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This book is the first comprehensive account of large-scale ecosystems (biomes) of Southern Africa (defined as area south of the Kunene and Zambezi Rivers). It addresses the diversity of biomes in one of the most biodiverse regions of the world, comprising South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, southern part of Mozambique, Eswatini, and Lesotho. It has adopted a novel, hierarchical biome-classification approach. The biomes at four levels of complexity are identified, described, and mapped using modern GIS-assisted mapping technology. The structure of the book and its comprehensive nature makes this product of prime interest to teachers and students of all tertiary education levels as well as to scientists in the fields of ecology, biodiversity science, and bioclimatology. It is poised to serve as a major reference book and handbook for the users in these scientific fields.

This book explains the translational aspects of ethnomedicinal plants of different geographical regions including India by explaining the medicinal properties against several diseases, genomic evolution in changing environments, metabolic profiling for biomarker discovery, the role of non-coding RNA in the synthesis of secondary metabolites, genome-wide transcriptome profiling, application of pluripotent stem cells for drug discovery, the importance of high-throughput omics, and genome-editing techniques. In addition, some of the chapters have been designed to describe the role of artificial intelligence, plant database, and network-based drug discovery to explore the medicinal importance of compounds as well as challenges and opportunities in drug discovery from ethnomedicinal plants. The book serves as a great source of information for the students, researchers/scientists of diverse fields such as pharmacognosy, plant physiologists, biotechnologists, and pharmaceutical scientists etc., working in the areas of phytotherapy from ethnomedicinal plants.

This edited book gives an in-depth coverage of various aspects of biotechnological procedures followed by international scientists and researchers to sustain growth and improvement of forests in context of current climatic change. Forests especially trees play a crucial role in maintaining the ecological balance as well as in the functioning of natural ecosystem. More importantly, they contribute to the economic growth of a country through its products such as timber, fuel, pharmaceuticals, fibre for textile industry and edible fruits. The denudation of trees due to urbanisation of towns/cities/villages by various construction activities and industrialisation directly impact the climate change resulting in global warming, short rainfall or erroneous weather currently experienced. This book is an effort to address these problems and attempts to find out solutions using biotechnological approaches. Most of the proposed chapters cover latest information. The proposed book deals with biotechnological aspects of forest trees such as micropropagation, somatic embryogenesis, somaclonal variation, synthetic seeds, cryopreservation, disease amangement and genetic engineering. Further, applications and limitations of these approaches to improve the forest trees are discussed. The book is of relevance to teachers, students and researchers working in area of forest and plant biotechnology globally.

This book creates a multidisciplinary forum of discussion on Ficus carica with particular emphasis on its horticulture, post-harvest, marketability, phytochemistry, extraction protocols, biochemistry, nutritional value, functionality, health-promoting properties, ethnomedicinal applications, technology and processing. The impact of traditional and innovative processing on the recovery of high-added value compounds from Ficus carica byproducts is extensively reported. Also, the text discusses the potential applications of Ficus carica in food, cosmetics, and pharmaceutical products. Fig (Ficus carica): Production, Processing, and Properties illustrates a diversity of developments in food science and horticultural research including:Production, processing, chemistry, and functional properties of Ficus carica.Ficus carica phytochemicals and its health-promoting effects.Food, non-food and technological applications of Ficus carica.Recent research focuses on studying the bioactive compounds and therapeutic traits and investigating the mode of action and toxicological impacts of medical plant extracts and bioactive phytochemicals. Ficus carica is of significant importance due to its widespread food, industrial and medicinal applications. Although Ficus carica products are already commercially available in the international market, it is hard to find a reference work covering the production, processing, chemistry and properties of Ficus carica. This book will be the first publication focusing specifically on this important topic.

This reference work covers general concepts of anti-viral metabolites, classifications, ethnopharmacology, chemistry, clinical and preclinical studies focusing on different medicinal plants against various types of viral infections. Various plants have been used in medicine since ancient times and are known for their strong therapeutic effects. The book will describe potential antiviral properties of medicinal plants against a diverse group of viruses, and provide an insight to the potential plants possess for broad-spectrum antiviral effects against emerging viral infections. The book aims to target a broad audience including virologists, molecular biologist, microbiologist and scientists working with natural products as well as researchers, students, healthcare experts involved in pharmaceutical and medical field.

Das Lexikon der Arzneipflanzen und Drogen gibt einen umfassenden Überblick über die heute wie auch in früherer Zeit verwendeten Arzneidrogen. Die 3. Auflage des Lexikons enthält ca. 480 neue Artikel inkl. Strukturformeln der Drogeninhaltsstoffe und wurde um das Gebiet der Nahrungsergänzungsmittel erweitert. In den einzelnen Artikeln wird auf Drogen europäischer Arzneibücher hingewiesen sowie auf solche, die in der europäischen, afrikanischen, amerikanischen oder asiatischen traditionellen Medizin eingesetzt werden. Die Anordnung der Stichwörter erfolgt alphabetisch nach den wissenschaftlichen Namen der Pflanzen/Tiere/Mikroorganismen und beinhaltet Vorkommen bzw. Herkunft der Drogen, Inhaltsstoffe, therapeutische Nutzung bzw. Anwendung in der Volksheilkunde und Homöopathie. Als umfassendes Nachschlagewerk für alle Fragestellungen zu Arzneidrogen wendet sich das Lexikon an Wissenschaftler und Studenten der Pharmazie, Biologie, Medizin, Chemie sowie an Ärztefür Naturheilverfahren, Apotheker, Heilpraktiker und an Mitarbeiter in der Industrie.

This up-to-date textbook of global vegetation ecology, which comprises the current state of knowledge, is long overdue and much-needed. It is a translation of the textbook “Vegetation der Erde” (Springer-Spektrum, Heidelberg). A short introductory chapter deals with the fundamentals of vegetation ecology that are of importance for the delimitation and characterization of the global vegetation presented in this book (chorology, evolution of plants, physiognomic and structural characteristics, phytodiversity and the human impact on it as well as general terminology concerning both plant growth forms and on vegetation structure types). In the following chapters the zonal and azonal vegetation from the tropics to the polar regions including high mountains is described and discussed. The main focus is on the characterization of interactions between the spatial location of plants and plant communities on the one hand and site conditions, historic and genetic processes, spatial andtemporal patterns, ecophysiology and anthropogenic influences on the other hand. Additional information on specific topics is provided in 51 boxes.

This book presents valuable research and advances in technologies related to ricebean cultivation production and utilization. Focusing on ricebean as a possible solution to the problems of nutritional insecurity and growing populations in developing countries, it provides comprehensive insights into its nutritional significance as an alternative food legume and discusses its utilization to prevent potential food calamities. This book is a valuable resource for food scientists and technologists, agricultural scientists, nutritionists and researchers.

Soil organic matter is a reservoir for plant nutrients, provides water-holding capacity, stabilizes soil structure against compaction and erosion, and thus determines soil productivity. All agriculture to some degree depends on soil organic matter. It has long been known that soil organic matter declines when land is taken into cultivation, and that the productivity of new agricultural land is governed by fertility contributions from decomposing natural organic matter. The expansion of agriculture to ever new and more fragile lands, particularly in tropical and developing regions, causes environmental degradation with local effects on soil quality, regional effects on landscape integrity and water quality, and global effects on carbon cycles and the atmosphere. This book summarizes current knowledge of the properties and dynamics of soil organic matter in the tropics, its role in determining soil quality, its stability and turnover, and the options for management in the context of tropical landuse systems, for a readership of resource scientists, economists and advanced students. Maintenance of organic matter is critical for preventing land degradation. Case studies and practical applications are therefore an important part of the book, as are the exploration of future directions in research and management.

The `plant'is often the most neglected part of plant-based medicine. Throughout time, humans have searched, collected, and effectively used plants for healing. Currently, the medicinal plant-based business is flourishing at a dramatic pace and at the expense of an already declining population of plant species, many of which are on the verge of extinction. In spite of this history and popularity, the mystery of what transforms a plant into a medicinal plant persists, and there are chronic problems with ensuring the safety and efficacy of medicinal plant products. Therefore, there is a real need for a full characterization of medicinal plant species and for the development and application of novel technologies for the production of plant-based medicines. This book highlights some of the recent advances and new approaches to the development of technologies for plant-based medicines and is intended to stimulate new discussions among researchers, regulatory authorities, and pharmaceutical organizations, leading to significant advancements in the field.

Not since the late 1970s has a single work presented the biology of this heterogenous group of secondary alkaloids in such depth. Alkaloids, a unique treatise featuring leaders in the field, presents both the historical use of alkaloids and the latest discoveries in the biochemistry of alkaloid production in plants alkaloid ecology, including marine invertebrates, animal and plant parasites, and alkaloids as antimicrobial and current medicinal use. Highlights include chapters on the chemical ecology of alkaloids in host-predator interactions, and on the compartmentation of alkaloids synthesis, transport, and storage. Extensive cross-referencing in tabular format makes this volume an excellent reference.

The inspiration for this book came from our ten years of journeys and wanderings through the varied landscapes of Arabia, and in particular through those of its hospitable southeastern corner, Oman. We owe a particular debt to Sultan Qaboos University, which during this time has provided us with both a stimulating working environment and a home. Transliteration of Arabic place and other names into English script is a task fraught with difficulties. We have followed'accepted'spellings wherever these were not contrary to our common sense, and in other cases we have rendered names into Roman English script using phonetic spellings. Our main task in this respect was to ensure conformity between the fIfteen contributing authors. Diacritical signs have mostly been avoided, since their use is neither widely followed nor readily understood. Arabic words which have been commonly taken into the English language, such as'sabkha'for a salt flat and'wadi'for a valley with a seasonal watercourse, are not italicised in usage. However, other Arabic terms which are occasionally used in English but not as widely known, such as harrah for a basaltic lava fIeld and hima for a traditional grazing reserve, are italicised throughout the text.

This book deals with a variety of aspects of natural product research. It includes review articles and revised original contributions involving analysis, isolation and structure elucidation, synthesis and bioactivity of terrestrial and marine natural products. Plant cell biotechnology for the production of secondary metabolites is discussed. This volume provides also outstanding information about the industrial application of natural products for medicinal purposes. The broad interdisciplinary approach found in this book, which comprises 50 papers, makes it interesting to the scientists, whose work is in any way related to the research or use of natural products.

Economic plants have been defined by SEPASAT as those plants that are utilised either directly or indirectly for the benefit of Man. Indirect usage includes the needs of Man's livestock and the maintenance of the environment; the benefits may be domestic, commercial or aesthetic. Economic plants constitute a large and so far uncalculated percentage of the quarter of a million higher plants in the World today. However, it has been calculated that 10% (25 000) of these species are now on the verge of extinction and extinction means that a genetic resource that could be of benefit to Man will be lost for ever. Furthermore, for every species lost an estimated 10-30 other dependent organisms are also doomed. Fewer than 1 per cent of the World's plants have been sufficiently well studied for a true evaluation of the potential floral wealth awaiting discovery, not only in the rain forests, which man is now actively destroying at a rate of 20 ha a minute, but also in the very much neglected dry areas of the World.

Wood as found in trees and bushes was of primary importance to ancient humans in their struggle to control their environment. Subsequent evolution through the Bronze and Iron Ages up to our present technologically advanced society has hardly diminished the importance of wood. Today, its role as a source of paper products, furniture, building materials, and fuel is still of major significance. Wood consists of a mixture of polymers, often referred to as lignocellulose. The cellulose micro fibrils consist of an immensely strong, linear polymer of glucose. They are associated with smaller, more complex polymers composed of various sugars called hemicelluloses. These polysaccharides are embedded in an amorphous phenylpropane polymer, lignin, creating a remarkably strong com­ posite structure, the lignocellulosic cell wall. Wood also contains materials that are largely extraneous to this lignocellulosic cell wall. These extracellular substances can range from less than 1070 to about 35% of the dry weight of the wood, but the usual range is 2% -10%. Among these components are the mineral constituents, salts of calcium, potassium, sodium, and other metals, particularly those present in the soil where the tree is growing. Some of the extraneous components of wood are too insoluble to be ex­ tracted by inert solvents and remain to give extractive-free wood its color; very often these are high-molecular-weight polyphenolics.

The conference'Combating Desertification with Plants'was held in Beer Sheva, Israel, from November 2-5, 1999, and was attended by 70 participants from 30 countries and/or international organisations. Desertification - the degradation of soils in drylands - is a phenomenon occurring in scores of countries around the globe. The number of people (in semiarid regions) affected by the steady decline in the productivity of their lands is in the hundred millions. The measures required to halt and reverse the process of desertification fall into many categories - policy, institutional, sociological-anthropological, and technical. Although technical'solutions'are not currently in vogue, the conference organizers felt that perhaps the pendulum had swung too far in the direction of'participatory approaches.'Hence IPALAC - The International Program for Arid Land Crops - whose function is to serve as a catalyst for optimizing the contribution of plant germplasm to sustainable development in desertification-prone regions - felt the time was opportune for providing a platform for projects where the'plant-driven'approach to development finds expression. Some 45 papers were delivered at the conference, falling into the categories of this volume: Overview, Potential Germplasm for Arid Lands, Introduction, Domestication and Dissemination of Arid Land Plants, Land Rehabilitation, and Mechanisms of Plant Transfer. The conference was funded by UNESCO (Division of Ecological Sciences), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland, and MASHAV, Israel's Center for International Development Cooperation.

This volume brings together information from myriad sources, including German Commission E monographs and the WHO, to form a highly structured and clear work of reference. Entries for each medicinal plant describe classical Ayurvedic and Unani uses compared to modern findings and applications, together with their pharmacology and therapeutic principles in an evidence-based approach. The result highlights the potential of Indian herbs for Western medicine by placing findings on a scientific platform. Over 200 full-colour photographs and 50 drawings illustrate the plants throughout. It will be a useful source of information to pharmacists and medical practitioners alike.

Deserts appear very fascinating during our short visits. However, the lives of plants and animals are very dif?cult under the harsh climatic conditions of high tempe- ture and scant water supply in deserts, sometimes associated with high concent- tions of salt. The editor of this book was born and brought up in the Great Indian Desert, and has spent much of his life studying the growth and metabolism of desert plants. It is very charming on a cool summer evening to sit at the top of a sand dune listening only to blowing air and nothing else. It has been my dream to prepare a volume on desert plants encompassing various aspects of desert plant biology. In this book, I have tried to present functional and useful aspects of the vegetation resources of deserts along with scienti?c input aimed at understanding and impr- ing the utility of these plants. The scant vegetation of deserts supports animal life and provides many useful medicines, timber and fuel wood for humans. Therefore, there are chapters devoted to medicinal plants (Chap. 1), halophytes (Chaps. 13, 14), and fruit plants (Chaps. 17, 20). Desert plants have a unique reproductive biology (Chaps. 9–11), well-adapted eco-physiological and anatomical charact- istics (Chap. 7), and specialised metabolism and survival abilities. These plants are dif?cult to propagate and pose many problems to researchers developing biote- nological approaches for their amelioration (Chaps. 18–20).

Destiné à tous ceux qui veulent mieux connaître les plantes et leurs usages, cet ouvrage se veut être une présentation du monde végétal dans toutes ses dimensions, qui finalement ne sont jamais réunies dans un même volume. Il fournit les éléments pour comprendre l'évolution de la classification, depuis Linné jusqu'à nos jours, avec des clefs d'identification des familles. Plus de 3 250 genres sont référencés, accompagnés de leurs potentialités nutritionnelles, pharmacologiques, thérapeutiques, toxicologiques, tinctoriales. Ce livre n'est pas uniquement un inventaire, mais c'est aussi un ouvrage permettant la détermination. Il aborde aussi un aspect généralement oublié des ouvrages de botanique systématique : la présentation de la situation des plantes dans la nature, avec la définition de certains habitats avec leurs espèces caractéristiques (sociologie végétale). De nombreuses illustrations et 32 planches en couleurs en enrichissent le contenu. De nombreux index permettent différentes voies d'accès, en fonction de l'intérêt de chaque lecteur pour tel ou tel thème. Cet ouvrage a pour ambition d'initier le botaniste systématicien vers les potentialités que peut développer telle ou telle plante, et d'amener le chimiste végétal - voire le biologiste moléculaire - à mieux connaître l'organisme producteur de la molécule sur laquelle il travaille.

Although Alexander von Humboldt never saw a baobab, he wrote: ‘Among organic creatures, this tree [Dracaena draco (dragon tree)] is undoubtedly, together with the Adansonia or baobab of Senegal, one of the oldest inhabitants of our planet'(Humboldt 1852). With their enormous size, distinctive and often grotesque appearance, and great age (measured perhaps in thousands of years), baobab trees attract the attention of botanists, amateurs, tourists and passers-by wherever they grow. Old specimens display highly individual, photogenic characteristics which endear them to local people, artists and photographers. European knowledge of the African baobab dates back to Renaissance times. I first became acquainted with the African baobab in 1952 while working in what was then Sokoto Province, Northern Nigeria. Later I worked in the former Rhodesias (now Zambia and Zimbabwe) and in the Sudan, and was able to further my studies. Although I have written about the African baobab, it was Pat Lowe who, in January 2000, persuaded me that we should pool our knowledge and ex- riences and write a book on all eight species of this outstanding genus. While I take full responsibility for the final text, I have taken advantage of her knowledge of baobabs in Africa, Madagascar and especially Australia, and of her constructive criticism of the text.

Despite their long tradition spices are subject to international modern scientific research. This has made it necessary to disseminate knowledge to a large audience of interest. The book addresses this need by informing the reader about the complex worldwide use of spice plants. The many spice and aromatic plants are arranged in alphabetical order of their botanical relevance. It includes all species which have been cultivated for the above purposes. It also covers species whose usage has long ceased or which are used only rarely or have become wild. In this respect the author has aimed at comprehensiveness. In total over 1400 plants have been collated. The very extensive register of literature has been designed to facilitate intensive study of a specific plant or spice. Works both on botany and agriculture, and on chemistry, pharmacodynamics and usage have been considered. The book is aimed principally at spice and aroma experts, pharmacists, botanists and interested lay persons. But the author also had in mind food chemists, dieticians and agricultural scientists, for whom botany, chemistry and pharmacological aspects may be of interest. It is hoped that those occupied in the spice and aroma industry involved in creating spice blends and the like will also take inspiration from the book.

The strength of this book is that it is written by someone who has spent a lifetime devoted to the science of economic botany. The author has brought together his vast experience in the field in Africa with his studies of arid land plants at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The result is an informative and reliable text that covers a vast range of topics. It is also firmly based upon the author's research and interest in plant taxonomy and therefore fully acknowledges the importance of correct naming and classification in the field of science of economic botany. The coverage is of economic botany in its broadest sense. I was delighted to find such topics as ecophysiology, plant breeding, the environment and conservation are included in the text. This gives the book a much more comprehensive coverage than most other texts on the subject. I was also glad to see that the book covers the use of various organisms that are no longer considered part of the plant kingdom such as various species of fungi and algae. It is indeed a broad ranging book that will be of use to many people interested in the uses of plants and fungi. Economic botany is once again being given more prominence as a discipline because of its enormous relevance to both conservation and sustainable development. Those people involved in those topics shOUld find this a most useful resource.

This dictionary includes every area of agriculture, from traditional farming to the latest techniques in biotechnology and genetics. The dictionary provides standardized definitions that establish common ground between the various types of practitioners involved in agriculture. It defines terminology in areas such as agricultural economics and business, agroecology, agronomy, animal science, aquaculture, botany, conservation, dairy science, entomology, food science, forestry, horticulture, natural resource management, and much more.