Curcuma cinnabarina and C. eburnea (Curcuma subg. Ecomatae, Zingiberaceae), two new species from Thailand, are described and illustrated here. They are compared with the morphologically closest species Curcuma rubrobracteata and C. pierreana, respectively. Detailed descriptions, colour plates, and information on their distribution, ecology, phenology and uses are also provided. Preliminary IUCN conservation assessments of these species are proposed.

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.

The new species Streptocarpus lilliputana (Gesneriaceae), collected on the Pondoland coast, South Africa, is described. Although its alliances are not obvious in terms of corolla morphology and rosulate habit, it approaches S. gardenii and its allies. The pollen and stigma of S. lilliputana differ markedly from the stenopalynous grains and bilobed stigmas of the other South African rosulate species. Streptocarpus lilliputana is exceedingly rare and is a further endemic from the Pondoland centre.

A taxonomic investigation of the Rhododendron formosum complex in Northeast India was carried out. Both Rhododendron iteophyllum Hutch. and Rhododendron inaequale Hutch. are reinstated as distinct species using taxonomic characters based on comparing living plants. Detailed taxonomic accounts of Rhododendron formosum, R. iteophyllum and R. inaequale are provided, along with photographic illustrations.

The genus Rhynchotechum Blume (Gesneriaceae) is revised. It consists of 16 species, three of which are newly described here: Rhynchotechum burmanicum B.M.Anderson from Burma, R. gracile B.M.Anderson from Northeast India, and R. vietnamense B.M.Anderson from Vietnam. A new combination is made for Rhynchotechum hookeri (C.B.Clarke) B.M.Anderson. A key and descriptions of all species are provided.

A new species of Cephalaria, C. bigazzii Bacch., Brullo & Giusso (Dipsacaceae), is described and illustrated. It is a typical chasmophyte, exclusive to a small area of SW Sardinia where it grows together with several other rare endemics. It belongs to the Cephalaria squamiflora group, showing close relationships with C. mediterranea and C. balearica. Its ecology, distribution and conservation status are examined. A distribution map of the new species and related species is provided. A new status and combination is proposed for Cephalaria ebusitana.

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.

Sarcostemma arabicum Bruyns & Forster (Asclepidaceae) is described from the Arabian Peninsula. Comparisons are made to S. socotranum Lavranos and S. viminale (L.) R. Br.

Lower montane rainforest and upper montane forest on the slopes and summit of Gunung Sinombayuga, Dumoga Bone National Park, North Sulawesi, were described by general botanical collection and quantitative sampling. The lower montane forest was dominated by the families Fagaceae, Myrtaceae, Icacinaceae and Escalloniaceae. The upper montane forest, dominated by Fagaceae and Cunoniaceae, represented 75-year-old coppice regeneration. It was less diverse than the lower montane forest and lower in stature, with a smaller basal area per hectare and a higher proportion of multi-stemmed trees. The tree flora of the montane forest is poorly known, and rich in undescribed species.

An emended description of the poorly known Begonia serotina A.DC. (Begoniaceae) is provided and B. asympeltata L.B.Sm. & Wassh. is newly synonymised with that species. The classification of Begonia serotina in B. sect. Knesebeckia (Klotzsch) A.DC. is confirmed. Begonia compacticaulis Irmsch. is shown to be a synonym of B. ludwigii Irmsch., while the circumscription of B. compacticaulis in the Flora of Ecuador is shown to be based on specimens of both B. ludwigii and B. serotina. Begonia serotina is more widely distributed than previously recorded and is newly reported from Ecuador’s Los Rios, Bolivar and Loja provinces and Peru’s Tumbes region. Begonia serotina is reassessed as Vulnerable (VU), according to IUCN criteria.

Six new species of Syzygium Gaertn. from Sumatra are described and illustrated. Three are newly described, namely Syzygium abatakum Widodo, S. bengkulense Widodo and S. ketambense Widodo. The descriptions of the other three species, namely Syzygium angustovatum Widodo & Chikmawati, S. comosum Widodo and S. longipetiolatum Widodo are republished to validate their names. The conservation status of each species is proposed, following IUCN guidelines.

Sixty new or updated records of plants species are reported from the Sultanate of Oman, as a result of fieldwork and research undertaken. Five taxa represent new records for Arabia, twenty-seven taxa are new records for Oman, and twenty-eight records represent an extended distribution within Oman. Some previously doubtful records are confirmed. Brief comments are given on the phytogeography, taxonomy and ecology of the taxa. Most new records have been collected in mountainous areas, either in southern Oman or in northern Oman, mainly in areas that previously were botanically poorly known.

Two new species of Aeschynanthus (Gesneriaceae) from Sulawesi, A. citrinus and A. sojolianus, are described.

A new species of Rubiaceae, Hedyotis shenzhenensis T.Chen, from Shenzhen, South China, is described and illustrated.

A new species of Paraboea, P. fimbriata C.Puglisi & Phutthai, from Sai Yok District, Kanchanaburi Province, Thailand, is described.

Four new species of Cyrtandra (Gesneriaceae) from the Latimojong Mountains, South Sulawesi (Sulawesi Selatan) are described and illustrated: C. floccosa R.Bone & H.J.Atkins, C. kjellbergii R.Bone & H.J.Atkins, C. purpureofucata R.Bone & H.J.Atkins, and C. spectabilis R.Bone & H.J.Atkins. Conservation recommendations are made for the four species.

Fitzroya cupressoides (Molina) Johnston (Cupressaceae), a threatened conifer native to southern South America, has been cultivated in a number of gardens and arboreta in the British Isles since its introduction in 1849. In order to assess the importance of these cultivated trees for ex situ conservation, foliar samples were collected from 48 trees from throughout the British Isles, including five of known wild origin (Chile). DNA was extracted from these samples and assessed using the RAPD technique, in order to examine the extent of genetic variation. All samples from the cultivated trees of unknown origin, with one exception, were found to be genetically identical. In contrast, the five samples of known wild origin revealed pronounced polymorphism, varying from 5.3% to 49.1% between individuals. These results suggest that virtually all of the F. cupressoides trees currently cultivated in the British Isles have been derived from a single individual by vegetative propagation. Their value for ex situ conservation is therefore likely to be extremely limited. The implications of these results for the genetic conservation of other taxa in gardens and arboreta is discussed.

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 Tylophora, T. corollae Bullock ex Meve & Liede (Asclepiadaceae), is described from Ethiopia. This delicate twiner is characterized by yellow, shield-shaped corona lobes with apical appendages.

The non-twining shrub up to lm high, T. fleckii (Schltr.) N.E. Br., so far known to be endemic to Namibia, is for the first time recorded from NE Africa. The interesting biogeographical implications resulting from the extraordinary gap of 4500km in its distribution are discussed.