The European species Wahlenbergia hederacea (L.) Rchb. (Campanulaceae) is molecularly distant from the remainder of the wahlenbergioids, and its inclusion with them renders the tribe Wahlenbergieae Endl. (1838) non-monophyletic. Additional support for this conclusion may be derived from its gross morphological characteristics, which are essentially campanuloid. However, although not strictly identical to that of Wahlenbergia Schrad. ex Roth, the capsule dehiscence mechanism of W. hederacea is still fundamentally wahlenbergioid and differs from the majority of campanuloids. Several genera such as Feeria and Jasione, which are intermediate between typical wahlenbergioids and typical campanuloids, have similar capsule characteristics, and it is postulated that Wahlenbergia hederacea, together with these ‘transitional’ genera, are all relatively ancient components of a campanulaceous palaeoflora of the early Tertiary of Eurasia. The wahlenbergioid type of dehiscence is considered to be a plesiomorphic character whereas the diverse campanuloid types of dehiscence mechanisms are derived under conditions of intense selection. It is suggested that Wahlenbergia hederacea is probably most closely related to, and ancestral to, the rapunculoid lineages of Campanula s.l. that subsequently evolved over much of Eurasia and North America. Consequently, Wahlenbergia hederacea should be classified in the Campanuloideae and the new generic name Hesperocodon Eddie & Cupido gen. nov. is proposed.

A new species, Roella uncinata Cupido (Campanulaceae), from Western Cape, South Africa, is described and illustrated, and its known distribution mapped. A proposed conservation assessment is provided, and its diagnostic characters and affinity are discussed.

The genus Campanula L. (Campanulaceae) in Iran has been revised in preparation for the treatment in the Flora of Iran. In Iran the genus consists of five subgenera (Campanula, Megalocalyx, Roucela, Brachycodonia and Rapunculus), 10 sections (Quinqueloculares, Campanula, Sibirica, Involucrata, Cordifoliae, Rupestres, Scapiflora, Saxicolae, Dictycalyx and Rapunculus) and 44 species. Since the Flora Iranica treatment by Rechinger & Schiman-Czeika in 1965 eight additional species (Campanula crispa, C. sibirica, C. coriacea, C. hakkiarica, C. lamondiae, C. conferta, C. hermannii and C. fastigiata) have been recorded from Iran. Campanula savalanica is a synonym of C. bayerniana. A key to the species in Iran is presented and the endemic species are highlighted.

The evolutionary relationships of several, mainly Iberian, Jasione taxa (Campanulaceae) were investigated using molecular data. A parsimony analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA was partially successful in elucidating some interspecific alliances. One of the main clades included three morphologically rather disparate species from S Spain and Morocco which might indicate that these areas were refugia during the last glaciations. The fact that most of the other taxa fell in a large polytomy suggests a recent origin of these species. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were analysed for a larger sample set of two taxa from within the ITS polytomy to assess the partition of genetic variation between and within populations. All the British accessions named J. montana var. montana were found to be close to those so-named from Spain. However, individual accessions of J. montana var. montana from Argyll (Scotland), Devon (SW England) and the Shetland Islands proved to be genetically different from each other. This might suggest a low level of genetic diversification from a common progenitor due to a rapid northward migration. It is proposed that J. montana var. bracteosa and J. maritima var. sabularia merit recognition at higher rank. The possibility that J. montana vars gracilis and latifolia are mere repetitive segregants of J. montana var. montana is considered.

The stem and leaf anatomy of the ten species of Jasione L. (Campanulaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula were investigated; their infra-specific taxa were also studied. The species differ from each other anatomically and can be identified by their anatomical characters. The anatomical evidence supports the taxonomic treatment that will be published in the forthcoming Flora iberica Volume 14. The possible relations between the anatomy and the ecology of these plants are discussed. Specialized small multicellular structures (trichoids) present on the leaf surface, whose interest has not previously been recognized, are described and their possible function discussed.

Two new species of Campanula L. (Campanulaceae) from SW Anatolia are described and illustrated: Campanula yaltirikii H. Duman (sect. Tracheliopsis) and C. koyuncui H. Duman (sect. Rupestres).