A preliminary analysis of New Caledonian Araliaceae has shown varying degrees of support for previous hypotheses on sexual system evolution in the family. Andromonoecy, rather than hermaphroditism, is strongly supported as the ancestral sexual system for the Araliaceae. Derivation of hermaphroditism from andromonoecy in Delarbrea harmsii R. Vig. and Polyscias bracteata (R. Vig.) Lowry, ined. is also strongly supported. Support for the derivation of dioecy from andromonoecy in several New Caledonian species of Polyscias J. R. Forst. & G. Forst. depends in part on an assumption that andromonoecy cannot be secondarily derived from dioecy. The derivation of hermaphroditism from andromonoecy in Schefflera candelabra Baill. and S. pseudocandelabra R. Vig. is equivocal. The hypothesis that the immediate ancestors of Arthrophyllum Blume were andromonoecious is not supported.

Two new species of Amomum, A. agastyamalayanum V.P.Thomas & M.Sabu and A. newmanii M.Sabu & V.P.Thomas (Zingiberaceae), from the Western Ghats of Kerala are described and illustrated. Their distribution, ecology, IUCN status, etymology and similarities to related taxa are also discussed.

A synopsis of Rivea Choisy (Convolvulaceae) accounts for all names published in the genus in a concise nomenclatural review. Three species are recognized; a key is provided to identify them. Excluded species are referred to the currently accepted names and an index of numbered specimens examined will allow curators to correctly name material in herbaria.

Two new species of Boraginaceae are described from Turkey: Paracaryum hedgei and Rindera dumanii. Their affinities and phytogeography are discussed. Both species are illustrated and their distributions mapped. Rindera sect. Bilegnum is raised to subgeneric rank as Rindera subgen. Bilegnum.

I. Lenbrassia G.W. Gillett, which has a zygomorphic corolla and four didynamous stamens with anthers joined, is reduced to Fieldia A. Cunn., which has an actinomorphic corolla and four equal stamens with anthers free; the new combination, F. australiana, is made. II. Boea wallichii R.Br. is distinguished from B. hygrometrica (Bunge) R.Br. with which it has been confused. III. Cyrtandra oblongifolia sensu Kraenzlin is described as a new species, C. kalimantana, allied to C. oblongifolia (Blume) C.B.C1. but distinguished by its hairy leaves, fruits, calyx and corolla; the sterile specimens from Borneo quoted under Cyrtandra rufa Bakh.f. are tentatively referred to C. kalimantana. IV. A specimen of Cyrtandra from the Natuna Islands is identified with C. suffruticosa Ridley from Pulau Tioman and the Malay Peninsula; in contrast two other Gesneriaceae from these islands are of Bornean affinity. V. Didymocarpus pteronema is a new species from Tenasserim province of Burma (= Myanmar): it is anomalous in its campanulate corolla and filaments with unilateral membranous wing. VI. Streptocarpus huamboensis is a new species from Angola allied to S. rhodesianus S. Moore.

Two new Umbelliferae species from S Anatolia are described and illustrated: Chaerophyllum aksekiense A. Duran & Duman and Tordylium ketenoglui Duman & A. Duran.

‘Uruq Bani Ma‘arid in Saudi Arabia is an Important Plant Area (IPA) in the Arabian Peninsula. This paper describes the flora of ‘Uruq Bani Ma‘arid, provides an up-to-date botanical checklist of the area, and gives background information on the geology and fauna. It designates the locality as an IPA due to the highest known levels of plant species diversity in the Empty Quarter and the presence of endemic Arabian taxa. In addition to conservation assessments, this study discusses socio-economic issues, threats to biodiversity conservation on ‘Uruq Bani Ma‘arid, and the future research required to build upon these preliminary studies. A new combination is made for Fagonia schweinfurthii.

Although Brazil is the centre with the third highest diversity of Cactaceae, the distribution of species at the local scale in Brazil remains largely unknown. This article describes the distribution patterns of the Cactaceae communities in the protected area of the Contendas do Sincorá National Forest (CSNF) in a semiarid region in the north-east of Brazil. Trails were distributed between the altitudes of 290 and 596 m, along which 91 plots (1.8 ha) were established for quantitative surveys. The floristic data were also recorded separately on these trails. With the floristic survey, 18 taxa were recorded, and the quantitative surveys within the plots identified 10 species, represented by 1135 individuals. The distribution patterns of the species of Cactaceae were intermittent, which provided a likely explanation for the differences between the floristic survey and the species composition of the plots. The largest fraction of the floristic variation was not explained by environment or space, and this may be related to climatic alterations in the past, evolutionary processes, natural and anthropic disturbances and other unmeasured environmental variables. The recorded endemic, vulnerable and endangered species of the caatingas of Bahia indicate that broader protection areas for the Cactaceae species in the region of the CSNF are necessary.

Somatic chromosomes at mitotic metaphase of two species and two undescribed populations of Bowenia, and Stangeria eriopus, which were classified in Stangeriaceae, Cycadales, were compared using the standard aceto-orcein staining method. All Bowenia taxa showed a chromosome number of 2n = 18, while S. eriopus showed a chromosome number of 2n = 16. The chromosome number of 2n = 18 in B. ‘Kuranda’ is reported for the first time. The present karyotype analysis indicates that B. ‘Kuranda’ and another undescribed taxon, B. ‘Tinaroo’, are cytotaxonomically closer to B. spectabilis than B. serrulata, and that the karyotype of Stangeria is unlikely to have been derived from that of Bowenia by a simple chromosomal change such as centromeric fission and deletion.

Asparagus lycaonicus P.H. Davis (Asparagaceae), a species hitherto known only from E Central Turkey, is reported from Iran. A review of Nitraria (Zygophyllaceae) in Iran together with critical comments on the account of the genus in Flora Iranica are given, and Iranian records of N. komarovii Iljin & Lava are referred to Atraphaxis suaedifolia Jaub. & Spach (Polygonaceae).

The genus Acacia Miller is species-rich, and species discrimination is challenging owing to morphological similarities between closely related species. Naming of specimens is particularly difficult in the Middle East, where confusion in taxonomic identification exists within the context of a wider international debate on the generic systematics of Acacia sensu lato. At least five segregate genera for Acacia s.l. have been advocated: Acacia sensu stricto, Vachellia, Senegalia, Acaciella and Mariosousa. Furthermore, identification to species of the only remaining native Acacia s.l. tree in Kuwait is still a matter of controversy. The present study used multilocus chloroplast DNA sequence data analyses following maximum likelihood (ML) and Bayesian approaches to: 1) test the species concepts of Vachellia pachyceras (≡ Acacia pachyceras O.Schwartz) from the Middle East, and Vachellia tortilis (Forssk.) Galasso & Banfi (≡ Acacia tortilis (Forssk.) Hayne) and Vachellia gerrardii (Benth.) P.J.H.Hurter (≡ Acacia gerrardii Benth.) from Kenya, as well as to investigate species divergence times; and 2) identify the only remaining native Acacia s.l. tree in Kuwait (known as the Lonely Tree), as well as other unidentified Acacia s.l. specimens in cultivation. The Bayesian and ML topologies clearly differentiated Vachellia pachyceras, V. tortilis and V. gerrardii, and demonstrated that the three species are distinct. Divergence time estimates using the ML topology suggested that Vachellia gerrardii diverged from a common ancestor no later than the early Pliocene (3.3 Mya), whereas V. pachyceras originated at least 2.0 Mya (Pliocene). The unknown remaining native Acacia s.l. tree in Kuwait and other specimens collected from the nursery were identified as Vachellia pachyceras. These results stress the need to use plastid DNA barcodes complemented by population genetics approaches to address systematic issues in this complex of Acacia s.l. species in the Middle East and the Arabian Peninsula.

The karyotype of a recently described species of Galtonia (Hyacinthaceae), G. regalis, is described and its cytotaxonomic relationship to other members of the genus examined. Since conflicting cytological patterns for the genus exist in the literature, the chromosome compositions of the three other species, G. candicans, G. princeps and G. viridiflora, are re-investigated. This study demonstrates that the karyotype of Galtonia is uniformly asymmetrical and distinctively trimodal, with 2n=16. Also included in this investigation is the allied monotypic genus Pseudogaltonia. Its karyotype is also asymmetrical, but differs from Galtonia in its chromosome number of 2n=18, and in certain other features.

Turkish autumn-flowering species of Colchicum (Colchicaceae) with large, broad hysteranthous leaves are taxonomically and morphologically revised, with comments on conditions in other areas covered by the distributions. Three new species are described (C. paschei, C. dolichantherum, C. imperatoris-friderici), all endemic to Turkey. Synonym lists, typifications, chromosome numbers, and notes on phenology, vegetative reproduction, phytogeography and ecology are provided for the whole group, and relationships to other species are discussed.

The Methana Peninsula (Saronic Gulf, Greece) constitutes the youngest and northwestern part of the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The flora of the Methana Peninsula consists of 620 taxa, 101 of which are under some protection status, while 35 are Greek endemics and 380 are reported here for the first time. The study area has the highest percentage of endemism in the Saronic Gulf. Additionally, for some endemic taxa, their known distribution is expanded. These include Crocus sieberi subsp. atticus and Ophrys oestrifera subsp. leptomera, reported for the first time for the phytogeographical region of the Peloponnese; Campanula andrewsii subsp. hirsutula and Colchicum psaridis, reported for the first time for the North Peloponnese; and Trigonella rechingeri, reported for the first time from the Greek mainland. The floristic affinities between the study area and the large islands of the Saronic Gulf are examined by the application of Sørensen’s index to investigate the relationships between them.

Cyclolobium (Leguminosae-Papilionoideae-Millettieae) has traditionally comprised six species, but doubts have been expressed as to their distinctness. Analysis of morphological variation across the range of the genus indicates Cyclolobium comprises a single species, C. brasiliense Benth.

The Serra Negra belongs to the Mantiqueira mountain complex, Minas Gerais, Brazil. It has a vegetation mosaic dominated by ombrophilous and seasonal forest and grassland formations. Woody physiognomies occur on patches of quartzite soils. The aim of the present study was to investigate the patterns of structure and diversity of woody vegetation on quartzite soils in Serra Negra. Ten plots (20 × 50 m) were randomly placed in patches of woody vegetation on quartzite soils along the landscape. The diameter and height of all woody plants with a diameter of ≥ 3 cm at 30 cm from the soil were measured. The 1899 individuals sampled represented 30 plant families and 68 species. A strong ecological dominance was found, with about 30% of individuals belonging to a single species, Eremanthus incanus (Asteraceae). The Shannon diversity index (H′) was 2.74 nats/individual and evenness (J) 0.65. The two most abundant and ecologically important species in this vegetation type, Eremanthus incanus and Eremanthus erythropappus, called ‘candeias’, are exploited in the region, mainly for firewood. This exploitation, combined with other factors (e.g. increased tourism), can pose risks to the conservation of the whole flora of the region.

Chromosome counts for 27 species plus one intersubsectional hybrid are presented from all seven subsections of section Vireya in the genus Rhododendron. Twenty-three are new, and five confirm previously published counts. The plants originate from a wide geographical and altitudinal range; all have a uniform somatic number of 2n=26.

Cyrtandra sect. Dissimiles C. B. Cl., sect. Radicicaules Kraenzlin and sect. Radiciflorae Kraenzlin are lectotypified. Two varieties are raised to specific rank: C. dispar var. glabriflora B. C. Stone to C. stonei (Malay Peninsula), C. decurrens var. polyneura C. B. Cl. to C. polyneura (Sulawesi). Nineteen new species are described (11 from Sarawak, 1 from Sarawak and Kalimantan, 7 from Sabah—6 of them from Mt Kinabalu). Annotations are provided on 6 previously known species: C. calycina Benth. (New Guinea), C. debilis Kraenzlin (Kalimantan), C. farinosa C. B. Cl. (Sarawak), C. ligulifera C. B. Cl. (New Guinea), C. rubropicta Kraenzlin (Kalimantan and Sarawak), and C. russa C. B. Cl. (Sarawak).

Two new species of Centaurea sect. Cynaroides (Asteraceae) from western Iran, C. shehbazii Ranjbar & Negaresh and C. solitaria Ranjbar & Negaresh, are described. In addition, Centaurea aziziana is typified.