Elettaria (Zingiberaceae) of Sarawak are studied, and eight species are recognised including four new species: E. linearicrista, E. longipilosa, E. brachycalyx and E. kapitensis. Elettaria surculosa and E. stolonifera, which have previously been included in E. multiflora, are treated as independent species. Examination of recent collections reveal that characters such as anther dehiscence patterns, form of the labellum and anther crest are taxonomically important. A key to all species of Bornean Elettaria is provided.

Seven new species and one new subspecies in Scrophulariaceae from the Flora of Bhutan area are described. They include two new species of Euphrasia, E. chumbica R.R. Mill sp. nov. (Chumbi, Sikkim and C Bhutan) and E. melanosticta R.R. Mill sp. nov. (Sikkim, N Bhutan); one new species of Kickxia, K. papillosa R.R. Mill sp. nov. (E Bhutan); one new species of Lagotis, L. chumbica R.R. Mill sp. nov. (Chumbi); one new species of Neopicrorhiza, N. minima R.R. Mill sp. nov. (N Bhutan); two new species of Scrophularia, S. cooperi R.R. Mill sp. nov. (C Bhutan) and S. subsessilis R.R. Mill sp. nov. (N Bhutan); and a new subspecies of Ellisiophyllum pinnatum (Wall.) Makino, subsp. bhutanense R.R. Mill subsp. nov. (Bhutan). Alectra avensis (Benth.) Merr., Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell, Scrophularia himalayensis Royle, Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze and S. densiflora Benth. are all recorded from Bhutan and/or Sikkim for the first time. A brief argument is given for the continued use of hyphenated fel-terrae as the correct spelling of that epithet in Picria.

A new monotypic genus, Tamijia (Zingiberaceae), and its species T. flagellaris are described from Sarawak, Borneo. T. flagellaris is quite unique with the lateral staminodes connate to the labellum, the plane of distichy of the leaf shoot transverse to the rhizome, long trailing inflorescences and ovary unilocular with parietal placentation. Although the species is placed in Alpineae based on the plane of distichy, it is quite distinctive from most of the species in the tribe in some other characters, and is important in considering the current system of tribes and genera of the family.

The forest across a sharp boundary between greywacke and serpentinized peridotite is described from a site with seasonal rainfall on Palawan, Philippines. The forest on greywacke was of much larger stature (trees up to 26m) than that on the serpentinized peridotite (trees up to 18m). The tree (>10cm dbh) species richness was the same on both substrata with 38 species in one 0.16ha plot on each side of the boundary. There were many more individuals in the greywacke plot (149) than on the serpentinized peridotite (114). Floristically the plots were very different, with only one tree species, an unidentified Madhuca, occurring on both sides of the boundary. The soil over the greywacke was notably more acid, had lower Mg/Ca quotients, and much lower nickel concentrations than the soil over serpentinized peridotite.

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.

A new species, Amomum vermanum from NE India, is described and illustrated.

The phylogeny of Hedychium J. Koenig was estimated using sequence data of internal transcribed spacer regions 1 and 2 (ITS1, ITS2) and 5.8S nuclear ribosomal DNA. Sequences were determined for 29 taxa, one interspecific hybrid of Hedychium and one species in each of 16 other genera of Zingiberaceae representing tribes Hedychieae, Globbeae, Zingibereae and Alpinieae. Cladistic analysis of these data strongly supports the monophyly of Hedychium, but relationships to other genera are poorly supported. Within Hedychium, four major clades are moderately supported. These clades are also distinguishable on the basis of number of flowers per bract and distribution. Stahlianthus, Curcuma, and Hitchenia also form a strongly supported clade. Based on this limited sample, the currently defined tribes of Zingiberoideae are not monophyletic. The Asiatic genera form a monophyletic group within this broadly defined Hedychieae. The taxonomy and biogeography of Hedychium are reviewed.

The Pleistocenic Arc, which must have originated from the climatic shifts in South America during the late Pleistocene, ranges from the Caatingas of north-eastern Brazil through south-eastern Brazil to the Paraguay and Paraná rivers confluence, into south-western Bolivia and north-western Argentina, and extends sporadically into dry Andean valleys of Peru or coastal western Ecuador. It is regarded as a new phytogeographic unit for South America, here named the Tropical Seasonal Forests Region, as it is characterized by a considerable number of endemic plant taxa at both generic and species level. The paradigm of the arc is the distribution pattern of Anadenanthera colubrina (Fabaceae), which, when superimposed on those of other woody species of seasonal forests, permits a reasonably accurate mapping of the new region, which might also have biogeographic implications for endemic bird taxa. The plant communities of this newly recognized unit are unique in their nature and floristic composition, when compared with other floristic areas of the continent by means of classic phytosociological and numerical analyses (PCA). These ecosystems have remained submerged within other vegetation units in South American phytogeography (such as the Chaquenian or Amazonian regions), and have been particularly neglected in conservation policies. An urgent call is made for these areas to be preserved before they disappear, because they are located in areas with some of the best agricultural soils of tropical South America, and therefore subject to clearing for farming.

A new species of Roscoea from Bhutan and southern Tibet, R. bhutanica Ngamriab., formerly included in R. tibetica Batalin, is described and a new key to all species of Roscoea is provided. While studying the phylogeny of Roscoea, we discovered that there is a correspondence between phylogeny and biogeography (Ngamriabsakul et al., 2000). There are two distinct areas of distribution in Roscoea, namely the Himalaya and China. Only R. tibetica has been recorded in both areas. Cowley (1982) indicated that this species was very variable and suggested that it might be divided. We now propose to name a new species, R. bhutanica, based on observation of living and herbarium material at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) and a molecular systematic study. A morphological table comparing R. tibetica with R. bhutanica is given, along with the ITS sequences of R. tibetica, R. bhutanica and R. auriculata. The identification key to Roscoea species largely follows our phylogenetic tree (Ngamriabsakul et al., 2000).

The following new species are described from the E Himalaya: Poa pseudotibetica Noltie (Tibet, Sikkim); P. rohmooiana Noltie (Sikkim); P. chumbiensis Noltie (Tibet); P. dzongicola Noltie (Bhutan, Sikkim); P. cooperi Noltie (Sikkim); P. longii Noltie (Sikkim); P. lachenensis Noltie (Sikkim); P. rajbhandarii Noltie (India, Nepal, Bhutan). Poa himalayana Nees ex Steud. has been misunderstood and a new lectotype is chosen, replacing that of Bor; P. stewartii Bor is reduced to its synonymy.

The phylogenetic relationship of species within the Hypopterygium ‘rotulatum’ (Hedw.) Brid. s.l. complex is analysed by sequencing the trnL intron of cp DNA. Furthermore, the divergence in variable New Zealand H. ‘rotulatum’ samples is investigated along a latitudinal gradient. The presented data strongly support the delimitation of at least two distinct species within Hypopterygium ‘rotulatum’ s.l. in New Zealand, Australia and Tasmania, which correspond with the morphological species H. muelleri Hampe (possibly conspecific with H. debile Reichardt) and H. didictyon Müll. Hal., a species known from Chile. The distribution patterns of these species are discussed on a regional (New Zealand) and global scale; indicating an australasian distribution pattern of H. muelleri and a palaeoaustral pattern of H. didictyon.