The genus Centaurea s.l. is one of the richest and most taxonomically complex Asteraceae family. It includes between 400 700 species, which more than 70 are found in Bulgaria – a territory considered as secondary centers speciation genus. There large number endemics (Bulgarian Balkan) with endemism reaching up to 50% some groups, such Cyanus gr. Due ongoing active Balkans, boundaries closely re...

Prostanthera eungella B.J.Conn & K.M.Proft (Lamiaceae) is described as a new species from the South Kennedy botanical region of northern Queensland. Concatenated nuclear (ETS) and chloroplast (trnH-psbA) sequence data for 38 species of Prostanthera were analysed using maximum-likelihood and Bayesian-inference methods. These combined data recovered P. eungella as part of a polytomy that included...

Methods This study uses maximum-likelihood and Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of chloroplast DNA (atpB–rbcL, trnL–trnF, trnS–trnG, psbA–trnH) and nuclear ribosomal DNA [internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and external transcribed spacer (ETS)] from 24 out of c. 37 ingroup taxa, beast molecular dating, and the dispersal–extinction–cladogenesis method (Lagrange) to reconstruct ancestral geographica...

Three chloroplast regions, rbcL, psbA-trnH and petA-psbJ were applied to assess the genetic relationships among six Curcuma medicinal species, which are difficult to distinguish from morphology. The Maximum Parsimony tree was conducted by Kimura 2-parameter model with MEGA 4. The genetic relationships were linked with geographical distributions among these six species; Curcuma sichuanensis is a...

background: saffron (crocus sativus l.) is a common but very expensive herbal medicine. as an important traditional medicine, it has an outstanding effect in treating irregular and painful menstruation. recently, the over-demand tendency of saffron results in an unusual phenomenon in the medicinal markets. adulterants and saffron-like substitutes are intentionally mixed into medicinal markets a...

Background: Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) is a common but very expensive herbal medicine. As an important traditional medicine, it has an outstanding effect in treating irregular and painful menstruation. Recently, the over-demand tendency of saffron results in an unusual phenomenon in the medicinal markets. Adulterants and saffron-like substitutes are intentionally mixed into medicinal markets a...

BACKGROUND Dioscorea is an important plant genus in terms of food supply and pharmaceutical applications. However, its classification and identification are controversial. DNA barcoding is a recent aid to taxonomic identification and uses a short standardized DNA region to discriminate plant species. In this study, the applicability of three candidate DNA barcodes (rbcL, matK, and psbA-trnH) to...

BACKGROUND The trade of plant roots as traditional medicine is an important source of income for many people around the world. Destructive harvesting practices threaten the existence of some plant species. Harvesters of medicinal roots identify the collected species according to their own folk taxonomies, but once the dried or powdered roots enter the chain of commercialization, accurate identi...