Large-fronded tree ferns are critical components of many tropical forests. We investigated frond and whole-plant allometries for Hawaiian keystone species Cibotium glaucum, for prediction and to compare with global scaling relationships. We found that C. glaucum fronds maintain geometric proportionality across a wide range of plant and frond sizes. These relationships result in strong allometri...

We used herbarium specimens of Silene virginica, S. caroliniana, S. rotundifolia, and S. latifolia to survey the incidence of anther-smut disease (caused by Microbotryum violaceum sensu lato) in the eastern USA. We found no evidence of a collector bias against diseased specimens. Diseased specimens were frequently found in collections of S. virginica and S. caroliniana, but not in those of S. r...

Chromobacterium violaceum is a rare human pathogen that causes potentially fatal infections especially in the tropical regions. Limited awareness about this pathogen and inappropriate antibiotic therapy are some of the factors contributing to the high mortality rate. To date there have been only eight cases reported from India of which only one is an adult. To the best of our knowledge, we repo...

Although the evolutionary consequences of within-host competition among pathogens have been examined extensively, there exists a critical gap in our understanding of factors determining the prevalence of multiple infections. Here we examine the effects of relatedness among strains of the anther-smut pathogen Microbotryum violaceum on the probability of multiple infection in its host, Silene lat...

Summary A new combination is made placing Pennisetum pseudotriticoides in the genus Cenchrus . This species common and often dominant southern part of central Madagascar, associated with inundation fire, withstanding high grazing. description, a detailed plate, map, list known specimens are provided.