Zamia paucifoliolata, a new species of Zamia (Zamiaceae, Cycadales) from Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Zamia paucifoliolata, a new cycad species from the Pacific lowlands of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, is described and illustrated. It is distinguished from other species of Zamia by having an underground stem typically bearing large solitary leaves with eighteen or fewer leaflets, villous strobilar axes, microsporangia borne on both the abaxial and adaxial side of microsporophylls, and seeds that are longer than 18 mm. It is compared to Z. pyrophylla, Z. cunaria, and Z. ipetiensis, species which it most closely resembles.

A Whole-Plant Monocot from the Early Cretaceous

The Yixian Formation (the Lower Cretaceous) of China is world famous for its fossils of early angiosperms. Although these diverse angiosperms demonstrate an unexpectedly great diversity, few are preserved as whole plants (not mention of monocots), making our understanding of them incomplete. Here, we report a fossil angiosperm, Sinoherba ningchenensis gen. et sp. nov (Sinoherbaceae fam. nov.), from the Yixian Formation of China; this fossil has a physically connected underground stem with fibrous rootlets, a stem with branches and nodes, leaves with parallel-reticulate veins, and a panicle of female flowers with an ovary surrounded by perianth. Morphological and phylogenetic analyses revealed that Sinoherba is an herbaceous monocot taxon. This newly discovered fossil underscores the great diversity of angiosperms in the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation.

Correlation between Childhood Food and Physical Activities on the Old Age Health in Sangli District

The food in childhood determines the health in old age. We analyzed the difference in the food habit and physical activities of urban and rural children and their effect in the development of old age diseases. The consumption of breakfast is more in urban area than rural children, similarly the consumption of meals is more in rural children comparing to urban one and the consumption of dinner is more in urban than rural one. The leafy vegetable and non-leafy vegetable consumption is more by rural children as compared to urban, but underground stem consumption is more by urban children than rural one. Fish and mutton consumption is also more in the case of urban children as compared to rural children. The consumption of chicken is less in urban children as compared to rural children. This difference in the underground stem and non-vegetable food consumption may be reason behind the excess weight gain and more old age diseases in the urban area. These facts must be cross checked with other factors for better interpretation. Our study indicates that urban children involved in physical activities less time comparing to rural one (51, 37 minutes) respectively for less than 30 minutes. But rural people involved in physical activities greater than 1 hour or two hour is more. This shows that rural children getting better physical work than the urban counterpart. This difference in physical activity will correlate the old age disease. Therefore to prevent various diseases in old age and provide better old age life a well planned awareness program must be initiated in all the preprimary and primary educational institutes without delayDOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/ijasbt.v2i3.10961 Int J Appl Sci Biotechnol, Vol. 2(3): 238-242

Structure, histochemistry and phytochemical profile of the bark of the sobol and aerial stem of Tontelea micrantha (Celastraceae - Hippocrateoideae)

The bark of the underground stem of Tontelea micrantha (Mart. ex. Schult.) A. C. Sm., a native Brazilian Cerrado species, is used in folk medicine for treating kidney ailments. The structures of the underground and the aerial stems were examined and their barks were analyzed for the presence of secondary metabolites. Bark fragments were processed according to conventional techniques in plant anatomy and their chemical compositions examined using histochemical and phytochemical tests, thin layer chromatography, and high-efficiency liquid chromatography. The underground stem is a sobol with unusual cambial activity. Laticifers that secrete terpenoids were present in the cortex and phloem of both organs and can contribute to the identification of the species in field. Druses were present in both barks, but mono-crystals were only observed in the sobol. Tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and terpenoids occurred in both types of bark, but carotenoids were only detected in the sobol. The similarities between these two organs indicate that the aerial stem bark has potential medicinal use and represents a plausible alternative to harvesting the sobol, which could contribute to the preservation of natural populations of this species.