Thotteasivarajaniivar.anamalaianavar.nov., discovered from theAnamalaihills of Western Ghats, India is described and illustrated. The woody habit,comparatively less pubescent inflorescence flowers, glabrous stem, petiole fruits,highly reducedstaminodes, prominent bracts bracteolesetc. are some the characteristics that delimit thisvariety species proper.

Dysaster cajamarcensis is a spreading broad-leaved shrub named as a new genus and species of the tribe Astereae subtribe Hinterhuberinae collected in northern Peru. It has bisexual disc florets, disc style branches with strong stigmatic lines and hairy appendages, compressed achenes in both ray and disc florets, and papyraceous involucral bracts.

Based on morphology and molecular data, a new species Semenovia gyirongensis Q.Y.Xiao & X.J.He, from Gyirong County, Xizang, China, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically most similar to S. malcolmii (Hemsley & Pearson) Pimenov, but differs in its cylindric much-branched root, intensively branching long underground caudex with distinct nodes, narrowly ovate to ovate terminal leaf l...

Sequences from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region 1 (nrDNA ITS1) and the plastid rps4 gene from the genus Ephedra (Ephedraceae, Gnetales) were obtained in order to infer phylogenetic relationships, character evolution, and historical biogeography in the genus. Within Ephedra the length of the nrDNA ITS1 varied from 1,081 to 1,143 basepairs (bp), in contrast to dramatically...

It is commonly assumed that the dead, hardened floral bracts of the dispersal unit of grasses have been evolved to protect seeds from predation and / or assist in fruit/caryopsis dispersal. While these structures have important agronomical and economical implications, their adaptive value has not been fully explored. We investigated the hypothesis that the maternally derived hardened floral bra...

The bacterial content of specially treated cottons used by other investigators to test human pulmonary responses to cotton dust was examined. Cotton from Lubbock, Tex. and Stoneville, Miss. were either (i) harvested by machine and handled as commercial bale cotton, (ii) harvested as closed bolls with bracts intact and opened under special conditions, (iii) harvested as closed bolls, with bracts...