Table of Contents
  • Volume 30 Issue 2

      
      Research Articles
    • Liu Jun-Zhe, Zhang Qing-Min, Guo Shu-Hua, Zhou Xing-Di
      1992, 30 (2): 118–125
      Studied in this work was seed morphology of the genus Plantago (2 subgenera, 8 sections, 17 species and 1 variety )in China. The sculpture was observed under scanning election microscope. Four forms of seed morphology are recognized as follows: (1)Multi-angular type: seeds are variously angulate, yellow-brown or black, 6-30 in a fruit; seed-coat sculpture ranges from reticulate to papillate. It occurs in Subgen. Plantago Sect. Polyneuron: P. scheideri, P. denstflorus, P. major, P. hostifolia, P. asiatica, P. erosa and P. centralis. (2) Navicular type: seeds are navicular, yellow, brown to black, 2 in a fruit; seed-coat sculpture is reticulate. It was found in Subgen. Plantago Sect. Novorbis: P. virginica; Sect. Arnoglossum: P. lanceolata; Sect. Leucopsyllium: P. minuta, P. lessingii and P. aristata and Subgen. Psyllium Sect. Psyllium: P. indica. (3)Ovoid type: seeds are long-ovoid, yellow-brown, black and lustrous. Seed-coat sculpture scali-ratiform. P. maxima in Subgen. Plantago Sect. Lamprosantha belongs to this type. (4)Recti-circular type: seeds are recti-circular, yellow-brown, black, 1-2 or 4-5 in a fruit; seed-coat sculpture is reticulate and papillate. It was found in P. maritima var. salsa of Subgen. Plantago Sect. Coronopus and P. depressa, P. camtschatica and P. arachnoidea of Sect. Mesembrynia. The seed morphology and seed-coat sculture exhibit specific characters, by which some of confused species can be clarified and a new species, P. densiflorus J. Z. Liu. is established. The present author’s seed morphology classification is in accordance with Pilger’s systemof the genus, which was established using other features.
    • Sheh Meng-Lan, Su Pu
      1992, 30 (2): 126–136
      Pollen grains of 30 species and 2 varieties from China, belonging to 5 genera (out of 36 species in 5 genera) of Hydrocotyloideae and Saniculoideae, were examined with light microscope and scanning electron microscope. 1.Six types of the pollen shape are recognized in Hydrocotyloideae and Saniculoideae from China, and their evolutionary trend is from rhomboidal→subspheroidal→ellipsoidal→subrectangular→superrectangular to equatorially-constricted. 2.Pollen grains of Hydrocotyloideae are mostly ellipsoidal with P / E ratio 1.07-1.6, the polar axis 22.5-46μm long, the equatorial axis 13.75-27.5μm long, and with the size index 21.1-31.8.They are angulapeturate in the great majority, and the exine sculpture is recticulate under SEM. Those of Saniculoideae are mostly superrectangular or rectangular, with P/E ratio 1.3-2.1, the polar axis 35-65μm long, the equatorial axis 17.5-42.5μm long, and with the size index 28.2-49.7. They are planaperturate in the great majority and the exine sculpture is striate-reticulate or cerebro-reticulate under SEM. Therefore, the latter might be more advanced than the former. 3.Pollen grains of Dickinsia Franch., endemic to China, are ellipsoidal,with P/E ratio 1.5,the polar axis 31.25-37.5μm long, the equatorial axis 20-25μm, and with the size index 27.81. They are angulaperturate, and the exine sculpture is cerebroid-reticulate under SEM. The genus is greatly similar to the members of Hydrocotyloideae in pollen morphology, which supports the treatment of the genus asa member of Hydrocotyloideae by Handel-Mazzetti (1933).
    • Wang Xian-Zeng
      1992, 30 (2): 137–145
      This paper deals with evolution, classification and pollen morphology of the Hamamelidaceae, an important family in phylogeny of angiosperms. I. Pollen morphology and systematics of modern Hamamelidaceae. The pollen morphology of the family may be divided into the following four types: (1) Tricolpate: Hamamelis, Loropetalum, Mytilaria, Corylopsis, Sysopsis, and Distylum etc.; (2) Tricolpate with operculum: Disanthus; (3) Tricolporate: Rhodoleia; (4) Pantoporate: Liquidambar. The tricolpate pollen of the Hamamelidaceae is a primitive type in angiosperms, but the most ancient type is monocolpate pollen. Therefore, the family might have evolved from the Magnoliaceae of the monocolpate pollen. The pantoporate pollen is an evolutionary type in the family. It might have evolved from the tricolpate pollen. II.The fossil pollen of the Hamamelidaceae 1 .General introduction of the fossil pollen of the family Hamamelidaceae The most’ancient fossil pollen belonging to the family was found in the middle-late Early Cretaceous. Palynologists call the fossil pollen of the Hamamelidaceae Retitricolpites, which consists of three genera: Hamamelis L.,Corylopsis Sieb. et Zucc and Fothergilla Murr. Liquidambar is of an advanced type in the fossil pollen of the Hamamelidaceae. It was found in the period from the Palaeogene to the Neogene in China. 2. The geological history of the Hamamelidaceae may be divided into the following four stages: (A) The Early Cretaceous stage or origination stage. The family may be evolved from Magnoliales in the middle-late Early Cretaceous. (B)the Late Cretaceous stage or formation stage. The family is much developed in the period. (C) The Tertiary stage or development stage. The family was a much developed one among angiosperms. (D)The Neogene to modern stage or perfection stage. The evolutionary type, the Liquidambar type of the Hamamelidaceae, was much developed in the Neogene. III. The palaeopalynological evidence of evolution of the Hamamelidaceae The earliest fossil pollen of angiosperms was found in the Barremian (Early Cretaceous) in England, Israel, the United States of America etc., and was named as Clavatipollenites by Couper (1953). In recent years, Clavatipollenites was also found in the middle-late Early Cretaceous in Nei Monggol and Jiangxi Province of China. We also found Retitricolpites in the middle-late Early Cretaceous in Nei Monggol and Jiangxi Province. Retitricolpites, belonging to the Hamamelidaceae, is a primitive type among angiosperms, but it is younger than Clavatipollenites. Therefore, the pollen of Hamamelidaceae may have evoloved fromClavatipollenites, which may have evoloved in turn from that of Magnoliales.
    • Hong De-Yuan, Zhang Tie-Jun
      1992, 30 (2): 146–162
      Based on specimens as many as available, a quantitative analysis of character variability and correlation in Lobelia Subgen. Tupa was carried out with the results shown by pictorialized scatter diagram and histogram. Pollen grains and seed coat were examined under SEM. The classitication of the subgenus in China is revised. Twelve specipes are recognized; a new species, L. foliiformis, and a new subspecies, L. colorata subsp. guizhouensis, are described; L. taliensis is reduced to a subspecies or L. colorata, which consists of three subspecies; L. kwangsiensis is treated as a variety of L. davidii in accordance with the treat-ment made by Lian Yong-shan in Fl. Reip. Pop. Sin.73 (2)
    • Hui Chao-Mao, Hsueh Chi-Ju
      1992, 30 (2): 163–168
      Melocalamus Benth. consists of five species. Through a comprehensive study of history, morphology, and all specimens available, the authors confirm the occurrence in China of M. compactiflorus (Kurz.) Benth. et Hook f., the type of the genus, and two species, M. scandens Hsueh ct Hui, M. fimbriatus Hsueh et Hui, are described as new. A key to speciesis provided.
    • Wu Zhen-Lan
      1992, 30 (2): 169–174
      Six new taxa of the Gramineae are described from the China. They are Melica L.Sect. Schizolemma Z.L.Wu, M .flava Z.L.Wu, M. longiligulata Z.L.Wu, M.yajiangensis Z. L.Wu, Glyceria chinensis Keng, Oryzopsis munroi Stapf ex Hook.f. var.parviflora Z.L.Wu.
    • Hsu Ting-Zhi
      1992, 30 (2): 175–178
      Gaultheria lasiocarpa T. Z. Hsu and G. miyienensis T. Z. Hsu (Ericaceae) are des-cribed as new from Sichuan Province, China.
    • Yao Gan
      1992, 30 (2): 179–180
      A new species and a new record for China of the genus Adoxa L.are reported from Xizang, China. They are Adoxa xizangensis G.Yao and Adoxa inodora (Falc.ex C.B.Clarke) Nepomn.
    • Zhao Yu-Tang
      1992, 30 (2): 181–182
      One new species of the genus Iris(Iridaceae), Iris Psammocola Y.T.Zhao, is des-cribed from Ningxia Autonomoeus Region, China.
    • Wu Pan-Cheng
      1992, 30 (2): 183–192
      In the last two decades, all the branch fields of bryology, with classical taxonomy gradually developing into multidisciplinecourses, have witnessed a great progress. The author is attempting to give a brief view of bryology in the following five paragraphs. The first part introduces the fundamental characteristics of bryology in the recent decades. Publication of “New Manual of Bryology” Vol. I and II, edited by Schuster(1983-1984) , marked a new epoch of bryology. A series of books, “The Biology of Mosses” (Richardson, 1981), the “New Advances in Bryology “and the other bryological publications showed that bryologists were working not only on bryofloras in different regions of the world, but also deeply engaged in the micro-view fields of bryology. Evidently, the world bryological researches have entered a prosperous period. The second part gives some recent examples of investigations on taxonomy, morphology, cytology, paleobotany, ecology, reproductive biology and ecological physiology of bryophytes. In discussing the tendency of the future research, the author emphasizes that systematic and evolutionary botany of bryophytes is one of the main subjects .Following the increase of taxa, the development of chemotaxonomy, cytology, numerical taxonomy etc.will reveal the relationships between orders, families or infrafamiliar groups. However, the main problem in this respect is lacking of key fossil records of bryophytes. On the other hand, the monographs increase steadily, and they are helpful in correcting some previously reported disjunct distribution of species and distribution of regional new species. Plant geography of bryophytes can also be used for explaining the continental drift (Schuster 1969, 1972).Moss indicators, which are more sensitive than vascular plants, have been noticed. The traditional utilization of mosses will be continuous. Chinese bryology has been greatly improved in the past half a century, and about a hundred papers involving taxonomy, phytogeography, phytocoenology, morphology, cytology, numerical taxonomy and applied bryology, were published in last two decades. In China, the foundation of taxonomy of bryophytes is developing, although we already have several bryological research centers. It seems to me that too many new taxa have been described, while no sufficient attention has been paid on studies on relationships and evolution of bryophytes. Due to identification of bryophytes, hryofloras between some neighbouring regions are not comparable. Fossils of bryophytes are usually treated as the “unknown kind of plants”, so we lack the geological evidence of bryophytes. We are facing the problem in training a new generation of bryologists due to the limited funds. Finally, some suggestions are made for Chinese bryology. The ways for seeking the origin of bryophytes will be: l.Searching for primitive groups of bryophytes.2.Comprehensive studies on key genera and species.3.Expeditions to the unknown native localities of special groups of bryophytes. Further studies on the bryoflora and phytogeography are necessary in China. Studies on the distribution centers of genera endemic to China and East Asiatic endemic genera in China will provide some pieces of evidence on the origin oe the Chinese bryoflora. New records of macrofossils and microfossils of bryophytes will help to break the “neck of bottle “ of the above-mentioned problems. Experimental projects are almost unknown in China. lt is very important, therefore, to encourage people to work on them for original data on phylogeny and origin of bryophytes, although it will be a long-term task inChina.
Editors-in-Chief
Song Ge
Jun Wen
Impact Factor
3.7
JCR 2022 IF ranking: 60/238 (Plant Sciences, top 25%, Q2 quartile)
Journal Abbreviation: J Syst Evol
ISSN: 1674-4918 (Print)
1759-6831 (Online)
CN: 11-5779/Q
Frequency: Bi-monthly

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