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Veronica species mostly occur in damp fresh water places and in the Mediterranean precipitation regime. Members of this genus grow at different altitudes from sea level to high alpine elevations. They show a high level of polymorphism and phenotypic plasticity in their responses to variations of the enviromental factors, a quality that allows them to occur over a wide range of conditions. A group with particular high levels of polymorphism is the group of aquatic Veronica L. species in V. sect. Beccabunga (Hill) Dumort. Here, we attempt to unravel some confusion in the taxonomic complexity in V. section Beccabunga. We recognize 20 taxa in V. sect. Beccabunga and explore the occurrence of V. section Beccabunga, mainly in the Mediterranean basin; especially in Egypt (Nile delta and Sinai), Turkey and Iran with each country containing 10 taxa, from a total of 20 taxa, and characterized by endemics, or near-endemic as Veronica anagalloides ssp. taeckholmiorum.The results confirmed that V. section Beccabunga is divided into three subsections Beccabunga, Anagallides and Peregrinae, which essentially can be differentiated by the absence or presence of apetiole.

The genus Trifolium is one of the largest genera of the legume family Fabaceae with ca. 255 species. The genus is divided into eight sections; the section Trifolium is a major section of the genus, comprising 73 species mainly distributed in the Mediterranean region. We used nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and morphological variation to reconsider the delimitation and phylogenetic relationships of species in the section Trifolium with reference to chromosomal variations. Bayesian analysis of ITS data delimited the species as three clades based on the analysis of ITS sequence and informative indels in combination with morphological variation. The phylogeny of the species by different analyses methods does not support their current delimitation in 17 subsections. The basic chromosome number x = 8 is the number for the genus Trifolium, from which x = 7, 6 and 5 were derived through successive aneuploidy events. With reference to the distribution of these numbers in the species of the section Trifolium, species in clade III and clade II are more evolved than species in clade I.

Phenotypic plasticity is frequently highlighted as a key factor in plant invasiveness, as it enables invasive species to adapt to diverse, complicated habitats. Trianthema portulacastrum is one of the most common aggressive species that threaten different crops around the world. Phenotypic plasticity in T. portulacastrum was investigated by comparing variation in germination, vegetative macromorphology, photosynthetic pigments, stomatal complexes, and seed micromorphological traits of 35 samples collected from 35 different localities. One-way cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to classify samples into homogeneous groups based on the measured traits. Pairwise statistical comparisons were conducted between the three resulting groups. The phenotypic plasticity index (PI) was calculated and compared among different groups of characters. Results showed that photosynthetic pigments and macromorphological characteristics had the highest PI, followed by seed micromorphology, and then stomatal complex traits, while germination parameters showed the lowest PI. We propose that soil moisture, salinity, and temperature are the most determinative and explanative variables of the variation between the three classified groups. We strongly believe that the phenotypic plasticity of T. portulacastrum will support species abundance and spread even under expected changes in climatic conditions, in contrast to the vulnerable traditional crops.

This study aimed to revise Cynanchum acutum in Egypt and their relative subspecies that belonging to Section Cynanchum (Old World) and comparing it with an American group of genera Cynanchum laeve subgen. (Sect.) Mellichampia (New World) by using classical taxonomy and Modern geometric morphometric methods (GMMs). The description of 85 specimens depending on 36 quantitative traits was measured for all leaves by ImageJ Tool software. Data of leaf description was further processed using R program. The fan neighbor-joining topology revealed to the relationship between studied taxa and population, however, a PCA biplot showed a total variation 37.7% at first axis and 8.9% at the second axis. Significant variation in taxa and populations estimated using ANOVA and MANOVA. Canonical variate analysis showed a significant difference between taxa (P=0.001***), with a total variation of 67% between three taxa. The total variation checked between two taxa by using discriminant analysis, C. acutum subsp. acutum and C. acutum subsp. sibiricum calculated 77% variation, while as the total variation between then between C. acutum subsp. acutum and C. laeve showed 86% of the variation and significant value (P=0.002**). The study elucidated the situation of Cynanchum acutum in Egypt and confirmed the presence of two subspecies viz.: subsp. acutum and subsp. sibiricum.

Jabal Al-Ward is one of the Hijazi mountains situated between Al-Ulā and Al-Wajh, southwest Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia’s northwesterly border region. It is considered the highest mountain in this area and is enriched in wildlife. For the first time, the present research aimed to investigate the floristic composition, phytogeographical distribution, and plant diversity in Jabal Al-Ward. One hundred ninety-eight species representing 47 plant families have been identified. The Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Fabaceae represented more than a third of the region’s floristic composition. The perennial species (53.5%) were dominant over the annuals (46.46%). This is a prominent feature in Jabal Al-Ward, where the perennial species may be more tolerant of climatic changeability than the annuals. Seven life form categories were found; therophytes (46.46%) showed to be the most common life form. In addition, there were four main phytogeographical groups: Mono-regional, Bi-regional, Pluri-regional, and Worldwide. The Mono-regional and Bi-regional categories had the highest participation, with 38.5% and 37.4%, respectively. Thirty-six species (18.2%) were found to be native to the Saharo-Arabian region. The Saharo-Arabian region was combined with eight more regions, including Saharo-Arabian/Sudano-Zambesian (12.6%), Irano-Turanian/Saharo-Arabian (9.1%), Mediterranean/Saharo-Arabian (5.6%), Irano-Turanian/Mediterranean/Saharo-Arabian (4.5%), Irano-Turanian/Saharo-Arabian/Sudano-Zambesian (2%), Euro-Siberian/Irano-Turanian/Mediterranean/Saharo-Arabian and Saharo-Arabian/Sudanian (1% each), Mediterranean/Saharo-Arabian/Sudano-Zambesian, and Irano-Turanian/Mediterranean/Saharo-Arabian/Saharo-Zambesian (0.5% each). The current study demonstrated the highest species richness compared to earlier research on various locations in Tabuk Province. In future work, the species and endemic richness along elevation gradients should be studied in Jabal Al-Ward. As well as the IUCN status of each taxon, the DNA barcoding of endangered species will be of great significance if applied in the surveyed area.

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