@article {Grayer:2003p1126, title = {The chemotaxonomic significance of two bioactive caffeic acid esters, nepetoidins A and B, in the Lamiaceae}, journal = {Phytochemistry}, volume = {64}, number = {2}, year = {2003}, month = {Jan}, pages = {519{\textendash}528}, abstract = {A survey of leaf surface constituents in the family Lamiaceae using HPLC with diode array detection revealed the presence of two characteristic phenolic compounds in many species. The distribution of these phenolics in the Lamiaceae was found to be of taxonomic significance, as they were present in the great majority of species investigated for the subfamily Nepetoideae, including representatives of the well-known genera of culinary herbs, mint, rosemary, sage, thyme and basil. In contrast, they were absent from species of the other subfamilies of Lamiaceae studied and from the related families Verbenaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Acanthaceae and Buddlejaceae. The compounds were isolated from Plectranthus crassus and identified by NMR spectroscopy as the known caffeic acid esters (Z,E)-[2-(3,5-dihydroxyphenyl)ethenyl] 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-2-propenoate and (Z, E)-[2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethenyl] 3-(3,4-dihydroxyplienyl)-2-propenoate, for which the trivial names nepetoidins A and B are proposed. The presence of this pair of caffeic acid esters adds another character to the chemical, palynological and embryological features distinguishing the Nepetoideae from the other subfamilies of Larmaceae and related families, and supports the view that the Nepetoideae are a specialised and monophyletic group within the family. Nepetoidin B was shown to have a greater antioxidant activity than gallic, rosmarinic and caffeic acids, and showed activity as an insect phagostimulant. Both compounds were antifungal. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.}, keywords = {(Z, 3-(3, 4-Dihydroxyphenyl)-2-Propenoate, 4-Dihydroxyphenyl)Ethenyl] 3-(3, 5-Dihydroxyphenyl)-Ethenyl], Antifungal, Caffeic Acid Esters, Chemosystematics, E)-[2-(3, Flavones, Free Radical Scavenging Activity, Genera, Insect Phagostimulant, Labiatae, Lamiaceae, Nepetoideae, Ocimum, Plant}, doi = {10.1016/S0031-9422(03)00192-4}, url = {http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL\&_udi=B6TH7-48KV9RR-H\&_user=2139813\&_rdoc=1\&_fmt=\&_orig=search\&_sort=d\&_docanchor=\&view=c\&_acct=C000054276\&_version=1\&_urlVersion=0\&_userid=2139813\&md5=dc13ca6ce980e66e29866bd090cf4f4b}, author = {RJ Grayer and MR Eckert and NC Veitch and GC Kite and PD Marin and T Kokubun and MSJ Simmonds and AJ Paton} } @article {Moon:2006p1113, title = {Nutlet morphology and anatomy of the genus Lycopus (Lamiaceae : Mentheae)}, journal = {Journal of Plant Research}, volume = {119}, number = {6}, year = {2006}, month = {Jan}, pages = {633{\textendash}644}, abstract = {Nutlet morphology and pericarp structure of 16 species in the genus Lycopus were studied by light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and a detailed description of nutlet morphological features for all examined taxa is provided. The nutlets of all taxa in the genus Lycopus are well adapted to typical hydrochory (or nautochory) with an air-filled pericarp, and myxocarpy was not at all found. It is noteworthy that the nutlet morphology (in particular the shape of corky crests and corky ring and the distribution of glandular trichomes) and pericarp anatomy of Lycopacs are unique and are well distinguished from the other genera in the tribe Mentheae. We also found some groups of the species within the genus Lycopus by the present nutlet morphological and anatomical data that appear to be useful as diagnostic characteristics for delineation purposes at the specific/interspecific levels. The earlier infrageneric classification for the genus Lycopus is, however, not well supported by the present results. In addition, the systematic and biological implications of the nutlet characteristics investigated are briefly discussed.}, keywords = {Genera, Labiatae, Lamiaceae, Lycopus, Mentheae, Nutlet Morphology, Pericarp Anatomy, Pericarp Structure, Phylogeny, Verbenaceae}, doi = {10.1007/s10265-006-0023-6}, url = {http://www.springerlink.com/content/97q7487377703q2w/}, author = {Hye-Kyoung Moon and Suk-Pyo Hong} } @article {Brauchler:2005p1116, title = {Polyphyly of the genus Micromeria (Lamiaceae) - evidence from cpDNA sequence data}, journal = {Taxon}, volume = {54}, number = {3}, year = {2005}, month = {Jan}, pages = {639{\textendash}650}, abstract = {Micromeria Benth. (Lamiaceae, Nepetoideac) is a very common genus in the Mediterranean region. To test the monophyly of the genus and to elucidate its phylogenetic placement within subtribe Menthinae (Dumort) Endl, of tribe Mentheae Dumort we performed parsimony analysis of trnK intron sequence data of 51 accessions representing 15 genera of Nepetoideae and two genera of subfamily Ajugoideae. Tree topology reveals a well-supported "core group" indicating four distinct lineages. The first one comprises three species of Satureja L. s.str., the second one includes taxa of the genus Clinopodium L. from both the Old and the New World, paraphyletic with respect to Monarda L. and two species of Micromeria section Pseudomelissa Benth. A third group contains all samples of the remaining Micromeria species. Within this monophyly, a western lineage including taxa, from NW Africa, the Balearic, and the Canary Islands, is sister to an eastern lineage with species distributed from SE Asia to the western Mediterranean. In a further clade the genera Thymbra L., Thymus L., and Origanum L. are grouped together. Combined analysis using a reduced dataset of trnK/trnL-F sequences increased support for the infrageneric resolution within Micromeria. Based on the phylogenetic reconstructions there is evidence that the genus as currently circumscribed is polyphyletic. Results are discussed in the context of morphology, karyology, and biogeography, outlining the necessity of removing section Pseudomelissa from Micromeria.}, keywords = {Clinopodium, Dna-Sequences, Genera, Labiatae, Lamiaceae, Micromeria, Molecular phylogeny, Polyphyly, Trnk, trnL-F}, author = {C Brauchler and H Meimberg and T Abele and G Heubl} }