Botany

Botanical Drift explores the hermeneutics, historicization, semiotics, and symbiosis of plant diversification, species cultivation, and destruction—past and present, extant and extinct—around the globe. Plant histories are explored as commodities and colonial as well as decolonial devices by significant and diverse feminist, art-historical, and anthropological voices—from Germaine Greer to herman de vries—bringing new perspectives through photo-essays, fiction, performance, and interventions in ecological, film, and translation archives. Reflecting on experimental ecology—the undiscovered, underestimated, and undesired non-European flora and fauna—it challenges perception and inspires potentialities to bring new understandings of the undergrowth of the Kew Gardens botany collection.

Design by A Practice for Everyday Life

December 2017, English
16.7 x 23 cm, 240 pages, color and b/w ill., softcover
ISBN 978-3-95679-353-0
€22.00

Sound plays a key role in the environment from identifying to analysing. The production of sound signifies various aspects to produce a specific effect up-to a special distance till which it travels. The friction of materials leads a release of sound waves impacting a targeted zone. However, the waves produce is determined by a unit dB (decibals). Hence, a frequency of sound if crosses the level of standard dB of prescribed sound, lead in production of Noise / Sound pollution. The current research experiment is attempted to determine the sound/noise pollution by using a Digital Sound level meter in the environmental zone at Sundernagar; located in Malad (west), Mumbai, India. The research experiment successfully concludes the sound pollution produced by the vehicle with maximum and minimum limits of dB which is statistically proven and found to be significant at 0.05 and 0.01 levels by a test of One Way-ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE (ANOVA).

Nutritional value of plant purely depends on the methodology of cultivation. (Urmila Sarkar and Surendra Sawardekar) Different methods of cultivation lead to prior proficiency of plant growth in terms of germination, height, weight, nutritional factors and so on. (Urmila Sarkar and Surendra Sawardekar). A practice of 'Organic farming' for the production of quality based nutritional contents becomes an essential element. A crop such as Zea mays L. (Maize or Corn) is an important staple crop known for its wide range of nutritional component such as Carbohydrate, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins, moisture, ash etc. (Urmila Sarkar and Surendra Sawardekar). The experimental research is focused on assessment of Protein content from organically grown Zea mays L. (maize/corn). The results conclude efficient amount of total protein in Zea mays L. plant material as a whole viz. root, leaf and seed.

ABSTRACT. Two species of Pitcairnia occurring in the Guianas are proposed to become synonyms (Pitcairnia leprieurii Baker to  Pitcairnia rubiginosa Baker and Pitcairnia incarnata Baker to Pitcairnia caricifolia Mart. ex Schult. & Schult.f.). Pitcairnia semijuncta Baker is resurrected as a recognized species and two inselberg species are proposed as new. Descriptions and drawings of the newly described species are provided, as well as an identification key to the 15 Pitcairnia species that occur in or are expected to occur in the Guianas.

Sumacs Rhus coriaria L. has long been used as food spice, food colorant and preservative, and it is also used in cosmetics, medicines and in the animal leather industry. Fungi infecting this plant were isolated and identified by morphological and molecular methods, particularly for the most dominant isolates by PCR and sequencing the ITS region. The isolation results showed the presence of Fusarium oxysporum with the highest frequency of 27% followed by Cylindrocarpon, Fusarium solani, Rhizoctonia solani and Alternaria sp. with frequency rates of 23%, 20%, 16% and 10%, respectively, while the Verticillium dahlia and Cephalosprum sp. were the least frequent with a rate of 2% for both. Sequencing revealed new Fusarium oxysporum isolates that have been registered at the GeneBank database.

Mount Semeru hiking track is a world tourism destination and inhabited by three species of Anaphalis. The aims of this research is to get the information of the effectiveness of trnL (UAA) intron sequence for analyzing genetic variability of the genus Anaphalis populations along Mount Semeru hiking track. The leaf for DNA extraction was collected from several locations along the track. This research contribute to the information that trnL (UAA) intron sequences have less power to analyses the genetic variation of the genus Anaphalis populations along Mount Semeru hiking track.

Siling labuyo (Capsicum frutescens) is a small, commonly
found chili pepper in the Philippines. This pepper is great to
add spice, without altering the flavor of the dish because of
its distinctive and complex taste. These plants are exposed to
different abiotic factors including drought, salinity, high temperature,
etc. which have adverse effects on plant growth and
productivity. The soil salinity has become a critical problem
worldwide among different environmental stresses due to
their significant impacts on the physiology and performance
of plants. Soil salinity is a significant factor that restricts Capsicum
f. germination by affecting the establishment of crop
plants. Germination is an important stage of planting and
thus plays an important role in crop production. In cultivation
of Capsicum f., low and slow seed germination and seedling
emergence result in economic losses.
Seed priming has been developed as an important method
for producing resistant plants against different stresses. It
is a method of pre-germination treatment that increases seed
quality and results in faster and more coordinated germination
of seed. Halopriming is a simple and cheap seed priming
method and is therefore considered suitable for farmers because
of better synchronization of emergence and crops under
different environmental conditions. In halopriming, the
seeds are immersed in various salt solutions (NaCl and KNO3
was used in this study) that facilitate the germination of seeds
and subsequent seedling even under adverse environmental
conditions.

El uso de agentes biológicos en la producción en vivero ha aflorado como un elemento que permite no sólo mejorar la calidad morfológica y fisiológica de las plantas, sino que también posibilitar un mayor éxito en el ámbito silvicultural de una plantación. Estos agentes biológicos requieren de un ambiente óptimo para crecer, asociarse y reproducirse. El objetivo de este estudio fue determinar la dependencia del pH y el medio de cultivo en el crecimiento in vitro de distintas cepas de Suillus luteus y Scleroderma citrinum asociadas a Pinus radiata y Eucalyptus globulus, respectivamente. El estudio se realizó en condiciones controladas de temperatura y humedad, disponiendo los inóculos en placas Petri con diferentes medios cultivo, evaluando parámetros de crecimiento y biomasa a los 38 días para S. luteus y 105 días para S. citrinum. Los resultados indican que tanto el medio de cultivo, el pH del medio, así como las cepas de cada especie estudiada, son determinantes en las respuestas d...

Studies on morphological, anatomical and proximate characteristics of Trichosanthes cucumerina L. (Cucurbitaceae) was carried out using morphological observation and microtomy in order to determine the relationship between this species and other cucurbits and complement the existing data on the taxon. T. cucumerina is a climber that grows up to 30m tall. The leaves are persistent partly ovate, trilobate to heptalobate, slightly hairy to densely hairy with glandular trichomes and non-glandular trichomes (2-5 celled, with a prominent flattened disk of two rows of cells). Tendril bifid, ovary consists of 3 syncarpous carpels and fruits 23.0-56.4 cm long. The species is hypostomatic with mainly anomocytic and tetracytic stomata and the epidermal cells appeared irregular in shape. Stem, peduncle, and tendril were angled with 5-13 bicollateral vascular bundles in open rings. The petiole and the midrib comprised 1-3 accessory vascular bundles. The sclerenchymatous cells were continuous or non-continuous. The tendril and stem have hollow pith. The similarity in morphological and anatomical features of this species and other members of cucurbits depicts taxonomic and evolutionary relationship among them, however; the type of trichomes we observed suggests that this species could be T. cucumerina var. anguina and not T. cucumerina. Further studies using electron microscope is therefore needed to affirm this finding.

© 2021 African Journal of Biological Sciences. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. Abstract Composts and biochar improve soil fertility and also suppress fungal soil-borne diseases through their ability to promote beneficial microbial communities. The study sought to determine the mechanisms through which biochar and vermicompost suppress root rot pathogens. Extracts of biochar and vermicompost were used for spore germination, mycelial growth tests at different concentrations. To assess the ability of biochar and vermicompost to adsorb signaling molecules from bean, root and seed exudates were filtered through biochar and vermicompost. Antagonistic activity of Trichoderma harzianum...

This study aimed to test the effectiveness of physical and chemical procedures for surface decontamination of Bostrychia binderi Harvey. For this, thalli were washed and immersed in chemical solutions (5% liquid detergent, 1% povidone iodine and 0.2% sodium hypochlorite) at different times and combinations. After treatments the thalli were cultivated in laboratory to verify possible negative effects caused by the procedures to alga. Contaminating organisms in the algal culture medium were quantified at the end of cultivation. Washing, spraying, removal of macrofauna individuals with tweezers, thalli immersion in 5% liquid detergent for 60 seconds, after in 0.2% sodium hypochlorite for 2 minutes were effective procedures to eliminate all contaminants analyzed. Thalli immersion in 1% povidone iodine did not affect negatively the thalli growth, whereas immersion in 0.2% sodium hypochlorite for 5 minutes affected. For establishment of Bostrychia unialgal cultures we recommend the protocol proposed in this study.

In this work, we aimed to synthesize zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) using an aqueous extract of Cassia auriculata leaves (CAE) at room temperature without the provision of additional surfactants or capping agents. The formation of as-obtained ZnONPs was analyzed by UV–visible (ultraviolet) absorption and emission spectroscopy, X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray diffraction (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis/differential thermal analysis (TGA-DTA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), and selected area electron diffraction (SAED). The XRD results reflect the wurtzite structure of as-prepared ZnONPs, which produced diffraction patterns showing hexagonal phases. The SEM images indicate that the morphology of as-prepared ZnONPs is composed of hexagonal nanostructures with an average diameter of 20 nm. The HR-TEM result shows th...

This research was aimed to investigate the ability of a alpha-mangostin compound derived from mangosteen pericarp to reduce plasma blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine level, and also to ameliorate the damaged renal proximal tubular of the kidneys in diabetic mice. An in-vivo antioxidant test was conducted using male BALB/c mice. The mice were divided into two groups; normal control (KN) and streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. Streptozotocin (STZ) induction was performed using multiple low-doses of 30 mg/kg injected for five consecutive days. The diabetic mice were separated again into three sub-groups; diabetic control (KD), diabetic mice treated with Metformin HCl (KM), and diabetic mice treated with alpha-mangostin. The alpha-mangostin treatment group was categorised based on the dose given; P1 (2 mg/kg body weight), P2 (4 mg/kg body weight) and P3 (8 mg/kg body weight). Before and after STZ injection, the body weight and fasting blood glucose were measured. The body weight...

Our study indicates that jojoba is suitable plant for cultivation of the Egyptian marginal soils, in the desert area, where the seeds were germinated and grown in sandy soil of marginal fertility. To study the effect of NaCl and mannitol on seeds germination, jojoba seeds were placed on cotton layer flooded with solution containing different concentrations of them. Salinity stimulated seed germination, especially, when the seeds were subjected to relatively low concentration of NaCl (0.5 – 3 gm/l). Increase the concentration of NaCl over 3 gm/l resulted in inhibition of seed germination as well as radicle growth. Application of 2 or 3 gm/l mannitol in germination medium improved the seed germination, vice versa was detected under progressive increase of mannitol in germination medium. Mannitol as same as NaCl delayed seed germination of jojoba plant. On the other hand, jojoba seeds can be germinated in low frequency under high concentration of mannitol, up to 100 gm/l, when seeds we...

Ethanopharmacological relevance: The process of formation or appearance of a urinary stone anywhere in the
renal tract is known as urolithiasis. It is a longstanding health problem, known to exist since early age of
civilization. Records about symptoms, signs and treatment strategies of urinary stones diseases are found in the
several ancient texts of traditional medicines such as Ayurveda, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Siddha
and Unani. In Ayurveda, urolithiasis has been considered as one of the eight most troublesome diseases.
Ayurvedic management and cure of urinary stone involves herbal formulas, alkaline liquids and surgical
procedures. Whereas, TCM recommends polyherbal drugs, acupuncture and mexibustion for treatment of the
urinary stones. Among these therapies, herbal remedies are in practice till today for the treatment and cure
urinary stone diseases.
Materials and methods: A comprehensive review of the scientific literature about pathophysiology of urinary
stones and antiurolithiatic plants was undertaken using the following bibliographic databases: MEDLINE/
PubMed, Scopus, Web of Knowledge and Google Scholar. The search was conducted from publications from all
years until Dec., 2015 by combination of the search terms and Boolean operators; ‘urinary stone’ OR ‘kidney
stone’ AND ‘plant’ OR ‘medicine’ OR ‘antiurolithiatic plants’. Outputs were restricted to those completed studies
only published in English. In this review, literatures about plants which are used as diuretic and/or in treatment
urinary tract infections have not also been considered. The Plant List and Royal Botanical Garden, Kew
databases were used to authenticate botanical names of plants. Books and monographs published in English
were used to collect information about historical records of antiurolithiatic plants.
Results: Recent pharmacological interventions accredited ancient antiurolithiatic claims to several plants and
their formulations. The majority of antiurolithiatic plants were found to either dissolve the stones or inhibit the
process of urinary stone formation. Plants such as Phyllanthus niruri L. and Elymus repens (L.) Gould, as well
as herbal products including ‘Wu-Ling-San’ formula, ‘Cystone’ and ‘Herbmed’ have been proved their utility as
promising antiurolithiatic medicines in the different phases of clinical trials. In addition, some of the isolated
phytochemicals such as berberine, lupeol, khelin, visnagin, 7-hydroxy-2′,4′,5′-trimethoxyisoflavone and 7-
hydroxy-4′-methoxyisoflavone were reported to have potent antiurolithiatic activity.
Conclusion: In ancient medicinal texts, antiurolithiatic potential has been ascribed to several plants and their
formulations. Present scientific studies provide scientific evidences for few of these claims however, they are
insufficient to establish many of these plants and herbal formulations as therapeutic remedies for the treatment
and management of urinary stones. Conversely, findings of pre-clinical and clinical studies about some plants
and herbal formulations are promising, which underlines the utility of herbal remedies as alternative medicines
for the treatment and management of urinary stones in the future.

—Sugar mills play a major role in polluting the soil and water bodies by discharging a large amount of waste water as effluent. The present research work has been carried out to assess the impact of sugar mill effluent applied in different dilutions i.e 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% along with control on pea (Pisum sativum) seeds to investigate their effect on seed germination and growth parameters such as germination percentage, shoot length, root length, seedling vigour, plant fresh weight and dry weight by pot culture. The low effluent pH (4.3), Total dissolved solids (TDS, 1990 mg/L), Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD, 850 mg/L) and Chemical oxygen demand (COD, 2920 mg/L) indicated the high inorganic and organic content with an acidic load. The present study was carried out with the aim that sugar mill effluent shows positive or negative effect on plant growth. The result indicated that sugar mill effluent did not show any inhibitory effect on germination percentages and germination values at lower concentration in the seeds tested.

The first microsatellite primers were developed for Solanum centrale, a native Australian species used in the bush foods industry. Existing markers developed for other Solanum species were also amplified. Using an enrichment cloning protocol, seven novel markers were developed, and 48 existing markers from other Solanum species were tested, resulting in the characterization of a set of six highly polymorphic co-dominant loci for use in S. centrale. Microsatellite screening revealed polyploidy. Among the six highly polymorphic loci, allelic diversity ranged from 7 to 14. These markers will be useful for investigating genetic diversity and as a simple way of estimating ploidy of wild populations.

The leaves of ordinary rubus ideaus (raspberry) are studied and morphological-anatomical analyses is conducted. In the different patterns of raw materials is enacted the existence of fenocarbon acid, arbutin, catechol, tanning matter. For raspberry leaves, the location of the natural compounds is determined. In all the researches of the given varieties of raspberries, it was possible to plant hydrolyzedic tissue substances lead acetate in acetic acid. Adding iron oxide salts to the raspberry leaf extract positive features reaction to condensed tangible substances (Dark green color is formed). For tanning of Hydrolyzedic Substances solution of iron-amonium mixture is recommended Second qualitative reaction with the formation of frost-blue color. Standardized standardization of raw materials, taking into account the composition of tons of substances, whose quantitative content can be in the margins of 10 %. The usual raspberry (Rubus idaeus) leaves are full of raw materials to use it for such purpose, Such as phyto biochemical means, production of herbaceous tea, tanning agents and etc.

The seed dormancy limits seedling production and the potential for using them. This study
aimed to determine the best method for breaking dormancy in seeds of Mimosa hostilisBenth.
AndBauhinia cheilantha (Bong.)Steud. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Food
Science, State University of Alagoas (UNEAL) Campus II, located in the municipality of Santana do
Ipanema, Alagoas State, Brazil. Five treatments were studied (T): T1 - immersion in water at 100 ° C
until cooling thereof; T2 - immersion in water at 50 ° C until cooling thereof; T3 - immersion in
sulfuric acid for 5 minutes, followed by washing in water for 10 minutes; T4 - mechanical
scarification by sandpaper for 2 minutes, and T5 - Witness. Where it came to evaluating the
germination speed index (GSI) and germination percentage (G%). Data were subjected to analysis of
variance and the means compared by Tukey test at 5% significance level. The immersion in sulfuric
acid was the best method to break seed dormancy of Mimosa hostilisBenth., now for (Bauhinia
cheilantha(Bong). Steud) in the chiseling was the best method for breaking dormancy.

Teasel gourd (Momordica dioica) is a popular vegetable of Bangladesh usually grown in the summer season. Normally these gourds are cultivated through the root tubers, this is why variation in the cultivated teasel gourd is very limited. And for this reason,  farmers usually does not get satisfactory yield by growing these low yielding local varieties of teasel gourd. Therefore, using  suitable techniques new high yielding lines of teasel gourd with good fruit quality  have been developed at BRAC Agricultural Research & Development Centre (BARDC), Bangladesh. These Improved lines are being maintained at BARDC and root tubers of these lines will be distributed to the farmers for home gardening purpose and commercial cultivation as well.

The langurs of the genus Presbytis inhabit tropical rainforests of Sundaland, and with more than 50 color variants grouped in up to eleven species, Presbytis is one of the most diverse Old World monkey genera. The number of taxa and their phylogenetic relationships however remain controversial. To address these issues, we analyzed a 1.8 kb long fragment of the mitochondrial genome, including the cytochrome b gene, the hypervariable region I of the D-loop and the intermediate tRNAs, from individuals representing nine species. Based on our data, we obtained various well-supported terminal clades, which refer mainly to described taxa. Relationships among these clades are not fully resolved, suggesting at least two radiations in the evolutionary history of the genus. According to divergence age estimates, radiations occurred in the late Miocene and the early to middle Pleistocene. Our findings support the revision of the current classification of the genus Presbytis and enable us to discuss implications for conservation. However, further studies including nuclear sequence data are necessary to completely understand the evolutionary history of the genus, and to address possible hybridization events among taxa.