Araceae

The combination of UV irradiation and hydrogen peroxide (UV–H2O2) was shown to be effective in treating water spiked with 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexachlorobipheny (PCB 153), reducing its concentration by as much as 98%. To test the toxicity of the effluent, bioassays involving three species of primary producers were performed. Results showed the effluent exerting an adverse effect on the algae Scenedesmus bijugatus and

Urolithiasis is a common worldwide problem with high recurrence. This review covers forty four (44) families starting from alphabet A to L and includes Bignoniaceae (05) Juglandaceae (01) plant used globally in different countries. The plants of three families Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae are revisited to provide updated information. This review will not only be useful for the general public but also attract the scientific world for antiurolithiatic drug discovery.

Plants belonging to the Arum family (Araceae) are commonly known as aroids as they contain crystals of calcium oxalate and toxic proteins which can cause intense irritation of the skin and mucous membranes, and poisoning if the raw plant tissue is eaten. Aroids range from tiny floating aquatic plants to forest climbers. Many are cultivated for their ornamental flowers or foliage and others for their food value. Present article critically reviews the growth conditions of Epipremnum aureum (Linden and Andre) Bunting with special emphasis on their ethnomedicinal uses and pharmacological activities, beneficial to both human and the environment. In this article, we review the origin, distribution, brief morphological characters, medicinal and pharmacological properties of Epipremnum aureum, commonly known as ornamental plant having indoor air pollution removing capacity. There are very few reports to the medicinal properties of E. aureum. In our investigation, it has been found that each part of this plant possesses antibacterial, anti-termite and antioxidant properties. However, apart from these it can also turn out to be anti-malarial, anti-cancerous, anti-tuberculosis, anti-arthritis and wound healing etc which are a severe international problem. In the present study, details about the pharmacological actions of medicinal plant E. aureum (Linden and Andre) Bunting and Epipremnum pinnatum (L.) Engl. is discussed based on modern scientific investigations. There are immense properties hidden in Epipremnum species that need to be explored using the scientific investigations to make it beneficial for the environment and human health.

This study analyzed genetic differences of 19 cultivars selected from somaclonal variants of Syngonium podophyllum Schott along with their parents as well as seven additional Syngonium species and six other aroids using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers generated by 12 primer sets. Among the 19 somaclonal cultivars, ‘Pink Allusion’ was selected from ‘White Butterfly’. Tissue culture of ‘Pink Allusion’ through organogenesis resulted in the development of 13 additional cultivars. Self-pollination of ‘Pink Allusion’ obtained a cultivar, ‘Regina Red Allusion’, and tissue culture propagation of ‘Regina Red Allusion’ led to the release of five other cultivars. The 12 primer sets generated a total of 1,583 scorable fragments from all accessions, of which 1,284 were polymorphic (81.9%). The percentages of polymorphic fragments within ‘White Butterfly’ and ‘Regina Red Allusion’ groups, however, were only 1.2% and 0.4%, respectively. Jaccard's similarity coefficients among somaclonal cultivars derived from ‘White Butterfly’ and ‘Regina Red Allusion’, on average, were 0.98 and 0.99, respectively. Seven out of the 15 cultivars from the ‘White Butterfly’ group and three out of six from the ‘Regina Red Allusion’ group were clearly distinguished by AFLP analysis as unique fragments were associated with respective cultivars. The unsuccessful attempt to distinguish the remaining eight cultivars from the ‘White Butterfly’ group and three from the ‘Regina Red Allusion’ group was not attributed to experimental errors or the number of primer sets used; rather it is hypothesized to be caused by DNA methylation and/or some rare mutations. This study also calls for increased genetic diversity of cultivated Syngonium as they are largely derived from somaclonal variants.

Alocasia comprises over 113 species of rainforest understorey plants in Southeast Asia, the Malesian region, and Australia. Several species, including giant taro, Alocasia macrorrhizos, and Chinese taro, Aloc-asia cucullata, are important food plants or ornamentals. We investigated the biogeography of this genus using plastid and nuclear DNA sequences (5200 nucleotides) from 78 accessions representing 71 species, plus 25 species representing 16 genera of the Pistia clade to which Alocasia belongs. Divergence times were inferred under strict and relaxed clock models, and ancestral areas with Bayesian and maximum likelihood approaches. Alocasia is monophyletic and sister to Colocasia gigantea from the SE Asian mainland , whereas the type species of Colocasia groups with Steudnera and Remusatia, requiring taxonomic realignments. Nuclear and plastid trees show topological conflict, with the nuclear tree reflecting morphological similarities, the plastid tree species' geographic proximity, suggesting chloroplast capture. The ancestor of Alocasia diverged from its mainland sister group c. 24 million years ago, and Borneo then played a central role in the expansion of Alocasia: 11–13 of 18–19 inferred dispersal events originated on Borneo. The Philippines were reached from Borneo 4–5 times in the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene, and the Asian mainland 6–7 times in the Pliocene. Domesticated giant taro originated on the Philippines, Chi-nese taro on the Asian mainland.

Una de las características mas distintivas del plato Calalú es su ingrediente, las hojas de la planta de taro. Estas derivaban frecuentemente de la planta indigena Xanthosoma (en Costa Rica también conocida como Malanga) y/o eran importadas de la planta Colocasia. En el con-tinente suramericano en la que un dia fue colonia holandesa, Suriname, y en la comunidad surinamese en los Paises Bajos, no eran las hojas sino el bulbo de la Xanthosoma lo que se utilizaba para preparar un plato festivo tradicional. Este bulbo es conocido como pomtajer, tayer o taya, y el plato mismo es conocido generalmente como ‘Pom’. Este resulta de una mezcla de ingredientes y de las cocinas de la época del poder colonial, de los esclavos africa-nos y de  indigenas locales.

Phoneutria boliviensis (F.O.P.-Cambridge 1897) is a medically important wandering spider distributed from
Central America to northern South America. This study is the first description of the natural history of this species, and
presents data on several aspects of its natural history: reproductive and prey wrapping behavior, postembryonic
development, and habitats in the departments of Valle del Cauca and Quindio, Colombia. Prior to copulation, the male did
not engage in any courtship from a distance, but instead climbed onto the female, adopting the typical copulation position
of ‘‘modern wandering spiders’’ (position III). Females laid up to four egg sacs; between 430–1300 hatchlings emerged after
28–34 days. After hatching, spiderlings had a third claw on all their legs and built an irregular web, where they remained
until the next molt. Sexual maturity occurred after 14–17 molts, and spiders matured 300–465 days after emerging from the
egg sac. The species was found in disturbed habitats associated with both dry and wet tropical forests, usually on the
ground with little litter. Spiders wrapped prey in silk, moving in a stereotypically circular pattern around the prey without
manipulating threads with their legs. Attachments to the substrate involved rapid movements of the anterior spinnerets,
while the others remained immobile.

Relative flower size (RFS) was studied quantitatively in natural populations of Anthurium erskinei (one population) and A. talmonii (two populations) to investigate its potential as a taxonomic descriptor. RFS is defined as the ratio of spadix diameter and transverse floral width in the same region of the spadix. Variation was examined within and between inflorescences, populations and species. Within a single spadix, RFS may vary significantly between basal and upper spadix zones but usually not between basal and middle zones. Within populations, RFS does not differ significantly between spadix zones. Log-transformed RFS values showed significant inter-population differences. In nested ANOVA, between-species variance accounted for >90% of total variance. In A. talmonii between-population within-species variance amounted to >78% of total variance (mean RFS values), and within-spadix-zone within-spadix variance accounted for >31% of total variance (individual values). Bootst...

This PhD study aimed to improve our understanding of the life history, population dynamics and host searching strategy of three sympatric Heteropsis species (secondary hemiepiphytes) in the Colombian Amazon. The objectives of the present study were:
1.To provide insight into how three sympatric Heteropsis species search for a host.
2. To describe and explain patterns of survival, growth, retrogression, vegetative and sexual reproduction of the three Heteropsis species and the implications of the host suitability for these vital rates.
3. To provide insights into the main drivers of population growth of the three Heteropsis species, with particular focus on the contribution of subpopulations on suitable and non-suitable hosts to population growth and the importance of vegetative reproduction to population growth.
4. To estimate the age at which Heteropsis species become reproductive and at which their roots can be harvested.
Outltline Of This Thesis
This thesis addresses the demography and the relative importance of host suitability of three species of Heteropsis used for the manufacture of indigenous basketry and handicrafts across the Amazon.
Chapter 2 describes the host-searching strategies of the three Heteropsis species, using information on the size distribution of hosts with climbing Heteropsis individuals and the suitability of those hosts. We analyze this for seedlings of the three Heteropsis species as well as for vegetatively produced ramets.
Chapter 3 discusses the results of a study on survival, growth, reproduction and vegetative propagation of the three Heteropsis species and the implications of host suitability for these vital rates. With these data we quantify and evaluate the effect of plant height, plant size and host suitability on these vital rates. The importance and consequences of vegetative propagation are further discussed.
Chapter 4 analyses the demography of three Heteropsis species, using multi-state population models. In this chapter I separated dynamics of Heteropsis on suitable vs. non-suitable hosts in order to determine the relative contribution of plants on non-suitable hosts for population growth. I also quantified the importance of vital rates, particularly focusing on the importance of the forms of vegetative reproduction that allow Heteropsis plants to change hosts and survive after host mortality.

A possible role of host tree identity in the structuring of vascular epiphyte communities has attracted scientific attention for decades. Specifically, it has been suggested that each host tree species has a specific subset of the local species pool according to its own set of properties, e.g. physicochemical characteristics of the bark, tree architecture, or leaf phenology patterns. A novel, quantitative approach to this question is presented, taking advantage of a complete census of the vascular epiphyte community in 0.4 ha of undisturbed lowland forest in Panama. For three locally common host-tree species (Socratea exorrhiza, Marila laxiflora, Perebea xanthochyma) null models were created of the expected epiphyte assemblages assuming that epiphyte colonization reflected random distribution of epiphytes in the forest. In all three tree species, abundances of the majority of epiphyte species (69-81 %) were indistinguishable from random, while the remaining species were about equall...

The presence of a population of Lemna minuta in Lomas de Lachay is reported. This species is not currently in the list of plants of any lomas formation and corresponds to the first report of a floating aquatic plant in a seasonal ecosystem like this. The population of this species has been observed occupying one of the few bodies of water in two consecutive years. Possible ways of dispersal of this species to this ecosystem are discussed.

Se reporta la presencia de una población de Lemna minuta en las Lomas de Lachay. Esta especie no se encuentra actualmente en el listado de plantas de ninguna loma costera y corresponde al primer reporte de una planta acuática flotante en un ecosistema estacional como este. La población de esta especie ha sido observada ocupando uno de los pocos cuerpos de agua en dos años consecutivos. Se discuten las posibles formas de dispersión de la especie hacia este ecosistema de tan marcada estacionalidad. Palabras clave: dispersión, Lemna, lenteja de agua, lomas, planta acuática.