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Background and Aims Artemisia is a mega-diverse genus consisting of ~400 species. Despite its medicinal importance and ecological significance, a well-resolved phylogeny for global Artemisia, a natural generic delimitation and infrageneric taxonomy remain missing, owing to the obstructions from limited taxon sampling and insufficient information on DNA markers. Its morphological characters, such as capitulum, life form and leaf, show marked variations and are widely used in its infrageneric taxonomy. However, their evolution within Artemisia is poorly understood. Here, we aimed to reconstruct a well-resolved phylogeny for global Artemisia via a phylogenomic approach, to infer the evolutionary patterns of its key morphological characters and to update its circumscription and infrageneric taxonomy. Methods We sampled 228 species (258 samples) of Artemisia and its allies from both fresh and herbarium collections, covering all the subgenera and its main geographical areas, and conducted a phylogenomic analysis based on nuclear single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) obtained from genome skimming data. Based on the phylogenetic framework, we inferred the possible evolutionary patterns of six key morphological characters widely used in its previous taxonomy. Key Results The genus Kaschgaria was revealed to be nested in Artemisia with strong support. A well-resolved phylogeny of Artemisia consisting of eight highly supported clades was recovered, two of which were identified for the first time. Most of the previously recognized subgenera were not supported as monophyletic. Evolutionary inferences based on the six morphological characters showed that different states of these characters originated independently more than once. Conclusions The circumscription of Artemisia is enlarged to include the genus Kaschgaria. The morphological characters traditionally used for the infrageneric taxonomy of Artemisia do not match the new phylogenetic tree. They experienced a more complex evolutionary history than previously thought. We propose a revised infrageneric taxonomy of the newly circumscribed Artemisia, with eight recognized subgenera to accommodate the new results., This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 31870179, 31570204, 31270237 and J1310002), the International Partnership Program (grant no. 151853KYSB20190027), Sino-Africa Joint Research Center (grant no. SAJC201614), Key technology projects of Jiangxi Province's major scientific and technological research and development project (grant no. 20223AAF01007), Survey of Wildlife Resources in Key Areas of Tibet (grant no. ZL202203601) and National Plant Specimen Resource Center (grant no. E0117G1001) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Key Project at Central Government Level: The Ability Establishment of Sustainable Use of Valuable Chinese Medicine Resources (grant no. 2060302) and Project of the Central Siberian Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (grant no. AAAA-A21-121011290024-5)., INTRODUCTION MATERIALS AND METHODS RESULTS DISCUSSION Conclusions SUPPLEMENTARY DATA FUNDING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS CONFLICT OF INTEREST LITERATURE CITED Supplementary data

The genetic diversity and structure of Pulsatilla cernua, a continental‐grassland relict, were investigated using variations in chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) and microsatellites of nuclear DNA. In the analyses of three cpDNA regions, 17 haplotypes were found in 24 populations of P. cernua from Japan, Korea, and Russia. Although the route and time of migration between the continent of Asia and Japan could not be well resolved, the cpDNA haplotype network suggests the existence of several ancient lineages in Japan and a recent secondary migration from Japan to the continent. Microsatellite analyses did not indicate genetic structure among the Japanese populations, indicating the existence of gene flow across the distribution area until recently. These results indicate that the present fragmentation of P. cernua in Japan may reflect a rapid, recent reduction from a previously large, continuous distribution.

To elucidate the origin and migration history of the “Mansen elements,” a group of temperate grassland plants mainly distributed in northeastern Asia, phylogeographic analyses based on chloroplast DNA markers and double-digest restriction site-associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD-seq) data were performed on Viola orientalis, one of the representative species of the group. Phylogenetic analyses using ddRAD-seq data revealed that the populations of V. orientalis were clustered into five clades, among which the continental clades made of populations from Russia and Korea diverged more than 100,000 years earlier than the Japanese clades. The Japanese clade likely diverged during the last glacial period, followed by a further post-glacial divergence into the Kyushu and the Honshu subclades. Our study demonstrated that V. orientalis originated in the continental area of northeastern Asia and, during the last glacial period, has spread southward through the Korean Peninsula across the Japanese Islands. This finding supports the previously proposed evolutionary hypothesis regarding the origin and migration routes of the Mansen elements.

Cardamine occulta, recently reported also as 'Asian C. flexuosa', is originally a native East Asian weed of paddy fields and other open habitats. It has been recorded throughout the world and is now also spreading widely in Europe. However, how this species differs morphologically from European C. flexuosa and its closest relatives in Asia (C. kokaiensis and C. scutata) is not fully known, particularly because it became widely recognized as a new taxon only recently. We used chromosome counting and flow cytometry to determine ploidies and genome size variation in these four species and morphometric analyses to ascertain their morphological differentiation. A uniformly octoploid level (2n = 64) is confirmed here for C. occulta and a tetraploid level for C. flexuosa and C. scutata (2n = 32). Here we formally describe C. kokaiensis, which is restricted to East Asia (Japan, Honshu; eastern China, Zhejiang Province; perhaps also the Russian Far East) and determine it to be a tetraploid. Considerable differences in monoploid genome size were revealed between these taxa, suggesting their mostly allopolyploid origins. Morphological differences between the species are demonstrated, and detailed morphological descriptions and an identification key are provided.

Background and aims Domatia are plant structures within which organisms reside. Callicarpa saccata (Lamiaceae) is the sole myrmecophyte, or ‘ant plant’, that develops foliar (leaf-borne) myrmeco-domatia in this genus. In this work we examined domatium development in C. saccata to understand the developmental processes behind pouch-like domatia. Methods Scanning electron microscopy, sectioning and microcomputed tomography were carried out to compare the leaves of C. saccata with those of the closely related but domatia-less myrmecophyte Callicarpa subaequalis, both under cultivation without ants. Key results Callicarpa saccata domatia are formed as a result of excess cell proliferation at the blade/petiole junctions of leaf primordia. Blade/petiole junctions are important meristematic sites in simple leaf organogenesis. We also found that the mesophyll tissue of domatia does not clearly differentiate into palisade and spongy layers. Conclusions Rather than curling of the leaf margins, a perturbation of the normal functioning of the blade/petiole junction results in the formation of domatium tissue. Excess cell proliferation warps the shape of the blade and disturbs the development of the proximal–distal axis. This process leads to the generation of distinct structures that facilitate interaction between C. saccata and ants.

As part of the Mapping Asia Plants (MAP) project, floristic works for Northeast Asia (i.e., China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Mongolia) have been surveyed and compared. From the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, most floristic research in Northeast Asia was performed by European nations. Since then, local botanists have directed the course of floristic research. Although a “Flora of Northeast Asia” has yet to be published, several materials covering more than one country have published, from Maximowicz’s “Primitiae Florae Amurensis” (1895) to Ma’s “A Checklist of Woody Plants from Eastern Asia” (2017). However, the status of floristic information in Northeast Asia varies widely by country. China, Japan, and the North Korea published the latest editions of their floras in 2020, 2013, and 2000, respectively. Both Mongolia and South Korea have published several volumes of their latest floras and plan to complete them in the next few years. Together, these works give an overall picture of the flora of Northeast Asia. While every country in Northeast Asia has at least one plant species checklist, the availability of digital specimen records varies from 1.3 per species to 387.1 per species. Factors that currently hinder research include variation among works in how terms are used, in writing style, and taxonomic treatments, in addition to a lack of specimens for Mongolia and the Korean Peninsula. Some floras are written in their native languages and may be difficult to access for general researchers. In a few years, after the completion of the “Flora of Mongolia”, the “Flora of Korea”, and a local flora for Northeast China, floristic research in Northeast Asia will enter a new stage. Using floristic information currently available, a total of 336 families, 3506 genera, and nearly 40,000 species of vascular plants were identified in Northeast Asia.

Because of the shape of a double-lumen tube (DLT), it is more difficult to use for intubation than an ordinary endotracheal tube. We prospectively investigated the usefulness of the Airtraq DLAt Tokai University Hachioji Hospital, anesthesiologists with ≥ 5 years' clinical experience intubated a tracheal intubation training mannequin with DLTs using the Airtraq DLThe mean time required for intubation was shorter in the adapter phase than in the Airtraq-alone phase for all anesthesiologists (adapter phase, 9.05±2.48 seconds; Airtraq-alone phase, 10.67±2.19 seconds).The use of Airtraq DL

The genus Stevia comprises approximately 200 species, which are distributed in North and South America, and are representative of the species diversity of the Asteraceae in the New World. We reconstructed the phylogenetic relationships using sequences of ITS and cpDNA and estimated the divergence times of the major clade of this genus. Our results suggested that Stevia originated in Mexico 7.0–7.3 million years ago (Mya). Two large clades, one with shrub species and another with herb species, were separated at about 6.6 Mya. The phylogenetic reconstruction suggested that an ancestor of Stevia was a small shrub in temperate pine–oak forests and the evolutionary change from a shrub state to a herb state occurred only once. A Brazilian clade was nested in a Mexican herb clade, and its origin was estimated to be 5.2 Mya, suggesting that the migration from North America to South America occurred after the formation of the Isthmus of Panama. The species diversity in Mexico appears to reflect the habitat diversity within the temperate pine–oak forest zone. The presence of many conspecific diploid–polyploid clades in the phylogenetic tree reflects the high frequency of polyploidization among the perennial Stevia species.

A new species, Callicarpa bachmaensis Soejima & Tagane, sp. nov., is described and illustrated from Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien Hue Province, Central Vietnam. This species has a characteristic liana habit, white corolla, and narrowly elliptic to narrowly lanceolate, entire, occasionally subequal leaves, by which it is clearly distinguished from the other previously known species of this genus.

A tropical small tree, Callicarpa saccata, is known to have a symbiotic relationship with ants. It has sac-like structures at the base of the leaves that are inhabited by ants. No other species has been determined to be a myrmecophyte among the ca. 140 species of this genus. However, our recent field investigation discovered that two other species on Borneo (C. barbata and C. teneriflora) have hollow stems, which seem to be inhabited by ants. We observed the morphological features of these species in relation to their usage by ants, and became convinced that they are mymecophytic species. The molecular phylogenetic analyses using ITS and chloroplast regions suggest that C. saccata and C. teneriflora are closely related, but the differences in the myrmecophytic features of these species should be noted.