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Aesculus hippocastanum in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats

Authors:
Cesare Ravazzi at Italian National Research Council
Cesare Ravazzi
Giovanni Caudullo at European Commission
Giovanni Caudullo
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Abstract

Aesculus hippocastanum L., the European horse-chestnut, is a mesophytic broad-leaved tree native to a few mountain ranges in the Balkan Peninsula, but widespread in the urban landscape of moist, warm-temperate Europe. The morphology and ecology of its large seeds are very distinctive, and they are also known for their medicinal properties. Natural populations are reduced and declining after strong insect infections, pollution, wood extraction and forest fires. For this reason it recently received the status of near-threatened species.
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European Atlas of Forest Tree Species | Tree species
60
< 25%
25% - 50%
50% - 75%
> 75%
Native
Chorology
Frequency
Ailanthus altissimaAesculus hippocastanum
C. Ravazzi, G. Caudullo
Aesculus hippocastanum L., the European horse-chestnut, is a mesophytic broad-leaved tree native to a few mountain
ranges in the Balkan Peninsula, but widespread in the urban landscape of moist, warm-temperate Europe. The morphology
and ecology of its large seeds are very distinctive, and they are also known for their medicinal properties. Natural populations
are reduced and declining after strong insect infections, pollution, wood extraction and forest fires. For this reason it
recently received the status of near-threatened species.
Description
European horse-chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L.) is the
only European native species belonging to the Aesculus genus,
which counts 13 tree and shrub species living in temperate
deciduous forests1. It is a large and tall tree growing up to 39 m
and potentially very long-living2. It develops an oval crown, bearing
large shade-giving leaves composed by 5-7 palmate leaflets.
Numerous white hermaphrodite flowers are born in a pyramidal
inflorescence. The petals are yellow at the base, as are their major
veins at pollination maturity, while later turning deep orange and
thus afterwards rejected by bumblebees and honeybees3. Pollen is
very distinctive, with coarse spines4. Only 2-5 (8) flowers from the
base of each inflorescence develop the subglobose fruit, provided
with sharp spines and containing one to three seeds. The ripe seed
recalls the chestnut fruit in its dark brown colour and is used for
horse feeding, justifying the origin of the common name5. The
surface of the seed also bears a large whitish scar-like mark, which
is the hilum, attaching them to the ovary6.
Distribution
The European horse-chestnut is endemic for two relict main
ranges, each containing small isolated populations respectively in
mountains of Greece, Albania and the former Yugoslav Republic
of Macedonia7, 8 and in the Preslavski Balkan, Bulgaria9 , 10. It
is a relic species from the Early Pleistocene, about 1 million
years ago. At that time it was still widespread in Europe11, 12 .
Its subsequent decline may be related to the extinction of large
mammals acting as dispersers of its large seeds13 and to low
tolerant seed physiology to desiccation14. In 1557 AD seeds of
uncertain provenance were imported from Turkey to Prague,
beginning the tree cultivation in Europe5. Claims of occurrence
in the Bronze Age pile dwellings from North Italy15 turned to be
modern contaminants.
Habitat and Ecology
The European horse-chestnut is a mesophytic tree,
growing in moist deciduous broad-leaved forests under a warm-
temperate climate. It thrives especially at the bottom of shady
ravines on limestone bedrock and on alluvial soils in association
with hornbeam (Carpinus betulus), but also in mountain mixed
forests up to 1600 m altitude16. It is very sensitive to forest fire;
moreover seed are both dormant and recalcitrant; i.e. they do not
tolerate water desiccation even at maturity14. This is why horse-
chestnut seedlings do not establish on open and dry substrates,
limiting species ability to pioneering moist rocky and karstic
sites only and preventing migration after forest withdrawals and
climate worsening16.
Importance and Usage
Horse-chestnuts are favourite trees of gardens, parks and
roadways under moist climates. Numerous horticultural varieties
have been described. The seeds have traditionally been used as
a therapy for chronic venous inefficiency17 and are processed by
the pharmaceutical industry. It has been shown that they contain
escin, preventing accumulation of white blood cells responsible for
poor blood flow in the legs, common with ageing18. Unprocessed
seeds are poisonous, but a decoction of the bark and leaves is
also used in folk medicine of Albania, Kosovo and Central Italy to
treat circulatory and rheumatic problems19, 20 .
Threats and Diseases
Total population in the native habitat is reduced to less
than 2 500 mature individuals21, with declining subpopulations
due to strong infections by Cameraria ochridella (nocturnal
moth, Lepidoptera), which feeds on the leaves, causing mid-
summer defoliation and exhaustion of the trees and may reduce
reproduction in natural populations22-24 . Horse-chestnuts are
highly vulnerable25 to the Asian longhorn beetle (Anoplophora
glabripennis) which is a large wood-boring beetle native of
Asian countries, such as Japan, Korea and China. Other threats
are road construction, local tourism, wood extraction, pollution,
and forest fires in the residual native areas. European horse-
chestnut is assessed as vulnerable in Greece and Bulgaria and
near-threatened at European scale21.
Aesculus hippocastanum in Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats
This is an extended summary of the chapter. The full version of
this chapter (revised and peer-reviewed) will be published online at
https://w3id.org/mtv/FISE-Comm/v01/e017fc3. The purpose of this
summary is to provide an accessible dissemination of the related
main topics.
This QR code points to the full online version, where the most
updated content may be freely accessed.
Please, cite as:
Ravazzi, C., Caudullo, G., 2016. Aesculus hippocastanum in
Europe: distribution, habitat, usage and threats. In: San-Miguel-
Ayanz, J., de Rigo, D., Caudullo, G., Houston Durrant, T., Mauri, A. (Eds.),
European Atlas of Forest Tree Species. Publ. Off. EU, Luxembourg,
pp. e017fc3+
References
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[2] O. Johnson, D. More, Collins tree guide
(Collins, 2006).
[3] M. C. F. Proctor, P. Yeo, A. Lack, The natural
history of pollination (Timber Press, 1996).
[4] A. E. Pozhidaev, Grana 34, 10 (1995).
[5] H. W. Lack, Arnoldia 61, 15 (2002).
[6] A. Cronquist, An Integrated System
of Classification of Flowering Plants
(Columbia University Press, New York,
1981).
[7] P. Fukarek, Problems of Balkan flora
and vegetation: proceedings of the first
International Symposium on Balkan Flora
and Vegetation, Varna, June 7-14, 1973,
D. Jordanov, ed. (Bulgarian Academy of
Sciences, Sofia, 1975), pp. 146–161.
[8] N. Avtzis, D. Avtzis, S. Vergos, S. Diamantis,
Phytologia Balcanica 13, 11 (2007).
[9] M. Anchev, et al., Phytologia Balcanica 15,
63 (2009).
[10] L. Evstatieva, Red Data Book of the
Republic of Bulgaria, Volume 1 - Plants
& Fungi, D. Peev, V. Vladimirov, eds.
(Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and
Ministry of Environment and Water, Sofia,
Bulgaria, 2011).
[11] C. Ravazzi, Giornale botanico italiano 128,
751 (1994).
[12] J. M. Postigo Mijarra, F. Gómez
Manzaneque, C. Morla, Vegetation History
and Archaeobotany 17, 351 (2008).
[13] L. van der Pijl, Principles of Dispersal in
Higher Plants (Springer Berlin Heidelberg,
Berlin, Heidelberg, 1982).
[14] P. B. Tompsett, H. W. Pritchard, Annals of
Botany 71, 107 (1993).
[15] R. Battaglia, La palafitta del lago
di Ledro nel Trentino : gli scavi e la
stratigrafia, il contenuto del deposito
antropozoico, la metallurgia e la
cronologiadell’abitato palafitticolo, vol.
7 of Memorie Museo Storia Naturale
Venezia Tridentina (Tipografia editrice
mutilati e invalidi, 1943).
[16] I. Horvat, V. Glavač, H. H. Ellenberg,
Vegetation Südosteuropas, vol. 4 of
Geobotanica selecta (Gustav Fischer
Verlag, Jena, 1974).
[17] E. Bombardelli, P. Morazzoni, A. Griffini,
Fitoterapia 67, 483 (1996).
[18] M. H. Pittler, E. Ernst, Cochrane Database
of Systematic Reviews (John Wiley &
Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK, 2006).
[19] A. Pieroni, et al., Journal of
Ethnopharmacology 91, 331 (2004).
[20] B. Mustafa, et al., Journal of Ethnobiology
and Ethnomedicine 8, 6+ (2012).
[21] S. Khela, The IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species (2013), pp. 202914/0+.
[22] C. Thalmann, J. Freise, W. Heitland, S.
Bacher, Trees 17, 383 (2003)
[23] J. I. Barredo, et al., EPPO Bulletin 45, 273
(2015).
[24] CABI, Cameraria ohridella (horsechestnut
leafminer) (2015). Invasive Species
Compendium. http://www.cabi.org
[25] D. de Rigo, et al., Scientific Topics Focus 2,
mri10a15+ (2016).
[26] J. Acevski, B. Simovski, Proceedings of
the International conference Integrated
management of environmental resources:
Suceava, November 4-6th, 2011, S.-A.
Horodnic, M.-L. Duduman, C. Palaghianu,
eds. (Editura Universităţii "Ştefan cel
Mare", Suceava, Romania, 2012).
[27] R. D. Smith, K. A. Smith, eds., Country
Study for Biodiversity of the Republic
of Macedonia - First National Report
(Ministry of Environment and Physical
Planning, Skopje, Macedonia, 2003).
[28] D. H. Peçi, A. Mullaj, A. Dervishi, Journal of
Institute Alb-Shkenca 5, 153 (2012).
The large brown seeds are also known as conkers.
(Copyright Free Photos, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
The distinctive flowers appear in spring and are pollinated by bees.
(Copyright Free Photos, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
Isolated large European horse chestnut in a garden park.
(Copyright Nacho, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
The large leaves are composed of 5-7 palmate leaflets.
(Copyright Free Photos, www.flickr.com: CC-BY)
Map 1: Plot distribution and simplified chorology map for Aesculus hippocastanum.
Frequency of Aesculus hippocastanum occurrences within the field observations
as reported by the National Forest Inventories. The chorology of the native
spatial range for A. hippocastanum is derived after several sources8, 10, 26-28 .
JRC_EFDAC_forest_atlas.indd 60JRC_EFDAC_forest_atlas.indd 60 05/07/2021 17:0905/07/2021 17:09
... Frequency of occurrence is from field observations as reported by the National Forest Inventories. From: Ravazzi and Caudullo (2016), reproduced courtesy of the European Union [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com] 1980), churchyards, urban streets and village greens. It is also found in a large number of planted woodlands resulting "from the Victorian forester's habit of trying everything" (Rackham, 2003). ...
... Due to its thin bark, horse-chestnut is sensitive to forest fires (Ravazzi & Caudullo, 2016). However, it will freely resprout from cut stumps and coppices well, although it is not often used in coppices since the poles grow slowly in comparison with other species such as Fraxinus excelsior and they are mechanically weak (Özden & Ennos, 2018). ...
... Anoplophora chinensis (Forster) (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae) will oviposit on horse-chestnut trunks but adult beetles do not feed on its twigs (Peverieri & Roversi, 2010) (Ravazzi & Caudullo, 2016). Cebeci and Acer (2007) list insect pests found on horse-chestnut in Turkey, Milevoj (2004) in Slovenia, and Majzlan and Fedor (2003) in Slovakia. ...
Biological Flora of the British Isles: Aesculus hippocastanum
Article
Full-text available
This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Aesculus hippocastanum L. (horse‐chestnut) that are relevant to understanding its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history and conservation. Aesculus hippocastanum is a large deciduous tree native to the Balkan Peninsula. Native populations are small (<10,000 trees total) and apparently in decline, but the tree has been widely planted in gardens and streets across Europe and other temperate areas from the 17th century onwards. It was voted the UK's favourite tree in a 2017 poll. As a British neophyte, it is occasionally naturalised in open wooded habitats. Horse‐chestnut is renowned for the beauty of its large (up to 30 cm long), upright panicles of white flowers, and for the large seeds (up to 42 g each) used in the formerly common children's game of “conkers.” More recently, the triterpene glycosides, extractable from various plant parts but especially the seeds, have been widely used in medicine. In much of Europe, horse‐chestnut is affected by chestnut bleeding canker (caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. aesculi), the horse‐chestnut leaf miner Cameraria ohridella and the leaf blotch fungus Guignardia aesculi. The canker is likely to lead to death of <10% individuals, but seeds of plants infested with the leaf miner are 40%–50% smaller, which may affect long‐term establishment in non‐planted areas.
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... Then the species began to actively settle and form a secondary habitat in other European countries [4]. The successful invasion of the horse chestnut leaf miner was the successful introduction of Aesculus hippocastanum into the urban and park landscapes of European countries in the XVI-XIX centuries [5][6][7][8]. ...
A new host plant for Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, 1986 (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) in Volga region
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Six years have passed since, in 2018, an invasive species from Europe – the Ohrid miner Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae) penetrated into the Lower and Middle Volga region and began to actively populate urban landscapes planted with horse chestnut. Using the example of the regional center of Saratov, the temporary aspects of settlement and damage to horse chestnut trees over the specified period are considered. As a result of the settlement of the species and the annual increase in its population density, the degree of damage to the leaves of horse chestnut in parks and alleys of the regional center – showed a massive drying and leaf fall in Aesculus hippocastanum in early August 2023. The total output of the imago of the 3rd generation of the occupier completed the process of withering and shrinking of the trees by switching to another type of urban tree – walnut. This is the first case of such a choice of a new host object for this type of invader in the Volga region.
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... It is sensitive to air pollutants. The species is used in parks and urban greenery for its impressive appearance at the time of flowering (Ravazzi & Caudollo 2016). ...
A rare cultivar of horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum L. ˈBaumaniiˈ) in Slovakia: morphological, molecular and antioxidant analysis
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Aesculus hippocastanum L. ˈBaumaniiˈ (syn.: A. hippocastanum L. ˈFlore Plenoˈ; A. hippocastanum ˈPlenaˈ) is a rarely cultivated cultivar characterized by fully white and sterile flowers, and as a result it does not produce fruit. For identification and characterization of the morphological, molecular, and biochemical parameters of this cultivar, we performed the pollen viability test, morphological analysis of flowers, assay of miRNA-based markers and biochemical analyses. The results show that the germination of pollen grains in artificial media reached 0 % and the pistil in flowers was undeveloped. The antioxidant activity, total polyphenol and flavonoid content exhibited the highest values of all three tested parameters (1.5540 mg TEAC/g FM; 3.7278 mg GAE/g FM and 1.328 mg CAE/g FM) in the extracts from A. hippocastanum ˈBaumaniiˈ. The applied miRNA-based markers showed a sample-specific and tissue-specific genomic polymorphism. Various DNA fingerprinting profiles between the flowers and leaf samples of fruiting and barren trees were noted. URL: https://www.upjs.sk/pracoviska/botanicka-zahrada/odborne-aktivity/contents-abstracts/
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... To obtain leaf material from trees exposed to systemic fungicides, specimens of A. hippocastanum L. (horse chestnut) were reared under field conditions (iES Landau, Siebeldingen, Germany) following Newton et al. (2018). Chestnut trees are common in European riparian vegetation (Ravazzi & Caudullo, 2016), and their leaves are commonly used to feed gammarids (Consolandi et al., 2021). Trees were treated two times (middle of May and end of June) either at the recommended field application rates of a mixture consisting of four systemic fungicides (Table 1) or with received tap water as a control. ...
Importance of Dietary Uptake for in Situ Bioaccumulation of Systemic Fungicides Using Gammarus pulex as a Model Organism
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2023
  • ENVIRON TOXICOL CHEM
Bioaccumulation of organic contaminants from contaminated food sources, might pose an underestimated risk towards shredding invertebrates. This assumption is substantiated by monitoring studies observing discrepancies of predicted tissue concentrations determined from lab-based experiments compared to measured concentrations of systemic pesticides in gammarids. To elucidate the role of dietary uptake in bioaccumulation, gammarids were exposed to leaf material from trees treated with a systemic fungicide mixture (azoxystrobin, cyprodinil, fluopyram and tebuconazole), simulating leaves entering surface waters in autumn. Leaf concentrations, spatial distribution, and leaching behaviour of fungicides were characterised using LC-HRMS/MS and MALDI-MS imaging. The contribution of leached fungicides and fungicides taken up from feeding was assessed by assembling caged (no access) and uncaged (access to leaves) gammarids. The fungicide dynamics in the test system were analysed using LC-HRMS/MS and toxicokinetic modelling. Additionally, a summer scenario was simulated where water was the initial source of contamination and leaves contaminated by sorption. The uptake, translocation and biotransformation of systemic fungicides by trees was compound dependent. Internal fungicide concentrations of gammarids with access to leaves were much higher than in caged gammarids of the autumn scenario, but the difference was minimal in the summer scenario. In food choice and dissectioning experiments gammarids did not avoid contaminated leaves and efficiently assimilated contaminants from leaves indicating the relevance of this exposure pathway in the field. The present study demonstrates the potential impact of dietary uptake on in situ bioaccumulation for shredders in autumn, outside the main application period. Obtained toxicokinetic parameters facilitate modelling of environmental exposure scenarios. The uncovered significance of the dietary uptake for detritivores warrants further consideration from scientific but also regulatory perspectives. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;00:0-0. © 2023 SETAC.
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... The seeds are traditionally used as a therapy for chronic venous inefficiency and is thus of interest for the pharmaceutical industry. The ripe seed is also used for horse feeding (Ravazzi and Caudullo, 2016) photo: Eric Meier, www.wood-database.com ...
Assessment on the usage value of wood from local autochthonous native trees and non-native trees.
Book
Full-text available
  • Feb 2021
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A new host plant for Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, 1986 (Lepidoptera: Gracilleriidae)
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  • Sep 2023
The article deals with the study of host plants of Cameraria ohridella Deschka & Dimić, 1986, especially focusing on Belarus findings. For the first time, Acer saccharinum L., is recorded as a host plant. The cases of damaging other plants by this species as well as relationships of Gracillariidae with the plant family Sapindaceae are summarized.
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Eco-friendly dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane catalyzed by core-shell-looking tri-metallic RuNiPd nanoclusters loaded on white-flowering horse-chestnut seed
Article
  • Sep 2022
  • INT J HYDROGEN ENERG
Generally, white-flowering horse-chestnut seed (WFHC) found in roadsides, parks and gardens, which spills around and causes environmental pollution, is defined as waste-bio material. This study is quite remarkable as it gives WFHC a new field of usage and literally prioritizes the environment. Here, waste-bio WFHC was tested as supporter for tri-metallic RuNiPd nanoclusters in the eco-friendly dehydrogenation of dimethylamine-borane (DMAB). Core-shell-looking tri-metallic [email protected], with 264.09 ± 45.55 nm particle size, were in-situ synthesized throughout dehydrogenation of DMAB at 35.0 ± 0.1 °C. The WFHC and tri-metallic Ru2.00Ni1.86Pd1.00@WFHC NCs were characterized by advanced analysis and their surface morphologies were studied in detail using adsorption models. The N2 adsorption-desorption and logarithmic-Freundlich plots indicated that surface morphologies have heterogeneous multi-layer and typical Type-III isotherm with mesoporous surfaces. Also, detailed kinetic studies were actualized on the dehydrogenation of DMAB catalyzed by tri-metallic Ru2.00Ni1.86Pd1.00@WFHC NCs with 158 h⁻¹ TOF value.
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Niezwykła historia zwyczajnego kasztanowca
Article
Full-text available
  • Mar 2021
Kasztanowiec zwyczajny (Aesculus hippocastanum L.), popularne drzewo ozdobne, został sprowadzony do centralnej Europy z Istambułu. Pojawił się pod koniec XVI wieku w Wiedniu, Bolonii, Padwie i Pradze. Szybko stał się popularny i w krótkim czasie dotarł do Anglii, Niemiec i Francji. W Polsce po raz pierwszy znalazł się prawdopodobnie w XVI wieku, sprowadzony przez króla Stefana Batorego. Naturalne stanowiska tego gatunku w górzystych obszarach Bałkanów zostały odkryte dopiero w XIX w. Występuje on tam w rozproszonych populacjach o zmniejszającej się liczebności. Ten reliktowy gatunek jest bardzo ceniony w parkach ze względu na walory dekoracyjne i niewielkie wymagania siedliskowe; ma również znaczenie w przemyśle farmaceutycznym. Inwazja motyla, szrotówka kasztanowcowiaczka, spowodowała spadek wartości dekoracyjnych oraz zagrożenie kasztanowców w całej Europie. Również przewidywane zmiany klimatu mogą stanowić niebezpieczeństwo dla tego gatunku.
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One step closer to understanding the ecology of Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae): The effects of light conditions
Article
Full-text available
  • Feb 2019
Horse chestnut leaf miner (Cameraria ohridella) has achieved ecological success by colonizing the entire European range of its primary host, horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum). This insect has attracted the attention of scientists, but its ecology is poorly understood. Here, we investigated the effects of varying degrees of light availability on the leaf morphology of horse chestnut saplings and the performance of C. ohridella. A pot experiment under greenhouse conditions was performed in which the photosynthetic photon fl ux density (PPFD) was reduced from full light by 50% (high light – HL) or 80% (low light – LL). Insect performance parameters were quantifi ed (i.e., pupal mass, effi ciency of conversion of utilised leaf tissue (ECU) and potential fecundity). Compared with HL leafl ets those from LL were characterised by higher contents of nitrogen and water but lower total phenolics. The oxidative capacity of phenolics (at pH ≈ 10, common in the lepidopteran gut) was low and did not differ in the two treatments. Compared with those collected from HL leaves, the mines of those collected from leaves of plants grown under LL conditions were larger in area but the leaf mass utilized by larvae was similar. Pupae were heavier in LL than in HL conditions, and ECU was higher in LL. The potential fecundity of females was not sensitive for experimental treatment. We conclude that (1) reduced light had a strong benefi cial effect on the performance of C. ohridella and (2) phenolics in A. hippocastanum leaf tissues are a poor defence against this herbivore.
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Effects of defoliation by horse chestnut leafminer ( Cameraria ohridella) on reproduction in Aesculus hippocastanum
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2003
In large parts of Europe horse chestnut trees ( Aesculus hippocastanum) suffer from severe defoliation by an alien invasive species, the specialist leaf mining moth Cameraria ohridella (Lepidoptera; Gracillariidae). Heavily infested trees have a drastically shortened period for photosynthesis. We quantified the effect of moth infestation on reproduction of horse chestnut trees in two different cities in central Europe, Bern and Munich. C. ohridella negatively affected seed and fruit weight of A. hippocastanum at both locations. In Munich, seed weight of heavily damaged trees was reduced by almost half. However, the number of seeds per fruit, the number of fruits per inflorescence, and the number of inflorescences per tree did not change due to herbivory. We conclude that C. ohridella mining affects seed quality but not seed quantity. The reduced seed weight may severely impair growth and survival of horse chestnut seedlings and thus may endanger the long-term persistence of A. hippocastanum in its endemic forests in south-east Europe.
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Medical ethnobotany of the Albanian Alps in Kosovo
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Full-text available
  • Jan 2012
Ethnobotanical studies are crucial in South-Eastern Europe for fostering local development and also for investigating the dynamics of Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) related to plants in one of the most crucial European hotspots for biocultural diversity. The current medico-ethnobotanical survey was conducted in rural alpine communities in Kosovo. The aims of the study were twofold: 1) to document the state of TEK of medicinal plants in these communities; 2) to compare these findings with that of similar field studies previously conducted among local populations inhabiting the Montenegrin and Albanian side of the same Alpine range. Field research was conducted in 36 villages on the Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps. Snowball sampling techniques were used to recruit 91 elderly informants (≥ 50 years-old) for participation in semi-structured interviews and structured surveys regarding the use of the local flora for medicinal and food purposes. Standard ethnobotanical methods were employed and prior informed consent was obtained for all study participants. The uses of 98 plants species belonging to 39 families were recorded; the most quoted botanical families were Rosaceae, Asteraceae, and Lamiaceae. Mainly decoctions and infusions were quoted as folk medicinal preparations and the most common uses referred to gastrointestinal and respiratory disorders, as well as illnesses of the uro-genital system. Among the most uncommon medicinal taxa quoted by the informants, Carduus nutans L., Echinops bannaticus Rochel ex Schrad., and Orlaya grandiflora Hoffm. may merit phytochemical and phytopharmacological investigations.Comparison of the data with other ethnobotanical field studies recently conducted on the Albanian and Montenegrin sides of the same Alps has shown a remarkable link between the medical ethnobotany of Montenegrin and Kosovar side of the Albanian Alps. Moreover, folk uses of the most quoted wild medicinal taxa recorded in Kosovo often include those recorded both in Albania and in Montenegro, thus suggesting a hybrid character of the Kosovar local plant knowledge. This may be also explained with the fact that Montenegro and Kosovo, despite their differences in the ethnic composition, have shared a common history during the last Century.
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Polline fossile di Aesculus aff. hippocastanum L. nel Bacino di Leffe (Pleistocene inferiore). Posizione sistematica e significato paleoecologico
Article
  • Jan 1994
Fossil pollen of Aesculus aff. hippocastanum L. in the Leffe Basin (Early Pleistocene). Systematic position and palaeocology. A new pollen analysis has been undertaken in the lacustrine and palustrine deposits of Leffe (Northern Italy), in order to re-evaluate the flora, the vegetation dynamics and the climatic change at the southern margin of the Alps during the lowermost Pleistocene. The present paper deals with the systematic position and the ecology of a fossil taxon of Aesculus discovered in the Leffe sediments. The taxonomical approach is based on a comparative investigation on the pollen morphology of all the present-living species and the fossil taxon from Leffe. Some diagnostic features of the apertures and the exine ornamentation allowed to distinguish some groups, almost coincident with the sections in which the genus is presently subdivided. The pollen morphology of the taxa which belong to the sections living in temperate regions and in the subtropical-tropical SE-Asia (section Calothyrsus Koch) notably differ. Among temperate groups, the Section Aesculus can be characterized by having the biggest projections on the colpus membrane. The fossil pollen from Leffe sediments can be related with this Section. Moreover, a comparison of the Japanese living species (A. turbinata Bl.), with the European one (A. hippocastanum L.), indicates that the fossil pollen grains from Leffe may be related to A. hippocastanum. This supports the hypothesis of a Neogene divergence of a pontic-european group inside the Section Aesculus in agreement with the macrofloral record of the Neogene in Europe. Afterwards the palaecology of the Leffe horse-chestnut is discussed. A comparison between fossil pollen spectra and the analogues in the modern vegetation (Colchide, Mesia, Caucasian region and Allegheny Mountains, U.S.A.) shows good relationships in the floral composition. Finally, the extinction time of some elements of the Colchic-Hyrcanian flora in Italy during the Quaternary is discussed.
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Pollen morphology of the genus Aesculus (Hippocastanaceae)
Article
  • Feb 1995
  • GRANA
The 13 species of Aesculus recognized in a revision by Hardin (1957, 1960) and two species of Billia were investigated by LM and SEM, and three species of Aesculus by TEM. In addition to the species recognized by Hardin four more species of Aesculus (A. bushii, A. megaphylla, A. rupicola and A. polyneura) can be distinguished on the basis of their pollen characteristics. Four pollen groups of Aesculus species are described. The data of Hsiech (1979) on the polymorphism of the sect. Calothyrsus were confirmed. In addition to a few pollen features which are discrete one, a continuum or more complicated regular varieties was observed with respect to many pollen characteristics. These patterns are not reflected in any typology or classification and are usually ignored in systematic investigations, and consequently also in the evolutional interpretation of the morphological data. This investigation of the regular pattern in the variety of pollen aperture arrangement allows an assumption about the mechanisms of pollen aperture determination and the origin of variety.
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  • Jan 1960
  • BRITTONIA
  • J W Hardin
J. W. Hardin, Brittonia 12 (1960).
  • Jan 2002
  • 15
  • H W Lack
H. W. Lack, Arnoldia 61, 15 (2002).