bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Phytolith Evidence for Early Maize (Zea Mays) in the Northern Finger Lakes Region of New York
Authors: Hart John P. , Thompson Robert G. , Brumbach Hetty Jo
Published: February 2007

The timing of crop introductions, particularly of maize (Zea mays), has been of long-standing interest to archaeologists working in various regions of eastern North America. The earliest confirmed macrobotanical evidence for maize in New York is A.D. 1000. We report on the results of accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) dating, phytolith analysis, and stable carbon isotope analysis of carbonized cooking residues adhering to the interior surface of pottery sherds from three sites in the northern Finger Lakes region of New York. Maize, squash (Cucurbita sp.), wild rice (Zizania aquatica), and sedge (Cyperus sp.) were identified in phytolith assemblages dating to as early as the first half of the calibrated seventh century A.D. The results demonstrate that low δ13C values on cooking residues cannot be used to preclude the possibility that maize was cooked in vessels. Two of the maize-bean-squash crop triad were present in New York at least 350 years earlier than previously documented, and the Northern Flint Corn Complex was present in New York by at least the first half of the seventh century A.D. This research highlights the potential of cooking residues to provide new insights on prehistoric plant-based subsistence.
Historical biogeography of Melastomataceae: the roles of Tertiary migration and long‐distance dispersal
Authors: Renner S. S. , Clausing G. , Meyer K.
Published: February 2007

Melastomataceae and Memecylaceae are pantropically distributed sister groups for which anndhFgene phylogeny for 91 species in 59 genera is here linked with Eurasian and North American fossils in a molecular clock approach to biogeographical reconstruction. Nine species from the eight next‐closest families are used to root phylogenetic trees obtained under maximum likelihood criteria. Melastomataceae comprise ∼3000 species in the neotropics, ∼1000 in tropical Asia, 240 in Africa, and 225 in Madagascar in 150–166 genera, and the taxa sampled come from throughout this geographic range. Based on fossils, ranges of closest relatives, tree topology, and calibrated molecular divergences, Melastomataceae initially diversified in Paloecene/Eocene times in tropical forest north of the Tethys. Their earliest (Eocene) fossils are from northeastern North America, and during the Oligocene and Miocene melastomes occurred in North America as well as throughout Eurasia. They also entered South America, with earliest (Oligocene) South American fossils representing Merianieae. One clade (Melastomeae) reached Africa from the neotropics 14–12 million years ago and from there spread to Madagascar, India, and Indochina. Basalmost Melastomataceae (Kibessieae, Astronieae) are species‐poor lineages restricted to Southeast Asia. However, a more derived Asian clade (Sonerileae/Dissochaeteae) repeatedly reached Madagascar and Africa during the Miocene and Pliocene. Contradicting earlier hypotheses, the current distribution of Melastomataceae is thus best explained by Neogene long‐distance dispersal, not Gondwana fragmentation.
Reproductive biology and natural hybridization between two endemic species ofPitcairnia(Bromeliaceae)
Authors: Wendt Tânia , Canela Maria Bernadete Ferreira , Gelli de Faria Ana Paula , Rios Ricardo Iglesias
Published: February 2007

We investigated pollination biology and breeding systems in hybridizing populations ofPitcairnia albiflosandP. staminea; both species are endemic to rocky outcrops at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. These species are morphologically distinct and easily recognized by floral color: white inP. albiflosand red inP. staminea.Putative hybrids show a large range of intermediate pink floral colors. The showy hermaphroditic flowers offer pollen and nectar that attract many visitors including bees, butterflies, hawk moths, and bats. Although the flowers of both parental species and hybrids open at night, onlyP. albifloshad other adaptations for nocturnal pollination. Flowering times overlapped during three consecutive years of observation. Bees visited both species and putative hybrids. Cross‐pollinations were performed within and among parental species and hybrids in a greenhouse using plants transplanted from the field.Pitcairnia stamineaand hybrids are self‐compatible and could be spontaneously self‐pollinated, whereasP. albiflos, though self‐compatible, needs pollinators' services for self‐pollination. Facultative agamospermy was found in the parental species. Prezygotic and postzygotic reproductive barriers between these taxa were weak. Reciprocal hand‐pollinations between parental species and with hybrids yielded high fruit sets with viable seeds. Evaluations of fruit set, seed set, seed germination, and pollen viability were undertaken to compare the fitness of the hybrids relative to their parents. The hybrids showed equivalent fitness, except for lower pollen viability. Some conservation implications are noted.
Rodent pollination in the African lilyMassonia depressa(Hyacinthaceae)
Authors: Johnson Steven D. , Pauw Anton , Midgley Jeremy
Published: February 2007

Field studies in the semiarid Succulent Karoo region of South Africa showed that flowers ofMassonia depressa(Hyacinthaceae) are visited at night by at least four rodent species, including two gerbil species. Live‐trapped rodents were found to carryMassoniapollen on their snouts; they also had large quantities ofMassoniapollen in their feces as a result of grooming their fur. Visits by insects to the flowers were infrequent at one site and apparently absent at another site. Plants enclosed in large‐mesh wire cages, which excluded rodents but not insects, set very few seeds relative to open controls. Our initial hypothesis of rodent‐pollination inM. depressawas based on the striking similarity of its flowers to those of unrelated, rodent‐pollinatedProteaspecies. Convergent traits include dull‐colored and very robust flowers situated at ground level, a strong yeasty odor, and secretion of copious amounts of sucrose‐dominant nectar during the evening when rodents are active. Despite having a low sugar concentration (∼20%), the nectar ofM. depressais almost 400 times as viscous as an equivalent sugar solution. The jelly‐like constituent in the nectar may discourage robbing by insects, while also facilitating lapping by rodents. Our findings illustrate the utility of floral syndromes for generating testable predictions about pollination systems.
Anatomical and chemical analyses of leaf secretory cavities of Rustia formosa (Rubiaceae)
Authors: Vieira Ricardo Cardoso , Delprete Piero G. , Leitão Gilda Guimarães , Leitão Suzana Guimarães
Published: February 2007

Foliar secretory cavities, commonly called leaf pellucid glands, have been reported in many families of vascular plants. In the Rubiaceae, these structures have only been found in the sister genera Rustia and Tresanthera, which are also anomalous within the family because they have poricidal anthers, and in the distantly related Heterophyllaea. General leaf anatomy, with particular attention to secretory cavities, as well as the chemical analysis of the secreted substances of Rustia formosa, is presented here for the first time. The secretory structures have been found in the lamina between the palisade and spongy parenchymas and in the cortical region of the petiole. The chemical analysis showed that the essential oil secreted is a complex mixture of at least 75 components, mostly of sesquiterpenoid composition. Illustrations of the leaf anatomy, details of the secretory structures of Rustia formosa, a gas chromatogram, and a table of the principal components of the leaf essential oil are included.
Carbon allocation to volatiles and other reproductive components in male Ficus carica (Moraceae)
Authors: Grison‐Pigé Laure , Salager Jean‐Louis , Hossaert‐McKey Martine , Roy Jacques
Published: February 2007

Volatile compounds are often mediators of plant–pollinator interactions. Their emission is presumed to be costly, but this cost has seldom been quantified. Figs of Ficus carica (a dioecious species) release volatile compounds when receptive, thus attracting the agaonid wasp Blastophaga psenes. In dioecious fig species, wasps lay eggs inside male figs and pollinate female ones. For a male tree, we estimated carbon allocation to reproduction using the annual growth module (AGM) as the unit of measurement. Over the growing season, leaf and fig carbon exchange and construction costs were measured, as well as carbon investment in stamens, provisioning pollinators, and biosynthesis and release of volatile compounds. Representativity of the tree studied was evaluated by measuring some of these parameters on seven other male fig trees. The results show that 7.6–16.4% of the carbon assimilated by leaves and figs was invested in reproduction. Of the carbon invested in reproduction, pollinator attraction and feeding represented only 0.08–0.12% and 1.84–2.33%, respectively, while pollinator sheltering (fig construction and respiration) represented 97.6–98.0%. In this strict and coevolved plant–pollinator association, the main male reproductive investment was thus in the structures sheltering the associated pollinators.
Phylogeny of Amaryllidaceae tribe Amaryllideae based on nrDNA ITS sequences and morphology
Authors: Meerow Alan W. , Snijman Deirdre A.
Published: February 2007

We present the results of cladistic analyses of morphology, nrDNA ITS sequences, and a combination of the two for tribe Amaryllideae of the Amaryllidaceae. The morphologically based analysis supports the recognition of Amaryllis as sister to two major clades, equivalent to Snijman and Linder's (1996, Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 83: 362–386) Crininae and Amaryllidinae (less Amaryllis). A single tree is found with a successively weighted ITS sequence matrix. Amaryllis and Boophone form a grade at the base of the tree. All the other genera are included in two clades conforming to Snijman and Linder's (1996) subtribes Amaryllidinae (less Amaryllis, thus now Strumariinae) and Crininae (less Boophone). Within Strumariinae, Strumaria sensu lato is resolved as polyphyletic. Strumaria subg. Gemmaria is sister to the rest of the subtribe. Hessea is monophyletic only if Namaquanula is excluded. The monotypic Carpolyza is embedded within Strumaria sensu stricto. The consensus of the combined analysis is highly resolved, and most similar to the sequence topology. Based on the results of the combined analyses, the major clades are recognized as subtribes, and Carpolyza is placed into synonymy under Strumaria.
Sources of phenotypic variation in floral traits in wild radish, Raphanus raphanistrum (Brassicaceae)
Authors: Williams Jennifer L. , Conner Jeffrey K.
Published: February 2007

Pollinator‐mediated natural selection has been shown to act on phenotypic variation in floral morphology, and this variation has often been demonstrated to be heritable, but few details are available concerning the sources of floral variation. We examined phenotypic variation in seven floral traits in wild radish (Raphanus raphanistrum) at six levels: between two populations grown in a common garden, among plants within populations, among flowers measured on different weeks, between flowers on two flowering stalks measured on the same day, between adjacent flowers on a flowering stalk, and within individual flowers. There were no significant differences between plants derived from the two source populations, which were ∼800 km apart. Most of the variance was within individual plants; repeatabilities were all <0.35. There were highly significant differences between flowers measured in different weeks and also highly significant plant by week interactions, indicating that the among‐plant variation was not consistent over time. There was substantial variance among adjacent flowers on the same stalk, particularly in the gynoecium. This high within‐plant variance is partly responsible for the low heritability of floral traits in the field and the weak selection on floral traits found in previous studies of wild radish.
Allozyme diversity in three endemic species ofCistus(Cistaceae) from the Canary Islands: intraspecific and interspecific comparisons and implications for genetic conservation
Authors: Batista Francisco , Bañares Angel , Caujapé‐Castells Juli , Carqué Eduardo , Marrero‐Gómez Manuel , Sosa Pedro A.
Published: February 2007

Patterns of variation at 13 isozyme loci were examined in 11 populations in threeCistusspecies strictly endemic to the Canary Islands.Cistus osbaeckiaefoliusandC. chinamadensisdisplay low levels of isozyme variation associated with moderate to high interpopulation differentiation, which probably arose through historical bottlenecks in a landscape of habitat fragmentation, grazing, and human influence. By contrast,C. symphytifoliusranks among the subset of narrow endemics with high levels of isozyme variation and features different degrees of genetic structuring that are closely associated with taxonomic ascription. Low interpopulation differentiation in var.leucophyllusis possibly a reflection of its recent origin or of moderate levels of gene flow between its populations. High interpopulation differentiation in var.symphytifoliusprobably arose due to slight ecological differences between populations coupled with low levels of gene flow. Interpretation of neighbor‐joining trees in the light of geological data substantiates the hypothesis thatC. symphytifolius(or a very close relative) might be the ancestor of the other stands ofCistusin the islands. Conservation implications of our survey are the identification of the two populations ofC. chinamadensiswith the highest allele and genotype richness for preservation on genetic grounds and advice to prevent artificial gene flow in this taxon lest it might disrupt locally adapted gene combinations. All populations ofC. osbaeckiaefoliusshould be given conservation priority on ecological grounds despite their genetic depauperation.
Temporal vegetation dynamics and recolonization mechanisms on different‐sized soil disturbances in tallgrass prairie
Authors: Rogers William E. , Hartnett David C.
Published: February 2007

Assessing the various mechanisms by which plants revegetate disturbances is important for understanding the effects of disturbances on plant population dynamics, plant community structure, community assembly processes, and ecosystem function. We initiated a 2‐yr experiment examining temporal vegetation dynamics and mechanisms of recolonization on different‐sized soil disturbances created to simulate pocket gopher mounds in North American tallgrass prairie. Treatments were designed to assess potential contributions of the seed rain, soil seed bank, clonal propagation from the edges of a soil mound, and regrowth of buried plants. Small mounds were more rapidly recolonized than large mounds. Vegetative regrowth strategies were the dominant recolonization mechanisms, while the seed rain was considerably less important in maintaining the diversity of forbs and annuals than previously believed. All recolonization mechanisms influenced plant succession, but stem densities and plant mass on soil mounds remained significantly lower than undisturbed controls after two growing seasons. Because natural pocket gopher mounds are indistinguishable from undisturbed areas after two seasons, these results suggest that multiple modes of recruitment concurrently, albeit differentially, contribute to the recolonization of soil disturbances and influence tallgrass prairie plant community structure and successional dynamics.
The role of breeding system and inbreeding depression in the maintenance of an outcrossing mating strategy in Silene virginica (Caryophyllaceae)
Authors: Dudash Michele R. , Fenster Charles B.
Published: February 2007

The goal of this study was to understand the interaction among breeding system, mating system, and expression of inbreeding depression in the hermaphroditic, primarily hummingbird‐pollinated, iteroparous, short‐lived perennial Silene virginica. We performed hand‐selfed and hand‐outcrossed pollinations in the field, conducted detailed floral observations within individual flowers and plants, and assayed adult tissue from flowering plants for a genetic estimate of population outcrossing rate. We quantified the opportunity for geitonogamy as the proportion of days each plant exhibited simultaneous male and female function, i.e., asynchronous expression of male‐ and female‐phased flowers. Expression of cumulative inbreeding depression based on germination rate and total flower production in the glasshouse was ∼40% and was congruent with the estimated high outcrossing rate of 0.89. Floral observations demonstrated strong temporal protandry within each flower (dichogamy) as well as complete spatial separation between male and female function within each flower (herkogamy). On average, 29% of the time there were both male‐ and female‐phased flowers present on an individual plant. We conclude that our estimate of inbreeding depression is compatible with a largely outcrossing mating system and the amount of selfing observed, likely results from geitonogamy. This study illustrates the utility of examining both the causes and the consequences of inbreeding via selfing to provide additional insights into the evolution of plant mating systems.
A molecular phylogeny of the grass subfamily Panicoideae (Poaceae) shows multiple origins of C4 photosynthesis
Authors: Giussani Liliana M. , Cota‐Sánchez J. Hugo , Zuloaga Fernando O. , Kellogg Elizabeth A.
Published: February 2007

DNA sequence data from the chloroplast gene ndhF were analyzed to estimate the phylogeny of the subfamily Panicoideae, with emphasis on the tribe Paniceae. Our data suggest that the subfamily is divided into three strongly supported clades, corresponding to groups with largely identical base chromosome numbers. Relationships among the three clades are unclear. In unweighted parsimony analyses, the two major clades with x = 10 (Andropogoneae and x = 10 Paniceae) are weakly supported as sister taxa. The third large clade corresponds to x = 9 Paniceae. In analyses under implied weight, the two clades of Paniceae are sisters, making the tribe monophyletic. Neither resolution is strongly supported.

Our molecular phylogenies are not congruent with previous classifications of tribes or subtribes. Based on this sample of species, we infer that C4 photosynthesis has evolved independently several times, although a single origin with multiple reversals and several reacquisitions is only slightly less parsimonious. The phosphoenol pyruvate carboxykinase (PCK) subtype of C4 photosynthesis has evolved only once, as has the NAD‐malic enzyme (ME) subtype; all other origins are NADP‐ME. Inflorescence bristles are apparently homologous in the genera Setaria and Pennisetum, contrary to opinions of most previous authors. Some genera, such as Digitaria, Echinochloa, and Homolepis are supported as monophyletic. The large genus Paspalum is shown to be paraphyletic, with Thrasya derived from within it. As expected, Panicum is polyphyletic, with lineages derived from multiple ancestors across the tree. Panicum subg. Panicum is monophyletic. Panicum subg. Dichanthelium, subg. Agrostoides, and subg. Phanopyrum are unrelated to each other, and none is monophyletic. Only Panicum subg. Dichanthelium sect. Dichanthelium, represented by P. sabulorum and P. koolauense, is monophyletic. Panicum subg. Megathyrsus, a monotypic subgenus including only the species P. maximum, is better placed in Urochloa, as suggested by other authors.
Chloroplast DNA phylogeny and biogeography of Lepidium (Brassicaceae)
Authors: Mummenhoff Klaus , Brüggemann Holger , Bowman John L.
Published: February 2007

Two intergenic spacers, trnT‐trnL and trnL‐trnF, and the trnL intron of cpDNA were sequenced to study phylogenetic relationships and biogeography of 73 Lepidium taxa. Insertions/deletions of ≥3 bp (base pairs) provided reliable phylogenetic information whereas indels ≤2 bp, probably originating from slipped‐strand mispairing, are prone to parallelism in the context of our phylogenetic framework. For the first time, an hypothesis of the genus Lepidium is proposed based on molecular phylogeny, in contrast to previous classification schemes into sections and greges (the latter category represents groups of related species within a given geographic region), which are based mainly on fruit characters. Only a few of the taxa as delimited in the traditional systems represent monophyletic lineages. The proposed phylogeny would suggest three main lineages, corresponding to (1) sections Lepia and Cardaria, (2) grex Monoplocoidea from Australia, and (3) remaining taxa, representing the bulk of Lepidium species with more or less resolved sublineages that sometimes represent geographical correspondence. The fossil data, easily dispersible mucilaginous seeds, widespread autogamous breeding systems, and low levels of sequence divergence between species from different continents or islands suggest a rapid radiation of Lepidium by long‐distance dispersal in the Pliocene/Pleistocene. As a consequence of climatic changes in this geological epoch, arid/semiarid areas were established, providing favorable conditions for the radiation of Lepidium by which the genus attained its worldwide distribution.
Molecular systematics of Iridaceae: evidence from four plastid DNA regions
Authors: Reeves Gail , Chase Mark W. , Goldblatt Peter , Rudall Paula , Fay Michael F. , Cox Anthony V. , Lejeune Bernard , Souza‐Chies Tatiana
Published: February 2007

Iridaceae are one of the largest families of Lilianae and probably also among the best studied of monocotyledons. To further evaluate generic, tribal, and subfamilial relationships we have produced four plastid DNA data sets for 57 genera of Iridaceae plus outgroups: rps4, rbcL (both protein‐coding genes), the trnL intron, and the trnL‐F intergenic spacer. All four matrices produce similar although not identical trees, and we thus analyzed them in a combined analysis, which produced a highly resolved and well‐supported topology, in spite of the fact that the partition homogeneity test indicated strong incongruence. In each of the individual trees, some genera or groups of genera are misplaced relative to morphological cladistic studies, but the combined analysis produced a pattern much more similar to these previous ideas of relationships. In the combined tree, all subfamilies were resolved as monophyletic, except Nivenioideae that formed a grade in which Ixioideae were embedded. Achlorophyllous Geosiris (sometimes referred to Geosiridaceae or Burmanniaceae) fell within the nivenioid grade. Most of the tribes were monophyletic, and Isophysis (Tasmanian) was sister to the rest of the family; Diplarrhena (Australian) fell in a well‐supported position as sister to Irideae/Sisyrinchieae/Tigridieae/Mariceae (i.e., Iridoideae); Bobartia of Sisyrinchieae is supported as a member of Irideae. The paraphyly of Nivenioideae is suspicious due to extremely high levels of sequence divergence, and when they were constrained to be monophyletic the resulting trees were only slightly less parsimonious (<1.0%). However, this subfamily also lacks clear morphological synapomorphies and is highly heterogeneous, so it is difficult to develop a strong case on nonmolecular grounds for their monophyly.
Ribosomal DNA phylogeny of the Bangiophycidae (Rhodophyta) and the origin of secondary plastids
Authors: Müller Kirsten M. , Oliveira Mariana C. , Sheath Robert G. , Bhattacharya Debashish
Published: February 2007

We sequenced the nuclear small subunit ribosomal DNA coding region from 20 members of the Bangiophycidae and from two members of the Florideophycidae to gain insights into red algal evolution. A combined alignment of nuclear and plastid small subunit rDNA and a data set of Rubisco protein sequences were also studied to complement the understanding of bangiophyte phylogeny and to address red algal secondary symbiosis. Our results are consistent with a monophyletic origin of the Florideophycidae, which form a sister‐group to the Bangiales. Bangiales monophyly is strongly supported, althoughPorphyrais polyphyletic withinBangia.Bangiophycidae orders such as the Porphyridiales are distributed over three independent red algal lineages. The Compsopogonales sensu stricto, consisting of two freshwater families, Compsopogonaceae and Boldiaceae, forms a well‐supported monophyletic grouping. The single taxon within the Rhodochaetales,Rhodochaete parvula, is positioned within a cluster containing members of the Erythropeltidales. Analyses of Rubisco sequences show that the plastids of the heterokonts are most closely related to members of the Cyanidiales and are not directly related to cryptophyte and haptophyte plastid genomes. Our results support the independent origins of these secondary algal plastids from different members of the Bangiophycidae.
Sex‐biased seed predation and the maintenance of females in a gynodioecious plant
Authors: Marshall Melanie , Ganders Fred R.
Published: February 2007

We investigated genetic and ecological factors contributing to the maintenance of females in populations of the gynodioecious plant,Sidalcea hendersonii(Malvaceae). Our crossing experiments indicated that male sterility is controlled by a dominant nuclear allele. Nuclear determination of sex theoretically requires much higher female fitness to account for the high frequency of female plants often observed during surveys ofS. hendersoniipopulations. Females were, in fact, shown to have higher fitness in an experimental population, producing more viable seed and surviving offspring than hermaphrodite plants. In natural populations, however, differences in viable seed production were not evident unless seed predation was considered. Sex‐biased seed predation appears to play an important role in the maintenance of gynodioecy inS. hendersonii.In populations with high female frequencies, weevil larvae destroyed significantly more seeds from hermaphrodite plants than females, substantially reducing their seed production. To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that sex‐biased predation may be responsible for high female frequencies in natural populations of a gynodioecious species.
Algal switching among lichen symbioses
Authors: Piercey‐Normore Michele D. , DePriest Paula T.
Published: February 2007

Lichens are intimate and long‐term symbioses of algae and fungi. Such intimate associations are often hypothesized to have undergone long periods of symbiotic interdependence and coevolution. However, coevolution has not been rigorously tested for lichen associations. In the present study we compared the nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) phylogenies of algal and fungal partners from 33 natural lichen associations to test two aspects of coevolution, cospeciation and parallel cladogenesis. Since statistically significant incongruence between symbiont phylogenies rejected parallel cladogenesis and minimized cospeciation events, we conclude that switching of highly selected algal genotypes occurs repeatedly among these symbiotic lichen associations.
Sources of error and confidence intervals in estimating the age of angiosperms from rbcL and 18S rDNA data
Authors: Sanderson Michael J. , Doyle James A.
Published: February 2007

Molecular estimates of the age of angiosperms have varied widely, and many greatly predate the Early Cretaceous appearance of angiosperms in the fossil record, but there have been few attempts to assess confidence limits on ages. Experiments with rbcL and 18S data using maximum likelihood suggest that previous angiosperm age estimates were too old because they assumed equal rates across sites—use of a gamma distribution of rates to correct for site‐to‐site variation gives 10–30 my (million years) younger ages—and relied on herbaceous angiosperm taxa with high rates of molecular evolution. Ages based on first and second codon positions of rbcL are markedly older than those based on third positions, which conflict with the fossil record in being too young, but all examined data partitions of rbcL and 18S depart substantially from a molecular clock. Age estimates are surprisingly insensitive to different views on seed‐plant relationships. Randomization schemes were used to quantify confidence intervals due to phylogenetic uncertainty, substitutional noise, and lineage effects (deviations from a molecular clock). Estimates of the age of crown‐group angiosperms range from 68 to 281 mya (million years ago), depending on data, tree, and assumptions, with most ∼140–190 mya (Early Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous). Approximate 95% confidence intervals on ages are wider for rbcL than 18S, ranging up to 160 my for phylogenetic uncertainty, 90 my for substitutional noise, and 70 my for lineage effects. These intervals overlap the oldest occurrences of angiosperms in the fossil record, as well as some estimates from previous molecular studies.
Presidential Address: Maps in the Mind and the Mobility of Asia
Authors: Ludden David
Published: February 2007

A map is a peculiar kind of visual text. It seems a mere instrument of utility, showing us where to go and how to put things in place. Invisible ingredients, however, render every map a Pandora's box. Emotions are undoubtedly the most potent of all of the invisible elements in maps. The cartographic passions that make the headlines may be national ones, but in cities, towns, and villages, people have strong feelings about local maps. Street gangs, real estate developers, insurance companies, zoning boards, planners, and electorates invest maps with local politics. Landowners love their property lines. Universities map their campus identity. The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) signifies itself succinctly in its logo, a map of Asia. Such territorial attachments and many others have striking similarities: they infuse boundaries with iconic significance, tinged with feelings of security, belonging, possessiveness, enclosure, entitlement, and exclusion.
From Teahouse to Playhouse: Theaters As Social Texts in Early-Twentieth-Century China
Authors: Goldstein Joshua
Published: February 2007

The qing court had a love-hate relationship with popular drama. From the Qianlong emperor (r. 1736–95) to the Empress Dowager Cixi (1835–1908), several Qing rulers were renowned for their doting patronage of popular opera, yet the state was far from sanguine about drama's social effects, viewing public theaters with great suspicion. Theaters, in the eyes of the authorities, were notorious hangouts for ruffians, slackers, gamblers, and insurgents, providing these roustabouts with the ideal environment in which to scheme and swindle. In addition to waging campaigns to censor and weed out “seditious passages” from popular dramas (Guy 1987, 92), emperors throughout the Qing dynasty issued dozens of edicts regulating the construction, location, and clientele of commercial theaters. In rural areas, especially in times of unrest, local authorities often canceled scheduled performances for fear that such occasions offered gangs and secret societies prime opportunities for stirring up trouble (Mackerras 1972, 37). Urban theaters were no safer. According to popular lore, even the Kangxi emperor was cheated by hoodlums when he ventured into a public theater during one of his legendary outings disguised as a commoner (Liao 1997, 80). Yet in spite of their reputation for breeding disorder and moral vice, commercial theaters—commonly known as teahouses (chayuan)—increasingly thrived, and in this new social space, the genre of Peking opera came into full flower during the last century of the Qing dynasty.
The Image of an Orphan: Cambodian Narrative Sites for Buddhist Ethical Reflection
Authors: Hansen Anne
Published: February 2007

Much of the work in the relatively new field of Theravāda Buddhist ethics has been directed toward critiquing the Weberian characterization of Buddhism as primarily “mystical” and oriented away from social, political, and domestic attention toward the world. Ancient Buddhism, Max Weber wrote, “is a specifically unpolitical and anti-political-status religion, more precisely, a religious ‘technology’ of wandering and of intellectually-schooled mendicant monks” (1996, 206). It is a tradition lacking “a concept of neighborly love,” a sense of social responsibility or “any bridge to any actively conceptualized ‘social’ conduct,” and “almost all beginnings of a methodical lay morality” (208, 213, 218). Even though Buddhism developed some formulations of a lay-oriented social ethics in order to accommodate the sponsorship of rulers beginning with Aśoka, Weber argued, it remained in its various forms throughout Asia a fundamentally mystical and magical (or nonrational) religious tradition, exhibiting a “devaluation of the world” characteristic of mysticism (330–43).
The Encounters of Economic History and Legal History
Authors: Harris Ron
Published: February 2007

After the rise to dominance of the neo-classical school in economics in the 1920s and 1930s, legal historians manifested very little interest in economic theory. After the cliometric revolution of the early 1960s, most legal historians expressed declining interest in economic historians. After the rise of Critical Legal History and cultural legal history in the late 1970s and early 1980s, many legal historians showed diminishing interest in the economy. This trend was augmented by the expansion of law and economics as a leading jurisprudence and methodology within the law schools. Most legal historians viewed themselves as part of a camp in the law schools, whether of the humanities oriented scholars, of post modernists, or of critical scholars, who were antagonists of the law and economics camp. These legal historians often identified all economists with law and economics and further disassociated themselves from economic historians. Ironically, the less legal historians consider economic history, economic theory, and the economy itself as relevant to their purposes, the more economic historians are discovering the relevancy of the law and of legal history to theirs. This article suggests to legal historians that the time is ripe to revisit economic history and theory and to reconsider their long-established indifference toward them.
The Ancient Constitution and the Expanding Empire: Sir Edward Coke's British Jurisprudence
Authors: Hulsebosch Daniel J.
Published: February 2007

One of the great, unrecognized ironies in Anglo-American constitutional history is that Sir Edward Coke, the seventeenth-century mythologist of the “ancient constitution” and the English jurist most celebrated in early America, did not believe that subjects enjoyed the common law and many related rights of Englishmen while overseas. “The common law,” Coke declared in Parliament in 1628, “meddles with nothing that is done beyond the seas.” The ancient constitution was an English constitution and, though non-English subjects of the English king could enjoy its liberties and privileges while in England, it did not apply to anyone outside that realm. The jurisprudence that gave intellectual shape to colonial resistance before, and to notions of the rule of law after, the American Revolution was not intended by its primary author to benefit Americans. Whether or not the ancient constitution existed time out of mind, it did not extend to land out of sight.
Perish or Prosper: The Law and Convict Transportation in the British Empire, 1700–1850
Authors: Kercher Bruce
Published: February 2007

For over 150 years from the early eighteenth century, convict transportation was a primary method of punishing serious crime in Britain and Ireland. Convicts were first sent to the colonies in North America and the Caribbean and then to three newly established Australian colonies on the other side of the world. Conditions were very different between the two locations, yet the fundamental law of transportation remained the same for decades after the process began in Australia.
TheScilla plumbeapuzzle—present status of the genusScillasensu lato in southern Africa and description ofSpetaea lachenaliiflora, a new genus and species of Massonieae (Hyacinthaceae)
Authors: Wetschnig Wolfgang , Pfosser Martin
Published: February 2007

We have studied a taxon from South Africa that has been hidden for more than 150 years withinScilla plumbea(Hyacinthaceae). However, phylogenetic reconstruction based ontrnL-Fdata, morphological evidence (including seed characters), and karyology suggest independent status. DNA data place it close to theDaubenyaalliance but not close to any particular genus of Massonieae previously included withinScillas.l. Unique characters of seeds indicate that this taxon does not belong to theDaubenyaclade. Analysis of the iconotype ofScilla plumbeaLindl., on the other hand, reveals morphological details suggesting membership in theScilla natalensisclade (= genusMerwillain the recent classification of Speta).Merwilla, however, occupies a basal position among Massonieae and is not related to theDaubenyaclade. Based on all data, we describe this taxon as a new genus and speciesSpetaea lachenaliifloraWetschnig & Pfosser.
How many species of seed plants are there?
Authors: Scotland Robert W. , Wortley Alexandra H.
Published: February 2007

Recent estimates of the number of described species of seed plant have varied by as much as 62%. The underlying methodology of these estimates is characterised and discussed. We present a revised figure for the number of seed plants based on estimating rates of synonymy in a sample of recently monographed taxa. We conclude that some recent figures overestimate the number of described seed plant species by more than 200,000. This discrepancy is explained by an over­reliance on checklists and floristic studies that underestimate synonymy rates.
The systematic status of Plagiochila sects. Bidentes Carl and Caducilobae Inoue (Hepaticae) inferred from nrDNA ITS sequences
Authors: Groth Henk , Helms Gert , Heinrichs Jochen
Published: February 2007

Plagiochila section Bidentes Carl was erected for some of the tiniest species of the genus that often possess caducous or fragmenting leaves. Current discussions focus on whether P. sect. Bidentes represents a natural species group or should be broken up into two lineages, P. sect. Bidentes s.str. and P. sect. Caducilobae Inoue. Phylogenetic analyses of nrITS sequences of 28 species of Plagiochila produced several independent lineages that correspond with morphologically and phytochemically defined sections of Plagiochila (i.e., P. sects. Arrectae, Fuscoluteae, Glaucescentes, Hylacoetes, Plagiochila, Rutilantes, and Vagae). Plagiochila bidens, the type of P. sect. Bidentes, is placed in a clade with several members of P. sect. Arrectae Carl; therefore, P. sect. Bidentes is treated as a synonym of P. sect. Arrectae. The type of P. sect. Caducilobae, P. caduciloba H.L. Blomq., as well as several other members of the “Bidentes/Caducilobae‐complex”, cluster with members of P. sect. Rutilantes Carl, a group to which can therefore be assigned the majority of species currently placed in P. sect. Bidentes, i.e., excluding the type. Morphologically, members of P. sect. Rutilantes are characterized by a “free” perianth. In contrast, the members of P. sect. Arrectae usually possess perianths that are covered by bracts at least in the basal half. Plagiochila loriloba Herzog ex Carl [syn.: P. cuneata var. loriloba (Herzog ex Carl) Herzog] is recognized at the rank of species.
nrDNA ITS sequences and affinities (Umbelliferae) of Sino‐Himalayan Apioideae
Authors: Valiejo-Roman Carmen M. , Terentieva Elena I. , Samigullin Tagir H. , Pimenov Michael G.
Published: February 2007

The internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of 18S‐26S nuclear ribosomal DNA were sequenced for 13 species of Apioideae from the Sino‐Himalayan flora [Apium ventricosum(=Sium frigidum),Arcuatopterus thalictrioideus, Cyclorhiza peucedanifolia, Meeboldia achilleifolia, Notopterygium forbesii, N. weberbauerianum, Pternopetalum delavayi, P. vulgare, Pterocyclus rivulorum, Sinocarum cruciatum, Sinodielsia delavayi, Tongoloa elata, andTrachydium simplicifolium], relationships of which are controversial or obscure and unresolved on the basis of morphological data. Phylogenetic trees inferred by neighbor‐joining, parsimony analysis, and Bayesian inference are topologically congruent, but not identical. The newly obtained data permit testing of several hypotheses regarding these taxa. Some of the early hypotheses treat local species under well‐known European genera (e.g.,Apium, Carum, Pimpinella, etc.), but these are not supported by phylogenetic analysis of nuclear rDNA spacer sequences. In particular,Sinodielsia, Meeboldia, Tongoloa, andPternopetalumare distant fromPimpinella; Pternopetalum, SinocarumandTongoloaare remote fromCarum; Arcuatopterusis separate fromPeucedanumandAngelica;Pternopetalumis distinct fromCryptotaenia; andNotopterygiumandPterocyclusare separate fromPleurospermum. ChineseNotopterygiumis shown to be closely related to Siberian and MongolianHansenia; this, plus similarity in fruit structure, suggests that they are congeneric.Apium ventricosum, more commonly known as Sium frigidum, appears a close relative of Sinocarum. Affinities of most Sino‐Himalayan Apioideae, therefore, are found among taxa from the same and adjacent territories. Wide disjunction between presumptively related taxa has been revealed only inCyclorhizaandKomarovia. SinodielsiaandMeeboldiaare also revealed to be clearly distinct genera.
Survey of Asian and Pacific species of Hedyotis and Exallage (Rubiaceae) with nomenclatural notes on Hedyotis types
Authors: Terrell Edward E. , Robinson Harold
Published: February 2007

Selection of a type species for the wide‐ranging genus Hedyotis (Hedyotideae; Rubiaceae) has involved a long‐standing controversy over two species, Hedyotis auricularia L. and H. fruticosa L. Nomenclatural and morphological data support the selection of H. fruticosa as type. The choice of H. auricularia would have caused considerable taxonomic confusion by upsetting previously established names and overturning the names of the many species of Oldenlandia. The General Committee on nomenclature recently has approved Hedyotis fruticosa as the conserved type of Hedyotis. The morphology and taxonomy of the genus Exallage, based on H. auricularia, is surveyed, and we conclude that at least three of the species are better treated as a new subgenus of Oldenlandia. The synonymy of these species is listed, and two new combinations are published in the genus Oldenlandia. A detailed survey of the species related to Hedyotis fruticosa begins with the 24 Sri Lankan species, most of which exhibit morphological characters similar to Hedyotis fruticosa. The capsules of these species have been termed diplophragmous in allusion to the partial apical loculicidal dehiscence followed by complete septicidal dehiscence, resulting in two separate capsular halves or cocci. The seeds of these species are dorsiventrally compressed with a ventral hilar ridge topped by a punctiform apical hilum. Many other Asian and Pacific, particularly Micronesian, species show similar diplophragmous capsules and fruticosa‐type seeds. The recognition of this newly circumscribed group, Hedyotis subgenus Hedyotis, ranging from China and India to Micronesia, establishes a firm basis for comparative studies of Hawaiian and American species, which are known to differ in morphology from the typical subgenus.
The usage of the alternative names of eight flowering plant families
Authors: McNeil Ann , Brummitt Richard K.
Published: February 2007

Article 18.5 and Art. 18.6 of the present International Code of Botanical Nomenclature authorise the use of alternative names in the following eight cases of families of flowering plants: Compositae/Asteraceae, Cruciferae/Brassicaceae, Gramineae/Poaceae, Guttiferae/Clusiaceae, Labiatae/Lamiaceae, Leguminosae/Fabaceae, Palmae/Arecaceae, and Umbelliferae/Apiaceae. The first name in each of these pairs is not based on the name of an included genus, and permission to use these names under the Code has become increasingly controversial in recent years. Our present note looks briefly at the history of the alternative usages and then aims to indicate the extent to which the two alternatives are used in the literature today, laying a basis for any potential discussion of future action. A strong case is noted for maintaining Leguminosae rather than Fabaceae when this family is treated in a broad sense.
Validation of the namesUtrechtiaceae,Utrechtia, andUtrechtia floriniformis
Authors: Rothwell Gar W. , Mapes Gene
Published: February 2007

The details of the type specimens ofU. floriniformisand their repository are reported in order to validly publish the namesUtrechtiaceaeMapes & G. W. Rothwell,UtrechtiaMapes & G. W. Rothwell, andUtrechtia floriniformisMapes & G. W. Rothwell.
Phylogenetic relationships in Ribes (Grossulariaceae) inferred from ITS sequence data
Authors: Senters Anne E. , Soltis Douglas E.
Published: February 2007

Nuclear ITS sequence data were employed to assess phylogenetic relationships within Ribes, an angiosperm genus of approximately 200 species that is well­known for its taxonomic complexity. Our analyses revealed several major clades within Ribes, informally referred to here as the Berisia, Calobotrya, Coreosma, and Grossularia sensu lato clades. The clades recovered indicate that some of the subgenera recognized in previous taxonomic treatments are largely monophyletic, including Calobotrya, Grossularia, and Grossularioides. Our data suggest broader circumscriptions of Lobbia, Berisia, and Coreosma. Other subgenera, such as Heritiera and Ribesia are likely polyphyletic, with constituent taxa scattered throughout the topology. The gooseberries in the broad sense (subgenera Grossularia, Hesperia, Lobbia and Robsonia), sometimes treated as a distinct genus Grossularia, are clearly embedded within Ribes and do not merit status as a separate genus. Comparison with a cpDNA topology reveals some similarities, such as the monophyly of subgenera Calobotrya and Grossularia and the inclusion of all gooseberries (Grossularia s.l.) within Ribes. There are also noteworthy differences. In contrast to both ITS sequence data and morphological data, cpDNA restriction site data do not reveal a monophyletic Grossularia sensu lato clade comprising subgenera Grossularia, Hesperia, Lobbia, and Robsonia. However, few of the differences between the cpDNA and ITS trees are strongly supported. Our ITS topology suggests that dioecy may have evolved several times in the genus. We similarly explored floral form in light of our topology; highly reflexed sepals represent a morphological synapomorphy that unites the subgenera Grossularia, Hesperia, Lobbia and Robsonia, with a reversal in a single taxon.
Chiangiodendron (Achariaceae): an example of the Laurasian flora of tropical forests of Central America
Authors: Sosa Victoria , Chase Mark W. , Barcenas Cristina
Published: February 2007

Using plastid rbcL DNA sequences, we evaluated relationships of the monotypic genus Chiangiodendron (C. mexicanum), which has been thought to be the only New World member of Flacourtiaceae, tribe Pangieae, by some authors. The analysis consisted of two steps. In the first, we analyzed the rbcL sequence of Chiangiodendron in a large eudicot matrix (more than 500 representatives). Based on these results, a second, restricted analysis with 142 taxa was conducted. Chiangiodendron belongs to tribe Pangieae (which is now recognized as part of Achariaceae, whereas the rest of former Flacourtiaceae fall into Salicaceae s.l.), making Chiangiodendron the only American representative of that tribe. Its closest relatives are from Asia. Chiangiodendron is a relict of a wet‐tropical Laurasian flora that has been preserved in Neotropical refugia.