Six new species of Colchicum (Colchicaceae) are described (C. munzurense, C. minutum, C. sanguicolle, C. micaceum, C. heldreichii, C. inundatum). The first two flower in early spring with synanthous leaves, the rest are autumn-flowering. All are endemic to Turkey, and confined to small geographical areas. Chromosome numbers and notes on phenology, vegetative reproduction, phytogeography and ecology are provided for all the species.

A new species from Sardinia occurring on the Gennargentu massif, Ruta lamarmorae (Rutaceae), is described and illustrated. Its relationships with R. corsica, a species widespread in the Corsican mountains, are examined.

New species of Ericaceae recently collected in Papua New Guinea necessitate a re-evaluation of the status of Agapetes subgenus Paphia section Paphia. The combination of molecular and morphological data confirms that Agapetes, currently a genus of about 100 species from Fiji, New Caledonia and Queensland to mainland SE Asia, and most diverse in the latter area, cannot be maintained in its current circumscription. Various taxonomic solutions that do justice to our current knowledge of the morphology and relationships of the two main parts of the genus are discussed. The reinstatement of Paphia does least violence nomenclaturally. All 23 taxa recognized in Paphia are listed, 14 new combinations of Agapetes from the New Guinea–SW Pacific area are made in Paphia, three new species are described (P. megaphylla, P. vulcanicola and P. woodsii), and an incompletely known taxon is characterized. A key to all taxa is presented. In Dimorphanthera, five new species are described (D. angiliensis, D. anomala, D. antennifera, D. cratericola and D. inopinata), three reduced to synonymy, one reduced to a variety and one variety recognized as a species (D. continua). A key to the 87 taxa currently recognized in the genus is presented.

Over the last three decades, vegetation surveys in southwest Arabia have documented the existence of a small number of valley forest patches. A well-known area is in Wadi Rijaf, Jabal Bura, a protected area which has recently been surveyed by the current authors. The other valley forest sites in southwest Arabia have not been surveyed for over 15 years. This paper presents a descriptive study of five of these important valley forest localities. To provide an assessment of conservation value, field studies recorded the extent, quality and composition of the vegetation and the presence of regionally rare species. The significance of these remaining patches of Arabian forest, and the immediate threats to their survival, are also discussed.

The biennial Papaver L. sect. Meconidium Spach (Papaveraceae) is considered to contain four species: P. libanoticum Boiss. with subspp libanoticum and polychaetum (Schott & Kotschy ex Boiss.) Kadereit comb. et stat. nov., P. armeniacum (L.)DC. with subspp armeniacum, microstigmum (Boiss.) Kadereit comb. et stat. nov. and pilgerianum (Fedde) Kadereit comb. et stat. nov., P. curviscapum Nab., and P. persicum Lindl. with subspp persicum, tauricolum (Boiss.) Kadereit comb. et stat. nov. and microcarpum (Boiss.) Kadereit comb. et stat. nov. A key to species and subspecies is given, capsules and leaves of all taxa are illustrated, and distribution maps are provided.

Two hundred years after their gathering, the pioneering lichen collections made by Archibald Menzies between 1784 and 1802 during his career as a naval surgeon are recorded and discussed. The bulk of Menzies's lichens come from three major collection periods: the Halifax Station (Nova Scotia) of 1784–1786; his time as surgeon to James Colnett on the circumnavigation of the Prince of Wales (1786–1789); and his extensive tour as naturalist to Vancouver's Discovery expedition (1791–1795). Menzies's extra-European lichen collections were the most extensive ever made during the 18th century and contain many first discoveries and type collections: (1) Nova Scotia, 16 taxa in 11 genera, 1 type; (2) Staten Island, 32 taxa in 19 genera, 5 types; (3) west coast of North America, 83 taxa in 45 genera, 11 types; (4) Sumatra, 10 taxa in 7 genera; (5) Cape of Good Hope, 30 taxa in 23 genera; (6) New Zealand, 14 taxa in 6 genera; (7) Tahiti, 5 taxa in 4 genera; (8) Hawaii, 25 taxa in 13 genera; (9) St Helena, 10 taxa in 8 genera. Major repositories of Menzies lichens are the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, the Linnean Society of London (James Edward Smith herbarium) and the Natural History Museum, London.

The lamellate boletes found in the Cooloola Sand-mass, Queensland are described and discussed in the light of earlier Australian records of paxilloid fungi. Nine species of Paxillus are discussed, two in Tapinella, which is maintained as a separate entity, and 11 are assigned to Phylloporus. Of the last, eight are new records to Australia and two are new species. Three appendices cover various aspects of studies on Australian boletes which have come to light since the publication of this series, including notes on the host-range of the parasitic hyphomycete Sepedonium.

In the Australian bolete mycota Gasterotylopilus brunneus gen. et sp. nov., five Tylopilus spp. nov., two Boletus spp. nov., two Rubinoboletus spp. nov. and one Phlebopus sp. nov. are proposed, together with new combinations for Meiorganum and Rubinoboletus.

Begonia sect. Diploclinium (Begoniaceae) is revised for the Philippine island of Palawan. Five new species, Begonia acclivis C.Coyle, B. cleopatrae C.Coyle, B. gutierrezii C.Coyle, B. rubiteae M.Hughes and B. wilkiei C.Coyle, are described, giving a total of 10 species, nine of which are endemic. Of the 10 species, two are considered to belong to the IUCN category Endangered, five are Vulnerable, two are Least Concern and one is Data Deficient.

This study describes the tree vegetation and soils occurring in a seasonally dry tropical forest (SDTF) and mesotrophic cerradão transition in southwestern Brazil. All trees ≥ 5 cm diameter were measured in 20 plots of 20 × 25 m, 10 in SDTF, and 10 in mesotrophic cerradão. Ten soil samples of 0−20 cm depth were made per plot and mixed in plot groups to produce two composite samples. A total of 71 species was recorded. Anadenanthera colubrina had the highest importance values in both formations. Differences in soil fertility were found between SDTFs (eutrophic soils) and mesotrophic cerradão (mesotrophic soils). A non-metric multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis confirmed the soil fertility segregation, and also showed an agreement between soil fertility and variance in species composition gradients. The mesotrophic cerradão showed higher species richness since it also includes many species typical of more dystrophic and open forms of Cerrado.

Variation among 19 phenological features taken from 48 species of Vaccinium (Ericaceae), both in vivo and in vitro as well as from existing literature, were subjected to several clustering strategies. Our results suggest three distinct phenological clusters that reflect the ability of these taxa to tolerate frost, namely a ‘Tropical’ group of 16 taxa which tolerate no or very little frost; a ‘Temperate’ group whose 17 members tolerate some frost; and finally a ‘Boreal-Arctic’ group whose 15 taxa are winter hardy.

Twenty-two species of Achillea sect. Santolinoidea (DC.) O. Hoffm., as currently understood, were analysed morphologically. Emphasis was put on clear definitions of characters and their states as were deduced from detailed graphical analysis. Major character sets include details of leaf structure and differentiation of leaflet lobes as well as of floral characters (form of flower heads, ligules, phyllaries, bracts). Character descriptions were compared with floristic literature and original diagnoses, but little consistency was observed in the applied terminology. There is little indication of unifying character states for sect. Santolinoidea, as a result of low frequencies of occurrence, although the section appears to be uniform on the basis of the general leaf structure. However, species-specificity of some character states (leaves, bracts, phyllaries) was observed that might prove useful for species delimitation.

This study analysed phytogeographic patterns of several Atlantic Forest areas in southeastern Brazil, including forest areas in the Espinhaço Range, to identify species with congruent distribution patterns and possible environmental factors that might influence these. A total of 54 floristic surveys, predominantly from semideciduous woodland sites but also including some rainforest areas, were compared using UPGMA and DCA methods as well as Jaccard analyses. The former identified four main groupings: group 1 included forests located throughout the Espinhaço Range; group 2 was formed by forest areas in the Rio Jequitinhonha basin; group 3 was formed by three distinct subgroups, one (3.1) predominantly of forest areas pertaining to the Alto Rio Grande basin, another (3.2) of upland forests of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, and a third subgroup (3.3) of upland forests of the Serra da Mantiqueira; and group 4 encompassed forest areas in the Rio Doce, Rio Paraíba do Sul, Rio Itanhém and Rio Itapemirim basins. The prevailing relief in these basins has influenced rainfall and seasonality in these areas which, in turn, have exerted a major influence on the composition of the semideciduous forests. Geographic proximity and altitude, although important factors, play a minor role in the phytogeographic patterns analysed. Despite the floristic heterogeneity of the Espinhaço Range forests, there are physiognomic and floristic affinities among the forests within the campos rupestre vegetation. These are due to the high altitude and features of the soil.

This study aims to understand the distribution of species of Jacquemontia (Convolvulaceae) in Brazil and to determine the centre of endemism of the genus in that country. A database of around 2000 records of samples deposited in 46 herbaria was created. Twenty-one species were classified as widely distributed, of which 14 have continuous distributions and seven have disjunct ones. The remaining 26 species were classified as restricted and among these, 14 were considered endemic and 12 microendemic. The centre of endemism of the genus is in the Espinhaço Range, which traverses Bahia and Minas Gerais. The distribution patterns are discussed and a new assessment for the Red List of Jacquemontia is suggested.

Onosma mahabadensis Ranjbar & Almasi (Boraginaceae), a new species endemic to Iran, is described. This species belongs to Onosma sect. Aponosma DC. and is confined to the western part of Iran (West Azerbaijan Province). It is closely related to Onosma sericea Willd. and is distinguished by its subpatent-bristly indumentum (vs. appressed-sericeous) with sparse short hairs (vs. dense), and bracts 14–16 mm long (vs. 6–8 mm long). A cytogenetic analysis indicates that Onosma mahabadensis is a tetraploid species, 2n = 4x = 32, consistent with the proposed base number of x = 8 for Onosma sect. Aponosma.

Euphorbia sect. Tithymalopsis (Euphorbiaceae) comprises seven species of herbaceous perennials restricted to the south-eastern USA. The species of sect. Tithymalopsis are united and distinguished from other sections in Euphorbia by having a thick and cylindrical root system, a glabrous cyathium, five glands with petaloid appendages, one to three stems arising from the root, absence of vestigial sepals in pistillate flowers, rounded leaf apices, and pitted or smooth seeds without a caruncle. Cladistic analyses indicate that sect. Tithymalopsis consists of two subgroups: (1) E. corollata, E. discoidalis, E. pubentissima and E. polyphylla; and (2) E. curtisii, E. gracilior and E. mercurialina. Comparative data from vegetative morphology, pollen morphology, seed morphology, cytology, crossability, reproductive biology, habitat and distribution are presented. Keys and descriptions to the species are provided.

The shrubby, spiny, succulent species Euphorbia collenetteae D.Al-Zahrani & El-Karemy (Euphorbiaceae) from the southern Red Sea coast and islands is described and illustrated as new. Diagnostic characters, a description and taxonomic comments on the species are given. It is compared with the closely related Euphorbia fractiflexa S.Carter & J.R.I.Wood. The geographical distribution of the new species is shown.

Until recently the genus Didymocarpus Wall. (Gesneriaceae) was used in an unwarrantably wide sense and included more than 180 species. It has now been remodelled and restricted to around 70 species. Of these, 18 species and one variety are known to occur in Thailand. To clarify the relationships among Thai species of Didymocarpus we sequenced the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) from a sample of 23 taxa, including 15 from Thailand, four from China, three from Malaysia and one from Bhutan. Seventeen morphological characters were coded for all 23 taxa and optimized onto a retention index (RI) reweighted maximum parsimony (MP) tree. The phylogenetic analyses suggested that Didymocarpus taxa formed a strongly supported monophyletic clade, with several supported subclades. The combination of molecular phylogeny and optimization of morphological characters suggests the presence of three distinct groups: the first, corresponding to Didymocarpus sect. Elati Ridl., includes plants with tall stems, yellow or white flowers and one-celled conoid or two-celled headed pigment glands; the other two groups, which represent Didymocarpus sect. Didymocarpus, both contain plants with dwarfed stems and violet or purple flowers, but are distinguished by the presence of both four-celled conoid or onecelled globose glands in one, and the absence in the other. Optimization of geographical locality onto the phylogeny led us to propose the hypothesis that, based on this sample, the geographical origin of Didymocarpus is the Malay Peninsula, and the ancestral corolla colour is white/yellow. Subsequent dispersal northward through southern and northern Thailand to China and Bhutan was accompanied by the evolution of a purple/violet corolla colour.

The genus Donella Pierre ex Baill. is here reinstated and Austrogambeya Aubrév. is, for the first time, placed in synonymy based on the findings of recent combined molecular and morphological studies. Seventeen species are recognised, two of which, Donella ranirisonii L.Gaut. & Mackinder and D. humbertii Capuron ex Mackinder & L.Gaut., from Madagascar, are described here for the first time. The flowers of Donella ambrensis and D. delphinensis are described here for the first time, as are the fruits of D. guereliana. Two keys, to the species of Madagascar and tropical Africa, respectively, are presented. Ten species are endemic to Madagascar, six species are endemic to tropical Africa and one, Donella lanceolata, occurs from Madagascar to the Solomon Islands. For each species, the accepted name with synonymy is given, followed by a morphological description. Geographical range and details of habitat are provided, with taxonomic and/or nomenclatural notes as appropriate. Distribution maps are presented for all species, and preliminary conservation assessments are made. Five species qualify for a category of Threat, and three further species are assessed as Near Threatened. An index to species and a list of exsiccatae are included.

Didymocarpus rodgeri (incl. var. siamensis) is reduced to a synonym of D. aureoglandulosus (SE India, Burma and Thailand); D. subalternans var. curvicapsa (Nepal–Sikkim) is raised to specific rank, and a new species, D. triplotrichus (Darjeeling distr. and Sikkim), is described. Lysionotus himalayensis is redetermined and reduced to synonymy under L. serratus; as a result L. atropurpureus, which name it had recently superseded, is reinstated. Aeschynanthus kingii and A. levipes are both transferred to Lysionotus, while L. wardii and L. gracilipes are reduced to synonymy under L. pubescens. Notes and new records are provided for L. confertus and L. serratus var. pterocaulis.