The occurrence of cerrado (as tree and shrub savanna is called in Brazil) and forest formations side by side is common at the southern margin of the Brazilian Amazonian Forest, and previous studies have demonstrated the advance of forests over cerrado areas. The aim of the present study is to provide an accurate documentation of the transition process between the two major biomes. Tree data (≥ 5 cm diameter at 0.3 m above soil level) from three plots of cerrado sensu stricto lying near three of cerradão (the taller, denser form of cerrado) were inventoried starting in 2002 in an area of 1.5 ha made up of 150 subplots of 10 × 10 m (50 in each area). This showed that the most important species of the cerradão were invading areas previously occupied by smaller, lower forms of cerrado (although it is sometimes difficult to define which are ‘forest’ and which ‘cerrado’ species as many are flexible in size – for instance Emmotum nitens can often be intermediate, establishing in cerrado that develops into cerradão and on to forest). Some typical species such as Eriotheca gracilipes and Emmotum nitens, established since the first inventories, have increased their populations (between 27 and 210%). Tachigali vulgaris, a typical, weedy, adventive species of the Cerrado–Amazonian Forest transition, showed the largest increase in abundance in areas of cerrado sensu stricto (between 100 and 1200%), and is probably the most important pioneer species in the initial advance of the forest into cerrado at the Southern Amazonian border.

For the purpose of determining the origin of horticultural evergreen azalea cultivars, this study was focused on the natural populations of azalea in Kyushu (south main island of Japan). The Kirishima mountains, the volcanic mountain mass in Kyushu, are an important centre of diversity for the Japanese evergreen azaleas. Rhododendron kiusianum Makino grows above 1000m alt., whereas R. kaempferi Planch. is distributed below 600m alt. Putative natural hybrid populations of these two species are found in the intermediate region (1000–600m alt.). These two species have been clearly distinguished by their respective morphological features. Rhododendron kiusianum has small pink-purple flowers and small elliptical leaves, whereas R. kaempferi has larger red-orange flowers with dark blotches and large oblong leaves. Interspecific hybrids show phenotypes within the range of the two species, especially with regard to flower colour and leaf shape. A morphological cline of these characteristics corresponding to altitude has been observed between these two species. PCR-RFLP analysis of chloroplast DNA detected specific bands for the two species in the 16S rDNA region when digested with HhaI restriction enzyme. Populations of interspecific hybrids were composed of individuals that had a banding pattern of either R. kiusianum or R. kaempferi. This indicates that R. kiusianum and R. kaempferi are clearly distinct species. Furthermore, natural hybrid populations consist of individuals that have one of two cpDNA. Some individuals in the populations of R. kiusianum (T-1430 and T-1030) possess the cpDNA pattern of R. kaempferi, which suggests that cytoplasmic introgression has occurred in the populations of R. kiusianum from R. kaempferi.

An Important Plant Area programme has been initiated for the Arabian region by the IUCN Arabian Plant Specialist Group. The aim of this programme is to assess hotspots of plant diversity in the region and designate the most important as Important Plant Areas. These assessments are conducted on the basis of specific criteria and this paper presents the criteria which have been adopted for the Arabian Peninsula countries of Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen. These Arabian criteria differ from those originally developed for Europe, and so they are presented here in full. This paper also discusses the context of the Important Plant Area programme and its ability to provide a framework for conservation planning.

This study investigated the effect of environmental variables such as soil class, soil water availability, topography and slope on spatial distribution patterns of tree species in a Brazilian Seasonal Semideciduous Forest area. Floristic and structural data for a tree community were obtained by sampling 100 plots 10 × 10 m in which every tree with trunk diameter (dbh) ⩾ 4.77 cm at 130 cm above ground level was sampled. The area under study showed a marked soil gradient, directly associated with the topography: flat hilltops with Al3+-rich Dystric Latosols give way to steep colluvial slopes with shallower and more Dystric Cambic Latosols without Al3+, changing over, at the bottom of the hollows, to Epieutrophic Cambisols richer in nutrients. The floristic-sociological parameters analysed for the soil habitats did not differ statistically from each other. The diversity and equability indices were 3.6 and 0.84, 3.48 and 0.85, 3.49 and 0.84 for the Dystric Latosol, Dystric Cambic Latosol and Epieutrophic Cambisol, respectively. The soil variables (related to the fertility and texture) and the soil water regime (drainage) were probably the principal factors determining the spatial distribution patterns of tree species in the forest.

Following recent molecular phylogenetic studies in Old World Gesneriaceae the nomenclatural implications for names in Henckelia are examined. New combinations are made in Codonoboea and Loxocarpus to account for species now excluded from Henckelia. A list is presented in which the current position of all species hitherto assigned to Henckelia is given, including the new combination Henckelia rotundata (Barnett) D.J.Middleton & Mich.Möller. A new combination in Oreocharis is made.

Centaurea golestanica Akhani & Wagenitz (Compositae), Eriocycla ghafooriana Akhani (Umbelliferae), Plantago podlechii Akhani (Plantaginaceae,) and Seseli tortuosum L. subsp. kiabii Akhani (Umbelliferae) are described as new from Golestan National Park, NE Iran. The following species are new additions to the Iranian flora from that area: Allium vavilovii Popov & Vved., Alyssum alyssoides (L.) L., Atraphaxis seravschanica Pavlov, Carex pseudocyperus L., Ceratophyllum submersum L., Euphorbia humilis C.A. Mey. ex Ledeb., Gagea glacialis K. Koch, Lactuca georgica Grossh., Linosyris vulgaris Cass. ex Less., Myosotis alpestris F.W. Schmidt, Myosotis arvensis (L.) Hill, Myosotis minutiflora Boiss. & Reuter, Potamogeton natans L., Rumex caucasicus Rech. f. and Vicia cassubica L. Details on the habitat and associated species are given based on field studies and phytosociological relevés. Maps of distribution within the Park of all species and illustrations or photographs are given for some of the taxa concerned.

The floristic composition of campo limpo úmido, a moist savanna grassland vegetation of the cerrado biome, is still little described, even though its herbs and subshrubs form a major component of the cerrado vegetation. The objective of this study was to characterize the floristic richness of the herbaceous and subshrub layer of a moist grassland at the Água Fria Farm, Alto Paraíso, Goiás State (14°04′8.83″S, 47°30′33.1″W). The principal use of such grasslands is to graze cattle; in addition, local people collect vast numbers of selected species of wild plants to sell for the decorative dried plant trade, or for their medicinal qualities. Little is known, however, about the sustainability of this extractivism. A survey of a 21 ha area, with intensive quarterly collections of herbarium specimens, was made from April 2000 to March 2001. Despite the small size of the study site it proved to be very rich floristically. A total of 207 species in 90 genera and 33 families was registered in the area. Thirty-one species not yet recorded in the checklist of the flora of the cerrado biome were found in this study, plus three that seem to be new to science. The richest families were Cyperaceae (30 species), Poaceae (28), Xyridaceae (23), Eriocaulaceae (20), Asteraceae (18), and Orchidaceae and Melastomataceae with 10 species each. These results suggest the need for more research on the moist grassland to provide overall estimates for the plant species richness of this widespread vegetation type and as a basis to help guide conservation and management policies.

Systematic relationships within the Hawaiian group Tetraplasandra A. Gray, Munroidendron Sherff and Reynoldsia sandwicensis A. Gray are investigated here based on parsimony analysis of nucleotide sequences from the internal transcribed spacer (ITS 1 and 2) regions and the non-transcribed spacer of 5S (5S-NTS) nuclear ribosomal DNA. Results indicate that Tetraplasandra, Munroidendron and Reynoldsia sandwicensis form a single monophyletic group, and that Reynoldsia A. Gray is paraphyletic. Both data sets support combining Reynoldsia sandwicensis with Munroidendron and treating it as distinct from Reynoldsia species outside Hawaii. Both data sets support two major clades: a Munroidendron/Reynoldsia sandwicensis clade and a Tetraplasandra clade, but they are discordant in relation to the monophyly of Tetraplasandra. 5S-NTS results support treating Tetraplasandra, Munroidendron and Reynoldsia sandwicensis as a single genus, whereas ITS results suggest that Tetraplasandra represents a distinct genus from Reynoldsia sandwicensis and Munroidendron. Tetraplasandra gymnocarpa (Hillebr.) Sherff is the only member of the Araliaceae with a completely superior ovary, and in T. kavaiensis (H. Mann) Sherff the ovary is partially superior. Together, they form a well-supported clade within the Hawaiian complex, confirming the hypothesis that in Tetraplasandra superior ovaries evolved in Hawaii from an epigynous ancestor.

Plathymenia (Leguminosae–Mimosoideae) has been variously regarded as comprising one to three species and one variety. The genus is here considered to be monospecific, containing only Plathymenia reticulata. This is in agreement with the conclusion of Ducke in 1925. A full description is given of P. reticulata in its emended sense, with notes on ecology, uses, vernacular names and a list of herbarium specimens examined.

The descriptive flora of Iraq is incomplete, with ± 900 species yet to be described. However, names of all species with their distribution in the different physiographic districts of Iraq are databased (in BRAHMS) from information obtained from published sources and herbarium records. A quantitative analysis of the flora shows ± 3300 species (accepted names) in 908 genera belonging to 136 families of flowering plants. The families Asteraceae (409 spp.), Fabaceae (393 spp.), Poaceae (264 spp.), Brassicaceae (195 spp.) and Apiaceae (155 spp.) are the largest. An analysis of the distribution of the flora in the different physiographic regions and districts of Iraq shows the Mountain Region (northern mountains of Iraq) and the Central Alluvial Plains District in the Lower Mesopotamian Region to be the most species rich. Iraq is influenced by two major phytochoria, the Saharo-Sindian and the Irano-Turanian, which are subdivided into regional phytochoria specific to the Middle East region. Endemism is high in the Irano-Turanian region of Iraq which occupies the Mountain and major part of the Upper Plains and Foothills Regions. These Regions also contain the majority of the endemic and near endemic species. Biodiversity surveys carried out by Nature Iraq during 2005–2010 propose 88 Key Biodiversity Areas in Iraq. The National Report on Biodiversity in Iraq (CBD) outlines the threats to biodiversity and habitats in Iraq and a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan for the protection and conservation of species-rich and biodiverse habitats.

Problems of infrageneric classification in Pedicularis L. (Scrophulariaceae), and the phytogeography of the genus in the Flora of Bhutan area, are discussed. Six new species and one new variety of Pedicularis L. are described. Pedicularis garckeana Prain ex Maxim. is separated from P. ser. Robustae Prain as the new, monospecific series Garckeanae R. R. Mill (Sikkim and adjacent Xizang). Six of these new taxa are endemic to Bhutan (P. dhurensis R. R. Mill sp. nov., P. longipedicellata P. C. Tsoong var. lanocalyx R. R. Mill var. nov., P. melalimne R. R. Mill sp. nov., P. microloba R. R. Mill sp. nov., P. sanguilimbata R. R. Mill sp. nov. and P. woodii R. R. Mill sp. nov.) and one (P. yarilaica R. R. Mill sp. nov.) occurs in N Bhutan and S Xizang. The type material of Phtheirospermum auratum Bonati (=Pedicularis aurata (Bonati) H. L. Li) is shown to be a mixed gathering; the name is lectotypified and an emended description of P. aurata given. Several other names are lectotypified. Three sectional names originally proposed by Yamazaki (each ‘based’ on invalid ‘names’ of groups earlier recognized as subgreges by Tsoong) are validated as P. sect. Asthenocaulus [P. C. Tsoong ex] R. R. Mill, P. sect. Nothosigmantha T. Yamaz. ex R. R. Mill, and P. sect. Rhizophyllastrum T. Yamaz. ex R. R. Mill, while a fourth invalid section (‘P. sect. Brachystachys (P. C. Tsoong) T. Yamaz.’) is here recognized and described as P. sect. Brevispica R. R. Mill, sect. nov. Pedicularis sect. Cryptorhynchus T. Yamaz. and P. sect. Elephanticeps T. Yamaz. are provided with emended descriptions. The nomenclature of P. pennelliana P. C. Tsoong and related taxa of the P. gracilis Wall. ex Benth. complex is discussed.

Cerrado vegetation covers about 33% of the total area of the state of Piauí, northeastern Brazil, where there are also large areas of transition and contact with other vegetation types. Although the Piauí cerrados are a direct northern prolongation of the central core area, they are considered marginal by almost all authors. There are few previous records of their woody flora. This paper presents a floristic list of woody species based on the survey of 11 localities and updating of two already published lists. The climate belongs to Thornthwaite's subhumid category due to Piauí's position between the semiarid northeastern domain and the superhumid Amazon. The annual total rainfall is similar to that of the major part of the Brazilian cerrado area, but the rainy season is shorter. The soils differ from most cerrado soils in containing a greater proportion of concretions and plinthite with generally lighter colours, which may be interpreted as indicating large fluctuations of the water-table during pedogenesis. There are also widespread indications of seasonal high water-table showing that many of the Piauí cerrados probably belong to Sarmiento's hyperseasonal savannah category. A total of 60 families is represented by 307 woody taxa (including 14 family indet., four genera indet. and 80 species indet.). The lowest floristic diversity (richness) occurred in pure cerrado, the greatest in transition and contact areas.

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.

The chromosome numbers of 32 taxa in the ‘Gaultheria group’ of genera of the tribe Andromedeae in the Ericaceae have been counted; 15 of these have been counted for the first time. All taxa counted in Gaultheria and Leucothoë have a chromosome number based on x = 11. The chromosome numbers counted in Diplycosia are 2n = 36 and in Zenobia 2n = c.66. G. insana and G. procumbens show different polyploid races: G. insana tetraploids and hexaploids and G. procumbens diploids, tetraploids and octoploids.

This paper completes the systematic treatment of the bamboos of Nepal and Bhutan, covering five genera from subtropical to lower temperate zones. Three further genera from the subtribe Arundinariinae Bentham are included: Drepanostachyum Keng f., Himalayacalamus Keng f., and Ampelocalamus Chen, Wen & Sheng. They have semelauctant ebracteate inflorescences, pachymorph rhizomes, and 3 stamens. Neomicrocalamus Keng f. has semelauctant bracteate inflorescences and 6 stamens, and is in the new subtribe described here, Racemobambosinae. Chimonobambusa Makino has bracteate inflorescences and 3 stamens and is the only Himalayan genus in the subtribe Shibataeinae (Nakai) Soderstrom & Ellis. A new Drepanostachyum species from Bhutan is described as D. annulatum. Himalayacalamus, which was originally described as a monotypic genus, is enlarged by the description of five new species, H. asper, H. brevinodus, H. cupreus, H. fimbriatus, and H. porcatus, all from Nepal. A Himalayan representative of the genus Ampelocalamus, A. patellaris, is transferred from Dendrocalamus. Neomicrocalamus andropogonifolius from eastern Bhutan is transferred from Bambusa.

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.

The Aralia–Panax complex consists of three closely related genera of Araliaceae (Aralia L., Panax L. and Sciadodendron Griseb.), widely distributed in temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions of Asia and the Americas. Three major lineages (Panax, Aralia sect. Aralia, and Aralia sect. Dimorphanthus Miq.) are disjunctly distributed in eastern Asia and North America. Comparative sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA was carried out in order to examine the phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships of this complex. Results suggest Aralia is paraphyletic, with Panax and the Central American monotypic Sciadodendron nested within. The monophyly of Panax (P. trifolius L. maybe excepted), Aralia sect. Aralia (except A. henryi Harms), and Aralia sect. Humiles Harms is supported. The morphologically isolated A. hispida Vent. is embedded within Aralia sect. Dimorphanthus. The phylogenetic data suggest the need to re-examine the generic delimitation of Aralia. None of the presumed intercontinental species pairs between eastern Asia and eastern North America (e.g. Aralia cordata Thunb. and A. racemosa L., A. spinosa L. and A. stipulata Franch., and Panax ginseng C. A. Mey. and P. quinquefolius L.) have been supported as sister species, and the floristic similarity between eastern Asia and eastern North America seems to have been exaggerated by previous workers. Within Aralia sect. Dimorphanthus, the north temperate series Dimorphanthus was paraphyletic, with the subtropical and tropical series Chinensis J. Wen and series Foliolosae J. Wen nested within. This pattern of differentiation is consistent with the hypothesis of morphological stasis among the closely related disjunct taxa between eastern Asia and eastern North America in series Dimorphanthus. Subtropical/tropical Sciadodendron, and Aralia sect. Pentapanax (Seem.) J. Wen are suggested to have derived from temperate elements, although Araliaceae have a generally subtropical and tropical distribution.

Inselbergs are rounded rock outcrops, usually of Precambrian age, with sparse vegetation cover. The vegetation of inselbergs in Zimbabwe is described for the first time, based upon data sampled from 53 localities. Inselbergs support a range of habitats whose vegetation is described. Data on species richness and floristic composition of the inselberg flora (549 vascular plant, 25 bryophyte and 136 lichen species) are presented. Phytogeography and diversity of inselberg vegetation are discussed. First records for Zimbabwe are reported in lichens and vascular plants.

Nine species of tubulate and two species of lamellate boletes are recognized in the mycota of Paraná State, Brazil, of which five are considered introduced.

Gloeocantharellus corneri and a further genus of boletes are noted, the latter based on immature material. These records are new to South America, Brazil or Paraná State. Three new combinations are made in the genus Boletinellus for species previously placed in Gyrodon: Boletinellus exiguus, B. monticola and B. rompelii.

Recent studies on molecular phylogeny of complex thalloid liverworts (Marchantiopsida) have revealed the need to recognize four new higher taxa: Family Neohodgsoniaceae, Order Neohodgsoniales, Order Lunulariales and Family Dumortieraceae. These are formally described along with notes on their differences from other complex thalloid liverworts.