H. Walter Lack

Tracking origins of invasive herbivores through herbaria and archival DNA: the case of the horse-chestnut leaf miner.

Determining the native geographic range or origin of alien invasive species is crucial to developing invasive species management strategies. However, the necessary historical dimension is often lacking. The origin of the highly invasive horse-chestnut leaf-mining moth Cameraria ohridella has been controversial since the insect was first described in 1986 in Europe. Here, we reveal that herbarium collections across Europe indicate a Balkan origin for C ohridella. We successfully amplified nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA barcode fragments from larvae pressed within leaves of herbarium samples collected as early as 1879. These archival sequences confirm an identity of C ohridella and set back its history in Europe by more than a century. The herbarium samples uncovered previously unknown mitochondrial haplotypes and locally undocumented alleles, showing local outbreaks of C ohridella back to at least 1961 and dynamic frequency changes that may be associated with road development. This case history demonstr...

The discovery, naming and typification of Wisteria floribunda and W. brachybotrys (Fabaceae) with notes on associated names

Abstract Compton J. A. & Lack H. W.: The discovery, naming and typification of Wisteria floribunda and W. brachybotrys (Fabaceae) with notes on associated names. — Willdenowia 42: 219–240. December 2012. — Online ISSN 1868-6397;

The genusPicris (Asteraceae, Lactuceae) in Tropical Africa

Three species of the genusPicris L. are native in Tropical Africa:P. abyssinicaSch. Bip. (Ethiopia),P. xylopodaLack, spec. nova (Nigeria, Ethiopia) andP. humilis DC. (Senegal, Mali). There are indications that the two perennial species,P. abyssinica andP. xylopoda, are related to and have evolved from a primitive Central Asiatic stock in a manner parallel to many African species ofCrepis L.P. humilis, on the other hand, is a small annual plant with a high number of derived characters. The introduced species of European origin growing south of the Sahara are briefly mentioned.

The Sibthorpian Herbarium at Oxford - guidelines for its use

The Sibthorpian Herbarium is a historical collection kept in the Fielding-Druce Herbarium, Oxford, comprising vascular and non-vascular plants formerly owned by J. Sibthorp. This paper deals with the c. 2700 specimens of vascular plants, most of which originate from modern Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, Italy, Bulgaria, and Rumania, having been collected by J. Sibthorp, J. Hawkins, their assistants and an anonymous apothecary in 1786-1798. Annotated in a fragmentary way, the Sibthorpian Herbarium comprises several hundred specimens that typify names validated in J. E. Smiths Prodromusflorae graecae. Recommendations for the interpretation of the entries into this work and guidelines for the use of the Sibthorpian Herbarium are presented.

Die Xylothek des Chikusai Kato

Abstract Lack, H. W. & Ohba, H.: Die Xylothek des Chikusai Kato [The xylotheque of Chikusai Kato]. — Willdenowia 28 : 263–275. 1998. — ISSN 0511-9618. A collection of 177 wood blocks is described, each bearing a red impression of the seal of Chikusai Kato dated ‘11 Meiji’, i.e. 1878, and consisting of a minimum of nine elements: the rectangular wood block proper, four cylindrical slices cut from branches and fixed to the corners, and four more or less rectangular pieces of bark and underlying wood fixed to the edges of the wood block. This arrangement offers a quick impression of wood characters in longitudinal and cross sections as well as an idea of the bark. 136 species are represented, most of them native to Japan, some specimens have been taken from introduced trees. In addition, each wood block carries a painting, being an accurate illustration of the species from which the wood sample is taken and, usually, showing a twig, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, etc. Clearly painted in the western tradition, these figures testify to the new approach to plant illustration characteristic of the Meiji period, which had started a few years before Chikusai Katos xylothek was finished. 152 of these wood blocks are kept in the Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, 25 in the Economic Botany Collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, all belonging to the same series.

A Note on Helminthotheca Zinn (Compositae)

Johann Gottfried Zinns Catalogus Plantarum Horti Academici et Agri Gottingensis conscriptus (1757), although a work of pre-Linnaean character as regards its specific nomenclature, nevertheless gave valid publication to a number of pre-Linnaean generic names which Linnaeus had ignored or suppressed in 1753, as pointed out by Sprague (1) and Dandy (2). The attention of the present author, working on a revision of the genus Picris L. (3,4), has been focused upon the name Helminthotheca, for which Zinns entry is as follows:

Karl Heinz Rechinger — a Grand Old Man in botany

A brief survey and appreciation ofK. H. Rechingers manifold activities is given on the occasion of his 80th birthday—as plant taxonomist, phyto-geographer specializing in the flora of Greece and SW. Asia, author of Flora Aegaea and editor of Flora Iranica, plant collector, head of the Department of Botany and later Director-General of the Natural History Museum in Vienna and as academic teacher at Vienna University.

The discovery, naming and typification of Chenopodium quinoa (Chenopodiaceae)

Abstract Lack H. W. & Fuentes S.: The discovery, naming and typification of Chenopodium quinoa (Chenopodiaceae). — Willdenowia 43: 143–149. June 2013. — Online ISSN 1868-6397;

The discovery, naming and typification of Euphorbia pulcherrima (Euphorbiaceae)

Lack H. W.: The discovery, naming and typification of Euphorbia pulcherrima (Euphorbiaceae). – Willdenowia 41: 301 – 309. December 2011. – Online ISSN 1868-6397;

Phagnalon rechingeri (Inuleae, Asteraceae), a new species from Iran

Phagnalon rechingeri spec. nova from S Baluchestan (Iran) is described as a species new to science and illustrated; its relationships to other species of the genus, in particular to thePh. woodii group from S Arabia, are discussed.