Taxonomic identity of Impatiens cathcartii Hook.f. & I. serratifolia Hook.f. with notes on typification of both names

Impatiens cathcartii Hook.f. is recollected almost after a century, its taxonomic identity, description from fresh collection, coloured illustrations are made along with notes on typification of the name. Taxonomic identity of I. serratifolia Hook.f. along with its delimitation from closely related species is discussed, coloured illustrations with comparison of flowers with the closest species and notes on the typification of the name are also discussed.

Local distribution pattern of Virga pilosa (L.) Hill. (Dipsacaceae) as an effect of its life and dispersal strategy

A new locality of regionally alien and rare Virga pilosa was recorded outside the compact range of the species in the Wielkopolski National Park, midwestern Poland. It probably appeared as a result of unintentional anthropochory. Local distribution pattern of V. pilosa in micro- and mesoscale was described and interpreted in the light of life and dispersal strategy and habitat conditions of the species. Accidental epizoochory and unintentional anthropochory could have been responsible for the mesoscale distribution pattern with population units scattered along human and animal communication routes. Close dense autochory together with the species CR life strategy with a strong competitive component were responsible for microscale distribution pattern alternating in space and time, but always mosaic, including vegetative, generative and mixed patches. The distribution pattern was also influenced by the occurrence of the required combination of the moderately light, moderately moist and nitrogen-rich habitat conditions with favourable human-induced disturbance. Some data on the form of growth, reproductive potential and dispersal mode of the species, as well as on plant-animal interactions were also included.

Ophrys apifera Huds. (Orchidaceae) on a heap of limestone mine waste – the first population found in the Sudetes and the second in Poland

The paper reports the finding of a new locality of Ophrys apifera – the first locality of this species in the Sudeten range and the second in Poland. A new population was found in the Kaczawskie Mts. (Western Sudetes). It consists of 23 flowering plants and occurs in an operating limestone quarry. The detailed data on this population and its habitat are included.

Effect of environmental conditions on morphological variability of leaves and fruits of five populations of Pistacia atlantica Desf. in North Algeria

Pistacia atlantica has a lot of medical, pharmaceutical and economic benefits, and its variability shows its evolutionary potential. The objective of this study was to investigate morphological and micro-morphological variability of these trees within different ecological regions. This study offers a general description of sites, an analysis of morphological variability of twenty quantitative and qualitative parameters based on the impact of natural and artificial conditions, and leaf anatomical analysis. The results showed that the population exhibited heterogeneity in all parameters of the leaf related to changes in soil, density, climate and slope. Variability in nut size was also demonstrated which was due to the effects of climate, type of soil and topographic factors. The results of electron microscope scanning of leaf anatomy showed the existence of large micro-morphological variability between study sites.

Effect of environmental gradients on diversity and plant community distribution in remnant dry Afromontane forest of Mount Duro, Nagelle Arsi, Ethiopia

For forest ecosystem management to be effective, explicit understanding of the species diversity-environmental relationship along elevation gradient is crucial. This study aimed at identifying and describing plant communities and also documenting their species diversity. Evaluation of relationships between selected environmental variables and species diversity was another objective of this study. Systematic sampling techniques were used to collect vegetation data in a total of forty two sample plots (size=20×20 m). Within main plots, four sub-plots of 5×5 m were established at four corners and – one sub-plot of the same size in the center. These plots were used for shrub and herb diversity assessment. Within each sample plot, all plant species were documented and their scientific names were identified. Environmental variables, such as: elevation, aspect and slope, were also recorded for each main plot. Species diversity was determined using Shannon-Wiener diversity index and evenness in R statistical software. Agglomerative hierarchical clustering method was used for plant community classification. The total of 44 plant species belonging to 30 families was documented. Four plant community types were identified with different diversity, evenness and species richness. These plant communities were: Afrocurpus falcatus-Ficus sur, Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica, Vernonia myriantha-Urera hypselodendron and Croton machrostachus-Tecleanobilis occurring at average elevation of 2521, 2429, 2329, and 2364 m asl, respectively. Maesa lanceolata-Bersama abyssinica community type exhibited the highest species diversity and evenness followed by Croton machrostachus-Teclea nobilis community type showing the fact that median elevation ranges were rich in species. Elevation and slope gradient explained significant variation in species richness in the studied forest. For effective conservation of biodiversity and sustainable management of the forest ecosystem, further research on the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances and soil properties is recommended as a result of this study.

Biodiversity of the coastal flora of Tripoli Province

This study aims to investigate the coastal plant biodiversity status of Tripoli Province. The result of the survey led to a collection and identification of 130 plant species belonging to 36 families and 105 genera, of which 29 species represented monocotyledons and 101 dicotyledons. Floristic analysis revealed the dominance of the family Asteraceae (24 species) followed by the family Poaceae (22 species). The results have also showed the predominance of the genera Juncus and Lotus with 4 species each. Life form and chorological spectra analyses showed the prevalence of therophytes, represented by 77 species, and the Mediterranean chorotypes with 46 species. Categorization of collected plant species according to their ecological types, revealed a variety of ecological types, with the prevalence of psammophytes, represented by 50 species.

Algerian Inuleae tribe species distribution modeling underinfluence of current and future climate conditions

This study aims to predict the impact of bioclimatic variables in current and future climatic scenarios on the distribution of Inuleae tribe species. Modeling the distribution of 30 species of the Inuleae tribe in Algeria was carried out with a maximum entropy model. Two models with 99 occurrence points were obtained with mean values of Area Under a Curve (AUC) of 0.987±0.01 and 0.971±0.02, reflecting excellent predictive power. Three bioclimatic variables contributed mainly to the first model and four - to the second one with cumulative contributions of 83.8% and 79%, respectively elucidating differences between species of the two major climatic zones in Algeria: the Tell and the Sahara. Two-dimensional niches of Algerian Inuleae species allowed to distinguish these two groups with the distribution of 18 Tell species, characterized by high rainfall (14-18°C, 400-1000 mm) and the other 12 species – distributed in hot and dry environments (17-24°C, 20-200 mm). Modeling the distribution under future conditions showed that habitats of the Saharan region would be much less suitable for these species with a variation in the annual mean temperature increase up to 20% and a decrease in annual precipitation, which could raise to 11 and 15%.

Wild Rosa L. and Crataegus L. taxa of the Middle Noteć River Valley (NW Poland)

This paper presents a study on the distribution of hawthorns and wild roses of the Middle Noteć River Valley region in north-west (NW) Poland. The main purpose of the study was to provide a full list of wild Crataegus and Rosa taxa growing in the examined area. Field studies (2016-2017) and formerly published data, made it possible to recognize 10 taxa (including one rose hybrid within the rank of species). Four new taxa were found in the explored area during studies. These were: Crataegus rhipidophylla Gand., C. ×macrocarpa Hegetschw., C. ×subsphaericea Gand. and Rosa ×subcanina (H. Christ) Vuk.

Nitzschia taikiensis sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta) – a new brackish diatom from the Toberi River marsh in the eastern Hokkaido, Japan

Nitzschia taikiensis sp. nov. is a brackish diatom species found in the Toberi River marsh, eastern Hokkaido, Japan. This species has characteristics similar to Nitzschia subamphioxoides Hustedt, which was originally described by Hustedt in 1959. In the present study, we conducted a comparative morphological analysis of N. taikiensis and N. subamphioxoides. The obtained results showed that they are different species. Sampling sites of N. taikiensis were located in salt marsh environments with very low salinity (1-5‰), acidic pH (5.2-5.9) and high mud content (95.0-97.5%). Identification of this species was relatively easy based on LM and SEM image analysis of its frustule features, such as the external form and stria density. This species has not been previously reported in Japan, which could be attributed to the reduction or loss of Japanese freshwater and salt marsh environments in the coastal areas, resulting from urban and industrial development.

Impatiens cyclosepala Hook. f. ex W.W. Sm. – a new species record for the flora of India from Arunachal Pradesh

The paper reports Impatiens cyclosepala Hook. f. ex W.W. Sm. as a new addition for India from Arunachal Pradesh. The species was, till to-date, known only from more than a 100 years old collection from NW Yunnan.