The typical black coloured ebony wood (Diospyros, Ebenaceae) is desired as a com- mercial timber because of its durable and aesthetic properties. Surprisingly, a comprehensive wood anatomical... Show moreThe typical black coloured ebony wood (Diospyros, Ebenaceae) is desired as a com- mercial timber because of its durable and aesthetic properties. Surprisingly, a comprehensive wood anatomical overview of the genus is lacking, making it impossible to fully grasp the diversity in microscopic anatomy and to distinguish between CITES protected species native to Madagascar and the rest. We present the largest microscopic wood anatomical reference database for ebony woods and reconstruct evolutionary patterns in the microscopic wood anatomy within the family level using an earlier generated molecular phylogeny. Wood samples from 246 Diospyros species are described based on standardised light microscope observations. For the ancestral state reconstruction, we selected eight wood anatomical characters from 88 Ebenaceae species (including 29 Malagasy Diospyros species) that were included in the most recently reconstructed family phylogeny. Within Diospyros, the localisation of prismatic crystals (either in axial parenchyma or in rays) shows the highest phylogenetic value and appears to have a biogeographical signal. The molecular defined subclade Diospyros clade IX can be clearly distinguished from other ebony woods by its storied structure. Across Ebenaceae, Lissocarpa is distinguishable from the remaining genera by the combined presence of scalariform and simple vessel perforation plates, and Royena typically has silica bodies instead of prismatic crystals. The local deposition of prismatic crystals and the presence of storied structure allow identifying ebony wood species at the subgeneric level, but species-level identification is not possible. In an attempt to improve the identification accuracy of the CITES protected Malagasy woods, we applied computer vision algorithms based on microscopic images from our reference database (microscopic slides from ca. 1000 Diospyros specimens) and performed chemical profiling based on DART TOFMS. Show less
Tubers of terrestrial orchids are harvested and traded from the eastern Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea for the traditional product Salep. Overexploitation of wild populations and increased middle... Show moreTubers of terrestrial orchids are harvested and traded from the eastern Mediterranean to the Caspian Sea for the traditional product Salep. Overexploitation of wild populations and increased middle‐class prosperity have escalated prices for Salep, causing overharvesting, depletion of native populations and providing an incentive to expand harvesting to untapped areas in Iran. Limited morphological distinctiveness among traded Salep tubers renders species identification impossible, making it difficult to establish which species are targeted and affected the most. In this study, a reference database of 490 nrITS, trnL‐F spacer and matK sequences of 133 taxa was used to identify 150 individual tubers from 31 batches purchased in 12 cities in Iran to assess species diversity in commerce. The sequence reference database consisted of 211 nrITS, 158 trnL‐F and 121 matK sequences, including 238 new sequences from collections made for this study. The markers enabled unambiguous species identification with tree‐based methods for nrITS in 67% of the tested tubers, 58% for trnL‐F and 59% for matK. Species in the genera Orchis (34%), Anacamptis (27%) and Dactylorhiza (19%) were the most common in Salep. Our study shows that all tuberous orchid species in this area are threatened by this trade, and further stresses the urgency of controlling illegal harvesting and cross‐border trade of Salep tubers. Show less
