Fabaceae is the third largest family. The subfamily Faboideae contains the genera Phaseolus and Vigna. Their seeds contain four types of proteins as albumins, globulins, glutelins, and prolamins, that utilize in human and animal nutrition globally. SDS-PAGE is considered a useful technique to detect the relationships among numerous plant species. Seed storage protein profiles generated by SDS-PAGE were analyzed using UPGMA clustering to construct a similarity matrix and assess the genetic relationships among seven Phaseolus species and five Vigna species. Among the Phaseolus species studied, the highest similarity value (0.92) was detected between Phaseolus vulgaris L. cv. Giza 6 and Phaseolus vulgaris L. var. vulgaris. While the lowest similarity value (0.19) was found between Phaseolus filiformis Benth. and Phaseolus vulgaris cv. Giza 6. On the other hand, the highest similarity values among studied Vigna species were (0.73) between Vigna mungo L. Hepper and Vigna radiate (L.) R.Wilczek but the lowest similarity value (0.38) was recorded between Vigna mungo and Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi & H. Ohashi, as well as between Vigna radiata and Vigna unguiculata L. In contrast, the highest intergeneric similarity value (0.60) was observed between Phaseolus vulgaris var. vulgaris and Vigna radiata. The lowest intergeneric similarity value (0.26) was documented between Phaseolus filiformis and Vigna angularis.
This study provides a comprehensive taxonomic analysis of recently collected specimens of Euphorbia nutans Lag., an alien taxon from Egypt. A comprehensive taxonomic study of freshly collected specimens was conducted, utilizing light and scanning electron microscopy (LM, SEM), to evaluate its macro- and micromorphology, including the anatomical structure of leaf and stem and the morphology of seeds and pollen grains. The seeds are tetragonal and certainly uncaruncled, with a basal rhombic-shaped areole. Pollen grains are tricolporate, prolate, and small to medium-sized, with fusiform colpi and lolongate, elliptic ora. Laticifers characterize the internal structures of stems and leaves. In the stem, they are distributed in the cortex, while it constitutes a ring surrounding the leaf vascular cylinder. This comprehensive examination provides crucial diagnostic attributes for the precise identification of this taxon in the Egyptian flora and for concise differentiation from related species: Euphorbia nutans, E. indica, E. hypericifolia and E. hyssopifolia. This study introduces two artificial diagnostic keys.
This is the first record of a mixed flora including petrified ferns and gymnosperms from the Lower Cretaceous Malha Formation at Wadi Baba area, central Sinai. The present study focuses only on the fern component of this assemblage, which is represented by rachis fragments assigned to Paradoxopteris stromeri (Hirmer) Hirmer, and is described in detail and fully illustrated. The occurrence of P. stromeri supports the Early Cretaceous age previously assigned to the Malha Formation based on palynological and biostratigraphic studies. Global records indicate that this fern and its associated frond Weichselia Stiehler show a wide intercontinental distribution but a restricted stratigraphic range mainly within the Early Cretaceous. The associated gymnosperm wood from the same locality, characterized by distinct narrow growth rings, agrees with the ecological significance of the rachis anatomy and indicates a warm climate with marked seasonality and alternating dry and humid periods. This assemblage provides new paleobotanical evidence from central Sinai and contributes to understanding the stratigraphy and paleoenvironment of the Malha Formation.
This study reports the first confirmed occurrence of Nypa Steck fruits and a leaf fragment from the early Eocene Dungul Formation in southwestern Aswan, Egypt. The fossils, assigned to Nypa burtini (Brongniart) Ettingshausen, extend the known distribution and morphological variation of the genus in North Africa, adding to the limited fossil record of mangrove palms in the region. The fruits exhibit notable size variation, a trait also observed in modern and fossil Nypa, which is influenced by biological, environmental, and geological factors and often leads to taxonomic misinterpretations. The geographic pattern of early Nypa fossils suggests a stronger Laurasian affinity, with the oldest and most abundant records concentrated in areas bordering the Tethys Ocean, such as Southeast Asia, India, and parts of Africa. This supports the view that Nypa originated in tropical coastal settings of Laurasia and dispersed globally during the Paleocene–Eocene. These findings provide new insights into the paleoecology and paleobiogeography of Nypa in North Africa, with the modern Southeast Asian distribution of Nypa fruticans representing the last remnant of a once-widespread lineage.
Plantago L. is widely considered to be a challenging genus from a taxonomic perspective. The lamina epidermal characters have great value in taxonomic studies. The lamina epidermal features of 17 species and one subspecies of Egyptian Plantago were investigated. The specific object of the present study was to throw light on the micro-morphological features of the lamina surfaces and assess their taxonomic relevance. The lamina epidermal characters were examined for both the ad/abaxial surfaces using LM and SEM. The data were numerically analyzed to detect the phenetic relationships between the studied taxa. Stomatal type, epidermal cell walls, cuticular ornamentation, and trichome characteristics varied among the taxa studied. Trichomes exhibited the most noticeable characteristics of all the studied taxa. The generated dendrogram showed a segregation of Plantago major subspecies major, in a distinct phenon from the remaining Plantago species, which is subsequently divisible into smaller groups. It is concluded that the phenetic analysis supports Rahn’s sectional classification of Plantago. Additionally, the lamina epidermal features can help identify Plantago species or groups of species by combining character states.
The vasculature and structure of the labellum are diagnostic and highly significant across monocotyledonous taxa. This study examined the floral vasculature of seven taxa from Cannaceae, Marantaceae, Zingiberaceae (Zingiberales), and Orchidaceae (Asparagales) using light microscopy (LM) to elucidate and characterize the nature and structure of the labellum in selected monocot taxa. The obtained data indicated that the labellum vasculature of Dendrobium nobile (Orchidaceae) was significantly different from that of the other examined taxa. The labellum of Dendrobium nobile was supplied by three separate vascular bundles: one posterior inner bundle and two postero-lateral bundles, corresponding to the median and marginal regions of the labellum. In Canna × hybrida and C. indica (Cannaceae), the labellum vasculature incorporated two bundles: one derived from the carpellary dorsal trace and another from the antero-lateral carpellary septal trace. The floral vasculature of Maranta leuconeura (Marantaceae) showed that the labellum was supplied by a single carpellary septal trace, which subsequently divided to form median and marginal bundles. For Alpinia zerumbet and Hedychium coronarium (Zingiberaceae), the labellum was supplied by three distinct vascular bundles: two antero-lateral carpellary septal bundles and one anterior carpellary dorsal bundle.
Documenting morphological features of modern pollens is fundamental for several studies, including aeropalynology, archaeopalynology, forensic palynology, palaeopalynology, and melissopalynology. Keeping in view the significance of pollen traits, 39 wild species classified into 20 flowering plant families were collected from different locations in Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah, Saudi Arabia. The morphological features of the pollen grains of the collected species were described using both light and scanning electron microscope. The main objectives of this study are to provide a comprehensive account of the pollen morphology of some species that represent the flora of Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah to create pollen atlas that could serve as an indicator for the flora of this city. The pollen grains of the studied species revealed considerable differences in quantitative and qualitative micromorphological characteristics, including pollen association, polarity, shape, size, aperture patterns as well as exine sculpture. A taxonomic key was developed to show the variation in pollen features and achieve further delimitation between the species under investigation. In conclusion, the pollen traits have proven to be a useful tool in determining species boundaries. Additionally, the present work can be considered as a preliminary contribution to the development of a pollen atlas for the flora of Al-Madinah al-Munawwarah that can be used for the ongoing pollen-based studies.
The genus Cyperus L. (Cyperaceae) is one of the largest and most taxonomically complex genera within the sedge family, characterized by extensive morphological diversity and ecological significance. Despite its importance, the classification of Cyperus has been challenging due to convergent evolution, polyphyletic subgroups, and overlapping morphological traits. This study aims to reassess the taxonomy of Cyperus in Egypt by integrating morphometric and molecular approaches to provide a more robust and natural classification system. A total of 18 Cyperus species from Egypt were analyzed using 39 morphological characters (30 qualitative and 9 quantitative) and molecular data from five chloroplast markers (rbcL, matK, trnH-psbA, rpl32-trnL, and ndhF). Morphometric analyses, including hierarchical clustering and principal component analysis (PCA), revealed significant morphological variability among the taxa, with key vegetative and reproductive traits such as rhizome structure, culm characteristics, spikelet morphology, and achene traits proving critical for species differentiation. Pearson’s correlation analysis identified rhizome scale, spikelet shape, and achene morphology as highly correlated with taxonomic distinctions. Phylogenetic analysis, combining morphological and molecular data, resolved the taxa into six main clades, strongly supporting the paraphyletic nature of the paraphyly of C3 Cyperus and the monophyly of C4 Cyperus. Notably, Cyperus alternifolius emerged as a distinct clade, while Cyperus fuscus and Cyperus difformis formed a well-supported cluster. The integration of molecular data with morphometric results provided a clearer resolution of species relationships, highlighting the limitations of morphology-based classifications and the importance of combining multiple data sources for taxonomic revisions. Based on the findings, we propose a revised sectional classification for Cyperus in Egypt, dividing the genus into three main complexes: Papyrus, Cyperus, and Bobartia, each encompassing several sections. This study demonstrated the efficacy of integrating morphometric and molecular data to resolve taxonomic complexities in Cyperus, offering a model for future taxonomic revisions in other taxonomically challenging plant groups. The results contribute to a deeper understanding of the evolutionary history and diversity of Cyperus in Egypt, providing a foundation for further research and conservation efforts
Environmental pollution is one of the major problems facing the megacities. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of air pollution on the leaf morphological characters of 12 species commonly planted in the streets of Giza district, Cairo a highly polluted site and Smouha district, Alexandria as peri-urban non polluted site of Egypt. Both the Light (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) were used to investigate the leaf characters. The thirty-one macro-and micro-morphological leaf characters were subjected to T-TEST to assess the influence of pollution on the leaf characters and to find out the significant variations among the species in the two sites (polluted and non-polluted), using SPSS software, in addition to, Bivariate correlation using Pearson correlation. The study results proved that leaf characters of the studied species exhibited significant reduction at polluted sites especially in leaf length, width, area, and number of lateral veins compared with non-polluted sites, and identified the most adapted species to the polluted sites.
This study provides a comparative analysis of plant species composition and distribution between the inland and coastline areas of the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea coastal desert, aiming to enhance understanding of desert plant communities and their relationship with edaphic factors. The study identified 119 plant taxa from 32 families, with the Asteraceae family being the most species-rich, representing 16.8% (20 species), followed by Amaranthaceae (13.4%, 16 species), and Fabaceae, Poaceae, Zygophyllaceae, and Brassicaceae (7.5% each). Coastal areas supported 93 species, while inland areas hosted 73 species. The life form spectrum in the Red Sea coastal desert showed dominance of Chamaephytes (39.50%) and Therophytes (37.82%) with Phanerophytes (12.61%), Hemicryptophytes (6.72%), Cryptophytes (3.36%) and Parasites (0.84%). Inland areas had a higher proportion of Chamaephytes (46.58%) and Phanerophytes (15.07%), while the coastline had a more balanced distribution, with both Chamaephytes and Therophytes each making up 37.63%. In terms of plant assemblages, coastal regions exhibited seven distinct groupings, such as the Haloxylon salicornicum and Tamarix nilotica assemblages, while inland regions had five, including assemblages dominated by Zilla spinosa, Launaea spinosa, and Farsetia aegyptia. TWINSPAN analysis revealed significant ecological differences between the two regions. Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA) indicated that coastal species were primarily influenced by high salinity and ion concentrations, while inland species were more affected by factors like potassium, pH, and calcium carbonate. This study underscores the critical role of understanding these environmental gradients for sustainable management and conservation of Egypt’s desert ecosystems.
The anatomical characteristics of 10 species belonging to the genus Lotus L.; L. arabicus L., L. creticus L., L. cytisoides L., L. edulis L., L. glaber Mill. L. glinoides Del., L. halophilus Boiss., L. ornithopodioides L., L. polyphyllos Clarke and L. tetragonolobus L. subtribe Lotinae are investigated using a light Microscope. The results revealed that anatomical characteristics of the stem (outline, epidermal cell shape, number and size of vascular bundles, crystals and tannin cells in both cortex& pith), leaf (midrib region shape, differentiation of mesophyll cells, and presence of tannin cells & crystals) are of taxonomic significance in differentiation and delimitation between the studied species. A dichotomous artificial key is given based on the studied features.Significant differences between Egyptian Lotus species were observed in this study, which is the first to examine the anatomical traits of vegetative organs used in the differentiation and development of an artificial key for the examined Lotus species.
This extensive paper celebrates the incredible contributions of Loutfy Boulos to the Flora of Egypt. Boulos was considered an outstanding international Egyptian taxonomist. As a result of his extensive contribution to fieldwork, taxonomic expertise, and meticulous documentation and records, our understanding of Egypt's plant diversity has been significantly advanced. Through his botanical explorations across diverse regions, Boulos collected and identified numerous plant specimens, described new species, added new records, clarified taxonomic problems, and provided invaluable data for conservation efforts. Flora of Egypt's four volumes become an essential reference for researchers, educators, and conservationists. Later in 2009, an updated checklist of the native vascular flora of Egypt was published, with details on the occurrence at the regional level. Indeed, he provided invaluable information in our region's literature. This paper highlights Boulos' significant impact on the scientific community by expanding taxonomic knowledge, promoting conservation, and fostering international collaboration in the field of botany.
The current study was carried out to determine floristic diversity and investigate ecological characteristics in the northeastern Gaza Strip, Palestine from 2019-2021 during various seasons. A total of 146 species were recorded belonging to 116 genera and 44 families. Of these Echinops philistaeus is believed to be endemic to Palestine, five endangered taxa were also recorded. The predominant families of the study area were Asteraceae (Compositae) with 27 species Poaceae (Gramineae) with 19 species and Fabaceae (Leguminosae) with 13 species. At the generic level Amaranthus were represented by five species, while Avena, Bromus, Euphorbia, Ficus, and Urtica were represented by three species each. Mediterranean and Irano-Turanian elements made up the majority of the chorotypes (65 species). Therophytes made up the majority of the life-form class by 87 species followed by hemicryptophytes representing by 22 species, phanerophyte (Trees or shrubs) represented by 17 species, geophytes by five species, chamaephytes by nine species, climbers by five species, and parasites represented only by one species. This study provides basic information on floristic composition and can therefore be an important resource and reference for biodiversity conservation. Further studies are recommended to contribute to identifying widespread plant species in this region and developing management plans to preserve floristic diversity, especially endangered species.
Environmental pollution is one of the major problems facing the megacities. This study was carried out to investigate the effect of air pollution on the leaf morphological characters of 12 species commonly planted in the streets of Giza district, Cairo a highly polluted site and Smouha district, Alexandria as peri-urban non polluted site of Egypt. Both the Light (LM) and Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) were used to investigate the leaf characters. The thirty-one macro-and micro-morphological leaf characters were subjected to T-TEST to assess the influence of pollution on the leaf characters and to find out the significant variations among the species in the two sites (polluted and non-polluted), using SPSS software, in addition to, Bivariate correlation using Pearson correlation. The study results proved that leaf characters of the studied species exhibited significant reduction at polluted sites especially in leaf length, width, area, and number of lateral veins compared with non-polluted sites, and identified the most adapted species to the polluted sites.
Seed and leaves for 11 taxa represented by three genera of Zygophyllaceae are examined by scanning electron microscope to investigate the different characters which can be used for identification and differentiation between them. The morphology of seed for the studied taxa has different characters in color, size, hilum position and shape. Seed coat sculpture recorded eight pattern of seed coat. The characters of epidermis are different for stomata, cuticular ornamentation and trichomes types. The studied taxa recorded 16 types of trichomes, 4 glandular & 12 non-glandular and 5types of cuticular ornamentation. A bracketed key is provided for differentiation and identification between the investigated taxa. All characters from seed coat sculpture and epidermis were used for numerical analysis. The results showed that studied taxa were classified into two major clusters, the first (I) consisting of the four taxa of Tribulus, while the second cluster (II) comprises the studied taxa of Fagonia and Tetraena.
Macro- and micromorphological characters of 31 taxa of Amaryllidaceae (representing 29 species and two varieties) were investigated. The foregoing data estimated based on the differences between them in the macromorphological characters viz. whole plant, habit, root, stem, leaf, inflorescence, flowers, and fruit characters in addition to micromorphological traits viz. root, stem, scape, a portion of the middle lamina characters and lamina epidermal characteristics. The data were numerically analyzed using NTSYS-pc program (version 2.02) (Rohlf, 2005). The main objective of the current investigation is interpreting the similarities and dissimilarities between the studied taxa to facilitate the separation and support the systematic position of these taxa within their specific categories. The conclusion of the study supports the separation of the examined taxa in two separate families; family Agavaceae which include the genera Agave and Furcraea and family Amaryllidaceae which divided into three subfamilies; Hypoxidoideae, Amaryllidoideae and Allioideae. Moreover, supports the transfer of the genus Molineria capitulata from family Hypoxidaceae to subfamily Hypoxideae under family Amaryllidaceae and does not support the grouping of Agave polianthes in family Agavaceae and also confirms returning the species name to Polianthes tuberosa. However, the present study confirmed the inclusion of Allium species in tribe Allieae and Agapanthus africanus and Tulbaghia violacea in tribe Agapantheae belong to subfamily Allioideae in the family Amaryllidaceae.
A key aspect of climate change influencing coastal areas globally is sea level rise, which leads to accelerated habitat shifts. Extreme halophytes are remarkable plants capable of functioning normally on saline soil of the coastal areas. The current research investigates the floristic structure of the extreme halophytic plant communities within 54 sites distributed in coastal and inland salt marsh habitats. To draw attention to the environmental factors that determine species distribution. Also, to detect the effect of the distance from the sea on the floristic composition. The results of the study indicated that as distance from the coast increased, there was an associated decrease in the abundance of species, genera, and families, attributable to a simultaneous increase in salinity levels. We can conclude that by moving farther away from the sea, the soil salinity increases, inland marsh migration occurs, and floristic diversity decreases as only extreme halophytic species can withstand. Consequently, the process of marsh migration serves a significant role in facilitating the adaptation of salt marshes to the phenomenon of sea-level rise.
This year 2023 marks one hundred and twenty-five years since the birth of Vivi Laurent-Täckholm, a Swedish botanist and children's book writer, and a global star who came to Egypt in the first half of the 20th century and she established the Herbarium at Cairo University with other colleagues. She was a professor of botany at Cairo University who authored a distinctive flora book, Flora of Egypt. She also wrote a series of popular science works on plants and the history of Egypt. This grand old woman had been closely associated with Cairo University for over 50 years, some 32 years as a professor of botany in the Herbarium. She was recognized and respected not only as the 'dean of Egyptian botany', but appreciated by all the researchers who knew her as one of those rare scientist-scholars who is completely selfless. She helped countless students and investigators both in Egypt and abroad by giving freely of her vast experience and deep knowledge on all matters Egyptian, motivated only by a sincere hope that a more carefully planned research project could be launched, or if a project was near completion, that a more mature complete interpretation could be achieved. With the passing of Vivi Laurent-Täckholm, who died in Stockholm on 3 May 1978, at the age of 80, biological sciences in general, and Egyptian botanical science in particular, have suffered a great loss. A brief overview of her life reveals that Vivi Täckholm was a very unconventional woman by reviewing her achievement during her life-long journey.
The macromorphological characters and lamina vein architecture were examined by the aid of stero microscope. In addition, molecular study using SCoT markers were made on 26 species belonging to 15 genera of family Myrtaceae (nine genera belonging to subfamily Leptospermoideae and six genera belonging to subfamily Myrtoideae) to evaluate such characters in taxa delimitation. The obtained results revealed that, all studied taxa of Myrtaceae are distinguished by a combination of the following features: simple leaves with entire margin and glandular -punctate or pellucid leaves, while the leaf arrangement, lamina shape, apex and base showed great variation among them. Pinnate simple brochidodromous leaf venation is the most common, although other patterns were also recorded viz. cladodromous, eucamptodromous and craspedodromous. The irregular reticulate tertiary and quaternary vein fabric, presence or absence of an intramarginal vein were frequently observed. The oil glands with various shape, color and distributions were also recorded in all studied taxa except in Corymbia ficifolia and Melaleuca linariifolia. Eight SCoT primers were performed to study the genetic diversity between the studied taxa. The total number of amplified fragments was 125; 119 of them were polymorphic, while the remaining six were monomorphic. The total number of specific markers produced were 19. Only one of them scored for the absence of the band while the other 18 markers scored for the presence of unique band. Only ten taxa scored specific markers. Seven primers produced specific markers with largest number generated by primer SCoT 5 (six markers) and the lowest number generated by SCoT 2 and SCoT 5 (one marker for each), while primer SCoT 4 didn’t reveal any specific markers.The obtained results were analyzed numerically (by PAST4 software) to construct three dendrograms; the leaf morphological based characters, the molecular based analysis and combined one. The combined resulted dendrogram and macromorpholgical based one grouped all 13 species of studied berry fruited Myrtoideae with some capsular fruited Leptospermoideae, while the remaining of studied capsular fruited species in other group. This result to some extent supports the concept of classify Myrtaceae into two subfamilies Leptospermoideae and Myrtoideae.
A data matrix was compiled to accommodate 32 characters of vegetative and floral morphology and stem anatomy of 18 cultivars of G. barbadense L., one cultivar of G. hirsutum L., and three species representing the American, African, and Arabian wild species (G. thurberi Todaro, G. anomalum Wawra & Peyr. and G. stocksii Mast., respectively). Of the 32 characters, 24 are morphological and anatomical, while eight are technological attributes defining the commercial quality of these cultivars and the potential value of the wild species. A conventional key to the 22 taxa and a description of every taxon based on the entire set of 32 characters were obtained from subjecting the data matrix to numerical analysis using the key-generating program package DELTA. The key is strictly comparative, easy to use, and leads to the full names of individual taxa. The data matrix is provided in the DELTA format. Additional wild and cultivated taxa from any part of the world can be included in the data matrix and appropriate keys and descriptions of them can be obtained.
