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Argyreia lawii C.B. Clarke, an endemic to Western Ghats of India is reported here as an after century collection. Detailed description and photo plates are given for easy identification and IUCN status of the species has been accessed.

Abstract The study aimed to develop an efficient, rapid, and large-scale in vitro regeneration system for propagation, conservation, and restoration of an endemic and critically endangered herb, Ceropegia mohanramii. The cultures were established using nodal explants on Murashige and Skoog’s (MS) medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP: 1.0 mg/l). Nodal buds cultured on MS medium supplemented with BAP (2.0 mg/l) along with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA, 0.5 mg/l) resulted with production of maximum number of shoots (17.1 ± 1.2) in hundred percent of the cultures. MS medium supplemented with BAP (2.0 mg/l) along with diverse concentrations of indole-3acetic acid (IAA) promoted the in vitro flowering. In vitro regenerated shoots were transferred to one-half MS medium fortified with singular supplementation of auxins, where IBA (1.5 mg/l) served optimal for production of maximum number of roots (5.7 ± 0.6). In vitro derived plantlets were hardened under controlled conditions in a glasshouse and subsequently transferred to soil. Over 1200 saplings were transplanted to eight different localities of the Western Ghats where over 76% survival is recorded after 1 year of transplantation.

Commelina imberbis Ehrenb. ex Hassk., an African species, and Murdannia crocea subsp. crocea (Griff.) Faden, a Southeast Asian species, have been reported for the first time from India with their typification, descriptions, illustrations, color photographs, and notes on allied species. Keywords: Commelina, India, Murdannia, New record, Typification

This paper identifies the salient features of feedforward control and the advantages that it provides vis-à-vis feedback control. These advantages are especially salient in strategic control situations and also during periods of environmental turbulence and extreme strategic discontinuity. Consciously adopting a feedforward orientation in organizational strategic management processes could enhance an organization’s competitive advantages and potentially lead to sustainable, superior performance. Additionally, broadening the conceptual definition of feedforward (from its cybernetic origins) to also include strategic foresight might also enable organizations to develop dynamic capabilities. The example of Zara, a leader in ‘fast-fashion’ retailing, is presented as an example of how feedforward attributes can be identified, inculcated, and ingrained/retained as organizational attributes that become a part of an organization’s DNA. Moreover, when severe external environmental disruptions inevitably erode an organization’s resource bases and pose an existential threat to the organization’s survival, such a feedforward orientation could be the catalyst for coping, adapting, and developing new dynamic capabilities. These new capabilities can not only help organizations to counter newly emergent threats and survive, but also help them to dynamically cultivate and develop newer sources of competitive advantages.