The broadleaved evergreen forests of the East Asian warm temperate zone are characterised by their high biodiversity and endemism, and there is therefore a need to extend our understanding of its genetic diversity and phylogeographic patterns. Castanopsis (Fagaceae) is one of the dominant tree species in the broadleaved evergreen forests of Japan. In this study we investigate the genetic divers...

The effects of seasonal drought, belowground competition, and low soil fertility on the survival and growth over 2 years of four native tree species planted on a degraded hillside grassland in Hong Kong were studied in a field transplant experiment using three-way analysis of variance. The tree species were Schima superba (Theaceae), Castanopsis fissa (Fagaceae), Schefflera octophylla (Araliace...

The Ediacara Biota represents the oldest fossil evidence for the appearance of animals but linking these taxa to specific clades has proved challenging. Dickinsonia is an abundant, apparently bilaterally symmetrical Ediacara fossil with uncertain affinities. We identified and measured key morphological features of over 900 specimens of Dickinsonia costata from the Ediacara Member, South Austral...

In the course of a phytochemical and chemotaxonomical investigation of Castanopsis species (Fagaceae), three new phenolic compounds, (3R,1'S)-[1'-(6″-O-galloyl-β-d-gluco-pyranosyl)oxyethyl]-3-hydroxy-dihydrofuran-2(3H)-one (1), (2R,3S)-2-[2'-(galloyl)oxyethyl]-dihydroxybutanoic acid (2), and (3S,4S)-3-hydroxymethyl-3,4-dihydro-5,6,7-trihydroxy-4-(4'-hydroxy-3'-methoxyphenyl)-1H-[2]-benzopyran-1...

BACKGROUND The distribution of genetic diversity among plant populations growing along elevational gradients can be affected by neutral as well as selective processes. Molecular markers used to study these patterns usually target neutral processes only, but may also be affected by selection. In this study, the effects of elevation and successional stage on genetic diversity of a dominant tree s...

Trivalvaria rubra and Trivalvaria casseabriae, two new species of Annonaceae from Putao, Kachin State, Myanmar, are here described and illustrated. They are morphologically similar to T. costata and T. macrophylla. The major differences between them are outlined and discussed. A diagnostic key to the species of Trivalvaria is provided.

Two new oxindole alkaloids isatinone A (1) and B (2) have been isolated from Isatis costata, along with the known trisindoline. Their structures have been assigned on the basis of spectroscopic techniques and chemical studies. Both new compounds showed significant antifungal activity.

The only Palearctic representative of the leech genus Placobdella Blanchard, 1893 is P. costata, an ectoparasite freshwater turtles. To date, no conclusive evidence about possible presence coevolutionary patterns between this and its turtle hosts available due to paucity DNA sequence data for costata; moreover, comparative host also mostly lacking, making any inferences more difficult. discover...