A new species of Alyssum L. (Cruciferae) from Western Turkey is described and illustrated: Alyssum dudleyi N. Adıgüzel & R.D. Reeves.

The state of systematics, a vital biological discipline investigating fundamental questions about the earth's biological diversity, is currently the subject of concern amongst the UK scientific and political communities. The scope of this complex field is redefined in terms of a number of linked agendas. Currently, key areas of research can be divided into the reconstruction of phylogeny and taxonomy, here defined as the description, delimitation and inventory of species. Molecular data have great potential to elucidate the relationships between taxa and, together with recent methodological advances, have instigated a resurgence of interest in phylogeny reconstruction. A literature survey indicates a decline in interest and investment in taxonomy, as defined above, an activity for which morphological data supply most information. We highlight the need to restore the balance in activity and profile between phylogeny reconstruction and morphology-based taxonomy, to redress the plight of systematics and dependent biological research.

Agalmyla Blume (including Dichrotrichum de Vriese and Tetradema Schltr.) (Gesneriaceae-Cyrtandroideae) is revised. Ninety-seven species are recognized, 62 of them newly described, and these are divided into three sections with distinct geographical ranges. Sect. Agalmyla (24 species) is restricted to the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and Palawan; sect. Exannularia (19 species) is the only section on Sulawesi and has a few species nearby; sect. Dichrotrichum (54 species) is represented in the Philippine Islands (excluding Palawan) by 13 species, in the Moluccas by two species, and in New Guinea by 39 species. No species is found in more than one of these areas and the key to sect. Dichrotrichum is therefore split between the Philippine species and those on the Moluccas and New Guinea. There are thus four keys altogether. The affinity and geographical distribution, both of the whole genus and of the sections, are discussed, and special attention is given to distribution of species in relation to the geological terranes of New Guinea. Points of interest and taxonomic importance in the morphological features are noted in a separate section.

Distribution maps and IUCN threat categories for the 30 named species of Hieracium section Alpina (Asteraceae) in Britain are given, based on taxonomic and distribution studies by D.J. Tennant and others over the last 30 years. Twenty-seven taxa are endemic to Scotland, one to England, one to Britain and one also occurs in mainland Europe and the Arctic. There are three main centres of diversity in Scotland: the Eastern Highlands (especially the Cairngorm Mountains), the Western Highlands and the Northern Highlands. Under the IUCN threat categories, seven taxa are Critically Endangered, seven are Endangered, two are Vulnerable, ten are Near Threatened and seven are Nationally Scarce. The main threats are collecting, natural events such as rock falls and avalanches, global warming, acid rain, over-grazing and tourism. There is particular concern for the long-term survival of four taxa.

A molecular phylogenetic study based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer sequences and plastid rps16 intron sequences on the status of the genus Gymnocarpos (Paronychioideae, Caryophyllaceae) is presented. Gymnocarpos decandrus and Sclerocephalus arabicus form a strongly supported clade within a well-supported group consisting also of G. przewalskii, and the rest of Gymnocarpos. Re-examination of morphological characters also supports this conclusion. Paronychia is found to be polyphyletic, with the subgenera Paronychia and Siphonychia forming a strongly supported sister group to Gymnocarpos, whereas P. kapela and P. chlorothyrsa (representing subgen. Anoplonychia) are found to be related to Herniaria and Philippiella. A key to the 10 species recognized in Gymnocarpos is presented, as well as synoptical information on nomenclature and distributions.

Vaccinium oscarlopezianum (sect. Bracteata Nakai) (Ericaceae), known only from two sites in the Sierra Madre Mountains of Luzon, Philippines, is formally described.

More than 30 collections of Tylophora from all over its geographic range were analysed together with representatives of all other genera in subtribe Tylophorinae except Rhyncharrhena. Regions of the chloroplast genome (trnT-L spacer, trnL intron and trnL-F spacer) as well as the nuclear genome (internal transcribed spacer including 5.8S of nuclear ribosomal DNA) were sequenced. Both the cpDNA dataset and the rDNA dataset yield a number of stable clades, but a completely resolved and stable phylogeny is not obtained from either alone or by combining them. The small East African and Arabian genera Blyttia, Diplostigma, Goydera and Pleurostelma form a well-supported clade in both datasets. Pentatropis is always recognized as monophyletic. Vincetoxicum is not clearly separable from Tylophora, and probably covers the temperate species, while Tylophora covers those in the tropics and subtropics.

Chromosome numbers for all 23 species of Tilia recognized by the author, and for several subspecies and hybrids, are reviewed. Counts or cytometric analyses for 14 species are reported for the first time; of these, eight species are diploid (2n=82): T. amurensis subsp. taquetii, T. chingiana, T. endochrysea, T. kiusiana, T. mandshurica, T. caroliniana, T. heterophylla and T. mexicana, five are tetraploid (2n=164): T. chinensis, T. henryana, T. miqueliana, T. mongolica and T. paucicostata, and one is octoploid (2n=328): T. nobilis. T. japonica, previously reported as diploid, is tetraploid in Japan (Hokkaidō) and in China. Three new combinations are created: T. amurensis Rupr. subsp. taquetii (C.K. Schneid.) Pigott, T. cordata Mill. subsp. sibirica (Bayer) Pigott and T. platyphyllos Scop. subsp. corinthiaca (Bosc ex K. Koch) Pigott.

Seven Turkish species of Nonea Medik. (Boraginaceae-Boragineae) were studied karyologically using material collected in the field from wild populations. Somatic chromosome number and karyotype morphology were determined for each species using orcein staining. Nonea pulmonarioides is diploid with 2n=20, though some cells showed 2n=19. Nonea anchusoides turned out to be tetraploid with 2n=4x=40, while N. macrosperma was characterized by a hexaploid complement of 2n=6x=60. These data indicate polyploidy based on x=10 as a major mechanism of speciation in the perennial members of the genus. Among the annuals, N. echioides and N. versicolor showed 2n=16, while N. obtusifolia and N. lutea were characterized by 2n=20 and 2n=14, respectively. The results reveal that x=10 is more frequent in Nonea than previously realized, and that it may be the ancestral haploid number of diploid endemics of (sub)alpine habitats in the Pontic-Caucasian mountain system. The hypothesis is here proposed that the base numbers x=9, x=8 and x=7, progressively prevalent in the annual species from lower altitudes, may have originated through descending dysploidy associated with the tendency to shorten the life cycle as an adaptation to arid habitats.

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.

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.

Syzygium cratermontensis, S. kipidamasii, S. pseudomegistophyllum and S. ubogoensis are newly described from Papua New Guinea. Some notes on the taxonomic position and geographic distribution of S. megistophyllum Merrill & Perry are also provided.

The state of systematics, for convenience here divided into taxonomy (the delimitation, description and inventory of species) and phylogeny reconstruction, is evaluated. Molecular systematics may seem overemphasized, but the resulting gains made in our understanding of relationships in a relatively short time are very considerable. Although morphological data currently play only a limited role in detecting large-scale phylogenetic pattern, the analysis by Wortley et al. of the role morphology has played in the past is not easily interpreted. At species level, it is unclear what effect molecular techniques will have on our understanding of species limits, but it is likely to be considerable. Although taxonomy is both essential and underfunded, there seems little point in asking for more money until we can justify the limits of the species we describe more clearly and until we have cleared up the impediments that so much slow the practice of taxonomy. Business cannot remain as usual if any of the grand inventory projects we have started are to be finished within a reasonable time, or even to be of much use when they are.