Species Diversity of Pteridophytic Flora in Bhimkalipatan, Pokhara, Nepal

The study of Pteridophytic flora of Bhimkalipatan, Pokhara was conducted from May 2018 to October 2018. The Pteridophytic plants were collected and then dried for herbarium specimen preparation. The prepared Herbarium voucher specimens were identified based on standard literatures and finally verified from KATH, Kathmandu. A total of 27 species under 19 genera belonging to 11 families were recorded. The family Polypodiaceae was the largest family with eight species under five genera. The family Pteridaceae stood second with six species under three genera. The family Dryopteridaceae was third largest family represented by three species under three genera. In the same way, the families Lygodiaceae and Thelypteridaceae were represented by two species each under two genera respectively. The remaining six families i.e. Davalliaceae, Equisetaceae, Lycopodiaceae, Nephrolepidaceae, Selaginellaceae and Woodsiaceae were represented by one species each. The largest genera were Pteris and Pyrossia representing three species each followed by Adiantum, Drynaria, Lygodium and Thelypteris with two species each respectively and the remaining 13 genera are monotypic genera. Habitat wise, the collected species were terrestrial represented by nine species followed by seven epiphytes, two climbers and one lithophyte. Likewise, three species were found as terrestrial, epiphytes and lithophytes; three species as epiphytes and lithophytes and two species as terrestrial and lithophytes.

Fern species diversity across various land use types of Mt. Makiling, Luzon Island, Philippines

Alcala AA, Delos Angeles MD, Buot Jr IE. 2019. Fern species diversity across various land use types of Mt. Makiling, Luzon Island, Philippines. Biodiversitas 20: 2437-2445. Mt. Makiling of Luzon Island, Philippines is home to many living organisms including ferns and fern allies which are one of the important understory vegetation in many forest communities and having various economic uses like food, medicine and ornamentation. This study identified fern species found in various land use types across the northeastern slope of Mt. Makiling, Los Baños, Philippines. The plot technique was employed using a 20x20 meter quadrat. Three (3) 5x2 subquadrats were randomly distributed within the established quadrat. Fern specimens were identified (sensu PPG, 2016) and measured. Samples were collected for herbarium voucher deposited in the PBDH. A total of 28 fern species with 22 genera from 14 families were found across land use types. Identified land use types were: i) Mahogany (341 m asl.); (ii) Agriculture (355 m asl.); (iii) Buffer zone (365 m asl.); (iv) Agroforest (368 m asl.); (v) Roadside (455 m asl.), and (vi) Forest (482 m asl.). The most represented fern families were found out to be Thelypteridaceae (5 spp), Dryopteridaceae (3 spp), Polypodiaceae (3 spp.), Pteridaceae (3 spp), Aspleniaceae (2 spp), Dennstaedtiaceae (2 spp), Selaginellaceae (2 spp.) and Tectariaceae (2 spp.). On the other hand the families Schizaeaceae, Lindsaeaceae, Davalliaceae, Nephrolepidaceae, and Marratiaceae are comprised of one species only. Pteris blumeana C. Agardh and Tectaria crenata Cav. were found only in buffer zone area. Dennstaedtia philippinensis Copel., Lygodium circinnatum (Burm. f.) Sw. and Microlepia sp., were found only in agroforest area; Sphaerostephanos unitus (L.) Holttum found only in agricultural; Bolbitis heteroclita (C. Presl) Ching and Microsorum membranifolium (R. Br.) Ching were found in roadside while Asplenium tenerum G. Forst. , Christella sp., Lindsaea fissa Copel. and Nephrolepis cordifolia (L.) C. Presl were found in forest area. Pneumatopteris nitidula (C. Presl) Holttum. is a dominant fern species found in agriculture and mahogany plantation area. There is a need to document fern species along with its population across land use types in order to utilize ferns as plant indicators due to their vulnerability to changes in environmental conditions. These results can shed light on the appropriate strategy for the conservation and management of ferns in Mt. Makiling.

Los usos no leñosos de los encinos en México

A review based on literature and herbarium voucher information on the non-wood uses of oaks in Mexico is presented. Fifty-five species of Quercus are gathered and used for different purposes, mainly in those states located in the central and south regions of the country. No relationship was found between species diversity by state and number of useful species. Five different uses were recorded: (1) medicinal, related mainly to digestive apparatus sicknesses: (2) food, including consumption of different structures, both fresh and processed; (3) handcraft, to elaborate different manufactured crafts, like rosaries and toys; (4) fodder, for goats and pigs; (5) tannins and dyes, to turning raw skins into leather and to act like mordant and to dye fibers. There is a relationship between the presence of ethnic groups and the use of the oaks in a given region, indicating the cultural value of these species in addition of their importance as a complementary plant resource.

The Short ITS2 Sequence Serves as an Efficient Taxonomic Sequence Tag in Comparison with the Full-Length ITS

An ideal DNA barcoding region should be short enough to be amplified from degraded DNA. In this paper, we discuss the possibility of using a short nuclear DNA sequence as a barcode to identify a wide range of medicinal plant species. First, the PCR and sequencing success rates of ITS and ITS2 were evaluated based entirely on materials from dry medicinal product and herbarium voucher specimens, including some samples collected back to 90 years ago. The results showed that ITS2 could recover 91% while ITS could recover only 23% efficiency of PCR and sequencing by using one pair of primer. Second, 12861 ITS and ITS2 plant sequences were used to compare the identification efficiency of the two regions. Four identification criteria (BLAST, inter- and intradivergence Wilcoxon signed rank tests, and TaxonDNA) were evaluated. Our results supported the hypothesis that ITS2 can be used as a minibarcode to effectively identify species in a wide variety of specimens and medicinal materials.

Checklist and key of genera and species of the Lamiaceae of the Brazilian Amazon

A checklist and keys are provided for Lamiaceae native to Brazilian Amazonia (eight genera and 42 species), excluding the genera Vitex, Volkameria, Aegiphila and Amasonia, which have recently been transferred from the Verbenaceae, and for which the author did not have data. An herbarium voucher is listed for each state in which the species has been found. Notes on many cultivated taxa are included, and also a key to all species of Ocimum known from Brazil.