Facchinia Rchb. (Alsinoideae–Caryophyllaceae), earlier found not to be part of Minuartia s.str., is here revised. The genus contains seven species, one of which has two subspecies. Seven new combinations are made: Facchinia cerastiifolia (Ramond ex DC.) Dillenb. & Kadereit, F. cherlerioides (Sieber) Dillenb. & Kadereit, F. cherlerioides subsp. aretioides (Port. ex J.Gay) Dillenb. & Kadereit, F. grignensis (Rchb.) Dillenb. & Kadereit, F. herniarioides (Rion) Dillenb. & Kadereit, F. rupestris (Scop.) Dillenb. & Kadereit, and F. valentina (Pau) Dillenb. & Kadereit. Keys to Minuartia s.str., the Old World segregate genera of Minuartia s.l., and to the species and subspecies of Facchinia are provided. All taxa are described and mapped, and some are illustrated.

The terrestrial orchid genus Bhutanthera Renz (subfamily Orchidoideae, tribe Orchideae), comprising five species, three newly described here, is established. A new species, Herminium pygmaeum Renz, and three new varieties, Bulbophyllum cauliflorum Hook.f. var. sikkimense N. Pearce & P. J. Cribb, Cephalanthera erecta (Thunb.) Bl. var. oblanceolata N. Pearce & P. J. Cribb, and Gymnadenia orchidis Lindl. var. pantlingii Renz, are here newly described. Five new combinations and one new name are proposed. Four new sections of Bulbophyllum are also established and their relationships discussed.

Didymocarpus middletonii Souvann., Soulad. & Tagane, a new species of Gesneriaceae from Nam Kading National Protected Area, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to Didymocarpus brevicalyx, D. formosus and D. puhoatensis but distinguished from the three by its fewer-flowered inflorescence, longer pedicel, and urceolate and multicellular eglandular hairy calyx. Based on the latest IUCN criteria, Didymocarpus middletonii is proposed to be Critically Endangered (CR). Our record of Didymocarpus represents a new genus record for the flora of Laos.

Mandevilla (Apocynaceae) is a neotropical genus which is well represented in Brazil. A recent taxonomic revision of the Brazilian species of Mandevilla subgenus Mandevilla included eight new species, one of them from the State of Pernambuco. Nevertheless, while preparing a survey of Apocynaceae from the Brazilian semi-arid region, a new species of the subgenus was recognised. Mandevilla catimbauensis Souza-Silva, Rapini & J.F.Morales is here described and illustrated. It is a twining plant with elliptic, glabrous leaves and hypocrateriform, purple flowers, known only from the Vale do Catimbau National Park, in the State of Pernambuco.

Collections of Cyrtandra from the island of Palawan in the Philippines are reviewed. Twelve species are present, of which only five species are already described. A further three species and one variety are described here: C. cleopatrae H.J. Atkins & Cronk sp. nov., C. pulgarensis [Elmer ex] H.J. Atkins & Cronk sp. nov., C. hirtigera H.J. Atkins & Cronk sp. nov., and C. hirtigera var. chlorina H.J. Atkins & Cronk var. nov. Further material of the remaining four taxa (spp. B, C, D, E) will be needed before these can be formally named, although descriptions are provided here. All species are endemic except C. elatostemoides Elmer and C. hypochrysoides Kränzl., which also occur in Borneo and Luzon respectively. The pattern of narrow endemism shown by the cyrtandras of Palawan is commented on briefly.

A new species, Bellevalia pelagica C.Brullo, Brullo & Pasta (Hyacinthaceae), growing in the limestone rocks of the Islet of Lampione in the Pelagian Archipelago (Sicily), is described and illustrated. It is a tetraploid with 2n = 16. It belongs to the Bellevalia romana group and shows a close relationship with B. dolichophylla and B. galitensis, both rare endemics from Tunisia.

The discovery in historic herbaria of an overlooked extinct endemic from the island of St Helena is reported. The first descriptions of St Helena Ebony, Trochetiopsis melanoxylon (Sterculiaceae), and the specimens associated with them in the herbaria of Oxford University (OXF) and the Natural History Museum, London (BM), do not match living and later-collected material, and instead represent an extinct plant. A new name is therefore needed for living St Helena Ebony: Trochetiopsis ebenus Cronk sp. nov. The hybrid between this species and the related T. erythroxylon is also described here: Trochetiopsis × benjamini Cronk hybr. nov. (Sterculiaceae), and chromosome counts of 2n = 40 are reported for the hybrid and both parents for the first time. The re-assessment of the extinct ebony emphasizes the importance of historic herbarium collections for the study of species extinction.

The second and final part, in which Himalayan taxa in the genera Acronema, Angelica, Chamaesciadium, Chamaesium, Heracleum, Lalldhwojia, Oenanthe, Physospermopsis, Pimpinella, Pleurospermopsis, Pleurospermum, Schulzia, Selinum, Sinocarum, Tordyliopsis and Vicatia are typified with notes on some critical groups (notably Acronema, Selinum and Sinocarum). The new name Cnidium bhutanicum is established. A list of voucher specimens for the whole Flora account is appended.

Names of the Old World tribes of Gesneriaceae are updated both nomenclaturally and taxonomically. The most important change is that Epithemateae (Meisn.) C.B. Clarke antedates, and therefore replaces, Klugieae Fritsch. All other suprageneric names known to have been validly published are quoted in synonymy of the appropriate tribe.

Identification aids for Cicer (Leguminosae, Cicereae) taxa are presented. A DELTA format dataset was generated for 42 Cicer taxa, on the basis of observation of 214 herbarium specimens and information obtained from the literature. Using the programs key, explore and confor, a dichotomous key, a tabular key, an interactive key and brief descriptions were produced and are presented.

Two cases of poisoning by Lepiota helveola Bres. (Agaricales, Lepiotaceac) in southern Turkey are documented; a total of eleven people died in the two poisonings. The complexity of the taxonomy surrounding L. helveola is discussed, and a key to mentioned species is provided.

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.

Epiphytes are an important component of the diversity of tropical forests, and they also have several ecological functions. Vegetation heterogeneity is one of the features responsible for the high biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest, especially in the domain’s seasonal semideciduous forest (SSF). This biodiversity presents as high endemism and species richness. Owing to the seasonal nature of SSF, organisms that require high humidity (e.g. epiphytes) would be expected to show low species richness in these forests. The aims of this study were to conduct a survey of the vascular epiphytes in remnants of montane SSF in the Serra do Ibitipoca, Brazil, and to evaluate the importance of habitat heterogeneity for the richness and composition of species in these areas. We also evaluated whether the intrinsic characteristics of the SSF phytophysiognomy and fragmentation could result in low species richness and a high number of accidental epiphyte species. The study was conducted in the course of 18 expeditions undertaken between September 2013 and December 2016, covering five fragments of montane SSF (totalling 23.6 ha). We recorded 96 species (only one of which is an accidental epiphyte), distributed across 41 genera and 10 families. This is the highest epiphytic species richness recorded in Brazilian SSF to date. The results refuted the initial hypothesis and reinforce the importance to the epiphytic community of conservation of fragments with different structures.

This paper completes an account of the subfamily Alpinioideae (Zingiberaceae) of Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia, started in the first paper of this series (Sakai & Nagamasu, 1998), which lists 12 Amomum species from the park. Twenty-two species in the genera Alpinia, Elettaria, Elettariopsis, Etlingera, Hornstedtia and Plagiostachys (Zingiberaceae) are reported from Lambir Hills, Sarawak, with systematic and ecological notes. Four species, Etlingera baramensis, E. inundata, E. newmanii and Plagiostachys glandulosa, are described as new to science, and Hornstedtia leonurus is reported from Borneo for the first time. In Etlingera inundata floral dimorphism is reported. The informal grouping of Etlingera proposed by Smith (1986b) is re-examined. Synonymies of Etlingera coccinea, Hornstedtia minor, H. affinis and H. phaeochoana and the generic position and synonymies of H. sarawacensis and H. conica are discussed. Lectotypes of Achasma brevilabrum (=Etlingera brevilabrum), Alpinia ligulata, Elettaria coccinea (=Etlingera coccinea), Elettaria speciosa (=Etlingera elatior) and Hornstedtia alliacea (=H. conica) are designated. Keys are also provided to all Bornean genera and species of Alpinioideae.

Pleonotoma orientalis Sandwith (Bignoniaceae), a poorly known species, is lectotypified, illustrated for the first time and a distribution map is provided. Pleonotoma orientalis Sandwith var. ratteriana Proença & Farias from the Jalapão area (State of Tocantins, Central Brazil) is described and illustrated. The new variety is apparently identical to the typical variety in floral characters but distinct in its ternate-tripinnate leaves with numerous, minute, slightly thickened leaflets, and fruits with rounded or obtuse tips. The collections of this new variety increase its range c.400 km S from Northern Brazil (Maranhão and Pará) into Tocantins in Central Brazil.

Bellevalia wendelboi Maassoumi & Jafari from western Iran (Kurdistan Province) is newly described. It is similar to Bellevalia macrobotrys from Bellevalia sect. Nutans subsect. Colorata but differs in having weakly canaliculate leaves, yellow anthers (not violet) and a cordate-ovoid, acuminate capsule (not ovoid and retuse). There are now 19 species of Bellevalia in four sections in Iran.

This study is a contribution to the further understanding of cytological patterns in Aeschynanthus(Gesneriacaeae). Chromosome numbers are reported for 12 species from six sections; nine of these are new counts. Two basic numbers, x=16 and x=15, are generally encountered. Aeschynanthus gracilis proved to be of exceptional interest, as its rare somatic number, 2n=28, confirms the occurrence of a third basic number, x=14, in the genus. Variation in chromosome number in relation to seed morphology is examined.

This work synthesises information about plant diversity of 37 sites of coastal and inland swamp forests of southeast and southern Brazil and investigates floristic similarities and differences among them. Swamp forests often show low species richness, diversity and evenness, which are associated with the selective character of oxygen deprivation caused by soil waterlogging. However, our results pointed out some degree of site-level variation (Sobs = 5 to 110; Sjack1 = 6 to 151; H′ = 0.82 to 3.98; J′ = 0.51 to 0.87) related to local ecological conditions. Two major phytogeographical patterns emerged from our work: the strong influence of the neighbouring non-flooded vegetation on the flora of swamp forests and its high spatial heterogeneity. At least 85.9% of the 518 species sampled are found in neighbouring non-flooded vegetation. A correspondence analysis consistently separated swamp forests of the coastal plain from those of the plateau. A Mantel test indicated a significant correlation between floristic and geographical distances among sites (r = 0.45; p = 0.001), and highlighted the main effect of regional-scale changes in the flora of swamp forests. We conclude that swamp forests of southeast and southern Brazil cannot be considered a distinguishable floristic unit.

The African genera Paropsiopsis Engl. and Smeathmannia R.Br. (Passifloraceae – Paropsieae) are revised. The two genera are well separated based on the presence or absence of a second, annuliform, corona, as well as the number of stamens and curvature of their filaments. An overview of important characters and a key to all genera of Paropsieae is provided. In Paropsiopsis all previously recognised species are united under P. decandra (Baill.) Sleumer. In addition one species, Paropsiopsis atrichogyna J.M.de Vos & Breteler, is newly described and illustrated. In Smeathmannia both previously recognised species are maintained, but infraspecific taxa are rejected. Descriptions of both genera and their species, keys to species, illustrations and distribution maps are provided.

Rigiolepis and Vaccinium of Borneo are revised, and their characteristics are discussed. Brief comments on distinguishing Vaccinium and Rigiolepis from related genera in the Ericaceae are made. Vaccinium sect. Bracteata is now considered the only section of Vaccinium occurring in Borneo. The chief reason for reinstating Rigiolepis as a genus is the distinctive 10-locular ovary whose structure has been overlooked in recent studies, while the supporting characters of multiple axillary flower buds, flower size, anther shape and fruit colour provide for easy recognition. New keys are provided to all 42 species, and all accepted taxa are described. Ten taxa are new to science and 17 new combinations are made. An addendum gives the combinations to be used for the two species of Rigiolepis presently known to occur outside Borneo.