The chromosome-level genomes of the herbal magnoliids Warburgia ugandensis and Saururus chinensis.

Warburgia ugandensis and Saururus chinensis are two of the most important medicinal plants in magnoliids and are widely utilized in traditional Kenya and Chinese medicine, respectively. The absence of higher-quality reference genomes has hindered research on the medicinal compound biosynthesis mechanisms of these plants. We report the chromosome-level genome assemblies of W.

Chromosome-scale genomes of five Hongmu species in Leguminosae.

The Legume family (Leguminosae or Fabaceae), is one of the largest and economically important flowering plants. Heartwood, the core of a tree trunk or branch, is a valuable and renewable resource employed for centuries in constructing sturdy and sustainable structures. Hongmu refers to a category of precious timber trees in China, encompassing 29 woody species, primarily from the legume genus.

Trait matching in a multi-species geographic mosaic of leafflower plants, brood pollinators, and cheaters.

Trait matching between mutualistic species is usually expected to maintain mutualism, but empirical studies of trait complementarity and coadaptation in multi-species assemblages-which represent the reality of most interactions in nature-are few. Here, we studied trait matching between the leafflower shrub and three associated seed-predatory leafflower moths ( spp.) across 16 populations.

The genome of Acorus deciphers insights into early monocot evolution.

Acorales is the sister lineage to all the other extant monocot plants. Genomic resource enhancement of this genus can help to reveal early monocot genomic architecture and evolution. Here, we assemble the genome of Acorus gramineus and reveal that it has ~45% fewer genes than the majority of monocots, although they have similar genome size.

Diversity and species-specificity of brood pollination of leafflower trees (Phyllanthaceae: ) by leafflower moths (Lepidoptera: ) in tropical Southeast Asia (Cambodia).

(Phyllanthaceae; leafflower trees) is a genus of trees which is widely reported to be pollinated by leafflower moths (Gracillariidae: ) in temperate and subtropical Asia, Australia, and the Pacific islands. However, the pollination ecology of is not well described from tropical Asia, the region where it is most species-rich at both local (≤9 spp.) and regional (~200 spp.

Tackling the Taxonomic Challenges in the Family Scoliidae (Insecta, Hymenoptera) Using an Integrative Approach: A Case Study from Southern China.

Species of the family Scoliidae are larval parasitoids of scarabaeoid beetles and pollinators of various plants. Despite their great importance in pest biological control and plant pollination, the taxonomy and systematics of these parasitoids are far from clear. Some species of the family are extremely morphologically similar and difficult to identify, especially in males.

Taxonomic revision of the genus (Phyllanthaceae) in Taiwan, China.

A comprehensive taxonomic revision of the genus J.R. Forst.

Taxonomic studies of (Phyllanthaceae) from the Indo-China Peninsula (II): The identities of and .

The names (Kuntze) Kuntze ex Merrill and Beille were previously reduced to synonyms of Champ. ex Benth. However, literature examination and morphological comparison suggest that is conspecific with and the species can be readily distinguished from by its styles connate into a long cylindric column and up to 3 mm long, ovaries usually 3-locular, stigma usually 3-lobed, capsules pubescent and usually 6-grooved, persistent styles 3‒4 mm long.

Taxonomic studies of (Phyllanthaceae) from the Indo-China Peninsula (I): , a new species from Myanmar.

Based on morphological studies performed on live plants in the field and specimens deposited in herbaria, a new species, Gang Yao & Shixiao Luo (Phyllantheae, Phyllanthaceae), is here described and illustrated. The species is morphologically most similar to Wight, but can be distinguished from the latter by having hairy branchlets, longer pedicels, uniseriate and narrowly triangular sepals of female flowers, 4-5-locular ovaries, stout and cylindric persistent style on fruits.

The largest early-diverging angiosperm family is mostly pollinated by ovipositing insects and so are most surviving lineages of early angiosperms.

Insect pollination in basal angiosperms is assumed to mostly involve 'generalized' insects looking for food, but direct observations of ANITA grade (283 species) pollinators are sparse. We present new data for numerous Schisandraceae, the largest ANITA family, from fieldwork, nocturnal filming, electron microscopy, barcoding and molecular clocks to infer pollinator/plant interactions over multiple years at sites throughout China to test the extent of pollinator specificity. Schisandraceae are pollinated by nocturnal gall midges that lay eggs in the flowers and whose larvae then feed on floral exudates.

Coevolution with pollinating resin midges led to resin-filled nurseries in the androecia, gynoecia and tepals of Kadsura (Schisandraceae).

Background And Aims: Resin is a defence against herbivores and a floral reward in a few African and South American species whose bee pollinators collect it for nest construction. Here we describe a new role for floral resin from the Asian genus Kadsura (Schisandraceae). Kadsura tepals tightly cover a globe formed by carpels (in females) or near-fused stamens with fleshy connectives (in male flowers of most, but not all species).

A Novel, Enigmatic Basal Leafflower Moth Lineage Pollinating a Derived Leafflower Host Illustrates the Dynamics of Host Shifts, Partner Replacement, and Apparent Coadaptation in Intimate Mutualisms.

Leafflower plant/leafflower moth brood pollination mutualisms are widespread in the Paleotropics. Leafflower moths pollinate leafflower plants, but their larvae consume a subset of the hosts' seeds. These interactions are highly phylogenetically constrained: six clades of leafflower plants are each associated with a unique clade of leafflower moths (Epicephala).

Assembled Plastid and Mitochondrial Genomes, as well as Nuclear Genes, Place the Parasite Family Cynomoriaceae in the Saxifragales.

Cynomoriaceae, one of the last unplaced families of flowering plants, comprise one or two species or subspecies of root parasites that occur from the Mediterranean to the Gobi Desert. Using Illumina sequencing, we assembled the mitochondrial and plastid genomes as well as some nuclear genes of a Cynomorium specimen from Italy. Selected genes were also obtained by Sanger sequencing from individuals collected in China and Iran, resulting in matrices of 33 mitochondrial, 6 nuclear, and 14 plastid genes and rDNAs enlarged to include a representative angiosperm taxon sampling based on data available in GenBank.

Flower heating following anthesis and the evolution of gall midge pollination in Schisandraceae.

Premise Of The Study: Flower heating is known from a few species in 11 of the c. 450 families of flowering plants. Flowers in these families produce heat metabolically and are adapted to beetles or flies as pollinators.

Gelechiidae moths are capable of chemically dissolving the pollen of their host plants: first documented sporopollenin breakdown by an animal.

Background: Many insects feed on pollen surface lipids and contents accessible through the germination pores. Pollen walls, however, are not broken down because they consist of sporopollenin and are highly resistant to physical and enzymatic damage. Here we report that certain Microlepidoptera chemically dissolve pollen grains with exudates from their mouthparts.

Duodichogamy and androdioecy in the Chinese Phyllanthaceae Bridelia tomentosa.

Flowering plants commonly separate male and female function in time, but rarely are the two stages synchronized within and among individuals. One such temporal mating system is duodichogamy in which each plant produces two batches of male flowers that are temporally separated by a batch of female flowers, with within-individual synchrony and among-individual asynchrony to ensure mating partners. Duodichogamy is known only from a few species in four genera in unrelated families.

Oxalis debilis in China: distribution of flower morphs, sterile pollen and polyploidy.

Background And Aims: Oxalis debilis is a South American tristylous species that is currently naturalizing in China. Based on field observations and herbarium data a report is made on its pollination, morph frequencies, pollen viability, seed set and chromosome number. In addition, a new chromosome count for the species in Africa is provided.