The species of Amomum Roxb. (Zingiberaceae) in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam are revised. Thirty-five species and two varieties are recognised, most names are typified, and detailed descriptions and a key are provided. Conservation assessments of all species are given. Eleven new species are described: Amomum calcaratum Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum calcicolum Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum celsum Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum chevalieri Gagnep. ex Lamxay, Amomum chryseum Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum glabrifolium Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum plicatum Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum prionocarpum Lamxay & M.F.Newman, Amomum rubidum Lamxay & N.S.Lý, Amomum stephanocoleum Lamxay & M.F.Newman and Amomum tenellum Lamxay & M.F.Newman.

Phylogenetic relationships involving the angiosperm order Apiales (Apiaceae and Araliaceae) are troublesome at nearly every taxonomic level and have eluded several generations of botanists. Because of difficulties in interpreting and polarizing morphological character states at deeper phylogenetic levels, most studies in Apiales have focused on relationships between the two families and among/within the apialean genera. In the present study, however, recent contributions from molecular analyses are reviewed and combined using a ‘supertree’ approach to test traditional hypotheses of relationships involving Apiales, and to re-evaluate assumptions of character-state evolution in the order. Results from this study confirm that Apiales form a monophyletic group with Pittosporaceae (along with Griselinia G. Forst., Melanophylla Baker, Torricellia DC. and Aralidium Miq.), and should be transferred out of subclass Rosidae (away from both Cornales and Sapindales) to the Asteridae (in a position close to Asterales and Dipsacales). These findings are also supported by several lines of morphological, anatomical, and phytochemical evidence, and provide a more satisfactory framework for interpreting relationships and character-state evolution within the major clades of Apiales.

A phylogenetic analysis of the tribe Zingibereae (Zingiberaceae) was performed using nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS1, 5.8S and ITS2) and chloroplast DNA (trnL (UAA) 5′ exon to trnF (GAA)). The tribe is monophyletic with two major clades, the Curcuma clade and the Hedychium clade. Paracautleya, sampled for the first time, comes out as predicted while Caulokaempferia comes out in a different position from that found in another recent study. The genera Boesenbergia and Curcuma are apparently not monophyletic.

A phylogenetic study of Roscoea (Zingiberaceae), a high-altitude genus of an otherwise tropical plant family, was undertaken using sequence data from the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA). Two species of Cautleya and two species of Curcuma were used as outgroups. This resulted in an aligned matrix of 436bp (ITS1, 203bp; ITS2, 233bp). Sequence divergence of ITS1 and ITS2 within the ingroup ranged from 0–13.9% and 0–7.6% respectively. The results suggest that Roscoea is monophyletic (BS=99%; DI=>3) with the genus Cautleya as sister group. Roscoea itself is divided into two sister clades which correlate with geography: a ‘Chinese’ clade (BS=67%; DI=+2) and a ‘Himalayan’ clade (BS=59%; DI=+1). These two groups are disjunct across the ‘Brahmaputra gap’, a region in which no Roscoea spp. have been recorded. The only species which occurs on both sides of the Brahmaputra gap is Roscoea tibetica. However, the western populations of Roscoea tibetica (from Bhutan) show numerous morphological differences. It is therefore possible that Bhutanese R. tibetica represents a distinct taxon, possibly more closely allied to Himalayan species.

The study was carried out on the gallery forest of the Bacaba stream situated in the Municipal Ecological Reserve ‘Mário Viana’ (14°43′S, 52°21′W) in Nova Xavantina, Eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil. Three sections of the gallery (upper, middle and lower) running downstream and differing in slope were surveyed by stratified sampling. Fortyseven nested 10m × 10m plots were analysed in each section, giving a total sampling area of 1.41ha overall. All trees or lianas ≥ 15cm girth at breast height were recorded and a total of 129 species belonging to 105 genera and 47 families were found. Diversity was high, with the Shannon index ranging from 3.84 nats/individual in the lower section to 4.08 in the middle section. The most important families (IVI) were Caesalpiniaceae (upper and middle sections) and Arecaceae (lower section), and the most important species were Diospyros obovata (upper section), Hymenaea courbaril var. stilbocarpa (middle section) and Mauritia flexuosa (lower section). Morisita and Sørensen indices of similarity were calculated. The floristic composition was complex and included species in common with a number of Brazilian forest types and with cerrado (savanna), as well as many widespread species, but stronger links with Amazonian forests could be detected. This is to be expected since the area lies in the ecotonal zone of the cerrado and Amazonian forest biomes and the Bacaba stream itself is a tributary of the Mortes–Araguaia–Amazon river system.

A floristic inventory and preliminary vegetation classification were made for the tracts of savanna and associated wetland vegetation in the Rio Bravo Conservation and Management Area (RBCMA) in Belize. A total of 258 species were recorded, representing c.7% of the Belizean flora. Of these, 148 species are characteristic of the drier savanna systems, while 47 show a preference for hydrologic savanna and wetland areas. Only 57 species (22% of RBCMA savanna flora) are woody, with the savanna tree flora comprising 15 species. The flora of the RBCMA was found to be fairly typical of the savannas of the Central American and Caribbean region. Savanna systems are generally poorly represented in conservation areas in Central America, and due to the diverse range of structural and ecological formations of this vegetation type found within the RBCMA, and its relatively diverse flora, this reserve constitutes an important protected area.

The Pleistocene Arc Theory (PAT) suggests that present-day disjunct fragments of dry forests in central tropical South America give evidence of a previously more continuous distribution during the Pleistocene that has been disrupted by dry-cold vs. humid-warm climatic cycles. This Arc extends from NE Brazil to NE Argentina and eastern Paraguay, through the Chiquitanía to NW Argentina and SW Bolivia and into the dry inter-Andean valleys in Peru and Ecuador, with intrusions into the Great Chaco. Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests (SDTFs) are floristically and physiognomically dominated by woody legumes, mostly deciduous in the dry season. In the last two decades field collection and research on legume taxa has greatly increased, with a significant number of taxonomic revisions and molecular phylogenetic studies, together with some paleoclimatic modelling studies. The evidence accumulated in the last 23 years has confirmed the integrity of the Chaco and Caatingas phytogeographical provinces, with an impressive and increasing level of botanical endemism discovered. The PAT pattern has also been supported, specifically through the mapping of five selected woody Leguminosae species (Anadenanthera colubrina, Enterolobium contortisiliquum, Pterogyne nitens, Amburana cearensis and Piptadenia viridiflora). The pre-existing nuclei of South American SDTF (Caatingas, Misiones and Piedmont) are now increased to four with the postulation of the Chiquitanía Nucleus in south-eastern Bolivia and bordering Paraguay. Some new endemisms are compiled from recent literature and mapped for the Misiones and Chiquitanía nuclei. The need for more botanical collections and further taxonomic, phylogenetic and demographic studies of South American legumes is emphasised.

The results of a detailed SEM study of nutlet morphology in 156 species of tribe Nepeteae (Labiatae) are presented. Two main types, smooth and sculptured, are described; within them such subgroups as reticulate, cellular, verrucose and tuberculate are defined. The taxonomic significance of these characters is discussed. Pericarp structure was investigated in 34 species. Mucilaginous tubercles were found on the surface of the nutlets in Nepeta, Drepanocaryum and Lophanthus, and their structure is described. In the 10 genera of this widespread tribe, three informal generic groups are recognized, based on a combination of nutlet morphology, pericarp structure and vegetative and floral features.

Leontopodium is a genus of approximately 30 species with a conspicuous Asian–European disjunct distribution. In this study samples from the Himalayan/Tibetan centre of diversity of the genus, as well as from Europe, were analysed to infer a phylogeny of the genus using sequences of nuclear ribosomal (ITS and ETS) and plastid (matK and trnL/F) DNA. The Southeast Tibetan monotypic Sinoleontopodium [Leontopodium lingianum (Y.L.Chen) Dickoré, comb. nov.] falls into Leontopodium. Monophyly of Leontopodium, including Sinoleontopodium, is supported. Due to low rates of sequence divergence, intrageneric relationships in general are weakly supported, a pattern frequently observed in plant groups centred in the Tibetan Plateau. Three phylogenetic groups can be identified, however, and these are also supported by morphology. The low levels of nucleotide divergence suggest a young age for the group, which has been influenced by the turbulent geological history of the Tibetan Plateau. Leontopodium is a characteristic Sino-Himalayan element that appears to have found its way into the mountains of Europe in geologically recent times. The two European taxa, Leontopodium alpinum and L. nivale, form a genetically distinct group, which, considering the wide geographic disjunction, shows surprisingly little divergence from its Asian relatives.

The floristic and ecological aspects of the tree vegetation of a remnant forest in the Godoy Forest State Park were studied. Two hundred and six native species of the region occur in the park. Comments on ecological aspects, such as dispersion, structure of vegetation and succession of these species, are provided. An analysis of the ecological parameters indicated that the occurrence of late secondary and climax species (55.8%) was greater than that of pioneer (6.8%) and early secondary species (34.5%). This seems to indicate a predominant dependence of biotic factors on the abiotic factors and an advanced stage of succession.

Bamboos encountered during extensive fieldwork in Nepal and Bhutan are enumerated in three papers. Fifteen genera are recognized, including several genera recently described in China and one new genus. In Part I delimitation of the Himalayan bamboo subtribes and genera is discussed, and a key to the genera is given. The systematic treatment begins with six tropical and subtropical genera which all have iterauctant inflorescences and 6 stamens. Bambusa and Dendrocalamus are in the subtribe Bambusinae Agardh, having solid styles. Melocanna, Cephalostachyum, Teinostachyum, and Pseudostachyum have elongated hollow styles and are in the subtribe Melocanninae Reichenbach. Five new taxa are described: Bambusa nepalensis from central and eastern Nepal; Bambusa clavata from Bhutan; Bambusa alamii from Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh; Bambusa nutans Wall, ex Munro subsp. cupulata from Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and India; and Dendrocalamus hamiltonii Nees & Arn. ex Munro var. undulatus from Nepal.

An extensive study of herbarium specimens and literature of arborescent multiseed Junipers (Juniperus L. sect. Sabina (Mill.) Spach) from SW Asia and E Africa, in preparation of a monographic volume “Drawings and Descriptions of Cupressaceae”, has led to a substantially revised concept of taxa and their distribution. A total of 18 species and 7 varieties were previously recognized in this group; most turned out to be synonyms. J. foetidissima var. pindicola Formanek, J. macropoda Boiss., J. procera Hochst. ex Endl., J. sabinoides Griseb., J. schugnanica Komarov and J. semiglobosa Regel were lectotypified; J. polycarpos K. Koch has been neotypified. The following taxa answering to the above circumscription are here recognized for the area: J. excelsa M.-Bieb., J. excelsa subsp. polycarpos (K. Koch) Takhtajan, J. foetidissima Willd., J. semiglobosa Regel, J. phoenicea L. and J. procera Hochst. ex Endl.

The occurrence of a monodominant tropical forest dominated by the tree species Brosimum rubescens Taub. (Moraceae) in the transition zone between the cerrado region and the Amazonian rain forests along the Araguaia valley in the state of Mato Grosso in Brazil is reported. A 6000m2 (40×150m) area located in the central portion of a forest (14°50′47″S, 52°08′37″W) on the Eldorado Farm in Nova Xavantina was sampled to determine the structure, phytosociology and soil properties. A total of 44 tree species was found in the forest, with a Shannon diversity index (H′) of 2.37 and the Pielou evenness index (J′) of 0.63. These values were similar to those reported by other workers in an Amazonian monodominant forest dominated by Peltogyne gracilipes. Average tree density equal or greater than (≥) 5cm dbh was 1066ha−1 and basal area 37.46m2 ha−1. Dead standing individuals represented 7.03% of the total density and lianas 8.12%. The main families were Moraceae, Rubiaceae, Burseraceae, Hippocrateaceae and Leguminosae–Caesalpinioideae. The species with the highest importance value indices were B. rubescens (124.55), Amaioua intermedia var. brasiliana (32.97), Cheiloclinium cognatum (22.41), Tetragastris balsamifera (19.58) and Protium pilosissimum (16.64). Brosimum rubescens alone accounted for 85.5% of the individuals ≥30cm dbh, 80.35% of those ≥20cm dbh, 57.33% of those ≥10cm dbh, and 35.85% of those ≥5cm dbh. The forest was composed of upper, middle and lower storeys. Diameter distribution was unbalanced for the community and for the main species, suggesting that establishment has been episodic. The surface soil was acid, with high exchangeable Al levels and low fertility, as is the case for most cerrados and Amazonian forests. The availability of K was in the range of adequacy, as compared with most native soils. However, concentrations of available Mg in the soil was higher than that of available Ca, with Mg/Ca ratios above three, unlike most cerrados and Amazonian forests, but similar to the soils of many monodominant tropical forests reported in the literature. Soils were characterized by high concentrations of available Fe. Besides the high Mg/Ca ratios, a high proportion of K as compared with the bivalent cations Ca and Mg, and toxicities of Fe and Mn due to strong acidity could be factors influencing the occurrence of species in this forest.

Maracá is a riverine island located in the Rio Uraricoera in Roraima State (Brazil) and has an area of about 100,000ha. A forest type dominated by Peltogyne gracilipes Ducke (Caesalpiniaceae) occurs on Maracá Island on a range of soil types. This study compares the structure, floristic composition and soils of the Peltogyne forest with the most widespread lowland forest type on Maracá. Three 0.25ha plots were set up in each of three forest types: Peltogyne-rich forest (PRF), Peltogyne-pooi forest (PPF) and forest without Peltogyne (FWP). Within each plot all trees (≤ 10cm dbh) were recorded. Seedlings and saplings were sampled in subplots of 2m × 1m (seedlings) and 4m × 4m (saplings). In the PPF and FWP, Sapotaceae were the most important family with the highest relative dominance and relative density values. Caesalpiniaceae showed high values in the PRF and PPF. Licania kunthiana, Pradosia surinamensis and Simarouba amara occurred in the canopy layer in all the forest types. Peltogyne dominated the canopy in the PRF and comprised 20% of stems and 53% of the total basal area of all trees ≥ 10cm dbh, and 91% of the stems and 97% of the total basal area of individuals ≥ 50cm dbh. In PPF, Lecythis corrugata and Tetragastris panamensis were the most abundant species, followed by Peltogyne. In the FWP the most abundant trees (≥ 10cm dbh) were Licania kunthiana and Pradosia surinamensis. In all forest types, the soils were sandy and acid with low concentrations of extractable phosphorus and exchangeable cations, but the soils under PRF were notably richer in magnesium.

A revision of Rhododendron subgenus Tsutsusi is presented: section Tsutsusi with 66 species is equivalent to series Azalea subser. Obtusum; and section Brachycalyx with 15 species includes some species previously placed in subser Schlippenbachii. One new species in section Tsutsusi, R. arunachalense Chamberlain & Rae, sp. nov., is described. Distribution maps are provided for most of the species.

This paper continues the systematic treatment of the bamboos of Nepal and Bhutan, covering four hardy temperate genera with semelauctant inflorescences and 3 stamens from the subtribe Arundinariinae Bentham. Arundinaria Michaux has leptomorph rhizomes, while Thamnocalamus Munro, Yushania Keng f., and the new genus Borinda have pachymorph rhizomes. The separation of these and related Sino-Himalayan genera is discussed. Sinarundinaria Nakai is treated as a synonym of Fargesia Franchet, a genus that is not known from the Himalayas. A new treatment of Himalayan Thamnocalamus species is given, including the description of two new subspecies of Thamnocalamus spathiflorus (Trin.) Munro, subsp. nepalensis and subsp. occidentalis, and one new variety, bhutanensis. T. aristalus is treated as a synonym of T. spathiflorus subsp. spathiflorus, and Fargesia crassinoda Yi is transferred and given new status as Thamnocalamus spathiflorus (Trin.) Munro var. crassinodus (Yi) Stapleton. Two new species of Borinda are described: B. chigar from West Nepal and B. emeryi from East Nepal. Six species of Fargesia from Tibet are transferred to Borinda, which thus comprises eight species.

The Farasan Archipelago in Saudi Arabia is an Important Plant Area (IPA) in the Arabian Peninsula. This paper describes the flora of the Farasan Islands and provides an up-to-date botanical checklist together with background information on the geology and fauna of the islands. It designates the locality as an IPA due to the presence of nationally and regionally rare species and the presence of good examples of mangrove vegetation, which is both regionally and globally threatened. In addition to conservation assessments, this study also examines conservation planning concerns, particularly the colonisation of the main island Farasan Al-Kabir by the invasive species Prosopis juliflora. Suggestions for conservation action are provided. A new combination is made for Tetraena boulosii.

K. Schumann's classification of Alpinia (Zingiberaceae), which subdivided the genus into five subgenera and 27 sections, was based, in the main, on the character of the secondary bracts (bracteoles). It is here proposed that the subgenera be reduced to two—Alpinia (7 sections and 10 subsections) and Dieramalpinia (4 sections and 2 subsections), and that the character of the labellum (petaloid or non-petaloid) be used as the main differentiating criterion. Such a classification shows the centre of distribution of subgen. Alpinia, in which the labellum is petaloid, to lie north of the equator; subgen. Dieramalpinia, in which the labellum is non-petaloid, or rarely so at the apex only, is now excluded from continental Asia and has its main concentration east of Wallace's line with its greatest number of species in New Guinea. Stigma types have been examined when possible and, so far, they substantiate the proposed classification.

Keys to the subgenera, sections and subsections, together with distribution maps are provided. In Appendix 1 all published names in Alpinia are listed and annotated. Appendix 2 gives a key to the terminally-flowered genera of subfamily Alpineae; this is followed by five new names and six new combinations in Alpinia while A.cordylinoides is transferred to Riedelia.

Internal transcribed spacer (ITS) nrDNA sequences of 42 accessions (representing 28 species) of Aframomum revealed an unusually low level of sequence variation, suggesting a recent radiation of the genus in Africa. The sample of species analysed includes all the main morphological variation and is based on wide geographical sampling. The Aframomum sequences varied from 187bp to 190bp (ITS 1) and 215bp to 216bp (ITS 2). Pair-wise sequence difference between accessions varied from 0% (e.g. A. luteoalbum and A. thonneri) to 2.74% (e.g. A. sp. nov. B to A. pseudostipulare). This contrasts with a comparable data set for the SE Asian genus Alpinia in the same tribe (Alpineae) in which maximum pair-wise difference is six times greater (range 0.5–15.6%). A parsimony analysis of the in-group and out-group taxa supports the monophyly of the genus Aframomum, but does not resolve the relationships between the in-group species. Four putative multi-species groups, however, have some jackknife support. The species sampled vary greatly in vegetative, floral and fruit characters. This morphological variation is not reflected in the ITS sequence data. This may be a result of rapid radiation under conditions of Pleistocene climatic change and effective dispersal of seeds by primates.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the correlations between environmental variables related to the substrate (soil and topography) and the distribution of tree species in a valley forest in the Chapada dos Guimarães National Park, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The forest lies in the Cerrado Domain of Central Brazil where the dominant vegetation cover is cerrado (woody savanna). A survey of the tree community registered all live individuals with circumference at breast height (cbh)≥15cm found in eighteen 600m2 plots (total area 1.08ha). The substrate variables used in the gradient analyses were obtained from a topographic survey and from analyses of the chemical and physical properties of soil samples. A principal components analysis of soil and topography variables and a canonical correspondence analysis of the species–environment relationships produced similar results, separating both the substrate variables and the tree species abundances, mainly according to the two types of bedrock, sandstone or slate, underlying their soils, and secondly to the three topographic sectors recognized: Streamside, Mid Slope and Upper Slope. The differences in soil fertility and texture (related to the bedrocks) and the soil water regime (related to both soil texture and topography) were probably the chief factors determining the distribution of tree species in the forest.