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This article examines how early herbals were produced and illustrated, with a focus on the relationship between the design of the page and that of the production system. It shows that most surviving ancient illustrated herbals were illustrated prior to the copying of the text and thereby privileged the transfer of visual over verbal content. Over the course of the sixth century, however, we find that illustrated herbals were increasingly illustrated after the copying of text. The article suggests that this shift in production may have been a result of the consolidation of book production within monastic contexts. Still, even after the rise of text-first illustration, herbals continue to bear traces of the picture-first system in the close physical relationship between word and image. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vascular plants Type specimens, housed since the first half of the twentieth century at Cienfuegos Botanical Garden Herbarium "Atkins", in Cuba, formerly directed by the Arnold Arboretum of the Harvard University, are listed. The Historic Section of this collection has more than eighty botanists, authors of several publications, and contains duplicates in important international herbaria. The present research has the objective of detect their samples on which specie's names were based. Types designated in the labels were confirmed consulting other herbaria and literature. Furthermore, botanist represented in our collection, were search in other herbaria. Results was 51 Types specimens, belong to 31 species, 19 genera and 15 botanical families; widespread in 15 herbaria with 118 duplicates. Was added, references of publication, distribution, and Endangered Category. Coccothrinax (Arecaceae) species are outstanding, while main collectors were Brother León, J. G. Jack, R. A. Howard and J.P. Carabia. This report raises the possibility of taxonomic studies of the Cuban Flora collections. The AJBC collection may contain other unidentified samples with taxonomic value, so it is important to continue its analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present nomenclatural and taxonomic studies of selected species and names of Neotropical Orchidaceae currently placed in Bifrenaria, Cleistes, and Pleurothallis, but once classified in ten different genera. Several nomenclatural and taxonomic actions are proposed, including changes in nomenclatural status, typifications, and taxonomic rearrangements by indication of the correct name to be used, re-evaluation of previously proposed synonyms, and new synonyms. The accepted names remaining after the study are: Cleistes rosea Lindl. f. rosea (relevant synonyms: C. angeliana Campacci, C. castaneoides Hoehne, and Epistephium monanthum Poepp. & Endl.); Cleistes rosea f. augusta (Hoehne) Meneguzzo & Van den Berg, comb. nov. (for Pogonia rosea var. augusta Hoehne); Cleistes speciosa Gardner [relevant synonyms: C. caloptera Rchb. f. & Warm., C. metallina (Barb. Rodr.) Schltr., and C. monantha (Barb. Rodr.) Schltr.]; Bifrenaria harrisoniae (Hook.) Rchb. f. (for Maxillaria spathacea Lindl.); and Pleurothallis quadrifida (Lex.) Lindl. [for the homotypic pair Gomesa stricta Spreng. and Rodriguezia stricta (Spreng.) Steud.]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When she was only 22 years old, Katherine Sophia Baily published, anonymously, a pocketable account of the native flora of Ireland. While her name was not on the title-page, it was evidently not a secret and was soon revealed in several Irish periodicals. The following year, 1834, Miss Baily also published two articles on arboriculture in Ireland, but nothing else, as far as can be ascertained. She was the first woman admitted to the Botanical Society of Edinburgh shortly after its founding in 1836, and was the first woman to put together a flora (preceding Mary Kirby's 1850Flora of Leicestershire). Little has been published about Katherine Baily (1811–1886) apart from general entries in standard biographical dictionaries and bibliographies. Common to most of these is the statement that she was "of Newbury, Berkshire", but that is not confirmed by details given in a genealogical account of the Baily family of Berkshire. Also unstated is the fact that she belonged to the Roman Catholic church, causing one Irish reviewer to remark that she was "a young lady, a native, and ..., we understand, a member of that anti-botanical church". In 1838 Katherine married the Irish scientist Robert John Kane, and when he was knighted in 1846 she became Lady Kane. Conferva kaneana McCalla was intended to honour her. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay argues that the modern literary anthology--and specifically its aspiration to delimit both aesthetic merit and historical representativeness--emerged as a response to changes in eighteenth-century botanical collecting, description, and illustration. A dramatic upsurge in botanical metaphors for poetic collections around 1800 was triggered by shifts in the geographies, aims, and representational practices of botany in the previous century. Yoking Linnaean taxonomy and Buffonian vitalism to Hogarth's line of beauty, late eighteenth-century botanical illustrations imbued plucked, pressed specimens with a new vitality. Erasmus Darwin's Botanic Garden (1789, 1791) translated the aesthetic reanimations of visual art into a collection of poetic specimens, spurring compilations that promote a vitalist standard of literary value. By rejecting aesthetic reanimation as the figurative ground for poetic collecting, Charlotte Smith and Robert Southey forward an alternative historical model of literary merit, one grounded in the succession and continuity of representative literary types. These competing metrics for selection and valuation underwrite the anthology as we know it today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flora writing has traditionally been an important but sporadic part of the taxonomic process. The gap between the completion of Bentham's Flora australiensis and the commencement of the Flora of Australia project, for example, was 103 years. Floras are generally written by small teams (occasionally by single authors) based in single or coordinated networks of institutions, and function as authoritative, point-in-time syntheses of taxonomic activity during the years preceding their creation. Of course, since taxonomy is a dynamic and (potentially) open-ended science, it is often the case that as soon as a Flora treatment is published, it is rendered superseded by ongoing taxonomy. The traditional taxonomic process can, thus, be modelled as a cyclic alternation of open, unconstrained, more-or-less unmediated taxonomic activity (hypothesis generation) punctuated by short phases of synthesis, constraint and mediation (hypothesis consolidation). The opportunity to move from paper Flora publication to digital management and delivery of eFloras may substantially change this model. Although traditional Floras are understood to be unitary, authoritative, synthetic, sporadic and static, eFloras are expected to be unitary, authoritative, synthetic, continuous and dynamic. There is potential tension between the first three expectations of an eFlora (that it be unitary, authoritative and synthetic) and the last two (that it be continuous and dynamic). Resolving this tension may necessitate a change in the way taxonomy is conducted, mediated and managed; the implications of such change will need to be carefully considered, and the change will need to be carefully managed, to makethe most of the opportunities of eFloras, while retaining the values of an open, vigorous taxonomic science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines current gaps in the Flora of Australia in terms of family-level treatments, and next steps towards completing the Flora, including moving from hard-copy volumes to a more dynamic and collaborative online platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay, translations of Linnaeus'Systema naturaeinto various European languages will be placed into the context of successively expanded editions of Linnaeus' writings. The ambition and intention of most translators was not only to make theSystema naturaeaccessible for practical botanical use by a wider readership, but also to supplement and correct it, and thus to shape it. By recruiting more users, translations made a significant contribution to keeping theSystemaup to date and thus maintaining its practical value for decades. The need to incorporate countless additions and corrections into an existing text, to document their provenance, to identify inconsistencies, and to refer to relevant observations, descriptions, and illustrations in the botanical literature all helped to develop and refine techniques of textual montage. This form of textual engineering, becoming increasingly complex with each translation cycle, shaped the external appearance of new editions of theSystema, and reflected the modular architecture of a botanical system designed for expansion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

UV-B radiation affects plant sexual reproduction, but, at present, general patterns about the nature of these effects and their underlying mechanisms remain elusive. In recent years, plant UV-B research has experienced a substantial conceptual change, from a stress-dominated view towards a more regulatory perspective. With this in mind, we have surveyed the published literature on the effects of UV-B radiation on plant reproductive traits and on plant–pollinator interactions. Most floral parts are effectively UV-B protected thanks to the accumulation of UV-B absorbing compounds. However, the least protected parts, such as pollen, are sensitive to high UV-B doses. Among UV-B absorbing compounds, flavonoids have a complex role in plant reproduction, since they are essential for UV-B protection and normal pollen function, while they also modulate flower and fruit colouration, which, in turn, affects visits by pollinators and frugivores. Effects of UV-B radiation on pollination can be direct, due to UV-B effects on pollinators, or indirect, due to pollinators responding to UV-B-mediated changes in plants. In the case of annual species, our literature survey revealed that, as UV-B doses increase, there is a tendency to delay the onset of flowering and to decrease fruit and/or seed production. Yet, the present review highlights the existence of complex dose–response curves that emphasize the need to use multiple UV-B doses in future studies of UV-B-mediated flowering responses. Moreover, species, populations or even cultivars originating from geographical areas with high impact of solar radiation ( e.g. Mediterranean Basin) exhibit, in general, high protection against UV-B radiation, often showing positive responses to moderate UV-B increases. In conclusion, our survey of the literature reveals complex UV-B effects on plant reproduction. To fully comprehend these effects, integrated approaches, beyond those currently used, are required to analyze the complex mixture of direct and indirect, stimulatory and inhibitory UV-B responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the influence of botanical professor John Lindley in the life and works of Naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace. Topics include how Lindley's book on botany introduced Wallace to the natural world, the botanical curiosity of Wallace and the efforts he took to satisfy this curiosity and the autobiographical account of Wallace on when he purchased Lindley's work.

The capacity of organisms to change their sex has evolved independently in several plant and animal lineages. Sex change has been widely studied, but research approaches have differed for plants and animals, and conclusions have often been taxon-specific. Although sex allocation theory provides a unifying framework for the study of sex change, this unity has not always been appreciated, especially in the botanical literature. Here, we review sex change with regard to its representation in relation to taxonomy and other sexual systems, with regard to its suggested adaptive benefits, and to the role of taxon-specific body architecture, such as modularity and gonadal structure. We highlight differences and similarities between plants and animals and suggest promising lines of future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher plants play a key role in Bioregenerative Life- Support Systems ( BLSS) for long-term missions in space, by regenerating air through photosynthetic CO2 absorption and O2 emission, recovering water through transpiration and recycling waste products through mineral nutrition. In addition, plants could provide fresh food to integrate into the crew diet and help to preserve astronauts' wellbeing. The ESA programme Micro- Ecological Life- Support System Alternative ( MELi SSA) aims to conceive an artificial bioregenerative ecosystem for resources regeneration, based on both microorganisms and higher plants. Soybean [ Glycine max ( L.) Merr.] is one of the four candidate species studied for soilless (hydroponic) cultivation in MELi SSA, because of the high nutritional value of the seeds. Within the MELi SSA programme - Food characterisation Phase I, the aim of the research carried out on soybean at the University of Naples was to select the most suitable European cultivars for cultivation in BLSS. In this context, a concise review on the state-of-the-art of soybean cultivation in space-oriented experiments and a summary of research activity for the preliminary theoretical selection and subsequent agronomical evaluation of four cultivars will be presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next pages are a follow-up of an earlier article published in this journal, where I assessed the possibility that the Middle English herbal contained in London, British Library, Sloane 5, ff. 13r–57r (S1 henceforward) was actually composed in Hereford as stated in its explicit. The affiliation of S1 to a larger textual tradition, which was called Rue Herbal (or RH) in that paper, was posited in a footnote there (Moreno Olalla, "Fautys", page 122, fn. 24). Since the publication of that article, fresh information and new manuscripts belonging to that family have been unearthed, and the picture is now much clearer than before. The most relevant discovery is perhaps that RH is actually an abridgement from a near-complete translation of Macer Floridus, De Viribus Herbarum, which I will call Northern Macer here—or NM for short. The purpose of the present work is twofold. First, I will present all known MSS belonging to the same tradition as S1, sketching their main bibliographical features and history, listing the species contained in each of the versions and suggesting their likely composition places. Then I will provide a collection of readings that may be of help for the creation of a stemma for this textual tradition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Safflower regeneration through tissue culture has long been limited to low frequency and lack of an efficient protocol that suitable for most safflower cultivars. In past decades, researches had been carried out to investigate safflower regeneration through tissue culture and great progress had been made. Objective: To investigate factors that affect safflower regeneration through tissue culture principally. Methods: This article summarized available literatures about advancements in safflower regeneration, especially discussed factors affecting safflower tissue culture in detail. Results: Safflower regeneration was fairly hard than other congeneric plants, such as chrysanthemum. The genotype, seedling age, type of explants, medium components, plant growth regulators and other additives all had specific influences on safflower tissue culture. More deepgoing researches need to be undertaken to establish an effective safflower regeneration system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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The article discusses the introduction of non-European plants in Europe in the 16th and early 17th centuries. Focusing on the activities of Spanish physician Nicolás Monardes, Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius, and English pharmacist John Parkinson and on the dispersal of sarsaparilla, potatoes, and sunflowers as examples, the authors situate the sociology of biological knowledge within the broader history of globalization in the early modern period. Issues considered include the support for botanical gardens and research by the European royal houses, the importance of herbariums and herbals and other botanical literature as media of knowledge transmission, and the medicinal use of exotic plants.

Developing cultivars carrying effective resistance against destructive pathogens has become a priority for breeders. While little is currently known about the genetic basis of durable resistance, it is generally associated with polygenic and broad-spectrum resistance. In this study, we assessed the spectrum of resistance to Phytophthora capsici conferred by a major effect quantitative trait locus (QTL) that has been detected in all of the resistant pepper accessions studied to date. After adding new markers derived from tomato sequences and those from pepper reported in the literature to three maps of pepper chromosome P5, we detected a QTL cluster involved in P. capsici resistance. By means of meta-analyses, we determined the occurrence of these QTLs in different genetic backgrounds and with different P. capsici isolates. Comparative mapping with tomato and potato highlighted a complex mosaic of Phytophthora resistance loci on colinear chromosome segments. We tested different lines with and without one of these QTLs, Pc5.1, with four isolates that we determined to be genetically distinct. Our data demonstrate that Pc5.1 is active against 12 isolates from different geographical origins and that it is conserved in all of the resistant accessions tested. We propose that this QTL is a key element responsible for the broad-spectrum resistance to P. capsici and, therefore, is a valuable locus for improving the effective resistance of pepper to P. capsici. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]