DOCSLIB.ORG

(Asteraceae) Nectary

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
(Asteraceae) Nectary ACTA AGROBOTANICA Vol. 64 (4): 23–34 2011 MICROMORPHOLOGY OF FLOWERS, ANATOMY AND ULTRASTRUCTURE OF Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rausch. (ASTERACEAE) NECTARY Aneta Sulborska Department of Botany, University of Life Science in Lublin, ul. Akademicka 15, 20-950 Lublin, Poland e-mail: [email protected] Received: 10.09.2011 Abstract INTRODUCTION Investigations of the micromorphology of flowers and Chamomilla recutita (Asteraceae) is a wild spe- the structure of nectaries in Chamomilla recutita L. (Rausch.) cies growing throughout Europe; in Poland, it is a se- were carried out with the use of stereoscopic, light, scanning getal and ruderal weed (Szweykowscy, 2003). It and transmission electron microscopy. Biseriate glandular tri- chomes consisting of 5-6 cell layers were found on the surface is one of the oldest medicinal plants known in ancient of the corollas of ray and disc florets. Accumulation of secretion Egypt, Greece, and Rome (R u m i ń ska, 1973). within the subcuticular space was accompanied by degradation Due to their structure and location of nectaries, of trichome cells. Secretion release followed rupture of the cuti- the flowers of Asteraceae representatives have been cle in the apical part of the trichome. The ovary of the ray florets classified as flowers with completely hidden nectaries exhibited characteristic ribs covered with epidermis composed (Szafer and Wojtusiakowa, 1969). Lipiń - of radially elongated palisade cells. ski (2010) classified them as hemitropous flowers, in Nectariferous glands were present only in the disc flo- which nectaries are located not deep and are accessible rets. The ring-like nectary (93×163 μm; height x diameter) was to insects with a mouth apparatus of medium-length. located above the inferior ovary. The gland structure was formed According to Fahn (1952, 1988 a, b, 2000), by single-layer epidermis and 5-8 layers of specialised necta- nectaries in Asteraceae represent the type of the sty- riferous parenchyma. Nectar was released via modified 15-20 μm wide stomata. The guard cells were slightly elevated above le (stylopodium) that is located at the style base. Such the surface of the other epidermal cells or were located slightly location of the nectariferous tissue in this family has below them. The stomatal cells were characterised by small ex- also been found by Kuliev (1959), Esau (1973), ternal and internal cuticular ledges. No vascular bundles were Sulborska and Weryszko-Chmielewska observed in the nectary. The gland was supplied by branches (2006, 2007), Wist and Davis (2006) and L i - of vascular bundles reaching the style and ending at the nectary piń ski (2010). Smets (1986) refers to nectaries base. The nectariferous tissue was formed by isodiametric cells in Asteraceae as nectaria persistentia associated with with a diameter of 11-20 μm. The cell interior was filled with persistent flower parts, while Schmid (1988) and electron dense cytoplasm containing a large nucleus, numerous Bernardello (2007) classify them as gynoecial pleomorphic plastids, mitochondria with a distinct system of nectaries. cristae, Golgi bodies, ER profiles, and ribosomes. The plastid A majority of species from the family Asterace- stroma was characterised by presence of pastoglobuli, intraplas- tid tubules, and lighter zones. Several small vacuoles were found ae investigated have nectaries only in the disc florets in each cell. Plasmodesmata were visible in the walls of some (Sammataro et al. 1985; Sulborska and W e - cells. Lighter periplasmic space in which apoplastic transport of ryszko-Chmielewska, 2006, 2007; Wist nectar might take place was observed between the plasmalemma and Davis, 2006). In Heterothalamus alienus, howe- and the cell wall. The presence of an osmiophilic substance in the ver, the nectariferous glands were also present in the intercellular spaces additionally corroborates this assumption. ray florets (V ogel, 1998). The data obtained by Frei (1955) indicate that Key words: Chamomilla recutita, flowers, glandular trichomes, the nectaries in Asteraceae are uniform in terms of lo- nectary, epidermis, nectariferous parenchyma, cation and shape; Lipiń ski (2010) claims that the ultrastructure. nectariferous gland in this family always has the same 24 Aneta Sulborska structure. In turn, Gulyás and Pesti (1966) repor- SEM. Disc florets with nectaries prepared from ted that ring-shaped, funnel-shaped and cone-shaped the anthodia were fixed in a 4% glutaraldehyde solu- glands were observed in the genus Centaurea. In He- tion in 0,1 M phosphate buffer pH 7,0 at the tempera- lianthus annuus flowers, a collar-like discoid nectary ture of 4oC for 12 hours. Next, the material was washed was found, which in cross section exhibited a round with the same buffer 4 times for 20 minutes and dehy- shape or in the form of a 4- to 8-sided polygonal ring drated in alcohol series: 30, 50, 70, 90 and 95%, which (Sammataro et al. 1985). In Inula helenium, the was followed by application of absolute alcohol three nectariferous gland had a shape of a five-armed star times. When dehydrated, the samples were transfer- with rounded tips (Sulborska and Weryszko- red to acetone, critical point dried in liquid CO2 using Chmielewska, 2007), while the nectaries in Achil- Bal-Tec CPD 030 and coated with gold and platinum lea millefolium (Sulborska and Weryszko- using the Polaron SC 7640 sputter coater. The surface Chmielewska, 2006) and Echinacea purpurea, of the nectaries was examined and imaged under the observed from above, were pentagonal (Wist and BS 301 scanning electron microscope coupled with the Davis, 2006). Tescan attachment for digital processing of microsco- The secreted nectar is accumulated in the nar- pe imaging. row corolla tube, and thus elevated by a few millime- TEM. Fragments of disc florets were fixed in tres and accessible to insects (Lipiń ski, 2010). In 2% paraformaldehyde and 2,5% glutaraldehyde in 0,1 the pistillate phase in the disc florets of Echinacea pur- M cacodylane buffer with pH 7,4 at room temperature purea, the basal part of the corolla, which functions as for 2 hours and next at the temperature of 4oC for 12 a nectar reservoir, was substantially enlarged (Wist hours. The samples were then washed with 1 M caco- and Davis, 2006). dylane buffer at the temperature of 4oC for 24 hours The aim of the present study was to investigate and underwent osmosis in 1% OsO4; next they were some aspects of flower micromorphology and morpho- transferred to redistilled water and stained in a 0,5% logical, anatomical, and ultrastructural features of the water solution of uranyl acetate. In the next step, the nectariferous tissue in Chamomilla recutita, as litera- material was dehydrated in an alcohol series and by in- ture does not provide such data. creasing the concentrations of propylene oxide in alco- hol, reaching pure propylene oxide. The samples were MATERIAL AND METHODS embedded in Spurr Low Viscosity resin for 12 hours at the temperature of 70oC. The material thus prepared The Chamomilla recutita L. (Rausch.) flowers was sliced into 60 nm-thick sections with a Reichert studied (in the full bloom phase) originated from the Ultracut S microtome. Ultrathin sections were treated collection of medicinal plants in the UMCS Botani- with an 8% solution of uranyl acetate in 0,5% acetic cal Garden in Lublin. Observations were performed acid and with lead citrate. The observations and docu- with the use of stereoscopic (SM), light (LM), scan- mentation were made with the use of a BS-500 Tesla ning electron (SEM) and transmission electron (TEM) electron microscope. microscopy. SM. In order to localize the nectaries, fresh flow- ers were examined under a stereoscopic microscope RESULTS coupled with a Nikon Coolpix 4500 digital camera. Morphology and anatomy of the flowers LM. For the analysis of morphological and an- atomical features of the nectaries, semi-thin sections The pseudanthia of Chamomilla recutita imita- (0,5 μm thick) were prepared from longitudinal flower ting a single flower were composed of marginal ray fragments and stained with 1% methylene blue with florets and numerous internal disc florets (Fig. 1A). 1% azure II in a 1% water solution of sodium tetrabo- The corolla of the ray florets was connate and formed rate. The material was fixed and embedded in synthetic a tube at the base and an elongated ligule composed of resin following the method used for the transmission three fused petals in the apical part (Fig. 1C). The ray electron microscope. florets had a pistil, but they were sterile. During the microscopic observations, the height The calyx in the disc florets was strongly re- of epidermal cells and diameter of glandular cells were duced and teeth-shaped above the inferior ovary (Fig. measured (n=30), and the number of layers of gland- 1D). The corolla was composed of five fused petals. In forming cell was determined. The stomatal width and its basal part, the corolla tube (mean length 1.6 mm) the height of stomatal cells were measured (n=10). The was narrower, and above ½ of the length, it was wider observations were made under the Jenaval Contrast and had five apical lobes (Fig. 1B). The disc florets microscope and the images were taken with Eclipse were bisexual, fertile, and they bloomed gradually 400, Nikon. from the margin towards the centre of the anthodium Micromorphology of flowers, anatomy and ultrastructure of Chamomilla recutita (L.) Rausch. (Asteraceae) nectary 25 (Fig. 1A). Stamens matured first and next the pistil, mitochondria, Golgi bodies with detaching vesicles, which has a style with a two-lobbed stigma emerged plastids, osmiophilic structures and numerous riboso- from a tube formed by fused stamen heads (Fig. 1B,F). mes (Fig. 3A,C,D). An empty space containing dark, Adaxial and abaxial elongated epidermal cells (papil- fibrillar structures were observed between the walls of lae) containing dense cytoplasm that stained intensely some cells (Fig.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Agri-Environment Nectar Chemistry Suppresses Parasite Social Epidemiology in an 2 Important Pollinator
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.30.428928; this version posted February 1, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. 1 Agri-environment nectar chemistry suppresses parasite social epidemiology in an 2 important pollinator (1,#) (2) (2) (2,3) (1) 3 Arran J. Folly* , Hauke Koch , Iain W. Farrell , Philip C. Stevenson , Mark J.F. Brown 4 (1) Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Sciences and the Environment, Royal 5 Holloway University of London, Egham, UK (2) Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK (3) Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, 6 Kent, UK 7 8 *Corresponding author: Arran J. Folly: [email protected] 9 #Current address: Virology Department, Animal and Plant Health Agency, Surrey, UK 10 11 Emergent infectious diseases are a principal driver of biodiversity loss globally. The population 12 and range declines of a suite of North American bumblebees, a group of important pollinators, 13 have been linked to emergent infection with the microsporidian Nosema bombi. Previous work 14 has shown that phytochemicals in pollen and nectar can negatively impact parasites in individual 15 bumblebees, but how this relates to social epidemiology and by extension whether plants can be 16 effectively used as disease management strategies remains unexplored. Here we show that 17 caffeine, identified in the nectar of Sainfoin, a constituent of agri-environment schemes, 18 significantly reduced N.
    [Show full text]
  • Flowering Phenology As a Functional Trait in a Tallgrass Prairie
    Research Flowering phenology as a functional trait in a tallgrass prairie Joseph M. Craine1, Elizabeth M. Wolkovich2, E. Gene Towne1 and Steven W. Kembel3 1Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66502, USA; 2Ecology, Behavior & Evolution Section, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive #0116, La Jolla, CA 92093,USA; 3Center for Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, USA Summary Author for correspondence: • The timing of flowering is a critical component of the ecology of plants and has the poten- Joseph M. Craine tial to structure plant communities. Yet, we know little about how the timing of flowering Tel: +1 785 532 3062 relates to other functional traits, species abundance, and average environmental conditions. Email: [email protected] • Here, we assessed first flowering dates (FFDs) in a North American tallgrass prairie (Konza Received: 18 August 2011 Prairie) for 431 herbaceous species and compared them with a series of other functional traits, Accepted: 29 September 2011 environmental metrics, and species abundance across ecological contrasts. • The pattern of FFDs among the species of the Konza grassland was shaped by local climate, New Phytologist (2011) can be linked to resource use by species, and patterns of species abundance across the land- doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03953.x scape. Peak FFD for the community occurred when soils were typically both warm and wet, while relatively few species began flowering when soils tended to be the driest. Compared with late-flowering species, species that flowered early had lower leaf tissue density and were Key words: climate, community assembly, drought, grass, Konza Prairie.
    [Show full text]
  • Wildflowers of Scotland
    Seed Origin and Quality Wildflowers of Scotland At Scotia Seeds we use our years of experience to ensure that the wildflower seed We are the leading producers of wildflower we supply is of the highest quality possible and seeds in Scotland and are committed to can be traced back to original collections in the providing the range and quality of seeds you wild. require. We have a wide range of species that we can Seed Origin provide. As well as the ones here in the All of the wildflower seeds we produce can be catalogue; please contact us if you are looking traced back to the sites where the original wild for a species not in our catalogue. plants grow. From these sites we collect a small amount of seed which is then sown on page Contents our farm to give us crops from which we can harvest a larger amount of seed. Seed Quality and Origin 2 We are signatories to the Flora Locale Code of Practice for Collectors, Growers and Suppliers Seed Packets 3 of Native Flora that ensures responsible collection and sale of native British plants. Establishing a Wildflower Meadow 11 Quality Yellow Rattle 13 We test samples of all our seed crops for germination and purity, to ensure that they have reached our stringent standards. Sowing Rates 14 Our quality laboratory specialises in testing the seeds of wildflowers and trees. For most of the Meadow Mixtures 15 species we test we have developed our own procedures in a research programme funded by How to Order 26 a Scottish Executive SMART Award.
    [Show full text]
  • State Weed List
    Class A Weeds: Non-native species whose distribution ricefield bulrush Schoenoplectus hoary alyssum Berteroa incana in Washington is still limited. Preventing new infestations and mucronatus houndstongue Cynoglossum officinale eradicating existing infestations are the highest priority. sage, clary Salvia sclarea indigobush Amorpha fruticosa Eradication of all Class A plants is required by law. sage, Mediterranean Salvia aethiopis knapweed, black Centaurea nigra silverleaf nightshade Solanum elaeagnifolium knapweed, brown Centaurea jacea Class B Weeds: Non-native species presently limited to small-flowered jewelweed Impatiens parviflora portions of the State. Species are designated for required knapweed, diffuse Centaurea diffusa control in regions where they are not yet widespread. South American Limnobium laevigatum knapweed, meadow Centaurea × gerstlaueri Preventing new infestations in these areas is a high priority. spongeplant knapweed, Russian Rhaponticum repens In regions where a Class B species is already abundant, Spanish broom Spartium junceum knapweed, spotted Centaurea stoebe control is decided at the local level, with containment as the Syrian beancaper Zygophyllum fabago knotweed, Bohemian Fallopia × bohemica primary goal. Please contact your County Noxious Weed Texas blueweed Helianthus ciliaris knotweed, giant Fallopia sachalinensis Control Board to learn which species are designated for thistle, Italian Carduus pycnocephalus knotweed, Himalayan Persicaria wallichii control in your area. thistle, milk Silybum marianum knotweed,
    [Show full text]
  • Creating a Butterfly Bank
    MANAGEMENT FACTSHEET MANAGEMENT Creating a butterfly bank A butterfly bank will create habitat for butterflies of open grassland swards. The aim is to create an area of varied aspects where herbs predominate but where there is also abundant bare ground. BUTTERFLIES & MOTHS THAT CAN WHY CREATE A BUTTERFLY BANK? BENEFIT In many landscapes remnant semi-natural habitat is fragmented and isolated, so habitat creation schemes such as (top to bottom) butterfly banks have an important role in both providing additional breeding sites and improving connectivity. A butterfly Grizzled Skipper bank provides an open, sunny area rich in the early successional herbs that rely on disturbed ground. A variety of aspects Chimney Sweeper Moth are created, thus providing a range of breeding habitats for some of our most threatened butterflies and moths. Small Copper Six-spot Burnet Moth CONSTRUCTING THE BUTTERFLY BANK Common Blue Dingy Skipper 1. Planning and location Brown Argus Ÿ Decide on a suitable location where an unshaded south-facing bank can be created, then carefully survey the existing habitat. This is important as you do not want to destroy an existing flower-rich verge or the location of a rare orchid. Check for any archaeological interest (even if not a listed site) and be aware of possible restrictions on soil disturbance, seeding, planting or importing aggregate on designated sites such as a nature reserve or SSSI. Ÿ If possible choose a location that already has fairly nutrient-poor soil as this will better support the sparse vegetation habitat that you wish to create and maintain. 2. Bank formation and soil inversion Many different designs of bank can be effective, but a "C" shaped structure will ensure that a variety of aspects are created.
    [Show full text]
  • WLGF Pollinator Planting List
    Suggested Plant List for Pollinators, September 2014 This list has been produced by Jan Miller on behalf of the North Wales Wildlife Trust and Marc Carlton on behalf of the Wildlife Gardening Forum, at the request of the Welsh Government’s Pollinator Task Force. The authors recognise that producing planting lists for pollinators is not a straightforward exercise. There are still many areas where further research is required in order to improve our understanding of the needs of pollinating insects and the best planting schemes to cater for them. One of the Wildlife Gardening Forum’s aims is to promote more evidence-based research to increase our knowledge and understanding of this subject. This list is based on the compilers’ personal experience over many years as gardeners and naturalists, and incorporates Jan’s work investigating plants for butterflies on behalf of Butterfly Conservation and uses their data sent in by members over twenty years. The list includes a selection of forage plants useful for adult butterflies, moths, hoverflies, bumblebees and solitary bees, which together make up the vast majority of pollinators in Wales. Plants recommended as larval food plants for butterflies and some moths have also been included. Specialised lists of flowers that are recommended as forage for honeybees have been published for many years within the beekeeping community and so we have not specifically covered honeybees in our list, although many of the flowers on our list will be used by honeybees. The list is in two parts. The first part is a list of suggested garden plants. We have only selected flowers which are garden-worthy, easily obtainable, well-known, and widely acknowledged as being attractive to pollinating insects.
    [Show full text]
  • Ari Bilimi / Bee Science Nectar Secretion and Bee Guild
    ARI B ĐLĐMĐ / BEE SCIENCE NECTAR SECRETION AND BEE GUILD CHARACTERISTICS OF YELLOW STAR-THISTLE ON SANTA CRUZ ISLAND AND LESVOS: WHERE HAVE THE HONEY BEES GONE? Santa Cruz ve Midilli Adasinda Güne şçiçe ği Bitkisinde Balözü Salgısı ve Arı Çe şitlili ği: Bal Arıları Nereye Kayboldu? (Geni şletilmi ş Türkçe Özet Makalenin Sonunda Verilmi ştir) John F. BARTHELL 1, Meredith L. CLEMENT 1, Daniel S. SONG 2,4 , Amy N. SAVITSKI 3, John M. HRANITZ 3, Theodora PETANIDOU 4, Robbin W. THORP 5, Adrian M. WENNER 6, Terry L. GRISWOLD 7 & Harrington WELLS 8 1Department of Biology, University of Central Oklahoma, Edmond, OK 73034, USA, E-mail: [email protected] 2Department of Environmental Science, Policy & Management, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA 3Department of Biological & Allied Health Sciences, Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg, PA 17815, USA 4Department of Geography, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, Lesvos, GREECE 5Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA 6Department of Ecology, Evolution & Marine Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA 7USDA-ARS Bee Biology & Systematics Lab, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322, USA 8Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, OK 74104, USA Key words: Centaurea solstitialis , invasive species, Lesvos, pollination, Santa Cruz Island, yellow star- thistle. Anahtar kelimeler: Centaurea solstitialis, istilacı tür, Midilli, tozla şma, Santa Cruz adası, Güne şçiçe ği ABSTRACT: We compared nectar secretion rates and bee guilds of yellow star-thistle, Centaurea solstitialis , on Santa Cruz Island (USA) and the Northeast Aegean Island of Lesvos (Greece). This plant species is non-native and highly invasive in the western USA but native to Eurasia (including Lesvos).
    [Show full text]
  • Thesis Submitted As Part of the Requirements for the Degree of B
    BUMBLEBEE FORAGING PREFERENCES: DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SPECIES AND INDIVIDUALS A thesis submitted as part of the requirements for the Degree of B. Sc. (Hons.) in Ecology at the University of Aberdeen 1996. by Laura Brodie To publish this on the Internet I have made the following changes PLATE 1 in my thesis was made up of scanned images taken from Prys-Jones & Corbet's excellent book. To use these here would be an infringement of copyright, so I have replaced the scanned images with digital photographs of my own that were taken at a later date. Some of the figures have been re-sized and had their font size reduced and the legend moved, this was done to keep the file size small and to take into account the different shape of the monitor screen from the printed A4 page. The figures have also been integrated more with the text. Nothing else has been changed; even the mistakes have been left in. CONTENTS • 1 Introduction 1.1 Economic importance of bumblebees 1.2 Life cycle 1.3 Foraging 1.4 Aims • 2 Materials and methods 2.1 Site characteristics 2.2 Pilot study 2.3 Measuring environmental variables 2.4 Bee identification 2.5 The "bee walk" 2.6 Marking bees and measuring tongue length and head width and length 2.7 Preference and constancy of bees 2.8 Measurements and characteristics of flowers foraged by bees during bee walk • 3 Results 3.1 Species observed 3.2 Proportion of marked bees re-sighted during bee walk 3.3 The relative changes in size of the populations foraging in the bee walk area 3.4 Measurements and characteristics of flowers foraged
    [Show full text]
  • The Best Wildflowers for Wild Bees
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Sussex Research Online The best wildflowers for wild bees Article (Published Version) Nichols, Rachel N, Goulson, Dave and Holland, John M (2019) The best wildflowers for wild bees. Journal of Insect Conservation. ISSN 1366-638X This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/86615/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher’s version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse: Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University. Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available. Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Journal of Insect Conservation https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-019-00180-8 ORIGINAL PAPER The best wildfowers for wild bees Rachel N.
    [Show full text]
  • 2019 Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania
    A CENSUS OF THE VASCULAR PLANTS OF TASMANIA, INCLUDING MACQUARIE ISLAND MF de Salas & ML Baker 2019 edition Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Department of State Growth Tasmanian Vascular Plant Census 2019 A Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania, including Macquarie Island. 2019 edition MF de Salas and ML Baker Postal address: Street address: Tasmanian Herbarium College Road PO Box 5058 Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 UTAS LPO Australia Sandy Bay, Tasmania 7005 Australia © Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery Published by the Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery GPO Box 1164 Hobart, Tasmania 7001 Australia https://www.tmag.tas.gov.au Cite as: de Salas, MF, Baker, ML (2019) A Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania, including Macquarie Island. (Tasmanian Herbarium, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Hobart) https://flora.tmag.tas.gov.au/resources/census/ 2 Tasmanian Vascular Plant Census 2019 Introduction The Census of the Vascular Plants of Tasmania is a checklist of every native and naturalised vascular plant taxon for which there is physical evidence of its presence in Tasmania. It includes the correct nomenclature and authorship of the taxon’s name, as well as the reference of its original publication. According to this Census, the Tasmanian flora contains 2726 vascular plants, of which 1920 (70%) are considered native and 808 (30%) have naturalised from elsewhere. Among the native taxa, 533 (28%) are endemic to the State. Forty-eight of the State’s exotic taxa are considered sparingly naturalised, and are known only from a small number of populations. Twenty-three native taxa are recognised as extinct, whereas eight naturalised taxa are considered to have either not persisted in Tasmania or have been eradicated.
    [Show full text]
  • Pollinator Guide for Schools
    Pollinating Places & Spaces How to create pollinator-friendly areas in schools 1 Background to project 2-6 Key practical advice 7-10 How to create a wildflower grassland 11-19 How to create a pollinator garden 20-24 How to maintain pollinator planting 25-29 Wildflower planting palette 30-36 Garden/ornamental planting palette 37-49 Educational activities 50 Certified suppliers 51-52 Page 2 2 Why have we produced a pollinator advice guide for schools? This guide has been funded by DEFRA (Department for Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs) as part of The National Pollinator Strategy: for bees and other pollinators in England, which was published by the government in 2014. It was produced in re- sponse to concerns that pollinating insects which includes bees, flies, butterflies and moths are under threat, with numbers declining in some species and others which have now become extinct in the UK. For example the Great yellow bumblebee and the Short-haired bumblebee both became extinct in the 1980/90s. The loss or decline of insect species often seems of less concern to the general public than the loss of mammals such as the red squirrel, however their disappearance can have a real effect on the health of our £100bn food industry, which is at the heart our economy. Without the service nature provides, some of that food would become a lot harder to grow and more expensive. Pollinating insects are a vital part of the reproduction of many plants, including orchard and soft fruits, vegetable and many garden and wild plants. In fact insects are responsible for the pollination of 80% of plants species across Europe.
    [Show full text]
  • Natural History Studies for the Preliminary Evaluation of Larinus Filiformis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) As a Prospective Biolog
    POPULATION ECOLOGY Natural History Studies for the Preliminary Evaluation of Larinus filiformis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) as a Prospective Biological Control Agent of Yellow Starthistle 1 2 3 4 L. GU¨ LTEKIN, M. CRISTOFARO, C. TRONCI, AND L. SMITH Faculty of Agriculture, Plant Protection Department, Atatu¨ rk University, 25240 TR Erzurum, Turkey Environ. Entomol. 37(5): 1185Ð1199 (2008) ABSTRACT We studied the life history, geographic distribution, behavior, and ecology of Larinus filiformis Petri (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in its native range to determine whether it is worthy of further evaluation as a classical biological control agent of yellow starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis (Asteraceae: Cardueae). Larinus filiformis occurs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Bulgaria and has been reared only from C. solstitialis. At Þeld sites in central and eastern Turkey, adults were well synchronized with the plant, being active from mid-May to late July and ovipositing in capitula (ßowerheads) of C. solstitialis from mid-June to mid-July. Larvae destroy all the seeds in a capitulum. The insect is univoltine in Turkey, and adults hibernate from mid-September to mid-May. In the spring, before adults begin ovipositing, they feed on the immature ßower buds of C. solstitialis, causing them to die. The weevil destroyed 25Ð75% of capitula at natural Þeld sites, depending on the sample date. Preliminary host speciÞcity experiments on adult feeding indicate that the weevil seems to be restricted to a relatively small number of plants within the Cardueae. Approximately 57% of larvae or pupae collected late in the summer were parasitized by hymenopterans [Bracon urinator, B. tshitsherini (Braconidae) and Exeristes roborator (Ichneumonidae), Aprostocetus sp.
    [Show full text]