Composition, Community Structure and Vertical Distribution of Epiphytic Ferns on Bamboo Species In Bogor Botanic Gardens, Indonesia

Ecological study of epiphytic ferns growing on bamboo species in Bogor Botanic Gardens, a man-made ecosystem located in a wet lowland area was carried out. The 350 phorophytes of 35 bamboo clumps belonging to 9 species and 3 genera were observed. Each culm was divided into intervals of 1 m from ground level to a height of 3 m. A total of 1984 individuals belonging to 12 species, nine genera, and six families of epiphytic ferns were recorded, with the highest species richness in Polypodiaceae (7 spp.). Dendocalamus giganteus Munro was the best host for epiphytic ferns (9 spp.). Two dominant species, Asplenium nidus L. and Davallia denticulata (Burm.f.) Mett. ex Kuhn with the same frequency value (97.14%), and relative species abundance of 31.49 individuals per clump and 14.94 individuals per clump, showed the highest Importance Value Index (IVI) of 83.19 and 54.00%, respectively. The first one-meter level of bamboo culms hosted all the species. Pyrrosia piloselloides (L.) Price was the only species that grew until the highest intervals of height with a decreasing frequency from the bottom. Bangladesh J. Bot. 50(4): 1095-1107, 2021 (December)

Corylus L. specimen’s conservation and reproduction in the botanic gardens and dendrological parks: an example of Corylus chinensis Franch.

Aim. Value of cultivated Corylus L. as a fruit, ornamental and oilseed crop with prospects for use in the food industry, feed production and pharmacy are grown under the hazelnut name, makes it necessary to improve the methods of conservation and reproduction of Corylus spp., which can be valuable sources of initial material for breeding. Involvement in a hybridization of the well-known cultivars of hazelnuts with Chinese hazel (C. chinensis Franch.) contributed to the cre- ation of several new cultivars, in particular ‘Sofiyivsky 1’ (‘Ukraine-50’×C. chinensis), Sofiyivsky 2’ (‘Dar Pavlenka’×C. chinensis), and ’Sofiyivsky 15’ (‘Garibaldi’×C. chinensis). However, in the process of studying the morphological features of C. chinensis from the collection of NDP “Sofiyivka” and analysis of the effectiveness of its interspecific interbreeding with other Corylus revealed their differences from the data given in the literature sources, which initiated our research. Materials and methods. Study of species-specific features of C. chinensis, hybridization, progeny analysis, clonal selection, propagation of selected seedlings, and generalization of the observations were performed using commonly used methods. Results and discussion. Comparison of morphological features of the C. chinensis imported from the Berlin Botanical Garden (Botanischer Garten Berlin-Dahlem) and its vegetative descendants with descriptions and photos given in the online database founded by the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (Great Britain), showed the similarity of features of leaves, bark, and trunk with incomplete similarity of the infructescence, its shape, and downiness. It may indicate a hybrid origin of the introduced plant (Corylus…, 2017). The obtained data related to the value of C. сhinensis in hybridization with hazelnut cultivars using its male parent contradict the literature data that report on successful hybridization in direct combinations of C. chinensis×C. avellana and the incompatibility of these species in reciprocal crossing. Conclusions. It was found that the studied C. chinensis plants of generative age generally correspond to the descriptions of the species given in scientific sources and the electronic databases “Plants of the world Online” and “World Flora Online” in their morphological characteristics. However, the identified certain discrepancies indicate the need to continue their study, and the study of the others obtained from native sources of C. chinensis representatives, cultivars, and numerous interspecific hybrids using molecular and genetic DNA analysis methods.

PROXIMATE COMPOSITION OF Reinwardtiodendron humile (Hassk.) Mabb. FRUIT FROM BOGOR BOTANIC GARDENS COLLECTION

Reinwardtiodendron humile (Hassk.) Mabb. is one of the members of the Meliaceae tribe with the potential to be developed and consumed as fresh fruit or processed fruit. This research aims to determine the proximate composition or nutritional values contained in R. humile. Proximate analysis of R. humile included analytical determinations of water, ash, crude fat, protein, crude fibre, and carbohydrates. All tests for each of the parameters or components were carried out two times. Then, the contents determined through proximate tests were calculated using certain formulas. The results of this study indicate that the proximate composition of R. humile consisted of water, ash, fat, protein, crude fibre, and carbohydrates (74.2% - 75.28%; 1.35% - 1.54%; 0.53% - 0.72%; 2.48% - 2.73%; 0.86% - 3, 47%; and 16.7% - 20.14%). These results meant the fruit contents met the quality standards of fruit, except for the protein content. The results of the analysis of the proximate composition also show that the nutritional values of R. humile fruit did not significantly differ from the nutritional values of other fruits of the Meliaceae tribe commonly consumed by humans, such as duku, langsat, and kokosan. Keywords: fruit, nutritional value, proximate analysis, Reinwardtiodendron humile

Thysananthus ciliaris (Lejeuneaceae, Marchantiophyta), a rare species new to Singapore from the Singapore Botanic Gardens

Thysananthus ciliaris, a rare and poorly known species from Southeast Asia, is newly discovered in Singapore in the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Its oil bodies are here reported for the first time for the species. The geographical distribution of all published occurrences of the species is briefly discussed. Provisional conservation assessments are given at the global and Singapore national levels based on current knowledge. A lectotype is designated in a second step lectotypification.

Flowering phenology and fruit formation of Capparis micracantha in the Bogor Botanic Gardens

Capparis micracantha is a Capparaceae family member. Generally, studies on the phenology of this species have not been widely reported. Current research focuses on the chemical composition and its potential as a medicinal plant. Additionally, another interesting phenomenon of C. micracantha is the presence of black ants. This study aims to ascertain the development of flower and fruit formation, as well as the ant-C. micracantha symbiosis. The observation was conducted from January 2017 until January 2020, twice a week at 08.00, 11.00 a.m, and 02.00 p.m., including the development of the branch, leaves, flowers, and fruit. The results indicated that C. micracantha is a shrub with beautiful flowers, both perfect and imperfect flowers. The number of imperfect flowers is approximately 80% greater than the number of perfect flowers. The fruit is round, green when immature, and red fully mature. The development period from bud into ripe fruit was between 90 and 100 days. February-April, June-August, and October-December are the fruiting seasons. The black ants coexist with this plant in a mutualistic symbiosis.

Lay Expertise, Botanical Science, and Botanic Gardens as “Contact Zones”

Botanic gardens came into existence in the late 1500s to document, study, and preserve plants originating from all over the world. The scientific field of botany was a direct outcome of these developments. From the 1600s onward, botanic gardens also paid key roles in acclimatizing plants across distinct ecosystems and respective climate zones. This often entailed the appropriation of Indigenous systems of plant expertise that were then used without recognition within the parameters of scientific botanical expertise. As such, botanic gardens operated as contact zones of unequal power dynamics between European and Indigenous knowledge systems. Botanic gardens were intimately embroiled with the global expansion of European colonialism and processes of empire building. They helped facilitate the establishment of cash-crop systems around the world, which effectively amounted to the extractive systems of plant wealth accumulation that characterize the modern European colonial enterprise. In the mid-20th century, botanic gardens began to take on leading roles in the conservation of plant biodiversity while also attending to issues of social equity and sustainable development. Relationships between lay expertise and scientific knowledge acquired renewed significance in this context, as did discussions of the knowledge politics that these interactions entailed. As a consequence of these transformations, former colonial exchanges within the botanical garden world between Indigenous knowledge practices and their appropriation by science came under scrutiny in the final decades of the 20th century. Efforts to decolonize botanic gardens and their knowledge practices emerged in the second decade of the 20th century.

Micropropagation of Three Endemic Begonias Using Various Hormones Concentration and Culture Media Application

Three species of Begonias endemic to Java and Sumatra, namely Begonia leuserensis, Begonia atricha and Begonia scottii, were conserved in Cibodas Botanic Gardens as sources of germplasm for ornamental plant and/or medicines. However, the information on efficient hormones concentration and their culture media application through an in vitro propagation effort is still limited. Therefore, this study aimed to explain the growth response of three species of Begonias using various hormones concentrations and culture media through in vitro propagation. The culture media using Murashige & Skoog (MS) media that combinedwith 6-Benzyladenine (BA) dan Thidiazuron (TDZ) hormones in different concentrations i.e. 0.5 mg/L, 1 mg/L, 2 mg/L, and 3 mg/L. Observation parameter included shoot number, plantlets height, and leaves number. The data were analyzed using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with the F test at a 5% significance level. The results showed that three species of Begonias were observed to have different growth responses in the combination of MS+BA and MS+TDZ media. The combination of MS+TDZ media produces more shoots number, while the combination of MS+BA media influenced higher in leaves number. A concentration of 0.5 mg/L of hormone showed a good regeneration, therefore were recommended for in vitro propagation of Begonia species.

How Can India Leverage Its Botanic Gardens for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Wild Food Plant Resources through the Implementation of a Global Strategy for Plant Conservation?

Wild food plants (WFPs) are consumed by the indigenous communities in various parts of the world for food, nutrition, and medicinal purposes. They are usually collected from the wild and sometimes grown in the vicinity of the forests and the dwellings of the indigenous people in a way such that they are not far from their natural habitats. WFPs are important for the food and nutritional requirements of the indigenous communities. The WFPs are seasonal and collected from the wild whenever they are available. Therefore, the food menu of the tribal co mmunities changes with the seasons. A number of studies have demonstrated various WFPs consumed by indigenous communities including India. The results show that an enormous diversity of WFPs is consumed by the indigenous people of India. However, a few studies also suggest that the consumption of WFPs among the indigenous communities is declining along with the dwindling of traditional ethnobotanical knowledge linked to the collection, processing, cooking, storage, and limited cultivation of WFPs. India can leverage the network of its botanic gardens for the conservation of its wild food plant resources, the traditional and indigenous knowledge linked to it, and its popularization among the citizens within the framework of Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC). This article provided an overview of the need to focus on WFPs, limitations of current studies, and role of botanic gardens in the conservation of wild food plants through the implementation of GSPC. This article further provided a framework for the role of botanic gardens in the popularization of WFPs, increasing the awareness about their importance, documentation, and preservation of the traditional knowledge linked to various aspects of WFPs within the GPSC framework.