Gender dimorphism and polyploidy are important evolutionary transitions that have evolved repeatedly in many plant families. We show that gender dimorphism in North American Lycium (Solanaceae) has evolved in polyploid, self-compatible taxa whose closest relatives are cosexual, self-incompatible diploids. This has occurred independently in South African Lycium. We present additional evidence fo...

Water is generally considered to be the major limiting factor for perennial shrub growth in the Mojave Desert, USA. However, the responses of active fine roots to soil moisture and microsite differed among Ambrosia dumosa, Ephedra nevadensis, Larrea tridentata, and Lycium pallidum, suggesting differences in root foraging strategies. Ambrosia and Ephedra had a positive linear relationship betwee...

The plant genus Lycium (Solanaceae) originated in the Americas and includes approximately 85 species that are distributed worldwide. The vast majority of Old World species occur in southern Africa and eastern Asia. In this study, we examine biogeographic relationships among Old World species using a phylogenetic approach coupled with molecular evolutionary analyses of the S-RNase self-incompati...

IRINA CAMELIA CHIŞ, DOINA BALTARU, ANCA DUMITROVICI, ANDREI COŞERIU, FLORINA VLAD, REMUS MOLDOVAN, ADRIANA MUREŞAN 1 Department of Physiology, “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Clinicilor St., No. 1, Cluj district, Zip code 400023, Cluj-Napoca, Romania, [email protected] 2 “Constantin Papilian” Military Emergency Hospital, G-ral Traian Mosoiu Str., No. 22, Cluj district, Z...

A study was undertaken to evaluate the hypoglycemic activity of polysaccharide extracted from Lycium barbarum (LBP). The various parameters studied included body weight (bw), fasting blood glucose levels (FBG), total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) in diabetic and normal mice. LBP treatment (20, 40 mg/ kg body weight) for 28 days resulted in a significant decrease in the concentration of...

Two new compounds, named lyciumlignan D (1) and lyciumphenyl propanoid A (2), along with seven known compounds, were isolated from the root bark of Lycium chinense. Their structures were elucidated using spectroscopic data (UV, IR, HR-ESI-MS, 1D and 2D NMR, CD), as well as by comparison with those of the literature. Compounds 3-9 were isolated from this genus for the first time. In the in vitro...

Usage of aesthetically appealing native plants in urban landscape projects can support its conservation by contributing to genetic diversity and their sustainability in that region. Lycium shawii is a thorny perennial shrub with an ability to tolerate extreme climatic conditions prevalent in Kuwait. In this germination study, effects of dry heat (50°C) and/or various concentrations (500, 750 an...

The stems of Berberis aristata DC. (Berberidaceae) are used in the South Asian traditional medicine as a key ingredient in formulations for eye care, skin diseases, jaundice, rheumatism and also in diabetes. B. lycium Royle and B. asiatica Roxb. are traded as equivalents of B. aristata. Conventional macro-morphology and microscopic examination does not aid in critically distinguishing the three...