Wagieh El-Saadawi

The Second Record of a Natural Apogamous Moss Sporophyte Worldwide

Abstract An apogamous sporophyte is reported on a gametophore of the moss Fissidens crassipes subsp. warnstorfii (M.Fleisch.) Brugg.-Nann. The apogamous sporophyte is developed in lateral position near the base of the stem of the gametophore. The seta is relatively short and delicate and the capsule without spores. The moss was found growing in a greenhouse in Cairo, Egypt. This is the second record of a natural apogamous moss sporophyte worldwide. A relevant discussion on the phenomenon of apogamy is given.

Early Miocene Woods of Egypt

Thirty-eight silicified eudicot wood samples were collected from a single locality in the early Miocene Gebel El-Khashab Formation exposed along the Cairo- Bahariya Oasis Desert Road of Egypt. This locality is remarkable because it is dominated by trunks of Bombacoxylon, family Malvaceae (32 samples). Whether this reflects the composition of the original regional vegetation or is a result of sorting during transport prior to fossilization is not known. These woods are characterized by having few, wide vessels, functional traits consistent with the tropical, warm humid climate suggested for the early Miocene of North Africa. Additionally, there is one sample each of wood resembling Terminalioxylon (Combretaceae) and Cynometroxylon (Leguminosae/Caesalpinioideae). Affinities of four other samples could not be determined. A list of all Miocene wood species of Egypt known to date is given along with general interpretations of the paleoclimate in the region and suggestions for future work.

Mosses of the Egyptian Conservation Areas: II. Omayed Protected Area

Abstract Twenty-nine moss taxa are recorded, for the first time, from Khashm El-Aish plateau in Omayed Protected Area (OPA), Mediterranean coast, Egypt. Sixteen of them represent new records to the western Mediterranean coast (Mm) and six [Aloina brevirostris (Hook, et Grev.) Kindb., Entosthodon cf. commutatus Durieu et Mont., Didymodon cordatus Jur., Tortella flavovirens (Bruch.) Broth., Tortula cuneifolia (Dicks.) Turner, T. muralis Hedw. var. aestiva (Hedw.) Brid.] to Egypt bringing their totals to 63 and 170 taxa, respectively. OPA represents 0.07% of Egypts area but sustains over 17% of its moss flora. The most common taxa are species of Tortella. The most frequent genera are Tortella, Didymodon and Bryum. The largest genera are Didymodon, Bryum and Tortula. The Pottiaceae represent ca. 76% of the flora and comprise over 70% of taxa recorded with sporophytes. Similarity of the bryoflora of OPA is mainly with Sinai and Isthmic Desert in Egypt.

First record of fossil Trachycarpeae in Africa: three new species of Palmoxylon from the Oligocene (Rupelian) Gebel Qatrani Formation, Fayum, Egypt

Based on a survey of the fossil wood flora of Gebel Qatrani (Rupelian, Fayum, Egypt), three new species of palm stem are described: Palmoxylon araneus Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas sp. nov., Palmoxylon elsaadawii Nour-El-Deen & Thomas sp. nov. and Palmoxylon qatraniense Nour-El-Deen, El-Saadawi & Thomas sp. nov. The specimens are the first petrified palm wood to be reported from the deposits in the upper sequence of the Gebel Qatrani Formation. They are characterized by fibrovascular bundles with two vessels, the presence of a ground parenchyma sustained growth, fibrous bundles, globular echinate phytoliths, radiating parenchyma, and multiseriate scalariform thickening of metaxylem elements. Palaeoclimatic inferences and comparisons with similar fossil stems are discussed for each of the three taxa. Comparisons with extant palms allow identification of these species to tribal (Trachycarpeae) and subfamilial (Coryphoideae) levels. They are the first representatives of tribe Trachycarpeae on the African continent. An attempt is also made to explain migration events and discuss the current and fossil distribution of the tribe in Africa.