Conservationists often propagate rare species to improve their long-term population viability. However, seed dormancy can make propagation efforts challenging by substantially lowering seed germination. Here I statistically compare several pretreatment options for seeds of Astragalus cicer L.: unscarified controls and scarification via physical damage, hot water, acid, and hydrogen peroxide. Al...

Astragalus (Fabaceae), the largest genus of plants in the world with an estimated 3270 species, is known for large numbers of rare endemic species. An inventory of patterns of climatic, topographic, and edaphic diversity of Astragalus taxa in California (98 native species and 144 named taxa) provides a means to understand the occurrence of rarity in relation to climatic equitability and regiona...

A literature-based taxonomic catalogue of the nemertean species (Phylum Nemertea) reported from Japanese waters is provided, listing 19 families, 45 genera, and 120 species as valid. Applications of the following species names to forms previously recorded from Japanese waters are regarded as uncertain: Amphiporus cervicalis, Amphiporus depressus, Amphiporus lactifloreus, Cephalothrix filiformis...

El trabajo analiza los planteos de Augusto Bunge, intelectual y dirigente partidario del socialismo argentino, en torno al “ideal” socialista como una misión histórica regeneración la humanidad concepción este ideal nueva religión. Aborda qué manera su formación, sus vínculos político-culturales trayectoria partidaria las décadas 1910 1920 permiten ubicarlo un exponente sacralización política m...

The leitmotif of Mario Bunge’s work was that the philosophy science should be informed by a comprehensive scientific philosophy, and vice versa; with both firmly rooted in realism materialism. Now Bunge left such big oeuvre, comprising more than 70 books hundreds articles, it is impossible to review its entirety. In addition biographical remarks, this obituary will therefore restrict itself som...

As a result of a taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of Astragalus section Hymenostegis we identified a new species of Astragalus from northwestern Iran, namely A. remotispicatus spec. nov., which is described and illustrated here. It is morphologically similar to A. karl-heinzii in possessing a lax inflorescence. Phylogenetic inference of the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (...

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, which is also known as a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, is widely studied for its ability to accumulate the diterpene quinone Tanshinones. In addition to producing a variety of diterpene quinone, S. miltiorrhiza Bunge also accumulates sterol, brassinosteroid and triterpenoids. During their biosynthesis, squalene synthase (SQS, EC 2.5.1.21) converts two molecules...

Abstract Five flavonol glycosides, including a new glutaryl-conjugated compound, were isolated from methanolic extract of the endemic Balkan species Astragalus thracicus Griseb. Based on NMR and MS spectra, one compound was identified as kaempferol 3-O-[?-glucopyranosyl-(1?4)-?-rhamnopyranosyl-(1?6)-(2-3-hydroxy-3-methylgutaroyl)-?-galactopyranoside)] (1). The other compounds, all known, maurit...