Quinn Long

The Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology of Wild Tomatillos, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and Related Physalis Species: A Review

The Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology of Wild Tomatillos, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and Related Physalis Species: A Review. The wild tomatillo, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and related species have been important wild-harvested foods and medicinal plants. This paper reviews their traditional use as food and medicine; it also discusses taxonomic difficulties and provides information on recent medicinal chemistry discoveries within this and related species. Subtle morphological differences recognized by taxonomists to distinguish this species from closely related taxa can be confusing to botanists and ethnobotanists, and many of these differences are not considered to be important by indigenous people. Therefore, the food and medicinal uses reported here include information for P. longifolia, as well as uses for several related taxa found north of Mexico. The importance of wild Physalis species as food is reported by many tribes, and its long history of use is evidenced by frequent discovery in archaeological sites. These plants may have been cultivated, or “tended,” by Pueblo farmers and other tribes. The importance of this plant as medicine is made evident through its historical ethnobotanical use, information in recent literature on Physalis species pharmacology, and our Native Medicinal Plant Research Program’s recent discovery of 14 new natural products, some of which have potent anti-cancer activity.ResumenLa Etnobotánica y Etnofarmacología de los Tomatillos Silvestres, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y Especies Afines a Physalis: Una Revisión. El tomatillo silvestre, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y especies afines han sido un importante recurso de alimentos silvestres y de plantas medicinales. Revisamos los usos tradicionales para la alimentación y la medicina, las dificultades taxonómicas, y proporcionamos los últimos descubrimientos de la química medicinal de esta y de otras especies afines. Las sutiles diferencias morfológicas reconocidas por los taxónomos para poder distinguir las estrechas relaciones de taxones entre estas especies son confusas para los botánicos y los etnobotánicos, pero estas diferencias no son reconocidas como importantes por las poblaciones nativas. Por lo tanto, los usos alimenticios y medicinales reportados incluyen no sólo información sobre P. longifolia, sino también para varios taxones relacionados que se encuentran al norte de México. La importancia de las especies silvestres de Physalis como alimento es reportada por muchas tribus y su larga historia de uso se pone de manifiesto por el descubrimiento frecuente en yacimientos arqueológicos. Estas plantas pueden haber sido cultivadas o “atendidas” por los agricultores de Pueblos y otras tribus. La importancia de esta planta como medicina se destaca por su historia de uso etnobotánico, por la literatura reciente sobre la farmacología de las especies de Physalis y por el descubrimiento reciente en nuestro Programa Nativo de Investigación de Plantas Medicinales de 14 nuevos productos naturales, algunos de los cuales tienen potente actividad de anti-cáncer.

Seed and microsite limitations mediate stochastic recruitment in a low-diversity prairie restoration

Recruitment of species into plant communities requires the arrival of viable propagules to coincide with the availability of suitable microsites for establishment. Accordingly, the rarity of recruitment events due to seed and/or microsite limitations may constrain the establishment, diversity, and spatial distribution of species in plant communities, thus potentially mediating stochastic recruitment—herein described as probabilistic and unpredictable patterns of species establishment over space that can emerge in the absence or in spite of environmental heterogeneity. To examine this premise, we applied a gradient of propagule pressure, using 37 native forb species, to plots subjected to disturbances of varying intensity in a low-diversity grassland restoration in Eastern Kansas, USA. We monitored establishment for three years, assessing the effects of propagule pressure and disturbance on sown species stem density, richness, composition, and community dissimilarity. Seed limitation was the primary constraint on species richness in this grassland, but both propagule pressure and disturbance had positive, interactive effects on stem density. Increased propagule pressure enhanced recruitment and reduced community dissimilarity among disturbance treatment replicates, thus tempering stochastic recruitment. High propagule pressure led to compositional divergence among disturbance treatments, indicative of deterministic species sorting. These results suggest that seed limitation and stochastic recruitment have important implications for beta diversity and spatial structuring of plant community species compositions, acting to (1) generate and maintain beta diversity by producing stochastic spatial variation in species composition among environmentally similar localities; while concurrently (2) limiting beta diversity by constraining the expression of niche-based species sorting in response to environmental heterogeneity.

Shifting targets: spatial priorities for ex situ plant conservation depend on interactions between current threats, climate change, and uncertainty

Few strategies for conservation seed banking consider current and climate threats simultaneously and few—if any—represent uncertainty inherent in the assessment process. Here we evaluate the vulnerability of 5148 populations of 71 rare plant species in the North American Central Highlands to current threat, threat from climate change, and their combination. We calculated priorities based on current threat using existing conservation status and protection, and priorities based on climate threat using ecological niche models and species-level traits related to reproduction and dispersal. Current- and climate-based priorities were integrated using a weighted average of rank priority. We managed uncertainty using either a precautionary strategy that avoids any extinctions or a resource-conservative strategy that directs attention to species known to be vulnerable with high certainty. Priorities based on current threats highlighted presently rare species while priorities based on climate threat emphasized presently common species. The location of geographic “hotspots” providing opportunities for efficient seed banking depended strongly on the weight of the climate module relative to the current module, the strategy used to handle uncertainty, and emissions scenario. Integrating threats highlighted some hotspots that were not identified using just current or climate threat, indicating the importance of considering current and climate threats simultaneously. Only the Central Basin of Tennessee, a known center of endemism, was consistently emphasized. We urge (1) integrating current and climate threats when designing seed-banking strategies; and (2) reporting of uncertainty in a manner that allows decision-makers to choose actions based on available resources and tolerable risk.

Habitat suitability and herbivores determine reintroduction success of an endangered legume

Reintroductions of rare plants require detailed knowledge of habitat requirements, species interactions, and restoration techniques. Thus, incremental experimentation over many years may be required to develop adequate knowledge and techniques for successful reintroduction. To determine drivers of extinction in historical reintroductions of a federally endangered perennial (Astragalus bibullatus), we developed a reintroduction experiment to disentangle the relative importance of habitat quality, herbivores, and restoration technique on reintroduction success. In a factorial design, we manipulated access to vertebrate herbivores across different habitat types (mesic ecotone vs. xeric barren), and used founder populations comprised of more transplants and genetic sources than previous reintroduction attempts. In mesic ecotones where historical reintroductions failed, excluding herbivores, thinning woody encroachment to improve habitat quality, outplanting across a greater array of microhabitats, and increasing founder population size did not improve demographic rates over previous attempts. Compared to mesic ecotones, transplant survival rates and cumulative fruit production were more than two and ten times greater, respectively, in a xeric barren ecotone characterized by open, grassy, and dry microenvironmental conditions. Across all sites, herbivores decreased probabilities of survival and flowering of larger adult plants. Flowering rates were 80% greater inside relative to outside herbivore exclusion cages. Over a four-year period, only a single uncaged plant produced fruit. Our study demonstrates that habitat quality and vertebrate herbivory are key drivers of long-term persistence in rare plant reintroductions. Using incremental experiments that build on previous knowledge gained from long-term monitoring can improve reintroduction outcomes.

Harvesting and Recolonization of Wild Populations of Oshá (Ligusticum porteri) in Southern Colorado

ABSTRACT: Land managers face the challenge of conserving medicinal plants that may be threatened by harvest pressure, often with limited biological information available to inform management decisions. Oshá (Ligusticum porteri) is an important medicinal plant whose roots are harvested as an herbal remedy for flu, sore throat, and other illnesses. However, little is known about population structure, root production, or the capacity of oshá to recover from harvest in different environmental contexts. We compared oshá population structure and root production within a gradient of canopy cover from meadow to forested habitat. We experimentally harvested roots of mature oshá plants and recorded oshá recolonization of pits created by root harvest. Prior to harvest, the number and percent cover of reproductive plants and the number of flowering stems per plot were higher in the meadow than in forested habitat. Canopy cover had a significant negative relationship to these variables, suggesting that oshá populations benefit from increased light availability. Average root weight per plant in meadow plots was three times higher than in forested plots. One year after harvest, the majority of all harvest pits across the canopy cover gradient were recolonized by oshá. Our results suggest that oshá population structure and root production are significantly influenced by canopy cover, but that plants have a high capacity for post-harvest recolonization under variable light conditions. These results demonstrate the need to account for environmental factors that influence population structure when addressing concerns about the overharvest of wild medicinal plants.

La Etnobotánica y Etnofarmacología de los Tomatillos Silvestres, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y Especies Afines a Physalis: Una Revisión

The Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology of Wild Tomatillos, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and Related Physalis Species: A Review. The wild tomatillo, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and related species have been important wild-harvested foods and medicinal plants. This paper reviews their traditional use as food and medicine; it also discusses taxonomic difficulties and provides information on recent medicinal chemistry discoveries within this and related species. Subtle morphological differences recognized by taxonomists to distinguish this species from closely related taxa can be confusing to botanists and ethnobotanists, and many of these differences are not considered to be important by indigenous people. Therefore, the food and medicinal uses reported here include information for P. longifolia, as well as uses for several related taxa found north of Mexico. The importance of wild Physalis species as food is reported by many tribes, and its long history of use is evidenced by frequent discovery in archaeological sites. These plants may have been cultivated, or “tended,” by Pueblo farmers and other tribes. The importance of this plant as medicine is made evident through its historical ethnobotanical use, information in recent literature on Physalis species pharmacology, and our Native Medicinal Plant Research Program’s recent discovery of 14 new natural products, some of which have potent anti-cancer activity.ResumenLa Etnobotánica y Etnofarmacología de los Tomatillos Silvestres, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y Especies Afines a Physalis: Una Revisión. El tomatillo silvestre, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y especies afines han sido un importante recurso de alimentos silvestres y de plantas medicinales. Revisamos los usos tradicionales para la alimentación y la medicina, las dificultades taxonómicas, y proporcionamos los últimos descubrimientos de la química medicinal de esta y de otras especies afines. Las sutiles diferencias morfológicas reconocidas por los taxónomos para poder distinguir las estrechas relaciones de taxones entre estas especies son confusas para los botánicos y los etnobotánicos, pero estas diferencias no son reconocidas como importantes por las poblaciones nativas. Por lo tanto, los usos alimenticios y medicinales reportados incluyen no sólo información sobre P. longifolia, sino también para varios taxones relacionados que se encuentran al norte de México. La importancia de las especies silvestres de Physalis como alimento es reportada por muchas tribus y su larga historia de uso se pone de manifiesto por el descubrimiento frecuente en yacimientos arqueológicos. Estas plantas pueden haber sido cultivadas o “atendidas” por los agricultores de Pueblos y otras tribus. La importancia de esta planta como medicina se destaca por su historia de uso etnobotánico, por la literatura reciente sobre la farmacología de las especies de Physalis y por el descubrimiento reciente en nuestro Programa Nativo de Investigación de Plantas Medicinales de 14 nuevos productos naturales, algunos de los cuales tienen potente actividad de anti-cáncer.

The Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology of Wild Tomatillos, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and Related Physalis Species: A Review@@@La Etnobotánica y Etnofarmacología de los Tomatillos Silvestres, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y Especies Afines a Physalis: Una Revisión

The Ethnobotany and Ethnopharmacology of Wild Tomatillos, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and Related Physalis Species: A Review. The wild tomatillo, Physalis longifolia Nutt., and related species have been important wild-harvested foods and medicinal plants. This paper reviews their traditional use as food and medicine; it also discusses taxonomic difficulties and provides information on recent medicinal chemistry discoveries within this and related species. Subtle morphological differences recognized by taxonomists to distinguish this species from closely related taxa can be confusing to botanists and ethnobotanists, and many of these differences are not considered to be important by indigenous people. Therefore, the food and medicinal uses reported here include information for P. longifolia, as well as uses for several related taxa found north of Mexico. The importance of wild Physalis species as food is reported by many tribes, and its long history of use is evidenced by frequent discovery in archaeological sites. These plants may have been cultivated, or “tended,” by Pueblo farmers and other tribes. The importance of this plant as medicine is made evident through its historical ethnobotanical use, information in recent literature on Physalis species pharmacology, and our Native Medicinal Plant Research Program’s recent discovery of 14 new natural products, some of which have potent anti-cancer activity.ResumenLa Etnobotánica y Etnofarmacología de los Tomatillos Silvestres, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y Especies Afines a Physalis: Una Revisión. El tomatillo silvestre, Physalis longifolia Nutt., y especies afines han sido un importante recurso de alimentos silvestres y de plantas medicinales. Revisamos los usos tradicionales para la alimentación y la medicina, las dificultades taxonómicas, y proporcionamos los últimos descubrimientos de la química medicinal de esta y de otras especies afines. Las sutiles diferencias morfológicas reconocidas por los taxónomos para poder distinguir las estrechas relaciones de taxones entre estas especies son confusas para los botánicos y los etnobotánicos, pero estas diferencias no son reconocidas como importantes por las poblaciones nativas. Por lo tanto, los usos alimenticios y medicinales reportados incluyen no sólo información sobre P. longifolia, sino también para varios taxones relacionados que se encuentran al norte de México. La importancia de las especies silvestres de Physalis como alimento es reportada por muchas tribus y su larga historia de uso se pone de manifiesto por el descubrimiento frecuente en yacimientos arqueológicos. Estas plantas pueden haber sido cultivadas o “atendidas” por los agricultores de Pueblos y otras tribus. La importancia de esta planta como medicina se destaca por su historia de uso etnobotánico, por la literatura reciente sobre la farmacología de las especies de Physalis y por el descubrimiento reciente en nuestro Programa Nativo de Investigación de Plantas Medicinales de 14 nuevos productos naturales, algunos de los cuales tienen potente actividad de anti-cáncer.