Ion-exchanging properties of the polymeric matrix of the cell walls isolated from leaves were examined. The glycophyte 55-day-old plants of spinach ( Spinacia oleracea L . , cv. Matador) grown on a nutrient solution containing 0.5, 150, or 250 mM NaCl and the halophyte seepweed ( Suaeda altissima (L.) Pall.) of the same age grown at 0.5, 250, or 750 mM NaCl were compared. The ion-exchange capacity of the cell walls was estimated at different pH and ionic strength of a solution. In the structure of the leaf cell walls, three types of cation-exchange groups were found, namely, two types of carboxylic groups (one of them belongs to galacturonic acid residue) and phenolic OH-groups. The quantities of the groups of each type and their ionization constants were determined. The qualitative composition of the ion-exchange groups in the leaf cell walls was found to be uniform in both plant species regardless of their nutrition. However, the quantity of the carboxylic groups of galacturonic acid depended on the ambient salt concentration in a different manner in the glycophyte and halophyte. This change in the composition of functional groups of cell wall polymers was more pronounced in the halophyte and is apparently one of the responses of these plants to salinization. The sharp increase in the NaCl concentration in the medium leads to a decrease in pH in the extracellular water space due to ion-exchange reactions between sodium ions coming from the external medium and protons of the ionized carboxylic groups of the cell walls. The results are discussed in the aspect of participation of the leaf cell walls in plant responses to salinization.

The effect of polymetallic contamination and concomitant treatment with brassinosteroids (homocastasterone or homobrassinolide) on barley plants and on the ion-exchange capacity of cell walls isolated from shoots and roots was studied. A decrease in the dry weight of roots, water content, and the proportion of the cell wall in them was observed under the influence of polymetals, but the addition of homocastasterone to the medium led to the restoration of these parameters almost to the control level. In the aerial part of plants, the influence of both polymetals and brassinosteroids on these parameters was weakly expressed. In the presence of homocastasterone, the content of demethylated carboxyl groups of polygalacturonic acid increased in the pectins of the cell walls of roots and leaves, which are the main binding sites for heavy metal ions in the apoplast. Thus, it can be assumed that treatment with brassinosteroids (homocastasterone) leads to a change in the composition and ion-exchange properties of the cell wall, which allows one to reduce the toxic effect of polymetals due to their immobilization in the apoplast.

Kalidium juniperinum Sukhor. et Lomon. is described as a species new to science. It is similar to K. foliatum in having a short leaf blade but differs by the presence of numerous slender, prostrate, or ascending stems forming mats vs. the stout main upright stem; acuminate bracts slightly exceeding the flower cyme vs. obtuse bracts equal to the flower cyme; the exserted pericarp looking like a bulge on the one-seeded diaspore vs. not or slightly elevated top of the diaspore; shorter anthers; the geographic range in the highlands and mountainous steppe zone vs. Eurasian lowland (semi-)desert regions. K. juniperinum is recorded in Russia (West Siberia and Sayan Mountains), Eastern and Northern Kazakhstan, the Mongolian Altai, and NW China. The names K. foliatum α [var.] glomeratum Fenzl and Kalidium foliatum β [var.] brevifolium Fenzl are lectotypified and synonymized with K. juniperinum.

Проведен сравнительный анализ накопления меди корнями растений вики нарбонской (Vicia narbonensis L.) и изолированными из них клеточными стенками. Установлено, что основным местом накопления ионов меди у интактных растений является корневая система, а клеточные стенки корней характеризуются высоким содержанием карбоксильных групп полигалактуроновой кислоты, что обуславливает их высокую связывающую способность в отношении ионов меди. Полученные результаты показывают, что основной стратегией защиты растений вики нарбонской от повышенных концентраций меди в окружающей среде является предотвращение накопления ионов этого металла в цитоплазме клеток корня путем депонирования их в клеточную стенку.

The last treatment of Chenopodiaceae in Madagascar was published in 1954 and since then, the generic circumscription of Chenopodiaceae including Salicornioideae has changed drastically. The Madagascan Salicornioideae (samphires) are still insufficiently studied. Salicornia pachystachya described from Madagascar had a turbulent nomenclatural and morphological history, frequently considered as Arthrocnemum pachystachyum due to the alleged similarity of the seed characters with other Arthrocnemum species, or considered in a broader sense including the related Salicornia perrieri. However, the reproductive features of S. pachystachya confirm its placement within Salicornia, and the thick inflorescences and longer seeds distinguish it from S. perrieri, another native Madagascan species. Two other members of Salicornioideae in Madagascar are the subshrubby Salicornia mossambicensis, erroneously named S. fruticosa or Arthrocnemum natalense, and Tecticornia indica. Herein, a diagnostic key is provided for the delimitation of four samphire species in Madagascar, and the lectotypes of Salicornia pachystachya and S. perrieri are designated. Only two species, S. pachystachya and Tecticornia indica, are recorded for Europa Island, and their habitat preferences in this location are presented, as well as a discussion of the species composition and chorology of samphires in continental Africa.

A comparative analysis of copper accumulation in the roots of Narbon vetch (Vicia narbonensis L.) plants and cell walls isolated from them has been performed. For intact plants, the root system is identified as the main location for copper ion deposition and root cell walls are characterized by a high content of carboxyl groups of polygalacturonic acid, which explains their high capacity for binding copper ions. We conclude that copper sequestration in the root cell walls is the key defense strategy used by Narbon vetch plants in response to a Cu excess in the medium, which prevents Cu accumulation in the cytoplasm.

Kochia monticola was previously considered as a synonym for the widely distributed Irano-Turanian Panderia pilosa. After the merger of Kochia and Panderia with Bassia based on molecular phylogeny, K. monticola remained a synonym of Bassia pilosa. We claim that Bassia monticola, a name proposed by Kuntze (1891) for K. monticola, should be separated from B. pilosa based on morphological characters and localised distribution in mountainous regions of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon at altitudes 1800–2600 m a. s. l.

The "Flora of Russia" project on iNaturalist brought together professional scientists and amateur naturalists from all over the country. Over 3800 people participate in data collection. In one year, the participants collected over 220000 photo observations on 5689 species of the Russian flora. This is the third largest dataset of open distributional data on the country's biodiversity (and the second largest for plants), a leading source of data on the current state of the nation's flora. For most alien species, the resulting maps are the most reliable distribution maps within Russia. For many municipalities, the resulting species lists are the most complete and accurate floristic information. All project data are available under free licenses and can be freely used in scientific, educational and environmental activities.

The ion-exchange properties of cell wall polymers isolated from the roots of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants grown on either nitrate-free (N-deficient) or nitrate-containing (+N) hydroponic nutrient medium have been investigated. Irrespective of the nitrogen nutrition regimen, the studied cell walls contained four types of ion-exchange groups: primary amino groups of structural proteins (pKa < 3), carboxyl groups of polygalacturonic acid in pectin (pK a ~4.7), carboxyl groups of hydroxycinnamic acids (pK a ~7.3), and phenolic OH-groups of lignin (pKa ~10.2). The quantitative ratio between these types of ion-exchange groups, the mass fraction of cell walls in the dry weight of roots, and the swelling coefficient of cell walls depended on the nitrate presence in the growing medium. Compared to the +N variant, the N-deficient variant was characterized by a 2.4 times higher content of phenolic OH-groups in cell walls and 1.24 times higher mass fraction of cell walls; at the same time, the swelling coefficient for this variant was lower by 10%. The obtained data indicate that nitrogen deficiency results in a formation of thicker root cell walls with a higher degree of polymer cross-linking that may be caused by the increased lignin content.

New data on the distribution of some alien taxa in Moscow, Ryazan, Saratov, Samara and Tambov regions is presented, along with the discussion of the ecology and distribution pattern of several neophytes in the European Russia. New records of alien plants are presented for Ryazan (Amaranthus powellii (Amaranthaceae), Glycyrrhiza glabra (Fabaceae)), Samara (Eriochloa villosa (Poaceae)), Tambov (Echinochloa muricata (E. microstachya), Eriochloa villosa (Poaceae), Helianthus lenticularis (Asteraceae)) and Moscow regions (Rumex patientia (Polygonaceae)). It was discovered that R. patientia is the most common species of the genus in the Saratov region eastward of the Volga River, where R. confertus, which is prevailing in the western part of the region, becomes rare. Echinochloa muricata and Eriochloa villosa are encountered more and more often, which may indicate that these grasses are progressively naturalizing in the European Russia.