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The use of herbal medicines has become popular globally because of their efficacy and safety. Sternbergia species are known as imperative medicinal plants due to their alkaloid contents. In this study, we aimed to investigate the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic activities of the ethanol and aqueous extracts from the bulbs of Sternbergia lutea ssp. lutea and Sternbergia lutea ssp. sicula. The antioxidant potentials of the extracts were evaluated by DPPH and ABTS radical scavenging activities. Measurement of anti-inflammatory activity was performed by heat induced hemolysis of human red blood cell membrane whereas antidiabetic activity by inhibition of in vitro α-glucosidase. It has been determined that the aqueous and ethanol extracts of Sternbergia lutea ssp.sicula and Sternbergia lutea ssp.lutea possessed low antioxidant and α-glucosidase inhibitory activity. This could be explained by low phenolic contents and different extraction procedures. In present study, we studied on maserates of two Sternbergia species similar forms used in traditional medicine, not a fraction of extracts rich in any chemical compounds. Ethanol extracts of Sternbergia lutea ssp. sicula possessed the strongest DPPH and ABTS scavenging activity with the IC50 value of 0.37 mg/ml and 0.10 mg/ml, respectively. Aqueous extracts of Sternbergia lutea ssp.sicula observed the highest effect on inhibiting α-glucosidase (IC50=0.01 mg/ml). Sternbergia lutea ssp. lutea aqueous extracts exhibited higher in vitro anti-inflammatory effect (IC50=8.02 mg/ml) than the other extracts. These results suggest that aqueous extracts were found to possess more potent anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic activity. However, further studies are needed for the isolation and identification of the effective compounds from the extracts of Sternbergia lutea ssp. lutea and Sternbergia lutea ssp. sicula.

Objectives This study describes the qualitative and quantitative analysis of galantamine in Sternbergia species growing in Turkey. Materials and Methods Galantamine was isolated from Sternbergia fischeriana bulbs and the structure of the compound elucidated by spectroscopic methods. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of galantamine was investigated in Sternbergia lutea subsp. lutea, S. lutea subsp. sicula, Sternbergia candida, S. fischeriana, and Sternbergia clusiana using a specially developed and validated high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Results S. lutea subsp. sicula had the highest content of galantamine, i.e., 0.0165±0.0002 g/100 g. The limits of detection and quantification were 7.5 μg and 25 μg, respectively. Conclusion Isolation of galantamine from S. fischeriana growing in Turkey is reported for the first time. An HPLC method was developed for identification and quantification of galantamine in Sternbergia species.

Natural products are rapidly becoming the primary sources of novel antimicrobial agents, as resistance to existing antimicrobial agents is increasing. Apart from determining the antimicrobial activity of natural products, it is also important to understand their effects on the virulence factors of microorganisms. This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial activity of Sternbergia species prevalent in Turkey and investigate their role in the inhibition of germination tube and biofilm formation, both of which are known to be important virulence factors of Candida albicans. The antimicrobial activities of the plant extracts were evaluated using bore-plate and broth microdilution method. The extracts’ capacity to inhibit the formation of the germ-tube was also evaluated. The findings of our study revealed that Sternbergia lutea, Sternbergia vernalis possessed antimicrobial activities, with MIC values ranging between 0.048 mg/mL and 0.39 mg/mL. The highest antimicrobial activity was observed against Candida dubliniensis (0.048 mg/mL). While evaluating the inhibition of fungal germination activities, S. vernalis extract (at a concentration of 0.09 mg/mL) was found to be the most effective against C. albicans ATCC 90028 strain. The results also indicated that S. vernalis extracts at sub-MIC levels inhibited germ tube formation and modulated the tail-length of germinated cells, both of which are important virulence factors of C. albicans. Furthermore, the inhibition of biofilm-formation was also investigated, and it was found that two Sternbergia spp. extracts at or below MIC levels inhibited biofilm formation.

Se aportan datos sobre dos especies no mencionadas hasta la fecha en la provincia de Alicante, Hyacinthus orientalis y Sternbergia lutea. It is shown some data about two new taxa for the Alicante province, Hyacinthus orientalis and Sternbergia lutea.

The phylogenetics of Sternbergia (Amaryllidaceae) were studied using DNA sequences of the plastid ndhF and matK genes and nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal region for 38, 37 and 32 ingroup and outgroup accessions, respectively. All members of Sternbergia were represented by at least one accession, except S. minoica and S. schubertii, with additional taxa from Narcissus and Pancratium serving as principal outgroups. Sternbergia was resolved and supported as sister to Narcissus and composed of two primary subclades: S. colchiciflora sister to S. vernalis, S. candida and S. clusiana, with this clade in turn sister to S. lutea and its allies in both Bayesian and bootstrap analyses. A clear relationship between the two vernal flowering members of the genus was recovered, supporting the hypothesis of a single origin of vernal flowering in Sternbergia. However, in the S. lutea complex, the DNA markers examined did not offer sufficient resolving power to separate taxa, providing some support for the idea that S. sicula and S. greuteriana are conspecific with S. lutea

Morpho-anatomical and karyologial studies were carried out on plants from S Italy of the three Italian species of the genus Sternbergia: S. colchiciflora, S. lutea and S. sicula. The morpho-anatomical features of the leaves are good taxonomic markers, especially concerning their colour, general shape, width and morphology of the median adaxial keel. Karyological analysis revealed the following chromosome complements: Sternbergia colchiciflora, 2n = 20; Sternbergia lutea, 2n = 22; Sternbergia sicula, 2n = 22. Karyotype variability is discussed in the light of previous literature. According to our results S. colchiciflora is confirmed to be the most isolated species, while S. lutea and S. sicula, easily recognizable on morphological grounds, appear instead very close karyologically.

10 páginas, 5 figuras., [EN] The genus Sternbergia is studied in the Iberian Peninsula. Color drawings of the two Iberian species and distribution maps are given for the studied area. Sternbergia lutea has been traditionally cultivated and it is now naturalized in the Iberian Peninsula., [ES] Presentamos una revisión del género Sternbergia para la Península Ibérica. Se incluyen dos láminas a color de las dos especies ibéricas y sus mapas de distribución en el área estudiada. Sternbergia lutea, especie cultivada desde antiguo, se encuentra naturalizada en la Península Ibérica.

Sternbergia is a genus containing mostly remarkable autum flowering taxa within Amaryllidaceae. Its distribution ranges from the Mediterranean region through the Irano-Anatolian region to Caucasus and Central Asia. In Flora of Iraq, the information about the occurrence, habitat, and distribution of its species is outdated or incomplete. The main aim of this study has been to contribute with new data from the field in order to update its status in the Kurdistan Region. Botanical field surveys were mostly carried out between 2013 and 2015 in autumn and spring. The main result of this study has been the occurrence of 3 species of Sternbergia: S. colchiciflora, which is reported in this study for the first time for the Kurdistan Region and therefore for Iraq; S. clusiana, which has been rediscovered in Iraq; and S. vernalis, which has been found again in the Berwarya Mountains, after being considered a lost species in Iraq over the last 80 years. These 3 observed species occur in the mountains of Amadiya District, making this area the richest territory for Sternbergia in the country. Due to certain factors that currently threaten their natural habitats, they are rare species and could be regarded as potentially endangered at regional level according to the IUCN criteria.

The cytological features including chromosome counts, karyotypic measurements and localizations of C-banding were investigated in two species of Sternbergia Waldst. and Kit. from Turkey. Chromosome lengths were ranged from 18.04 to 6.62, am in S. fisheriana (Herbert) Rupr. and from 23.56 to 8.73, am in S. candida Mathew and T. Baytop. The karyotype of S. fischeriana was consisted from three pairs of metacentric and seven pairs of subtelocentric chromosomes. The karyotype formula of S. candida was consisted from three metacentric, four subtelocentric and three acrocentric chromosomes. One B chromosome was observed in each species. Predominate and also very faint telomeric and some faint centromeric and proximal C-bands were observed in both species.

In the current study, we examined anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and antioxidant activities of the ethyl acetate, methanol, and water extracts from the bulbs of Turkish Sternbergia Waldst. & Kit. (Amaryllidaceae) species; S. candida, S. clusiana, S. fisheriana, S. lutea subsp. lutea, and S. lutea subsp. sicula. Anti-AChE activity was tested by spectrophotometric method of Ellman using ELISA microplate reader at 50, 100, and 200 mu g mL(-1) concentrations. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was evaluated by DPPH radical scavenging activity, ferrous ion-chelating capacity, ferric-reducing antioxidant power, and beta-carotene bleaching assays at 500, 1000, and 2000 mu g mL(-1). Total phenol and flavonoid contents of the extracts were determined via Folin-Ciocalteau's and AlCl(3) reagents, respectively. The ethyl acetate extract of S. fischeriana was the most active in anti-AChE assay (90.94% and 98.02% of inhibitions at 100 and 200 mu g mL(-1) concentrations, respectively. Antioxidant activity of the extracts was found to be not significant.

In this study, the growth periodicity of Sternbergia plants grown outdoors was clarified and the effect of temperature on the initiation and development of flower buds was investigated.1. The Sternbergia bulb develops a sympodial branching system. Each unit has about 8 foliage leaves and terminates in 2 or 3 inflorescences. The bases of the foliage leaves, except the uppermost leaf, encircle the vertical axis of the bulb and gradually enlarge into scales which serve as food storage organ.2. Floret initiation on the primary inflorescence occurs between April and early May. Carpel primordia are visible in early July and the pollen tetrad are formed in early September. Anthesis occurs in late September. Floral differentiation on secondary and tertiary inflorescences follows that of the primary inflorescence after a short delay.3. Flower initiation occurs at temperatures between 10°and 30°C, but the optimum range was 20°-25°C. Once initiated, floral differentiation and development progressed most rapidly at 25°-30°C.4. The development of flower bud from carpel formation stage to flowering was faster at 20°-25°C than at 30°C. At 10°C flower buds ceased to develop and became blasted.5. Bulbs kept at 20°C after July 1, when the main inflorescence attained the carpel formation stage, bloomed earlier but produced fewer inflorescences as compared to those placed at 25°or 30°C from July 1 to August 19 and thereafter shifted to 20°C. This result suggests that bulbs should be kept at 25°-30°C after carpel formation in the main inflorescence to optimize the development of secondary and tertiary inflorescences.6. To retard development of flower bud until the Christmas season, bulbs were stored at 5°and 30°C after August 20. Bulbs stored at 30°C and planted in late November flowered in late December when forced in a glasshouse kept above 20°C, but those stored at 5°C did not flower because the flower buds became blasted.

Studies were carried out on structural and cytochemical aspects of the pistil of Sternbergia lutea (L.) KerGawl. The stigma is of the wet papillate type; the papillae are unicellular and are arranged densely around the rim of a funnel-shaped stigma. The stigma exudate is limited and is confined to the bases of the papillae and the inner lining of the stigma. The papillae are smooth in the distal part and are covered with intact cuticle-pellicle lining. The cuticle is disrupted at places towards the base of the papillae releasing the exudate. The exudate is rich in pectins and other polysaccharides but poor in proteins and lipids. The papillae show dense cytoplasmic profiles with extensive endoplasmic reticulum (ER), abundant mitochondria, polyribosomes and active dictyosomes. The style is hollow. The stylar cavity is surrounded by two to four layers of glandular cells. In the young pistil the canal is lined with a continuous cuticle, but in the mature pistil the cuticle becomes disrupted and the canal is filled with the secretion produced by the cells of the surrounding glandular tissue. Ultrastructurally, the cells of the glandular tissue are very similar to the stigmatic papillae. The inner tangential wall of the cells bordering the canal is uniformly thicker than other walls. The secretion in the stylar canal, as well as the intercellular spaces of the glandular tissue, stain intensely for pectins and polysaccharides but poorly for proteins and lipids. Pollen tubes grow through the stylar canal. Structural and cytochemical details of the pistil of Sternbergia are compared with other hollow-styled systems.

Amaryllis lutea Linnaeus, Species Plantarum 1: 292. 1753. "Habitat in Hispania, Italia, Thracia." RCN: 2331. Type not designated. Original material: Herb. A. van Royen No. 897.324-58 (L); Herb. Burser III: 78 (UPS); [icon] in Clusius, Rar. Pl. Hist. 1: 164. 1601. Current name: Sternbergia lutea (L.) Ker-Gawl. ex Spreng. (Liliaceae / Amaryllidaceae). Note: Mathew (in Davis, Fl. Turkey 8: 361. 1984) indicated 416.1 (LINN) as the type, and has been followed by later authors including Kamari & Artelari (in Willdenowia 19: 375. 1990), and also Morales & Castillo (in Anales Jard. Bot. Madrid 61: 124. 2004), who restricted the choice to the central leaf and flower. However, this collection, from Kähler, did not reach Linnaeus until 1757 and is not original material for the name., Published as part of Jarvis, Charlie, 2007, Chapter 7: Linnaean Plant Names and their Types (part A), pp. 252-342 in Order out of Chaos. Linnaean Plant Types and their Types, London :Linnaean Society of London in association with the Natural History Museum on page 285, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.291971

The ability of Sternbergia candida (SB Candidum Mathew.) extract to suppress attack by Postia placenta (Fries) M. Larsen et Lombard (Mad 698), (a brown-rot) and Trametes versicolor (L.ex Fr.) Quel. (a white-rot) was investigated. The extract was dissolved from Sterinbergia Candidum's bulb and leaves in 96% ethyl alcohol. Poisonous extract impregnated into wood blocks of Turkish oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.). Extract dosages were 0.25, 0.75, 1.50 and 3.00%. Treated blocks were exposed to P. placenta and T. versicolor attack for 12 weeks by the soil block method. Only extract dosages of 0.25 and 0.75% were found efficacious in suppressing attack. A tukey studentized test found both dosages significant at 5% level. In conclusion, the poisonous extracts could be used as effective wood preservative when concentration was adjusted. © 2007 Academic Journals.

The genus Sternbergia is studied in the Iberian Peninsula. Color drawings of the two Iberian species and distribution maps are given for the studied area. Sternbergia lutea has been traditionally cultivated and it is now naturalized in the Iberian Peninsula.

Lycorine, the most frequent alkaloid found in Amaryllidaceae plants, has been proven to have various biological activities. Therefore, it is important to quantify this compound in Amaryllidacaeae species. In this study, a reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatographic method has been used and validated for the determination of lycorine in Amaryllidaceae plants. A simple method for the extraction of lycorine in low-mass plant samples was employed utilizing columns pre-packed with diatomaceous earth (Extrelut®). This method was applied to the aerial parts and bulbs of Sternbergia sicula Tineo ex Guss., S. lutea (L.) Ker-Gawl. ex Sprengel and Pancratium maritimum L. (Amaryllidaceae) collected during two different vegetation periods. The chromatographic separation was performed using an isocratic system with a mobile phase of trifluoroacetic acid-water-acetonitrile (0.01:90:10) applied at a flow rate 1 mL min−1 using diode array detector. Validation procedures showed that the method was specific, accurate and precise. The amount of lycorine in S. sicula samples ranged between 0.10-0.53%, whereas in those of S. lutea and P. maritimum, the range was 0.19-0.40% and 0.05-0.14%, respectively.

A desynaptic clone of Sternbergia fischeriana has been recorded from Kashmir. It has a diploid chromosome count of 22, 4 long and 18 medium. Of the 11 pairs 2 are heteromorphic. Male meiosis reveals desynapsis of medium strong type. Preponderance of univalents causes irregularities in chromosome segregation resulting in genetically unbalanced gametes, only a small fraction of which are viable. Desynapsis coupled with structural heterozygosity leads to highly aberrant meiosis and results in total sterility of the clone.

There is a large tree-like fossil occasionally found in sandstone rocks of the Carboniferous formation called Dadoxylon. The affinity of this remarkable plant has been generally supposed to be with the pine family; but recent discoveries have shown that it has more affinity with the Cycadeae than with the Coniferae. My paper deals with the various discoveries which have been made in connection with Dadoxylon, more especially with those of recent years. Many of the sandstone rocks of the Carboniferous age abound in fragments of a very curious fossil; occasionally they occur in their natural rounded form, but more frequently they are more or less flattened. They are characterised by having a series of somewhat irregular ring-like markings along the whole length of the stem; more commonly the markings somewhat resemble the rings of a ladder, and many of them are striated longitudinally. For a long time these singular fossils were thought to have been distinct plants, and were named Sternbergia by Artis, in honour of Count Sternberg, one of the founders of the Science of Fossil Botany. At about the same time, or a little before, Sternberg gave them the name of Artisia transversa ; but in this country they have generally been known under the name of Sternbergia transversa . In the same sandstone quarries there occur along with Sternbergia transversa , but much more rarely, fragments of another fossil plant of a larger and more tree-like aspect. These specimens generally occur in the form of roundish stems, and of various ...

The existence of several species of land-plants in the Devonian rocks of New York and Pennsylvania was ascertained many years ago by the Geological Surveys of those States, and several of those plants have been described and figured in their Reports *. In Canada Sir W. E. Logan had ascertained, as early as 1843, the presence of an abundant, though apparently monotonous and simple, flora in the Devonian strata of Gasp6; but it was not until 1859 that these plants were described by the author in the 9 Proceedings9 of this Society*. More recently Messrs. Matthew and Hartt, two young geologists of St. John, New Brunswick, have found a rich and interesting flora in the semi-metamorphic beds in the vicinity of that city, in which a few fossil plants had previously been observed by Dr. Gesner, Dr. Robb, and Mr. Bennett of St. John; but they had not been figured or described. These plants, however, I described in the ‘Canadian Naturalist‚ †, together with some additional species, of the same age, found at Perry, in the State of ~aine, and preserved in the collection of the Natural History Society of Portland. The whole of the plants thus described I summed up in the paper last mentioned as consisting of 21 species, belonging to 16 genera, exclusive of genera like Sternbergia and Lepidostrobu,% which represent parts of plants only. In the past summer I visited St. John; and, in company with Messrs. Matthew and Hartt, explored the localities of the plants

(1) The karyotypes of nineteen genera in the Amaryllidoideae, namely Haerrzanthus (2n=16, 18), Grij inia (2n=77), Clivia (2n=44), Galanthus (2n=24, 25, 28, 48), Leucojum (2n=14, 22), Nerine (2n=22, 33), Amaryllis (2n=22), Zephyranthes (2n=12, 24, 38), Sternbergia (2n=22) Crirzum (2n=22, 33), Cyrtanthus (2n=22) Eucharis (2n=68), Hymenocallis (2n=46, 69), Narcissus (2n=14, 21, 22, 32), Paracratium (2n=44), Sprekelia (2n=ca. 117), Hippeastrum (2n=44), Habranthus (2n=21) and Lycoris (2n=27) have been analyzed from the point of karyotype alteration (cf. Table 1). Many genera such as Grinia, Clivia, Leucojum, Nerine, Amaryllis, Stervbergia, Crinum, Cyrtanthus, Pancratiurn, Hippeastrunz, Habranthus and Lycoris have the 11-series of chromo-somes, in the ether word 11 is their basic number of chromosomes which indicates the intimate relationship existing between these karyotypes. More striking is the fact that various karyotypes be-longing to the same genus, for instance Leucojutm (b=7, 11), have been explicitly explained by the dislocation hypothesis of Navashin (1932). By further reference to this hypothesis it may be possible to suggest the derivaticn of karyotypes in other genera.(2) The karyotypes of Hymenocallis (2n=46, 69) and Eucharis (2n=68) clearly indicate their derivation from the 11-series by the duplication of chromosomes and the secondary balance. The similar secondary polyploid appeared in Zephyranthes (b=6), i.e., Z. candicla (2n=38). All genera except Haernanthus in the Amaryllidoideae may be concluded to have some karyotypical resemblances, when the karyotype alteration such as fusion, fragmentation, duplication, translocation, inversion, elimination and deficiency have been taken into consideration. The karyotypes of Haemanthus resemble those of Scilla in the Liliaceae or Alstroemeria in the Hypoxidoideae.(3) The karyotypes of five genera in the Agavoideae, namely Bravoa, Polianthes, Agave, Fourcroya, and Beschorneria are similar (so-called the Yucca-Agave karyotype) (5 long and 25 short chromo-somes) (cf. Table 2). The karyotype of Dorjanthes (4 long and 44 short chromosomes) is different from the Yucca-Agave type, but some similarities are suggested, although difference in chromosome sizes can clearly be detected. The karyotypes of the Agavoideae are generally speaking different from other ones in the Amaryllidaceae and rather resemble those of Yuccae in the Liliaceae.(4) The karyotypes of Alstroenteria (2n=11) and Bornalia (2n=18) in the Hypoxidoideae are similar to those of Haemanthus (2n=16), especially in respect to the SAT-chromosomes.(5) The hypothesis of the SAT-chromosome has been adopted in the present analysis of karyotypes in the Amaryllidaceae and has brought about successful results. Various hypotheses of karyotype alteration were discussed and such karyotype alterations are con-cluded to be genotypically controlled (cf. Levitskij 1937). The genotypic control of karyotype alteration and the secondary balance seem to play an important role in the process cf evolution.(6) The relation between the nucleoli and the SAT-chromosomes was discussed and the hypothesis of the SAT-chromosome was extended to reconcile it with the conception of the nucleolar chromosome. The presence of the SAT-chromosome was emphasized by the observation of satellites or secondary constrictions in many species which had usually been overlooked cr neglected by previous investigators.The writer wishes to express his thanks to Ass. Prof. Y. Sinoto under whose direction this investigation has been carried out.

Sternbergia fischeriana, a spring flowering bulbous annual, is the only species of the genus cultivated in Kashmir. Somatic complement of this species consists of 4 submedian and 18 subterminal chromosomes. The karyotype resembles that of S. lutea, an autumn flowering species worked out by Battaglia (1949).Though the species is heterozygous for three interchanges and a paracentric inversion, it has not as yet developed a balanced lethal system to maintain this heterozygosity. Vegetative reproduction, however, comes to its rescue and enables it not only to overcome the bottleneck of total sterility but also to conserve hybridity.

SUMMARYThe paper presents the first part of the study made on taxon Sternbergia colchiciflora W.K. var. dalmatica Rchb. in Yugoslavia. The number and the morphology of chromosomes of the taxon are reported here. All the chromosomes (2n=20) were found to be submetacentric. The length of the chromosomes investigated varies from 13,67 μ to 4,76 μ. The evidence collected is given in a Table and 4 figures.