Inselbergs are rocky environments that support a unique flora distinct from that of the surrounding area. The objectives of this work were to conduct a floristic inventory of an inselberg in the semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil, and to investigate the relationship between its flora and the flora of the surrounding area. The following questions were addressed: is the species richness comparable to other inselbergs in northeastern Brazil; is the floristic composition of the inselberg more similar to other inselbergs or to the surrounding Caatinga vegetation; and do the similarities in the floristic composition of inselbergs depend on the distance between them? This work documents 201 species in 62 families. Cyperaceae (28 spp.), Euphorbiaceae (19), Poaceae (15), Orchidaceae (11) and Bromeliaceae (9) are the most species-rich families. On the inselberg the plants are distributed in islands found on exposed rock, in fissures and in depressions in the rock. Variations in species richness in the region were assessed by comparison of floristic inventories conducted in other inselbergs of the semi-arid region with those of this study. The flora of the inselberg under investigation is more similar to the flora of other nearby inselbergs than to the vegetation of the surrounding semi-arid region.

Two new species of Begonia (Begoniaceae), Begonia ozotothrix and Begonia hekensis, are described from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Both species belong to Begonia section Petermannia. Begonia ozotothrix is unusual amongst Asian Begonia in having branched trichomes on the stems, petioles and the abaxial lamina surfaces, and it is unusual amongst species of Begonia section Petermannia in having extremely compressed cymose-subumbellate male partial inflorescences.

Dysoxylum middletonianum Takeuchi (Meliaceae) is described from previously unexplored habitats in the Southern Fold Mountains of Papua New Guinea. The new plant is the smallest Dysoxylum in eastern Malesia and one of only two species with whip infructescences.

Several papers dealing with Orchidaceae from Atlantic Central Africa have recently been published. However, orchid distributions in this area remain poorly known. Over the last decade, we have conducted an intensive fieldwork programme in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea. This has enabled us to collect 22 taxa that are new national records. Ten taxa are new records for Cameroon, eight for Equatorial Guinea and four for both countries. One of these taxa is also a new record from Nigeria. Fifteen taxa are endemic to the Lower Guinea area and six were previously known only from the type locality.

New combinations are made in the fern genera Colysis, Cyclosorus, Haplopteris and Selliguea from Thailand. A new combination for Pteridaceae subfamily Cryptogrammoideae is made.

The neotropical species of Calycobolus (Convolvulaceae) are revised. Three species are recognised. A fourth species is here recognised as belonging to the genus Porana. All four species are described, keys for identification are provided, selected characters are illustrated, distributions are mapped, and an index to numbered herbarium specimens examined is included to aid herbarium curation.

Input from molecular phylogenetics in the past five years has substantially altered concepts of systematic relationships among liverworts. While these studies have confirmed the monophyly of phylum Marchantiophyta, they have demonstrated that many previously recognised ranks within the hierarchy are unnatural and in need of modification. Changes in the ranks of suborder and above have been proposed by various workers, but modifications in the circumscription of genera and families are still required. A comprehensive, phylogenetic classification scheme that integrates morphological data with molecular hypotheses is presented. The scheme includes diagnoses and publication citations for all names above the rank of genus. All currently recognised genera are listed alphabetically in their respective families; subfamilies are not indicated. Major modifications and novel alignments of taxa are thoroughly discussed, with pertinent references provided. Jungermanniaceae is redefined and Solenostomataceae fam. nov. is formally described to accommodate some of the genera excluded from it.