Polygonaceae

Abstract: Measurements of δ13C values were used as a diagnostic test for the possible occurrence of C4 photosynthesis in 175 species of the Chenopodiaceae and 18 species of the genus Calligonum (Polygonaceae) from deserts of the Middle East and USSR. Eighty percent of the Chenopodiaceae (predominantly members of the genera Aellenia, Anabasis, Haloxylon, Salsola and Suaeda) and all species of the genus Calligonum showed C4-like δ13C values. Several features of these plants disclose some new facets of C4 photosynthesis. Some of the Haloxylon and Calligonum species are trees or tall shrubs and in Middle Asia are dominant members of plant communities characterized by high biomass. Many C4 species of the Chenopodiaceae and Polygonaceae in their natural, Middle and Central Asian desert habitats, experience temperatures far below the freezing point for a long period of the year. Several of these C4 species are of considerable economic value.

Abstract: Polygonum cuspidatum (Japanese knotweed) is an introduced perennial geophyte in the buckwheat family (Polygonaceae) The phytogeographic distribution of P cuspidatum in North America suggests a la

Abstract: Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) and inter-simple sequence repeats (inter-SSRs) have been used to study clonal growth and hybridization in some non-native, gynodioecious, invasive weeds from the genus Fallopia (Polygonaceae). At the study site (the River Kelvin, Glasgow, UK) a single genotype of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) was detected, consistent with all the individuals sampled being ramets of a single clone. Two genotypes of giant knotweed (F. sachalinensis) were detected, with one genotype accounting for all but one of the samples, again indicative of widespread clonal growth. Five genotypes of the hybrid between Japanese and giant knotweed (F.×bohemica) were recovered. F.×bohemica is the only male-fertile taxon present at the site and it seems probable that at least some of this genetic variation is attributable to hybrid fertility. A single plant identified using morphological methods as a backcross between F. japonica and F.×bohemica was analysed, and the molecular data were consistent with this theory. A comparison of RAPDs and inter-SSRs showed that the two techniques gave data that are broadly congruent, and both techniques showed a similar sensitivity in the number of genotypes detected.

Abstract: Proximate composition of proteins, crude fibers, fats & oils, moistures, ash contents and carbohydrates and different elements like C, O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, P, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Fe and Br in some medicinal plants viz., Rumex hastatus, Rumex dentatus, Rumex nepalensis, Rheum australe, Persicaria maculosa and Polygonum plebejum of the family Polygonaceae is presented.