Sasha W. Eisenman

The Medicinal Plants of Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan

Description: Herbaceous perennial with thin, branched rhizomes. Stems few or solitary, usually 25–50 cm tall, grayish with long, entangled, white hairs, often with short leafy branches in mid and upper leaf axils. Leaves bipinnatisect, usually oblong, green or grayish-green, more or less densely hairy; leaves of sterile shoots up to 25 cm long, long-petiolate; lower stem leaves 7–20 cm long, petiolate to subsessile; upper leaves sessile, usually 1–6 cm long. Inflorescences capitula arranged in loose, convex corymbs of unequal heights. Involucre cup-shaped; involucral bracts oviform, pale yellowish-green. Ray flower ligules pink, very rarely white. Fruits oblong, wedge-shaped achenes, truncated at the apex.

Voucher Specimens are Essential for Documenting Source Material Used in Medicinal Plant Investigations

Plant-based natural products research is conducted using a wide variety of source material. The plant material is often obtained directly from the wild, from cultivated plants originally obtained from the wild, or purchased in raw or processed forms. In plant science a voucher specimen usually consists of a pressed, dried herbarium specimen with detailed collection data and serves as a record of an individual plant in time and space. This review article describes why vouchering is necessary and documents actual examples of how improper vouchering can result in serious problems. The primary reason for vouchering is to have a permanent record documenting the material that was used in a particular study. If a specimen is not saved or is not made available to others, the true identity of the plant materials used in a research project may be questioned. Due to the morphological and chemical complexities of interspecific hybrids, within-species variation, and the difficulty associated with identifying species in certain plant genera, the preservation of vouchers is essential for the documentation of the identity and source of such plant material. The use of best practices in specimen preparation is critical for successful documentation. The lack of proper voucher specimens for some research projects has led to serious problems, such as the inability to reproduce critical results, the association of chemical data with the wrong genus and species, and even the complete rejection of the published research results. In cases where plant material was initially misidentified and properly prepared voucher specimens were available, the identities of the research material were eventually corrected and the data was subsequently associated with the correct species, retaining the inherent scientific value of the research.

Influence of Biochar Amendment on Herb Growth in a Green Roof Substrate

The objectives of this research were: 1) to assess the effect of biochar incorporation on the growth of basil (Ocimum basilicum ‘Genovese Compact, Improved’) and peppermint (Mentha × piperita) and, 2) to determine the physical characteristic differences in heat-expanded clay (HEC) substrate following incorporations of biochar at 5%, 10%, or 15% (by volume). A commercially-available green roof substrate, Rooflite Intensive Ag (IA) substrate, was included for comparison. The IA substrate had the highest total porosity (TP), container capacity (CC), and air-filled porosity (AP). The HEC substrate showed a linear increase in TP and CC and a linear decrease in dry bulk density with increasing amounts of biochar. The commercially available IA substrate had the highest water retention (CC = 25.0%). Overall, there was a maximum increase of peppermint shoot dry weight (g/shoot) response in the HEC substrate using 15% biochar. Coverage area measurements indicated that peppermint benefited more than basil from the incorporation of biochar. Biochar alone did not influence stomatal conductance, although basil or peppermint grown in the IA substrate had higher stomatal conductance than plants grown on HEC with all three biochar incorporation rates at 3 and 4 d after irrigation, probably due to the lower aboveground biomass of the IA-grown plants. In conclusion, the addition of biochar amendment to HEC substrate had a minor influence on peppermint growth and no influence on stomatal conductance of either basil or peppermint.

The Geography, Climate and Vegetation of Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan is a country in Central Asia that extends from the foothills of the Tian Shan and Pamir mountains in the east to just west of the Aral Sea. In the north Uzbekistan borders Kazakhstan, in the east and southeast Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, in the west Turkmenistan, and in the south Afghanistan. The country covers 447,400 km2 (172,742 sq miles) and has a population of about 26 million. Uzbekistan is divided into 12 provinces and 1 autonomous republic (Fig. 2.1).

The Geography, Climate and Vegetation of Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country in the northeastern part of Central Asia. The Kyrgyz Republic shares borders to the south and southeast with Tajikistan and China, to the north and northwest with Kazakhstan, and with Uzbekistan to the west. The country covers 198,500 km2 (76,621 sq miles) and has a population of approximately 5.3 million. Kyrgyzstan is divided into seven provinces (Fig. 1.1).