Elatostema agasthyanum (Urticaceae), a new lithophytic species from the southern Western Ghats, India

The present article describes and illustrates a new lithophytic species of Elatostema from the southern Western Ghats, India. The new taxon is morphologically similar to the Taiwan species E. strigillosum, but is clearly distinguishable by the characters of stem, leaves, pistillate inflorescence and achenes. Photographs and distribution map of E. agasthyanum are provided for easy identification. A table showing comparison of morphological characters of similar species is also provided.

Nomenclatural novelties in the fossil genus Spinopalmoxylon (Arecaceae) from the Central European Oligocene and Miocene: A whole-plant concept for Spinopalmoxylon daemonorops

The fossil genus Spinopalmoxylon from the Central European Oligocene and Miocene comprises three species: S. daemonorops, S. parvifructum sp. nov. and S. cicatricosum sp. nov. Here the species S. daemonorops is amended and its name is proposed as nomen conservandum against S. teutonicum. A series of synonyms is provided. In addition, two new species are described from late Oligocene deposits of Niederpleis: S. parvifructum sp. nov. (pistillate inflorescence, fruits, and seeds) and S. cicatricosum sp. nov. (staminate inflorescence and pollen). These three Spinopalmoxylon species together are proposed as a whole plant. Floras with the Spinopalmoxylon palm reflect the vegetation of the near-shore fluvial floodplain and back-swamp environments of the late Oligocene (Chattian) Köln Formation (Clay 1) and early Miocene (Burdigalian) Ville Formation (Seam 6A) in the northern foreland of the Siebengebirge Volcanic Field near Bonn, at the southeastern margin of the Lower Rhine Basin.

Synflorescence morphology of grasses with reduced terminal inflorescences: a case study of Jouvea (Cynodonteae, Chloridoideae, Poaceae)

Jouvea is a dioecious genus of grasses with two species. Molecular phylogenetic analyses place it in tribe Cynodonteae, closely related to subtribes Hilariinae and Scleropogoninae, and the genera Allolepis and Sohnsia. The staminate inflorescence in Jouvea is an ordinary grass spike of spikelets, but the pistillate inflorescence is represented by a single spikelet which lacks glumes, has a thick and cylindrical rachilla, lemmas forming a tube that enclose the palea and pistil, stigmas protruding from an apical pore of this tube, and does not have lodicules. Within Cynodonteae, inflorescences reduced to a single spikelet also occur in subtribe Monanthochloinae, in which the small number of flowers of the terminal inflorescence is compensated by an increase in the number of lateral floriferous shoots. We here describe the floriferous shoot system (synflorescence) of Jouvea and compare it to other cynodonteae grasses with reduced inflorescences. Jouvea species display a high number of lateral shoots (trophotagma enrichment axes) growing from the medial and distal zones of the synflorescences. These shoots have prophyllar origins and form clusters of lateral inflorescences. The elevated number of trophotagma enrichment axes of Jouvea may be associated with the extreme reduction in the pistillate terminal inflorescence. In addition, the increase in number of spikelets by the development of prophyllar branches is a unique strategy within tribe Cynodonteae.

Fusarium verticillioides Migration in Attached and Detached Sweet Corn Ears

Mycotoxins harmful to humans and other animals are produced in kernels of sweet corn (Zea mays L.) during colonization by the fungus Fusarium verticillioides (Sacc.) Nirenberg. Experimentation is limited under field conditions, due to the seasonality of the organisms, to once each year in temperate climates and under greenhouse conditions by the number of plants that can be grown. The objective of this study was to examine grocer ears (pistillate inflorescence) from retail stores as an alternative source for experimental material to use in bioassays to study this important food safety problem. Fusarium verticillioides migration was compared in sweet corn ears from a local grocery store and from greenhouse and field plants. Ears were inoculated with a F. verticillioides transformant tagged with a selection gene encoding resistance to hygromycin, a fungicidal antibiotic, and with a reporter gene encoding for ß-glucuronidase, an enzyme detectable by histochemical staining. Screening kernels for both genes ensures unequivocal identification of the source of subsequent mycelia. Fusarium verticillioides colonized sweet corn ears towards the ear apex and base from the inoculation site regardless of ear source, incubation protocol, or attachment of the ear to the plant or to the shuck (spathe) and silks (styles) to the ear. Thus, ears from retail grocers can serve as experimental material for analyzing sweet corn and F. verticillioides interactions throughout the year.