PREMISE OF THE STUDY Investigations of inflorescence architecture offer insight into the evolution of an astounding array of reproductive shoot systems in the angiosperms, as well as the potential to genetically manipulate these branching patterns to improve crop yield and enhance the aesthetics of horticultural species. The diversity of inflorescences in the economically important family Oleac...

climate-controlled greenhouse at the G.C.Horn turf field laboratory at the University of Florida in Gainesville. Floratam St.Augustinegrass is being compared with a mix of ornamentals including canna, nandina, ligustrum and allamanda. Plant material is growing in 80-gallon plastic pots in an Arredondo fine sand. There are three fertilizer treatments (16-4-8 quick-release, 15-0-15 quick-release,...

Previous research has shown that cuticular triterpenoids are exclusively found in the intracuticular wax layer of Prunus laurocerasus. To investigate whether this partitioning was species-specific, the intra- and epicuticular waxes were identified and quantified for the glossy leaves of Ligustrum vulgare, an unrelated shrub with similar wax morphology. Epicuticular wax was mechanically stripped...

The main objective of this study was to investigate the anti-proliferative properties of selected traditional Chinese medicinal herbs with a view to discover potential candidates for the isolation of anti-cancer compounds and also for designing new anti-cancer herbal formulations. The plants selected for this study have ethno pharmacological importance and currently used in Chinese medicine. Th...

Ecosystems containing multiple nonnative plant species are common, but mechanisms promoting their co-occurrence are understudied. Plant-soil interactions contribute to the dominance of singleton species in nonnative ranges because many nonnatives experience stronger positive feedbacks relative to co-occurring natives. Plant-soil interactions could impede other nonnatives if an individual nonnat...

Hydrothermal (HT) treatment of seeds from Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense), a non-native and invasive species in the southeastern United States, was examined with respect to the generation of gas-phase and semi-volatile organic chemicals of industrial importance from a lipid-rich biomass resource. Aqueous seed slurries were transformed into biphasic liquid systems comprised of a milky aqueous...

Phylogenetic relationships among 76 species of Oleaceae, representing all 25 recognized genera of the family, were assessed by a cladistic analysis of DNA sequences from two noncoding chloroplast loci, the rps16 intron and the trnL-F region. Consensus trees from separate and combined analyses are congruent and agree well with nonmolecular data (chromosome numbers, fruit and wood anatomy, leaf g...

Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense Lour., is a perennial semi-evergreen shrub that is a serious invasive weed in the United States. Classical biological control offers the best hope for controlling it in an economic, effective, and persistent way. Host speciÞcity of one of the most promising biological control agents of Chinese privet, a ßea beetle, Argopistes tsekooni Chen (Coleoptera: Chrysome...

Invasive plants are one of the greatest threats to endangered insect species and a major threat to Lepidoptera in eastern North America. We investigated the effects of the invasive shrub Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense) and two methods (mulching or hand-felling) of removing it from riparian forests on butterfly communities and compared them to untreated, heavily invaded control plots and to ‘...