Impact of the climatic changes in the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition on Irano-Turanian species. The radiation of genus Jurinea (Compositae).

The Irano-Turanian region is one of the world's richest floristic regions and the centre of diversity for numerous xerophytic plant lineages. However, we still have limited knowledge on the timing of evolution and biogeographic history of its flora, and potential drivers of diversification remain underexplored. To fill this knowledge gap, we focus on the Eurasian genus Jurinea (ca.

African Mountain Thistles: Three New Genera in the Group.

The floras on the highest mountains in tropical eastern Africa are among the most unique floras in the world. Despite the exceptionally high concentration of endemic species, these floras remain understudied from an evolutionary point of view. In this study, we focus on the group (subtribe Carduinae) to unravel the evolutionary relationships of the species endemic to the tropical Afromontane and Afroalpine floras, aiming to improve the systematics of the group.

Flavonoids from subsp. (Crassulaceae).

Twenty-two flavonoids were isolated from the leaves and stems of subsp. (Crassulaceae). Of these compounds, five flavonoids were reported in nature for the first time, and identified as herbacetin 3--xyloside-8--glucoside, herbacetin 3--glucoside-8--(2'''-acetylxyloside), gossypetin 3--glucoside-8--arabinoside, gossypetin 3--glucoside-8--(2'''-acetylxyloside) and hibiscetin 3--glucoside-8--arabinoside via UV, HR-MS, LC-MS, acid hydrolysis and NMR.

(Asteraceae), a new species from Humla, Nepal Himalayas.

A new species S.K.Ghimire & H.

Traditional knowledge of wild edible plants with special emphasis on medicinal uses in Southern Shan State, Myanmar.

Background: Myanmar is one of the hotspots of biodiversity and is a rapidly developing country. Performing floristic research in Myanmar is an urgent issue, and ethnobotanical studies of wild edible plants (WEPs) will provide new information on natural plant resources.

Method: Ethnobotanical data were collected in three villages with different historical backgrounds in Southern Shan State, Myanmar.

Thermal insulation and accumulation of heat in the downy inflorescences of Saussurea medusa (Asteraceae) at high elevation in Yunnan, China.

Himalayan snowball plants, which are considered to be an extreme form of downy plants, have very dense trichomes on well-developed bracts that surround the inflorescences. It has been postulated that the downy inflorescences of these plants might serve to keep the interior of inflorescences warmer than the outside and, thus, to protect reproductive cells from low temperatures in their Himalayan habitat. In the present study, we examined the downy inflorescences of Saussurea medusaMaxim.