The following new taxa, combinations and synonymy in the genus Juncus from E Himalaya and SW China are proposed: J. bryophilus Noltie sp. nov.; J. spumosus Noltie sp. nov.; J. glaucoturgidus Noltie sp. nov.; J. hydrophilus Noltie sp. nov.; J. longiflorus (A. Camus) Noltie comb. & stat. nov.; J. duthiei (C.B. Clarke) Noltie comb. nov. of which the following are synonyms: J. rohtangensis Aswal & Goel, J. sikkimensis Hook.f. var. monocephalus Hook.f. and J. harae Miyam. & H. Ohba; J. bhutanensis Satake is reduced to synonymy of J leucomelas Royle ex D. Don, J. pseudocastaneus (Lingelsh.) Sam. to that of J. sikkimensis; J. tratangensis Satake to that of J. ochraceus Buchenau, J. unifolius A.M. Lu & Z.Y. Zhang to that of J. minimus Buchenau; J. phaeocarpus A.M. Lu & Z.Y. Zhang to that of J. grisebachii Buchenau; J. longibracteatus A.M. Lu & Z.Y. Zhang to that of J. kingii Rendle; J. luteocarpus Satake, the illegitimate J. albescens Satake and J. yoskisukei Goel to that of J. concinnus D. Don and J. bracteatus Buchenau to that of, J. benghalensis Kunth.

J. perpusillus Sam. is reported new to Sikkim and Nepal; J. amplifolius A. Camus new to Bhutan, Sikkim and Nepal; J. trichophyllus W.W. Sm. new to Nepal and Bhutan; J. nepalicus Miyam. & H. Ohba new to Sikkim. J. uniflorus W.W. Sm. is lectotypified. Notes on J. spectabilis Rendle and J. biglumoides Hara are given.

The new species Onosma griersonii R. R. Mill (Boraginaceae) is described from Bhutan. The species belongs to O. sect. Maharanga (DC.) C. B. Clarke.

The following new taxa, combinations and synonymy in the genus Smilax from E Himalaya and SW China are proposed: S. myrtillus var. rigida Noltie, var. nov., S. elegans Wall, ex Kunth subsp. subrecta Noltie, subsp. nov. of which S. longebracteolata Hook.f., and S. elegans var. major A.DC. are synonyms; S. elegans subsp. glaucophylla (Klotzsch) Noltie, comb. & stat. nov., S. elegans subsp. osmastonii (Wang & Tang) Noltie, comb. & stat. nov., S. elegans subsp. microphylla (C.H. Wright) Noltie, comb. & slat. nov. of which S. microphylla var. angustifolia Warb., S. castaneiflora H. Lév., S. labordei H. Lév. and S. gracillima H. Lév. & Vaniot are synonyms. Notes are provided on Warburg's varieties angustifolia, nigrescens and elongata of S. microphylla. S. bockii Warb. is reduced to synonymy of Helerosmilax japonica Kunth. S. glaucophylla Klotzsch, S. osmastonii Wang & Tang, S. microphylla C.H. Wright and S. minutiflora A.DC. are lectotypified; S. elegans Wall, ex Kunth and S. wallichii Kunth are neotypified.

A new species of gentian, Gentianella griersonii E. Aitken & D.G. Long sp. nov. (Gentianaceae). endemic to Central and Northern Bhutan, is described. Its generic placement and differences from allied species are discussed.

The following new taxa and combinations of plants from India and Bhutan are made: Eriocaulon bhutanicum Noltie sp. nov.; Musa griersonii Noltie sp. nov.; Actinoscirpus grossus (L.f.) Goetghebeur & D.A. Simpson var. kysoor (Roxb.) Noltie,comb. nov.

Various problems and issues in the Acanthaceae of Bhutan and the Himalaya are considered. The typification of Thunbergia grandiflora is discussed, and T. lacei and T. clarkei are reduced to synonomy. A new species of Eranthemum, E. erylhrochilum, is described, and the characters which separate it from its allies are listed. A new combination, P. gomezii, is made in Phlogacanthus. The genus Echinacanthus is reviewed and redefined. One group of species placed in it is moved to a new genus, Clarkeasia. which contains one species with two recognized varieties. The Chinese species, Strobilanthes lofuensis, is moved to Echinacanthus pending a thorough review of the three Chinese species in the genus. A wide-ranging discussion of Strobilanthes is presented, and Bremekamp's division of the genus into some fifty segregate genera is criticized and rejected. Various characters used in dividing the genus including life form (with particular attention to the gregarious flowering of the many plietesial species), anisophylly, inflorescence type, calyx development, corolla shape, pollen and seeds are discussed and reassessed. Although pollen is of minor value in subdividing the genus in the Himalayan region, it is possible to recognize 17 distinct groups of species at infrageneric level. These groups are described and discussed with the hope that they will help towards the reclassification of the Strobilanthes group as a whole. Keys are provided for most groups covering species from outside the Himalayan region as well. Thirty-five individual species of Strobilanthes are discussed, of which 17 are described as new. SEM photographs and line drawings illustrate the new species and various aspects of the genus discussed in the paper.

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.