New data on the Pteridophyta of Lesvos (East Aegean Islands, Greece) contributing to the knowledge of their distribution and ecology are given. The presence of 24 taxa (species and subspecies) belonging to 16 genera and 7 families is confirmed whilst the occurrence of 4 more previously recorded is considered as doubtful or needs more recent confirmation. Isoetes duriei Bory, Pilularia minuta Durieu and Polystichum setiferum (Forsskål) Woynar appear to be new records for the East Aegean Islands, and Isoetes histrix Bory is new for the island of Lesvos. Furthermore the presence on Lesvos of some rare species (i.e. Notholaena marantae (L.) Desv. and Ophioglossum vulgatum L.) is confirmed. Critical comments on most of the taxa are made and dot maps of their distributions are presented. With regard to the rare species and their habitats, a need for urgent conservation measures is identified.

We evaluated the systematic relationship of the two sections of Raphanus (Brassicaceae) on the basis of morphological and ITS data. We obtained strong support that Raphanus is a polyphyletic group embedded in the Oleracea lineage of the tribe Brassiceae. Section Raphanis, which includes Raphanus raphanistrum, R. pugioniformis and R. sativus, is a strongly supported monophyletic lineage. Section Hesperidopsis is embedded in a different lineage together with Brassica deflexa and B. aucheri. We propose to reinstate the genus Quidproquo in place of Raphanus sect. Hesperidopsis as reflected by both morphological data and ITS phylogeny.

Globally, the Cerrado is the most diverse savanna in terms of plant species, as well as one of the most threatened as the result of human impact; it is therefore considered a priority area for conservation. Some areas of the Cerrado have still not been subject to botanical collections and detailed studies, the Jalapão region being one of these. We describe four recently rediscovered species previously known only from type specimens collected at least 160 years ago: Hyptis caduca Epling (Lamiaceae), Duguetia rotundifolia R.E.Fr. (Annonaceae), Diospyros ovalis Hiern (Ebenaceae) and Rhabdodendron gardnerianum (Benth.) Sandwith (Rhabdodendraceae). Comments on their ecology, conservation status and occurrence are provided, together with a distribution map. New morphological data have been recorded, and all species are considered to be under some degree of threat. These rediscoveries highlight the importance of further fieldwork in poorly sampled and highly biodiverse regions such as Jalapão and neighbouring areas, as well as the urgent need for conservation of the highly threatened Cerrado biome.

Thirty angiosperm species in 20 families, collected in Nam Kading National Protected Area, are recorded in Laos for the first time. Because the flora of Nam Kading is rich in endemic species, the area represents one of the core sites of plant biodiversity in Laos. To elucidate the plant diversity accurately, further intensive floristic surveys are required.

Rhododendron loranthiflorum was previously regarded as an archipelagic endemic, with known stations in the Solomon Islands and New Britain. An exploratory survey of the Lakekamu Basin has now established the plant's presence on the southern side of the New Guinea mainland. The Lakekamu provenance represents a geographical disjunction distinguishable as a separate subspecies, and is formally described as subsp. lakekamuensis.

Two new species of Begonia (Begoniaceae) from Andean South America are described and illustrated. Begonia heliantha Tebbitt is classified in B. sect. Eupetalum and is known from the Puno Region of Peru and has also been tentatively identified from photographs taken in La Paz Department of Bolivia. Begonia urubambensis Tebbitt is affiliated with a group of species currently classified in B. sect. Knesebeckia. This group of species is informally named here the B. acerifolia group. Begonia sect. Knesebeckia is polyphyletic since the B. acerifolia group does not include the type species of the section. Ongoing research aims to recircumscribe this section. Begonia urubambensis is not assigned to a section given the changes needed to the sectional classification system. Begonia urubambensis is a narrow endemic of La Convención Province (Cusco Region) of Peru. Begonia heliantha is assigned the IUCN category of Data Deficient (DD), while B. urubambensis is assigned the IUCN category of Vulnerable (VU-D2).

A recent study of Pinus subgen. Pinus for the Flora of China project recognized 10 native species with four new combinations, all at subspecies rank, and determined one new homonym, and six new synonyms. A neotype is designated for P. kesiya. Doubtful or little-known species are listed.

Four new species of Selaginella from Bolivia are described and illustrated: S. alampeta, a species from humid montane forests at 1200–1700 m that is most similar to S. flexuosa; S. arroyoana, a presumably poikilohydric species found on the walls of periodically dry stream beds and in fissures among rocks on Precambrian sandstone massifs at 750–900 m in eastern Bolivia; S. bryophila, an epiphytic species known only from the type collection made among mats of liverworts in humid montane rain forest, and S. chiquitana, from semideciduous forests at 800 m on a Precambrian sandstone massif in southeastern Bolivia.

Pouzolzia rugulosa (Wedd.) Acharya & Kravtsova, comb. nov., is transferred from the genus Boehmeria on the grounds of the anatomy and morphology of the fruit, correlated with molecular data. A revised set of anatomical and morphological characters is provided to distinguish between Boehmeria and Pouzolzia. Pouzolzia rugulosa shares morphological similarities with a group of serrate-leaved taxa in that genus known from Asia and Oceania. It is a shrub or small tree and is found along the southern slopes of the Himalayas from Himachal Pradesh in northern India to the mountains of northern Burma. It occurs in forest at elevations of up to 1900 m, mainly at forest edges and in clearings. A full description of Pouzolzia rugulosa, including drawings and SEM images of the fruit, is provided, together with a key.

Croton josephinus Müll.Arg., a member of Croton sect. Medea (Klotzsch) Baill. (Euphorbiaceae), has not been recollected since 1824, nor mentioned in the literature since its original publication in 1873. This species has recently been rediscovered in a campo rupestre area at the ‘Pico 1430 m’ of the Serra de São José, Minas Gerais, after 20 years of field work in the area. In the protologue Croton josephinus was cited as having been collected from São Paulo State. This is likely to have been a simple misattribution of the area where it occurs. Based on the new material collected, a detailed description and an illustration of the species are provided. A lectotype and an isolectotype are designated.

Preparatory to a full revision of Paraboea (C. B. Cl.) Ridley (Gesneriaceae) 16 new species are described: these come from China (I), Laos (1), Thailand (8), Malay Peninsula (1), Borneo (4 – 2 from Sabah, 2 from Kalimantan) and Sulawesi (1). There is also a new variety of P.multiflora (Thailand). All these plants have spirally twisted fruits except P.amplifolia (Thailand) in which they are short and not twisted.

The island of Folegandros, located between the Milos and Santorini archipelagos in the southern Kiklades (Greece), constitutes together with Ios and Sikinos the south-central part of the phytogeographical region of the Kiklades. Its flora consists of 474 taxa, 47 of which are under statutory protection, 40 are Greek endemics and 145 are reported here for the first time. We show that Folegandros has the highest percentage of Greek endemics in the phytogeographical area of the Kiklades. The known distribution of the endemic Muscari cycladicum subsp. cycladicum is expanded, being reported for the first time outside the South Aegean Volcanic Arc. The floristic cross-correlation between Folegandros and other parts of the phytogeographical region of the Kiklades by means of Sørensen’s index revealed that its phytogeographical affinities are stronger to Anafi Island than to any other part of the Kiklades.

Leaf cuticle micromorphology has been cited as an important set of taxonomic characters in gymnosperms, but previous studies have largely been based on small sample sizes. The premise of this study was to understand whether external factors affect cuticular micromorphology of Podocarpaceae. Two example species, Prumnopitys andina and Podocarpus salignus, were studied. Of 21 sampled characters, nine (c.43% of the total) were visually assessed as being moderately reliable or highly reliable for taxonomic discrimination for both species, with an additional six (c.29%) being moderately reliable or highly reliable for only one or other of the example species, and six characters (c.29%) unreliable for both. Seven of the most variable stomatal characters were selected for further analysis to establish whether environmental factors affect them. The relationship between these seven stomatal characters, the environment and climate was analysed using the R ‘vegan’ package and climate data gathered from WorldClim. Our results showed that both species had larger stomata in moist and shady conditions, and a higher density of (smaller) stomata in sunny and drier conditions. An additional novel finding was the presence of stomata on the adaxial leaf surface in 46% of samples of Prumnopitys andina: the first record of adaxial stomata in this species, highlighting the necessity of studying multiple samples of a given species. In conclusion, these results indicate that larger sample sizes than have hitherto been employed in cuticle micromorphological studies are necessary to fully document the amount of phenotypic variation that exists.

This study treats some structural aspects of a population of Callisthene fasciculata (Spr.) Mart. growing on a ridge in the Pantanal of Poconé, in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The project was carried out in 1ha of cerradão (savanna forest) at Fazenda Retiro Campo Largo, Poconé. Callisthene fasciculata is a common species in the cerradão. Formations of C. fasciculata, regionally denominated `carvoeiro' and/or `carvoal', occur frequently. This species is of economic importance because of its use for fence posts, charcoal and firewood. Data on its population structure were analysed and are presented based on the circumference class categories at breast height (cbh) and variation in height. The 869 individual trees in the sample hectare included 17 families and 33 species, and were dominated by the 229 individuals of C. fasciculata.

Berlinia Sol. ex Hook.f. (Leguminosae – Caesalpinioideae) is under investigation with two main goals: (i) to delimit and describe the species, and (ii) to elucidate their relationships. Delimitation and description is now largely completed and is presented in this synopsis. The genus Berlinia is assessed as comprising 18 species. Keys to the species are presented and for each species a brief description, selected synonymy and specimen citations are given. A monograph of Berlinia including a full taxonomic treatment and the results of the phylogenetic investigation will be published later by the senior author.

The species of the tree genus Pterospermum Schreb. (Malvaceae: Dombeyoideae) in Malesia are revised. Twenty-six species of Pterospermum are recognised, six of which are new (P. aureum S.K.Ganesan, P. borneense S.K.Ganesan, P. glabrum S.K.Ganesan, P. havilandii S.K.Ganesan, P. merrillianum S.K.Ganesan and P. zollingerianum S.K.Ganesan) and one (P. grewiifolium Pierre) that is a new distributional record for Malesia. Identification keys are provided. All names are typified, and detailed descriptions of all species recognised are provided. Information on habitat, uses and conservation status is given for all species.

Infrageneric classification of the genus Potentilla L. (Rosaceae) for the Flora of Pakistan and Kashmir is presented. Nine subgenera and 15 sections are recognized within the genus. The two genera Sibbaidiopsis Rydb. and Duchesnea J. E. Smith have been reduced to subgenera, while subgenus Potentilla Syme and subgenus Hypargyrium (Fourr.) Juz. have been combined under subgenus Potentilla Syme.

Many taxonomic distinctions are made or refined on the basis of herbarium material that is either dried or preserved in spirit medium. Hitherto, examination of internal structure has only been possible by the destructive sectioning of the preserved material. In this paper, the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging for the non-destructive, non-invasive, complete three-dimensional structural examination of herbarium material is demonstrated for the first time. The experimental materials were the fruiting structures of two species of Southern Hemisphere Podocarpaceae: Acmopyle pancheri and Podocarpus nivalis. Material dried in accordance with standard herbarium techniques was used, as well as material preserved in spirit and freshly gathered fruits. The dried material was subsequently rehydrated using standard techniques, and protocols established for the specimens. Appropriate selection of NMR imaging parameters allowed a variety of anatomical features to be highlighted on a single specimen. Fresh specimens from living material gave the best NMR signals. Dry specimens gave no signal except from the lipid in the seed, but when rehydrated the images yielded almost as much information about internal structure as did a fresh specimen of the same taxon. Thus, NMR imaging has great potential value as a non-invasive method for obtaining details of the internal structure of fruits and seeds and is particularly useful when, as in the case of Acmopyle, the sclerotesta of the seed is too lignified for sectioning by conventional methods.

Begonia mariachristinae Wahlsteen, a new endemic species from Kachin, northern Myanmar, is described and illustrated. The new species is characterised by its combination of four perianth segments in the female flower, two ovary wings, two locules, two styles and a dioecious breeding system.

In this paper I present new taxa, new records and new locations of two biogeographically important species collected from 1990 to 1993 in the Sultanate of Oman. Holotypes are present at ON and duplicates of new records are at E, ON and at the Herbarium, Sultan Qaboos University (abbreviated in this paper as SQUH; not in Index Herbariorum).