there is no other internal evidence in the relevant papers to suggest, or confirm, this is true. Any suggestion that Hance's Manipulis was published in early 1862 is similarly incorrect. Hance's plant supports other records, including the publication of E. fortunei Turcz., that E. japonicum had been long in cultivation in China, but never known to grow in the wild. Eupatorium japonicum, now with E. fortunei (fujibakama) in synonymy, is one of the seven plants, from the Festival of Seven Flowers or Herbs (nanakusa no sekku) that takes place in the autumn – the Autumn's Seven Flowers or Herbs (aki no nanakusa). The autumn tradition, dating back over a millennium, mirrors the spring festival (haru no nanakusa) – when a seven‐herb rice porridge is eaten – but in autumn the simplicity of the flowers is just for visual enjoyment, not eating. The herbal and medicinal uses of this species also have a long history, are wide‐ranging, and clearly have great potential in a number of fields, not least in preventing insect predation, as an insecticide, or as an ovicide, together with antifungal and antimicrobial activity, as well as showing good anti‐inflammatory and cytotoxic activity. The plant's Lavender‐like smell is akin to that produced in sakuramochi (Prunus speciosa (Koidz.) Ingram, of cherry blossom fame), but is based on coumarin and its derivatives, not linalool and related volatiles in Lavandula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The North American Prairie plant, Parthenium integrifolium L. (Compositae: Heliantheae: Ambrosiinae) is described and illustrated. Related genera in the subtribe are commented on, as well as the better-known species, P. argentatum A. Gray, the GUAYULE RUBBER PLANT, and infrageneric taxonomy within Parthenium L., in addition to the characteristics of the genus. Aspects of cultivation, propagation, pests and diseases and availability for P. integrifolium are also noted. A full synonymy of this rather variable species is provided, together with type citations, locations of known types, and related commentary. The distribution, habitat and ecology, phenology, common names and conservation status are stated or discussed, together with comments on usage, and the species' roots being used as an adulterant in preparations of Echinacea purpurea (L.)Moench. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coreopsis lanceolata L. (Compositae: Heliantheae: Coreopsidinae) is described and illustrated, a full synonymy provided, and its taxonomic position discussed. The generic concepts are discussed in relation to Bidens L. and Cosmos Cav., noting that molecular studies have so far not been of much practical use. Cultivation requirements are also outlined, and the species long history in the literature, with three centuries of cultivation, is discussed. Methods of propagation, pests and diseases and the species' availability are also covered. Comments are also provided on the growth 'phases' of this somewhat variable species outlined in the literature. Rather than pointing to discreet infraspecific entities, they are simply considered part of the range of variation, to the extent that the species' synonymy covers all of the variation. Stemming from a recent literature assessment of plant phylogenies, the odd transfer of well-known species, in Coreopsis L. and Cosmos, to Bidens, is critiqued. The UV-absorption patterns reflecting the nectar guides in open capitula is discussed, noting that within the genus there are three distinct modes of distribution of the anthochlor pigments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]