Volume 68 (2022): Edition 1 (December 2022)

Christisonia flavirubens J.Mathew & P.M.Salim (Orobanchaceae), a new holoparasitic plant species from the southern Western Ghats, Kerala, India, is described based on morphological data. The diagnostic morphological characters, distribution and images of the new species are presented. Images and comparative characters of the reddish yellow coloured Christisonia species of the south Western Ghats are also provided for its easy identification.

A new hybrid within the Hippochaete subgenus of Equisetum genus, Equisetum ×meridionale (Milde) Chiov. was discovered in Poland during the research conducted in 2022 at two locations in Kotlina Żywiecka (the Żywiec Basin) and Beskid Wyspowy (Island Beskids – Western Beskids) in the anthropogenic habitats in close proximity to Equisetum ramosissimum. The identity of the hybrid was unequivocally confirmed by macro-morphological observations, microscopic analysis and flow cytometry. The most pronounced macroscopic characteristics of the hybrid were the intermediate size of the shoots and leaf sheaths, which are black with long black teeth. The microscopic observations revealed that the hybrid has silica tubercles in the form of cross-bands, similarly as in the case of E. ramosissimum, but not in the form of two rows as in the case of E. variegatum. The measurements of the nuclear DNA content (2C values) revealed that the putative hybrid had a nuclear DNA content intermediate to that of the parental species, i.e. E. ramosissimum (56.13 pg) and E. variegatum (63.80 pg) obtained in the present studies and within the values previously reported for E. ×meridionale (60.7-61.2 pg).

In the Algerian steppe (Rogassa) overgrazing led to the reduction of the surface of the pasture land and its biodiversity. The objective of this work was to highlight the importance of the protected land in maintaining biodiversity and preserving the degraded areas. A mixed sampling for the two different sites was adopted, where fifty floristic surveys were conducted using the Braun-Blanquet method. The analysis of the real biological spectrum of the unprotected land was marked by the strong dominance of the therophytes. However, in the protected land the chamaephytes dominated all of the biological types. The analysis of the biogeographic spectra revealed the reappearance of the endemic species (+3%). The Shannon Index was very important in this matter (2.43). The Student’s t-test of the biodiversity’s index showed a highly significant difference between the two sites. The ascending hierarchical classification revealed that the protected land is subdivided into four groups dominated respectively by: Macrochloa tenacissima, Lygeum spartum, Artemisia erba-alba and Hordeum murinum. The results of the Jaccard dissimilarity index indicated a strong difference of the order of 80% between the two areas.

An ethnobotanical study was carried out in the Naâma region to gather information on the traditional therapeutic uses of a plant of medicinal interest, Saccocalyx satureioides, practiced by the local population. Using 40 questionnaires, ethnobotanical surveys were carried out in the province of Naâma between January and April 2015. The analysis of the data collected in the field made it possible to identify 17 diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, kidney problems, certain diseases of the digestive tract, in particular those of the colon and the stomach, treated with S. satureioides. The results show that different parts of the plant (leaves, flowers, fruits and roots) are used in the form of decoction, maceration; they are cooked and powdered in therapeutic preparations.