Grapevine cultivation is of historic importance arround the Mediterranean basin. The Spanish Levant is an area of notable grapevine diversity, where ancient varieties destined for producing wine, table grapes and raisins can still be found. For some of these neglected varieties, however, no complete description has ever been made; current legislation does not, therefore, allow their commercial use. The botanical characterization of old varieties is an important step toward their identification and can also help to clarify synonymies and homonymies, problems very commonly encountered with this crop. The present work provides ampelographic descriptions of seven genotypes for which microsatellite marker profiles were already available, and discusses the possible origins of their names, as well as instances of synonymy and homonymy. Seven accessions of ancient grapevine genotypes from the Spanish Levant were subjected to in situ ampelographic analysis following official methods. The characteristics of their leaves, bunches and berries were recorded. The ampelographic descriptions made in the present work provide insight into the history of cultivation of the examined genotypes and would pave the way for their inclusion in the Spanish national catalog, which would allow their commercial use. The information gathered on the possible origin of these genotypes’ names, and instances of synonymy and homonymy, enriches our knowledge of this recovered germplasm. The present results contribute toward our understanding of Europe’s grapevine genetic diversity, and highlight the need to conserve it.

Genetic variability is needed to face environmental changes and pathogen constrains. In addition, the search for intravarietal variability contributes to the avoidance of genetic erosion, preserving clones that are adapted to particular conditions. Variability is also important to diversify grapevine-derived products. In this work, we have analyzed the genetic variability of ‘Muscat germplasm’ including samples from neglected vineyards from Alicante and Valencia provinces, accessions of the germplasm collections of ‘Colección de Vides de El Encín’ (Alcalá de Henares, Madrid) and ‘La Casa de las Vides’ (Agullent, Valencia), accessions supplied by nurseries of Valencia province, and ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ clones selected using differential ampelographic characteristics in selection programs (La Marina, Alicante). Fifteen microsatellites (SSRs) were used to study intervarietal variability. The SSR fingerprinting allowed the identification of some accessions, variants, and synonymies. Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphisms (AFLPs) markers and Microsatellite-AFLPs were used to determine the variability attended in ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ accessions. A CAPs (Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequences) marker, recently developed for the discrimination of ‘Muscat’ flavor genotypes using the SNP1822 G>T, was assessed and showed that all the analyzed accessions were ‘Muscat’ flavored. The variation found among the analyzed germplasm is very interesting because variants within ‘Muscat of Alexandria’, ‘Muscat Italia’, and ‘Muscat d’Istambul’ have been identified. In addition, intravarietal genetic variation was found among the analyzed accessions in ‘Muscat of Alexandria’ from selection programs.

Amaryllidaceae alkaloids are secondary metabolites with interesting medicinal properties. Almost every Narcissus species can synthesize them and constitute an excellent source for their isolation and study. Several Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have shown acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activities and are a promising tool for treating cholinergic disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Indeed, three of the four palliative treatments approved for AD are acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors and one of them, galanthamine, is an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid itself. This molecule is currently isolated from natural sources. However, its production is insufficient to supply the increasing demand for the active principle. Our main aim is to discover tools to improve galanthamine production and to prospect for potential new and more efficient drugs for AD treatment. Furthermore, we seek to broaden the knowledge of plants of the genus Narcissus from a chemotaxonomic perspective. Hence, in this study, we evaluate the alkaloid content through GC–MS and the AChE inhibitory activity of ten autumn-flowering Narcissus, which have been less studied than their spring-flowering counterparts. A total of thirty Amaryllidaceae alkaloids have been found, twenty-eight properly identified. Two Narcissus contained galanthamine, and seven were able to inhibit AChE.

The typification of the name Juniperus navicularis (Cupressaceae) is provided, based on a thorough literature review and examination of original herbarium material deposited in the Gandoger collection (LY). In addition to discussing the historical background of the name and various assignments by different authors, we further studied additional types from Portuguese collections (LISU, COI, and PO) and other historical herbaria (H and P), cited in the species protologue.