bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Evidence, the Court, and the Nicaragua Case
Authors: Highet Keith
Published: April 2006

The decision in the Nicaragua case is one of the most important judgments ever delivered by the International Court. It is by far the “heaviest” case, in the parlance of the English barrister, ever decided by the Court in the absence of a party. It has broken new ground for the application of Article 53 of the Statute. It deals in detail with the multilateral treaty reservation of the United States (the “Vandenberg amendment”). It contains provocative reasoning about the genesis and maintenance of rules of customary international law, separate from treaties such as the United Nations Charter. It contains seminal findings on the use of force and the exercise of the inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the Charter. It presents fresh and doubtless controversial interpretations of the principle of nonintervention. It prescribes limits to “collective counter-measures” in response to conduct not deemed to amount to “armed attacks.”
Treaty Review Conferences
Authors: Carnahan Burrus M.
Published: April 2006

A new international forum has emerged in the last decade, with the function of reviewing the implementation of certain arms control agreements. Four agreements, negotiated between 1968 and 1978, provide for the convening of periodic conferences of states parties “to review the operation” of the treaty, including an examination of whether the purposes of the preambles and the provisions of the treaties are being realized. These conferences are completely divorced from the procedures for amendment of the treaties. Instead, they are concerned with the implementation and interpretation of the agreements. Conferences to revise multilateral agreements are rare events probably because of the natural concern that reopening the text of a treaty may cause the entire agreement to unravel. In contrast, conferences to review the operation of treaties have become a common part of the diplomatic environment. They constitute a new type of enforcement mechanism for international law, though their activities have virtually been ignored in the literature. This neglect may be due to the fact that while the agreements calling for review conferences date from the 1970s, most such conferences have only met in the 1980s.
The Thirty-Fifth Session of the International Law Commission
Authors: McCaffrey Stephen C.
Published: April 2006

The 35th session of the International Law Commission was held in Geneva from May 3 to July 22, 1983 under the chairmanship of Ambassador Laurel Francis. The Commission considered all seven substantive items on its agenda: state responsibility; jurisdictional immunities of states and their property; status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by diplomatic courier; the Draft Code of Offences against the Peace and Security of Mankind; the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses; international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law; and relations between states and international organizations (second part of the topic). The Drafting Committee, which met a record 30 times, reported out a total of 15 articles concerning three of the above topics (jurisdictional immunities, state responsibility and the diplomatic courier and bag), all of which were provisionally adopted by the Commission. The entire session is dealt with in some detail in the Commission’s 1983 report to the General Assembly. Only the highlights will be covered here.
Professor D’Amato’s Concept of American Jurisdiction is Seriously Mistaken
Authors: Rubin Alfred P.
Published: April 2006

Professor Anthony D’Amato criticizes a long opinion of Judge Bork rejecting American jurisdiction over various foreign defendants in a tort action growing out of an attack on civilians in Israel by members of the Palestine Liberation Organization. None of the victims was American and there seems to be no connection between the United States and the incident except the temporary presence of agents of various defendants in the United States.
United States v. Yunis
Authors: Clarizio Lynda M.
Published: April 2006

Defendant Fawaz Yunis, a Lebanese resident and citizen, was charged for his alleged involvement in the 1985 hijacking of a Jordanian civil aircraft in the Middle East. Defendant moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that, under general principles of international law, the court lacked subject matter and personal jurisdiction over a crime committed by a nonresident alien on foreign soil and that federal law provided no independent basis for such jurisdiction. The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (per Parker, J.) denied the motion to dismiss in part and granted it in part, and held: (1) that those counts of the indictment charging the defendant with violation of section 32(a) of the Destruction of Aircraft Act (18 U.S.C. §32(a) (1986)) (Aircraft Piracy Act) should be dismissed on the ground that this section provided no jurisdiction over aircraft piracy offenses having no connection to U.S. territory; (2) that traditional principles of international law provided sufficient grounds for asserting both subject matter and personal jurisdiction over the other crimes charged; and (3) that the Act for the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Hostage Taking (18 U.S.C. §1203 (1986)) (Hostage Taking Act) and section 32(b) of the Aircraft Piracy Act imposed liability for the offenses allegedly committed by the defendant.
The Fortieth Session of the International Law Commission
Authors: Mccaffrey Stephen C.
Published: April 2006

The International Law Commission of the United Nations held its 40th session from May 9 to July 29, 1988, under the Chairmanship of Ambassador Leonardo Díaz-González. The Commission adopted 6 articles of the Draft Code of Crimes against the Peace and Security of Mankind and 14 articles on the law of non-navigational uses of international watercourses. Substantial time was devoted to both international liability for injurious consequences arising out of acts not prohibited by international law and the status of the diplomatic courier and the diplomatic bag not accompanied by diplomatic courier. Reports on jurisdictional immunities of states and their property and state responsibility were introduced by the special rapporteurs for those topics but were not discussed by the Commission owing to lack of time. The remaining substantive item on the Commission’s agenda, relations between states and international organizations (second part of the topic), was not considered at this session. Finally, the Commission once again devoted substantial time to reviewing its procedures and methods of work.
New Trends in the Protection of the Antarctic Environment: The 1991 Madrid Protocol
Authors: Blay S. K. N.
Published: April 2006

In June 1991, the Antarctic Treaty states, meeting in Madrid, Spain, approved the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty (the Madrid Protocol). The Protocol was adopted by the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Parties and opened for signature on October 4, 1991. Negotiated over a three-year period, the Protocol, together with its annexes, is the most comprehensive multilateral document ever adopted on the international protection of the environment. It promises to be a significant blueprint for preserving the Antarctic. An ironic feature of the Protocol is that, while it bans mining in Antarctica, it had its origins in the 1988 Convention for the Regulation of Antarctic Mineral Resource Activities (CRAMRA), which permitted mining.
The Arafat Visa Affair: Exceeding The Bounds of Host State Discretion
Authors: Reisman W. Michael
Published: April 2006

Pacta sunt servanda

The U.S. refusal to permit Yasir Arafat, Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, to attend the 43d annual meeting of the General Assembly in New York was almost universally condemned as a violation of international law. Because Arafat publicly complied, on December 14, 1988, with the conditions the United States had long prescribed as prerequisite for direct contacts with the PLO, many have tended retroactively to validate the refusal to grant the visa, as a pragmatic and legitimate technique of diplomatic suasion. Consequently, it is all the more urgent that the record of international legal violation be confirmed, lest the refusal be cited, in the idiosyncratic fashion of international law, as precedent for future violations. Such a development would hasten the deterioration of the regime of restraints on the discretion of host states and reduce the effectiveness of resident international organizations.
Re C (A Minor). Lexis UK Library
Authors: Kindall Mark P.
Published: April 2006

Appellant applied to an English court for the return of his son Thomas under the Child Abduction and Custody Act, 1985 (ch. 60), which gave statutory force to provisions of the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. The lower court refused the application on the ground that removal of Thomas to Australia without his mother would create a grave risk of serious psychological harm to the child. On appeal, the Court of Appeal unanimously held that the mother’s removal of Thomas from Australia was wrongful under the Hague Convention as a violation of the father’s rights of custody; that the exception in the Convention permitting courts to decline to order return of children when return would create a grave risk of harm to the child does not apply when this risk would occur only if the mother refused to accompany the child back to Australia; and that an order of the court for return of the child to Australia would issue on condition that the father fulfill his offer to give undertakings to the English court and the Australian Family Court regarding provision for Thomas and his mother in Australia.
“Advice” from the Very Beginning, “Consent” When the End Is Achieved
Authors: Bestor Arthur
Published: April 2006

The President, says the Constitution of the United States, “shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.” What working relationship between the President and the Senate was this provision intended to establish in the complex and delicate business of determining the foreign policy of the nation and conducting its foreign relations in accordance with that policy?
Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
Authors: Nash Marian , (Leich)
Published: April 2006

By notes exchanged at a signing ceremony in Hanoi, Vietnam, on August 5, 1995, Secretary of State Warren Christopher and Vietnamese Foreign Minister Nguyen Manh Cam confirmed the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States of America and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam by mutual consent on July 12, 1995.
Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
Authors: Nash Marian
Published: April 2006

On May 19, 1992, President George Bush transmitted to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification the Convention for the Conservation of Anadromous Stocks in the North Pacific Ocean, with Annex, signed at Moscow on February 11, 1992. An accompanying report by Secretary of State James A. Baker III, dated May 14, 1992, stated, in major part:

The Convention has as its centerpiece a prohibition on high seas fishing for Pacific salmon, which will protect valuable migrating U.S.-origin salmonids. It also establishes a new international organization to promote the conservation of anadromous stocks (primarily Pacific salmon) throughout their migratory range in the high seas area of the North Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas, as well as ecologically related species that interact with these resources, including various marine mammals, seabirds, and non-anadromous fish species. The new organization, which is to be known as the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, will also serve as a needed venue for consultation and coordination of high seas fishery enforcement activities by the contracting parties.
The Work of the Sixth Committee at the Forty-seventh Session of the UN General Assembly
Authors: Morris Virginia , Bourloyannis M. Christiane
Published: April 2006

At the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly, the Sixth Committee1reviewed the annual reports of the International Law Commission (ILC), the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), the Special Committee on the Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization (Charter Committee), and the Committee on Relations with the Host Country. The Sixth Committee also considered proposals for new legal instruments relating to some aspects of sovereign immunity, consular functions, the diplomatic courier and bag, and environmental protection in wartime; a proposal to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on questions relating to extraterritorial jurisdiction; and aspects of such other topics as national liberation movements, humanitarian law, protection of diplomats, and the United Nations Decade of International Law.
Prospective Liability Regimes for the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes
Authors: Murphy Sean D.
Published: April 2006

At the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, governments decided to cooperate “in an expeditious and more determined manner” to develop international law regarding liability and compensation for transnational environmental damage. UNCED, however, did not decide whether this development should proceed broadly through codification of principles or rules encompassing all types of transnational environmental damage or more narrowly through the establishment of liability and compensation regimes tailored to specific issues of environmental damage.
The ILC’s Draft Statute for an International Criminal Tribunal
Authors: Crawford James
Published: April 2006

At its forty-fifth session in 1993, the International Law Commission took note of the report of a working group containing a Draft Statute for an International Criminal Tribunal, and transmitted that report to the General Assembly for comment. This is the second stage in a process that began in 1992, when the Commission established a Working Group on an International Criminal Court, which laid down the basic parameters for a draft statute. Its general approach was endorsed by the Commission and subsequently by the General Assembly. The Draft Statute adopted by the working group in 1993 gives effect to that approach, although with a number of refinements and much added detail. The third stage of the process is intended to occur in 1994, when the Commission hopes to adopt a final version of the Draft Statute, taking into account comments made on it at the General Assembly and elsewhere. The purpose of this Note is to outline the provisions of the Draft Statute, in the hope of furthering understanding and discussion of its provisions.
Women’s Human Rights and the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights
Authors: Sullivan Donna J.
Published: April 2006

The June 1993 World Conference on Human Rights witnessed the extraordinary success of efforts by women’s rights activists worldwide to end the historic disregard of human rights violations against women. Indeed, women’s human rights was perhaps the only area in which the World Conference can be said to have met the challenge of defining a forward-looking agenda twenty-five years after the last world conference on human rights. The conference significantly expanded the international human rights agenda to include gender-specific violations. The final conference document, the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, identifies particular examples of gender-specific abuses as human rights violations and calls for integration of women’s human rights throughout United Nations activities. Most strikingly, the conference crystallized a political consensus that various forms of violence against women should be examined within the context of human rights standards and in conjunction with gender discrimination. This Note reviews the treatment of women’s human rights in the Declaration and Programme of Action and related developments in the preparatory process for the World Conference.
Collective Action in the Utilization of Shared Freshwater: The Challenges of International Water Resources Law
Authors: Benvenisti Eyal
Published: April 2006

There is enough freshwater in the world to meet the existing and future needs of the world’s population. Water, however, is poorly distributed: there are regions that suffer severe drought, while others are heavily flooded; regions that have ample water in winter, but not enough in summer; and regions that abound in water during certain years, but are threatened by droughts in others. Thus, the management of freshwater is largely a question of redistribution of a natural resource, given certain physical, economic, environmental and social constraints. Such management inevitably brings into play the competing priorities of different uses and users; and, since most water resources traverse political boundaries, these competing priorities often become regional conflicts between riparian states.
The International Law Commission Adopts Draft Articles on International Watercourses
Authors: McCaffrey Stephen C.
Published: April 2006

At its 1994 session, the International Law Commission (ILC) completed the final adoption (“second reading”) of a complete set of thirty-three draft articles on the law of the non-navigational uses of international watercourses, together with a resolution on transboundary confined ground water. The Commission submitted the draft articles and the resolution to the General Assembly and recommended that a convention on international watercourses be elaborated by the Assembly or by an international conference of plenipotentiaries on the basis of the Commission’s draft.
The United Nations Compensation Commission— Developments Since October 1992
Authors: Bettauer Ronald J.
Published: April 2006

Paragraph 16 of Security Council Resolution 687 (April 3, 1991) reaffirmed that “Iraq … is liable under international law for any direct loss, damage, … or injury to foreign Governments, nationals and corporations, as a result of Iraq’s unlawful invasion and occupation of Kuwait.” This resolution and Security Council Resolution 692 (May 20, 1991) established the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC) to administer a system to provide compensation for claims for which Iraq is liable under paragraph 16. The Commission has a Governing Council, composed of the members of the Security Council; panels of commissioners, appointed from time to time to review particular groups of claims; and a secretariat headed by an Executive Secretary. The Commission’s Governing Council first met in Geneva in July 1991 and in the first year of its existence adopted decisional criteria for six categories of claims: Category “A” — claims of individuals for fixed amounts for departure from Iraq or Kuwait; Category “B” — claims of individuals for fixed amounts for death or serious personal injury; Category “C” —claims of individuals for amounts up to $100,000; Category “D” —claims of individuals for amounts above $100,000; Category “E” —claims of corporations; and Category “F” — claims of governments and international organizations.
The fossil record of Eucommia (Eucommiaceae) in North America
Authors: Call Victor B. , Dilcher David L.
Published: April 2006

Reproductive and vegetative remains of Eucommia from 25 localities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico document the wide distribution of this genus in North America during the Cenozoic. Autofluorescent elastic latex filaments bearing capitate termini are preserved in nearly all of the remains and provide conclusive evidence of their affinity to Eucommia. Four species of Eucommia are recognized on the basis of the characteristic samaras: E. eocenica from middle Eocene strata of the Mississippi Embayment in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi; E. montana from early Eocene to early Oligocene localities in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and Montana; E. constans from Neogene rocks in central Mexico; and E. jeffersonensis n. sp. from the latest Eocene or earliest Oligocene John Day Formation of Oregon. Atypical specimens of E. montana and E. eocenica are the first records of two‐seeded fruits for the genus. Eucommia leaves from Eocene localities in British Columbia and Mississippi are the first records of Eucommia foliage in North America whose identifications are confirmed by the presence of capitate latex strands. These leaves and a specimen from Oregon are referred to E. rolandii n. sp. Fruit evolution in Eucommia may have involved increases in samara size and symmetry, and reduction in seed number from two to one, perhaps as adaptations for wind dispersal. All fossil Eucommia samaras from North America are smaller and less symmetrical than those of the living species, E. ulmoides. Preliminary flight tests of E. ulmoides samaras and of models of the fossils suggest that E. ulmoides fruits are aerodynamically better suited for wind dispersal than the fossils.
Is Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgoaceae) really an oviparous plant?
Authors: Holt Ben F. , Rothwell Gar W.
Published: April 2006

Germination of Ginkgo biloba seeds with intact and removed sarcotesta was compared to test the role of the seed coat in germination biology. The presence of an intact sarcotesta significantly reduced total germination percentage when compared to seeds with the sarcotesta removed. Some seeds were also cold stratified. This treatment was not necessary for germination, but it did improve total germination percentage. The seeds were collected during the period of natural abscission. Contrary to the accepted literature, we found that Ginkgo seeds contain well‐developed embryos at the time of dispersal. These data demonstrate that the seed coat contributes to winter dormancy of G. biloba, and that the phenology of this species is less primitive than popularly believed.
Structure and development of bracteal nectary glands in Aphelandra (Acanthaceae)
Authors: McDade Lucinda A. , Turner Melvin D.
Published: April 2006

A survey of bracteal (extrafloral) nectaries in species of Aphelandra (Acanthaceae) reveals substantial diversity. Each bracteal nectary is an aggregate of individual glands that vary in number, size, and structure among species. Glands contain three cell layers: a palisade‐like secretory cell layer, a one‐to‐many‐celled intermediate layer with thickened cell walls, and a foot layer. Members of the A. pulcherrima complex have one of two distinct gland types: relatively small glands with a single‐celled intermediate layer or larger glands that have a multicellular intermediate layer. Nectaries composed of small glands are patches of many (>50) glands, whereas those composed of large glands are patches of < 10 glands. Four outgroup species have bracteal nectaries of numerous small glands with pluricellular intermediate layers. Glands of all three types are initiated as single enlarged protodermal cells, and all undergo similar early periclinal divisions; the large‐gland type shows greater subsequent enlargement with many more anticlinal divisions. The bracteal nectar glands are interpreted to be homologous with simpler glandular trichomes, and mark a monophyletic lineage within Aphelandra. Comparisons with outgroup species show that both nectary types in the A. pulcherrima complex have diverged from an ancestral condition of numerous small glands with pluricellular intermediate layers. Use of the ontogenetic criterion to polarize gland type within the A. pulcherrima complex would yield erroneous results because evolution has apparently involved a developmental truncation with loss of cell divisions in the intermediate layer of small glands. Comparable nectar glands in more distant taxa are interpreted as remarkable cases of convergent evolution, perhaps from similar trichome precursors.
Delayed autonomous self‐pollination in Hibiscus laevis (Malvaceae)
Authors: Klips Robert A. , Snow Allison A.
Published: April 2006

Delayed autonomous self‐pollination allows outcrossing to occur while also ensuring that seeds are produced in the absence of pollen vectors. We investigated variation in the efficacy of this pollination mechanism in populations of Hibiscus laevis. Recurvature of stylar branches occurred after 1 d of anthesis, and in plants from Ohio, Illinois, Arkansas, and Oklahoma this behavior resulted in autonomous selfing (surprisingly, stylar movement was facultative in that it did not take place when the stigmas were already pollinated). In contrast to these more northern populations, the distance between anthers and stigmas was too great to allow autonomous selfing in plants from Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Greenhouse studies of plants from Ohio demonstrated that autonomous selfing resulted in an average of 29.5 seeds per flower, as compared to 59.9 seeds per flower from hand‐pollination of stigmas with self pollen. In an assessment of the possible significance of this selfing mode, emasculated flowers did not set significantly fewer seeds in a natural stand in Ohio, suggesting that few seeds resulted from autonomous selfing at that site. Modest inbreeding depression was detected at this population. Our results suggest that delayed autonomous selfing is more common in northern populations, where it may facilitate population establishment and persistence at times when pollinators are scarce.
Phylogenetic position of the Hawaiian geraniums based on rbcL Sequences
Authors: Pax Denise L. , Price Robert A. , Michaels Helen J.
Published: April 2006

The seven currently recognized species of Geranium endemic to the Hawaiian Islands are unusual in their shrubby or arborescent habit and unlobed, parallel‐veined leaves rather than the palmately cleft or lobed leaves and herbaceous habit typical of the genus. Their placement within the genus and their biogeographic source have been obscured by this morphological distictiveness and the limited resolution of relationships on the basis of morphology in the very speciose subgenus Geranium. Phylogenetic analysis of rbcL gene sequences provides strong support for the monophyly of the Hawaiian group, and indicates that the Hawaiian clade is deeply nested within section Geranium rather than comprising a separate section. The continental relatives studied to date with the greatest similarity in sequence to the Hawaiian group are native to the Americas rather than Asia or the Pacific. The Hawaiian species are extremely similar to one another in rbcL sequence, while the tree topology obtained is consistent with a basal position for Geranium arboreum within the group.
Mycorrhizae and succession in plantings of beachgrass in sand dunes
Authors: Koske R. E. , Gemma J. N.
Published: April 2006

A survey of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM), and hyphal networks of AMF was carried out in sand dune sites of different successional stages in the Province Lands Area of Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts. The study focused on large‐scale plantings (each of 12–20 ha) of American beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) aged 0–7 yr and five adjacent natural dune areas. Sample sites ranged in vegetative cover from barren to forested. Spores of 17 species of AMF were recovered from the dunes. Over the successional sequence, there were increases in the richness and spore populations of the AMF community, the extent of colonization of A. breviligulata roots, and the mycorrhizal inoculum potential of the soil. Unvegetated sites lacked propagules of AMF, but roots of planted culms of A. breviligulata (which carried propagules of AMF) became mycorrhizal in <1 yr after planting. Spores were recovered from previously AMF‐free sites that had been planted with beachgrass for 47 wk, and five species of AMF sporulated in sites <6 yr old. Significant hyphal networks were not present in any of the planted areas (<6 yr old at the time of sampling), but did occur in natural areas. The rate of invasion of areas planted to A. breviligulata by later successional plant species may in part depend upon the establishment of a vigorous network of hyphae of AMF in a site.
Expression of fasciation mutation in apical Meristems of Soybean, Glycine Max (Leguminosae)
Authors: Tang Yuhong , Skorupska Halina T.
Published: April 2006

The phenotype of the apical meristem was used to examine the effect of fasciation mutation at the f locus in different genetic backgrounds in soybean Glycine max (L.) Merr. Comparisons of meristem development in fasciation mutant and wild type were conducted with scanning electron microscope (SEM) on isogenic lines BARC‐11‐11‐ff and BARC‐11‐11‐FF at postgermination and early vegetative stages. Studies of apical meristems of three independently originated fasciation mutants, PI 83945‐4, PI 243541, and T173, were carried out at vegetative and early floral transition stages. Corolla Fasciation, the extreme mutant phenotype, was used for comparison of meristem development. Enlargement of the apical meristem and shortened plastochron were observed in the mutant lines 2 d after germination. Similar to Corolla Fasciation, in PI 83945‐4, PI 243541, and T173, enlargement of the apical meristem was followed by growth along one axis at the V3 stage and establishment of a ridge‐like meristem at the V4 stage. Influence of pedigree on the expression of the fasciation phenotype was demonstrated by different growth patterns (subangular vs. ridge‐like) of the apical meristem in BARC‐11‐11‐ff and PI 243541 with the same f gene. During transition of the apical meristem from vegetative to reproductive stage in all mutant lines further production of leaf primordia ceased. The developmental pattern of the apical meristems suggests that the f locus may have the same allele in fasciation mutants of independent origin in soybean.
The fossil monocot Limnobiophyllum scutatum: Resolving the Phylogeny of Lemnaceae
Authors: Stockey Ruth A. , Hoffman Georgia L. , Rothwell Gar W.
Published: April 2006

More than 200 specimens of Limnobiophyllum scutatum (Dawson) Krassilov have been recovered from lacustrine claystones in the Paleocene Paskapoo Formation near Red Deer, Alberta. The plant was a floating, aquatic angiosperm with helically arranged, ovate leaves attached in small rosettes. Rosettes are interconnected by stolons and bear simple adventitious roots as well as larger branching roots that appear to have vascular tissue. Leaves are pubescent, aerenchymatous, with 12–14 campylodromous primary veins that curve toward the apex, joining a fimbrial vein, often an apical notch. Staminate flowers with two, four‐loculate stamens, are borne in the axils of second leaves. Anthers contain monoporate, globose, echinate pollen, 20–25 °m in diameter. The pollen wall is 0.8 °m thick, with a homogeneous foot layer, granular to slightly columellate infratectal layer and an echinate tectum. Pollen most closely resembles the sporae dispersae genus Pandaniidites Elsik. The completeness of L. scutatum has allowed for its inclusion in a numerical cladistic analysis to resolve relationships among taxa of the Lemnaceae, Pistia, and selected genera of Araceae. Results of the analysis indicate that the Lemnaceae plus Pistia form a monophyletic group within the Araceae.
A New Fossil Fern Assignable to Gleicheniaceae from Late Cretaceous sediments of New Jersey
Authors: Gandolfo Maria A. , Nixon Kevin C. , Crepet William L. , Ratcliffe Gene E.
Published: April 2006

The recent discovery of well‐preserved charcoalified rhizomes, petioles, pinnules, sori, and spores from the Upper Cretaceous of New Jersey provides the basis for the description of a new gleicheniaceous fern, Boodlepteris turoniana. The fossils were collected from unconsolidated sediments of Turonian age (° 90 MYBP, million years before present; Raritan/Lower Magothy Formation, Potomac Group). These deposits are rich in angiosperms, but also have a limited representation of fern and gymnosperm remains. Fossil specimens from this locality are particularly remarkable in that minute detail, including anatomical features, are often preserved. Some Boodlepteris specimens have cell by cell preservation that reveals the nature and structure of the stele in rhizomes and petioles, and others show minute details of the sori borne on fertile pinnae. Although these specimens are not in organic connection, there are sufficient structural and anatomical details preserved to confidently suggest that they belong to the same taxon. Cladistic analysis of the fossils, both separately and as a reconstruction, support assignment of Boodlepteris to the extant family Gleicheniaceae.
Anatomy and ultrastructure of the sporophyte of Takakia ceratophylla (Bryophyta)
Authors: Renzaglia Karen Sue , McFarland Ken D. , Smith David K.
Published: April 2006

In this study, morphogenesis and structure of the sporophyte of Takakia ceratophylla are characterized beginning with the late embryo and culminating in the fully dehisced capsule. Information is presented on the development, ultrastructure, and anatomy of the three organographic regions of the sporophyte, namely capsule, seta, and foot. Diagnostic features that identify Takakia as a moss include the gradual elongation of seta, persistence of an apical calyptra, expansion of the capsule after cessation of seta elongation, existence of a columella, monoplastidic meiosis, spore ultrastructure (including a perine layer deposited late in spore wall development), and the structure of the foot. Commonalities with the capsule of the Andreaeopsida include sporogenous tissue that overarchs a central columella, absence of stomata, and lack of a peristome and operculum. Peculiarities of the genus are seen in the internal structure of the capsule, the disintegration of the columella with spore maturation, and the dehiscence of the capsule along a single, spiralled, longitudinal suture line. Passive spore dispersal through longitudinal splitting of the capsule occurs in andreaeopsid mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and seedless vascular plants. The precise mechanism of dehiscence along a spiralled suture is unparalleled in extant archegoniates but finds counterparts in ancestral land plants such as the pteridophyte Tortilicaulis.
Quantitative determination of calcium oxalate and oxalate in developing seeds of soybean (Leguminosae)
Authors: Ilarslan H. , Palmer R. G. , Imsande J. , Horner H. T.
Published: April 2006

Developing soybean seeds accumulate very large amounts of both soluble oxalate and insoluble crystalline calcium (Ca) oxalate. Use of two methods of detection for the determination of total, soluble, and insoluble oxalate revealed that at +16 d postfertilization, the seeds were 24% dry mass of oxalate, and three‐fourths of this oxalate (18%) was bound Ca oxalate. During later seed development, the dry mass of oxalate decreased. Crystals were isolated from the seeds, and X‐ray diffraction and polarizing microscopy identified them as Ca oxalate monohydrate. These crystals were a mixture of kinked and straight prismatics. Even though certain plant tissues are known to contain significant amounts of oxalate and Ca oxalate during certain periods of growth, the accumulation of oxalate during soybean seed development was surprising and raises interesting questions regarding its function.
Chromosome evolution in the genus Mikania (Compositae)
Authors: Ruas Claudete F. , Aguiar‐Perecin Margarida L. R.
Published: April 2006

Karyotypic analysis of ten species of the genus Mikania was carried out using Feulgen staining. Species belonging to the following sections were analyzed: Section Thyrsigerae containing M. additicia (2n = 34), M. hemisphaerica, M. lanuginosa, and M. punctata (2n = 36), and Mikania sericea (2n = 42), which adds a new basic chromosome number (x = 21) to the genus and to the tribe Eupatorieae; Section Corymbosae with M. hastato‐cordata (2n = 34) and M. involucrata and M. microptera with 2n = 36 chromosomes; Section Spicato‐Racemosae with M. sessilifolia, with 2n = 108 chromosomes. One unidentified species with 2n = 34 chromosomes was also analyzed. All the species studied show one large pair of chromosomes with a secondary constriction in the middle region of the long arm. The morphology of this chromosome suggests that it can be considered as a cytological marker for the genus. Because of the distinctive inflorescence types found in the genus Mikania and the high frequency of species with x = 18, a correlation between morphological and chromosomal evolution is discussed. The present study suggests that the basic original chromosome number for the genus is x = 18, from which the others (x = 17, 19, 20, 21) have been derived by aneuploidy to form the observed aneuploid series.
Root distribution and seasonal production in the northwestern Sonoran Desert for a C3 subshrub, a C4 bunchgrass, and a CAM leaf succulent
Authors: Nobel Park S.
Published: April 2006

To investigate root distribution with depth, which can affect competition for water, surface areas of young and old roots were determined in 4‐cm‐thick soil layers for the C3 subshrub Encelia farinosa Torrey and A. Gray, the C4 bunchgrass Pleuraphis rigida Thurber, and the CAM (crassulacean acid metabolism) leaf succulent Agave deserti Engelm. At a site in the northwestern Sonoran Desert these codominant perennials had mean rooting depths of only 9–10 cm for isolated plants. Young roots had mean depths of 5–6 cm after a winter wet period, but 11–13 cm after a summer wet period. Young roots were most profuse in the winter for E. farinosa, which has the lowest optimum temperature for root growth, and in the summer for P. rigida, which has the highest optimum temperature. Roots for interspecific pairs in close proximity averaged 2–3 cm shallower for A. deserti and a similar distance deeper for the other two species compared with isolated plants, suggesting partial spatial separation of their root niches when the plants are in a competitive situation. For plants with a similar root surface area, the twofold greater leaf area and twofold higher maximal transpiration rate of E. farinosa were consistent with its higher root hydraulic conductivity, leading to a fourfold higher estimated maximal water uptake rate than for P. rigida. Continuous water uptake accounted for the shoot water loss by A. deserti, which has a high shoot waterstorage capacity. A lower minimum leaf water potential for P. rigida than for A. deserti indicates greater ability to extract water from a drying soil, suggesting that temporal niche separation for water uptake also occurs.
Is Phellinites digiustoi the oldesthomobasidiomycete?
Authors: Hibbett David S. , Donoghue Michael J. , Tomlinson P. Barry
Published: April 2006

The oldest generally accepted fossil of mushroom‐forming fungi (homobasidiomycetes) is Phellinites digiustoi, from the Jurassic of Patagonia. The next‐oldest homobasidiomycete fossil does not occur until about 70 million years later, in the mid‐Cretaceous. The goal of this project was to reassess the identity of Phellinites and refine the minimum‐age estimate for the origin of homobasidiomycetes. We examined the holotype of Phellinites digiustoi and a second collection from the type locality. Thin sections were prepared from both collections. Phellinites has a cellular structure, confirming that it is biological in origin, but there are no hyphae, spores, or other fungal structures. Rather, Phellinites appears to be the outer bark (rhytidome) of a conifer. Fossils of Araucariaceae are common in the region where Phellinites was found, and so it is plausible that Phellinites is the bark of an Araucaria‐like tree. The minimum age of the mushroom‐forming fungi, based on direct fossil evidence, is revised to the mid‐Cretaceous.
Analysis of the four cox2 genes found in turnip (Brassica campestris, Brassicaceae) mitochondria
Authors: Dong Fugui , Wilson Kenneth G. , Makaroff Christopher A.
Published: April 2006

In turnip mitochondria the cox2 gene is partially contained within a 2‐kb (kilobase) direct repeat that is the site of homologous recombination events that generate subgenomic molecules. Because of its partial presence within the direct repeat, the turnip cox2 gene exists in four genomic contexts, two on the master chromosome and one on each of the subgenomic circles. In order to gain information on the expression of plant mitochondrial genes that exist in multiple genomic contexts and on plant mitochondrial recombination repeats in general we have characterized all four copies of the turnip 2‐kb repeat and the cox2 gene. DNA sequence analysis indicates that the turnip high‐frequency recombination repeat is 2424 bp in length. All but the last 58 bp of the cox2 gene is contained within the repeat, resulting in the presence of two intact cox2 genes and two pseudogenes. An intact cox2 gene and a pseudogene are found on the master chromosome (218 kb). An intact cox2 gene is also found on the 135‐kb subgenomic circle, while a pseudogene is found on the 83‐kb subgenomic circle. The turnip cox2 gene is unique because it lacks the first or 5’ intron and contains the second or 3’ intron previously found only in the carrot. The turnip intron is a group II intron that has high similarity (94.7%) with the second intron in carrot; also it is in precisely the same position within the gene. Transcript mapping studies using locus‐specific probes reveal stable transcripts from the intact genes but not from the pseudogenes.
Effects of variation in flower number on pollinator visits in Cirsium purpuratum (Asteraceae)
Authors: Ohashi Kazuharu , Yahara Tetsukazu
Published: April 2006

We examined the functional relationships between floral display and two types of bumble bee response, the visitation rate per plant and the number of flowers visited on a plant, in an artificially arranged field population of Cirsium purpuratum. To reduce the variance in data, we collected data for each day separately and adopted a Latin square design in selecting the focal plants within a day. We then tested several types of regressions to each set of data to find the best‐fitting line accounting for the observed relationship between pollinator response and display size. We found that the visitation rate of bumble bees per plant was a decelerating function of floral display, and that the number of flowering heads visited on a plant increased linearly with display size. Predicted from the above two functions, the visitation rate per head was independent of floral display and nearly constant within each day. Our results suggest that conventional methods in collecting and analyzing data on pollinator visitation may yield large variance in data derived from temporal and spatial heterogeneity and that improved methods employed here are effective in reducing the variance and estimating patterns of pollinator response to floral display more accurately.
Modification of phenotypic and functional gender in the monoecious Arum italicum (Araceae)
Authors: Méndez Marcos
Published: April 2006

Other than studies on sex‐labile Arisaema species, studies of gender patterns in Araceae are scarce. The modification of phenotypic and functional gender was investigated in three populations of the monoecious Arum italicum Miller. The probability of reproduction and the number of inflorescences produced increased with plant size, and flower number (total, male, staminodes, female, pistillodes) increased with both plant and inflorescence sizes. However, plant and inflorescence sizes were poor predictors of floral sex ratio (female to male flower ratio). In contrast, change in floral sex ratio towards increasing femaleness was found among inflorescences sequentially produced by a plant. This change could not be explained by either a decrease in inflorescence size or a change in the mating environment. Differences in functional gender did not appear to be related to plant size or stage in the flowering period. Instead, different patterns of functional gender were found between plants with different number of inflorescences. Multi‐inflorescence plants showed a functional gender around 0.5, while plants with one inflorescence showed a more extreme functional gender (either male, female, or functionally sterile). Sex of flowers in this species did not seem to exhibit a phenotypic trade‐off.
Do surface plant and soil seed bank populations differ genetically? a multipopulation study of the desert mustard Lesquerella fendleri (Brassicaceae)
Authors: Cabin Robert J. , Mitchell Randall J. , Marshall Diane L.
Published: April 2006

Seed banks are an important component of many plant populations, but few empirical studies have investigated the genetic relationship between soil seeds and surface plants. We compared the genetic structure of soil seeds and surface plants of the desert mustard Lesquerella fendleri within and among five ecologically diverse populations at the Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge in Central New Mexico. At each site, 40 Lesquerella surface plants and 40 samples of soil seeds were mapped and genetically analyzed using starch gel electrophoresis. Overall allele frequencies of soil seeds and surface plants showed significant differences across the five populations and within three of the five individual populations. Surface plants had significantly greater amounts of single and multilocus heterozygosity, and mean surface plant heterozygosity was also greater at the total population level and in four of the five individual populations. Overall soil seed (but not surface plant) homozygosity was significantly greater than predicted by Hardy‐Weinberg expectations at the total and individual population levels. Although Fst estimates revealed similarly small but significant genetic divergence within each life‐history stage, estimates of coancestry showed that fine‐scale (0.5–2 m) genetic correlations among the surface plant genotypes were roughly twice those of soil seed genotypes. An unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean cluster analysis indicated that in the two geographically closest sites, the surface plants were slightly more genetically similar to each other than to their own respective seed banks. We also found weak and/or negative demographic associations between Lesquerella soil seed and surface plant densities within each of the five sites. We discuss the difficulties involved with sampling and genetically comparing these two life‐history stages.