Reproductive structure is considered in the context of process morphology: the significance of homoeotic transformations is commented on in Araceae and other modern angiosperms. Disruption leads to the rearrangement of processes and destabilization of process combinations, or decanalization. This is apparently more readily achieved in certain extant angiosperms than in others; both environmentally triggered decanalization, including galling, and genetically prompted decanalization are discussed and illustrated with examples including those leading to the expression of ‘lost’ features. This is extended to a consideration of ‘character’ comparisons in extant angiosperms and possible pitfalls there. Finally, this approach is applied to the relationship of certain extant groups of seed-plants and their fossil allies and it is concluded that modem ones are (distantly) interrelated relics of a complex of ‘hemiangiosperms’ of the Triassic.

Mt Parnitha is located in Sterea Ellas (Central Greece) and is the highest mountain in the vicinity of Athens. Its wild vascular flora comprises 1096 taxa belonging to 90 families, of which 122 taxa and four families are reported here for the first time. The endemic element comprises 92 Greek, 42 Balkan and 18 Italian–Balkan–Anatolian taxa. Four Greek and three Balkan endemics are new records for the mountain. The predominance of the Mediterranean element (63.6%) and the therophytes (37.6%) underlines the Mediterranean character of the mountain's flora. The endemic elements of Mt Parnitha are presented, their protection status is mentioned and the phytogeographical affinity with neighbouring mountains is examined. Three vegetation zones and 17 habitat types within them have been identified, and those facing threats are indicated. Although the mountain is a National Park, several factors influence its flora and vegetation, the most important being its proximity to Athens.

The floristic composition, structure, soil fertility and leaf nutrient concentrations were analysed in a monodominant forest of Brosimum rubescens Taub. located in the Areões Xavante Indigenous Reserve (14°34′S, 51°58′W). The area lies in the ecotone between Amazonian forest and cerrado in the municipality of Água Boa, Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Sixty nested plots (10 × 10m each) were located in a representative portion of the forest, giving a total sampling area of 0.6ha (40 × 150m). A total of 609 trees ≥ 5cm dbh belonging to 57 species, 46 genera and 32 families were present. The most important family was Moraceae, with B. rubescens as the dominant species with a relative dominance of 59%. The diameter distribution of B. rubescens was unbalanced, indicating an episodic recruitment that could lead to future changes in the forest structure. The high basal area per hectare of B. rubescens indicates the possibility of sustainable logging for commercial exploitation. Analysis of composite soil samples collected from the surface layer (0–10cm) of each of the 60 plots did not indicate any significant gradients in fertility within the area sampled. Mean soil pH was 4.6 and the availability of essential nutrients was very low (0.22cmol(+) kg−1 K, 0.048cmol(+) kg−1 Ca, 0.167cmol(+) kg−1 Mg, and 1.5mg kg−1 P). The higher availability of Mg in the soils in comparison with Ca was a feature observed in other monodominant forests in the Amazon region, as well as in other parts of the world. Analysis of foliar samples showed that the dominant species, B. rubescens, maintained higher foliar concentrations of K, Ca and Mg than other species in the forest. This probably indicates a competitive advantage for this species. Also, the higher concentrations of Mg in the soil did not affect its uptake of Ca or K.

A transect of coastal vegetation was surveyed forits plant communities in the state of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil. Two main plant formations are found in this region. The ‘restinga’ is the coastal sand dune vegetation and the ‘tabuleiro’ is the adjacent savanna-like formation. The ordination of sample units and species of the transect showed that these plant formations cannot be considered as discrete communities but they are actually a vegetational continuum made up of species adapted to sandy soils but with varying distributional patterns according to the exposure to maritime influences.

Wood anatomical data confirm the close relationships of most Araliaceae to Apiaceae, but do not indicate any intermediate groups between the two families. Heteromorpha Cham. & Schltdl., Bupleurum L. and Melanoselinum Hoffm. form a well-delimited group distinguished from other woody Apiaceae by helical thickenings on their vessel walls, septate fibres, and mostly homogeneous rays. The woodiness in Nirarathamnos Balf.f. and Myrrhidendron J. M. Coult. & Rose is likely to be of secondary origin.

A new species, Primula fenghwaiana C.M.Hu & G.Hao (Primulaceae), from Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. Primula petelotii W.W.Sm., a species previously known only from one collection from Vietnam, is for the first time found in China. An addendum to the description for this incompletely known species is given.

The genus Campylanthus (Scrophulariaceae) is revised and 15 species are recognized. The genus shows a markedly disjunct pattern of distribution, with two species in Macaronesia, 12 in northeastern Africa and Arabia, and one in western Pakistan. With few exceptions all have very restricted distributions. The position of the genus within the Scrophulariaceae is discussed, and it is concluded that Campylanthus is best placed as incertae sedis. Morphological aspects of the genus are discussed and a cladistic analysis including all species is presented. The analysis indicates a basal split between western and eastern species in the genus. A key, descriptions and distribution maps for all species are provided, and some lectotypes and neotypes are selected.

Seven Turkish species of Nonea Medik. (Boraginaceae-Boragineae) were studied karyologically using material collected in the field from wild populations. Somatic chromosome number and karyotype morphology were determined for each species using orcein staining. Nonea pulmonarioides is diploid with 2n=20, though some cells showed 2n=19. Nonea anchusoides turned out to be tetraploid with 2n=4x=40, while N. macrosperma was characterized by a hexaploid complement of 2n=6x=60. These data indicate polyploidy based on x=10 as a major mechanism of speciation in the perennial members of the genus. Among the annuals, N. echioides and N. versicolor showed 2n=16, while N. obtusifolia and N. lutea were characterized by 2n=20 and 2n=14, respectively. The results reveal that x=10 is more frequent in Nonea than previously realized, and that it may be the ancestral haploid number of diploid endemics of (sub)alpine habitats in the Pontic-Caucasian mountain system. The hypothesis is here proposed that the base numbers x=9, x=8 and x=7, progressively prevalent in the annual species from lower altitudes, may have originated through descending dysploidy associated with the tendency to shorten the life cycle as an adaptation to arid habitats.

Ten new endemic species are described from Anatolia: Astragalus chamberlainianus H. Sümbül, Astragalus citriniflorus H. Sümbül, Astragalus anamurensis H. Sümbül, Astragalus turcicus H. Sümbül (Fabaceae), Cephalaria peshmenii H. Sümbül, Cephalaria gazipashensis H. Sümbül (Dipsacaceae), Scorzonera longiana H. Sümbül (Asteraceae), Alkaima angustifolia H. Sümbül, Alkanna milliana H. Sümbül, Alkanna dumanii H. Sümbül (Boraginaceae). The following two taxa are recorded from Turkey for the first time: Cirsium libanoticum DC. subsp. libanoticum. Euphorbia forsskalii (Boiss.) Gay.

An analysis was made of the floristic composition of 45 savanna sites located throughout the southern neoarctic and neotropics. A total of 533 woody species were recorded from published and reliable unpublished floristic lists; of these, 234 species (44%) were from 10 Brazilian cerrado sites, with 187 (80%) of them restricted to the cerrado biome. The cerrados were clearly shown to be the most diverse New World savanna system with a high degree of endemism. The data were analysed using two multivariate techniques: TWINSPAN and DCA. Four phytogeographic zones were identified: Central Brazil and Bolivia extending to Southern Amazonia; north of Amazonia extending across the isthmus of Central America and including the Caribbean; Belize, Guatemala and Southern Mexico; and north of the Mexican Plateau. The analyses revealed gradients of floristic variation associated with latitude and longitude, and showed the great heterogeneity of savanna vegetation.

A new species of Onosma (Boraginaceae), O. mersinana, in sect. Asterotricha, is described from southern Turkey, and its affinities discussed.

This study examines whether a satisfactory classification of Turkish Lathyrus species can be obtained from phenetic clustering based on external vegetative and floral morphological characters of herbarium specimens. Forty morphological characters for each species of the genus Lathyrus L. were scored and the data subjected to numerical taxonomic analyses. The results of this study suggest that there are basically nine sections (Orobus, Lathyrostylis, Aphaca, Nissolia, Orobon, Gorgonia, Clymenum, Cicercula and Lathyrus) which can be grouped under two subgenera, namely subgenus Lathyrus and subgenus Orobus, as far as the material belonging to 54 of the 58 species cited in Flora of Turkey allows. Sect. Gorgonia Dogan is described.

Examination of morphology, ploidy and interfertility in the two subspecies of the Old World Senecio flavus (Decne.) Sch. Bip. (Compositae) and the closely related New World S. mohavensis A. Gray does not support the subspecific taxonomy of S. flavus. On the basis of our results S. flavus subsp. breviflorus Kadereit is transferred to S. mohavensis as a new subspecies: S. mohavensis subsp. breviflorus (Kadereit) M. Coleman comb. nov. The new subspecies has a distribution that includes Arabia, the Middle East, Sinai, Iran, Afghanistan, Djibouti, and the Thar Desert of Pakistan. The type subspecies of S. mohavensis occurs in the Mojave and Sonoran deserts of North America, providing an unusual disjunct distribution at the species level. Separation from S. flavus is based upon differences in morphology and chromosome number. Senecio flavus is diploid (2n = 20), while both subspecies of S. mohavensis are tetraploid (2n = 40). Further support for the new taxonomic treatment is provided by the results of controlled crosses. No artificial hybrids have been generated from crosses made between the previously recognized subspecies of S. flavus, while crosses between the newly recognized subspecies of S. mohavensis have produced fertile hybrids. The fertility of the hybrids is significantly lower than the parental taxa (P<0.001), indicating partial genetic divergence since isolation. Previous studies of isozyme and cpDNA variation in all three taxa also support the new treatment. The similarity of the S. mohavensis subspecies suggests a relatively recent separation, although the amount of genetic divergence does not support a post-Colombian introduction. Given that land bridges to North America via Beringia and the North Atlantic last existed in the Oligocene, long-distance dispersal seems the most likely explanation. Natural dispersal to rather than from the New World is supported, but whether this took place in an easterly or westerly direction is unclear. The evolution of S. mohavensis remains equivocal.

Alpinia galanga is an important species cultivated as a culinary spice and is the type species of the genus. It is hence a member of sect. Alpinia subsect. Alpinia (with non-tubular bracteoles). However, molecular phylogenetic analyses suggest that A. galanga is closely related to A. nigra in sect. Allughas (with tubular bracteoles). This clade, which includes A. conchigera, is strongly supported with a bootstrap value (BS) of 100% and a decay index (DI) of >+6. These results are based on the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18S–25S nuclear ribosomal DNA. The region (405–423bp) was sequenced from 17 accessions representing 16 taxa of Zingiberaceae, including 15 species of Alpinia and one outgroup. The sequence divergence ranged from 0.5 to 15.6% among the ingroup and from 10.1 to 13.3% between the ingroup and the outgroup. The results also strongly support the sister relationship of A. rafflesiana and A. javanica in section Allughas (BS=100%, DI=>+6), thus the whole section is paraphyletic. Section Alpinia subsect. Catimbium is monophyletic (BS=100%, DI=+5). On the other hand, sect. Alpinia subsect. Alpinia is paraphyletic (BS=100%, DI=>+6) with respect to sect. Alpinia subsect. Catimbium. The results from a phylogenetic analysis of a subset of the taxa using the spacer between trnL (UAA) 3′ exon and trnF (GAA) of chloroplast DNA confirmed the position of A. galanga in sect. Allughas. It appears that A. galanga has evolved within sect. Allughas and the absence of tubular bracteoles is a convergence with sect. Alpinia, possibly as a result of evolution under domestication.

This study investigated the structure, diversity and composition of the regenerating shrub-tree species community along a stretch of riparian vegetation in relation to environmental heterogeneity. In the Environmental Protection Area of Pandeiros River, southeastern Brazil, the regenerating stratum on 70 plots (25 m2) divided into four groups according to their soil characteristics and natural barriers was sampled. For each plot observations were made of variables related to several soil properties, canopy openness and flooding regime. In addition to the traditional calculation of phytosociological parameters and diversity, a canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to examine the existing relationships between environmental variables and species distribution was performed. The families with the highest species richness were Fabaceae and Myrtaceae and the species with the highest importance value indices were Zygia latifolia, Tapirira guianensis, Butia capitata, Bauhinia rufa and Hirtella gracilipes. The CCA largely confirmed the groups that were originally proposed. The stretch of riparian vegetation studied was highly heterogeneous with regard to both the abiotic variables tested and floristic structure and composition.

The Cycadales are a group of significant global conservation concern and have the highest extinction risk of all seed plants. Understanding the synchronisation of reproductive phenology of Cycadales may be useful for conservation by enabling the targeting of pollen and seed collection from wild populations and identifying the window of fertilisation to aid in the cultivation of Cycadales. Phenological data for 11 species of Zamia were gathered from herbarium specimens. Four phenological characters were coded with monthly character states. DNA was isolated and sequenced for 26S, CAB, NEEDLY, matK and rbcL, and a simultaneous phylogenetic analysis of phenology and DNA sequence data was carried out. Three major clades were recovered: a Caribbean clade, a Central American clade and a South American clade. Eight species showed statistically significant synchronisation in microsporangiate and ovulate phenological phases, indicating the time of fertilisation. Close reproductive synchronisation was consistently observed throughout the Caribbean clade (statistically significant in four of five species) but was less consistent in the Central American clade (statistically significant in one of two species) and South American clade (statistically significant in three of four species). Ultimately, phenology is shown to be a potential driver of speciation in some clades of Zamia and in others to be a potential barrier to hybridisation.

Studies on recent collections of mature fruiting material of Prangos bornmuelleri Hub.-Mor. & Reese have resolved the taxonomic placement of this enigmatic species. The new monotypic genus Ekimia H. Duman & M.F. Watson is proposed to include this taxon: E. bornmuelleri (Hub.-Mor. & Reese) H. Duman & M.F. Watson comb. nov. Two new Prangos taxa, P. platychloenae Boiss. ex Tchih. subsp. engizekensis H. Duman & M.F. Watson subsp. nov., and P. heyniae H. Duman & M.F. Watson sp. nov., are also described.

The keys to the genera of Gesneriaceae, and to the species within each genus, prepared for Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae are here presented in English translation. The keys are prefaced by a discussion on the phytogeography of Gesneriaceae within China and a note on the recognition of the evolutionary tendencies that underlie the revision; both are by Wang Wentsai. The keys have been translated by Professor Wang and edited, with a few supplementary notes and references, by B. L. Burtt, who also contributes an Introduction.

A biometric study of the flower, floral rewards (nectar and pollen) and pollen-ovule ratios in 14 taxa of Vicia (Fabaceae) from Extremadura (Spain) has been evaluated. Almost all floral characteristics are directly correlated and it has been found that flower size is a good indicator of the reward production, and the pollen-ovule ratios are positively correlated to seed size. A direct correlation between pollen size (volume) and style length has likewise been observed. This may show the importance of the pollen food reserves in sustaining the growth of its pollen tube along the style.

An artificial group of twelve brome-grasses with small-spikelets is reviewed. Descriptions, comments on their distinctive features, keys, diagnosis, citations and illustrations are provided. Form/function and evolutionary relationships are discussed and four affinity groups are recognized. The possible origin of B. lepidus and B. brachystachys is discussed.