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.

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.

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.

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.

Specimens of Hiraea (Malpighiaceae) from the Brazilian states of eastern Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, and Santa Catarina that had been determined as H. cuneata Griseb. and H. wiedeana A.Juss. were found to include four undescribed species. The assemblage traditionally named Hiraea cuneata includes, in addition to H. cuneata (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro), two novelties: H. hatschbachii C.E.Anderson (Paraná) and H. occhionii C.E.Anderson (Rio de Janeiro). The gatherings labelled Hiraea wiedeana comprise specimens of H. reitzii C.E.Anderson (Paraná, Santa Catarina) and H. restingae C.E.Anderson (Rio de Janeiro), here newly described, and of H. macrophylla (Colla) P.L.R.Moraes & Guglielmone (Rio de Janeiro), the earlier and correct name for the species also known as H. wiedeana. In all, the flowers are borne in a single 4-flowered umbel instead of a compound arrangement, as is often characteristic of other species of Hiraea. Specimens assigned to Hiraea cuneata have the laminas abaxially sericeous initially but glabrous at maturity. In those assigned to Hiraea wiedeana the laminas are abaxially velutinous (eventually glabrescent in H. restingae). Full descriptions and synonymies are supplied, and all species are illustrated.

Twenty-nine new species of Corydalis (Fumariaceae) from China, mainly from Tibet, Sichuan and Yunnan, are described.

Pinochia, a new neotropical genus of Apocynaceae, subfamily Apocynoideae, is segregated from Forsteronia, described and illustrated. Four new combinations and a key to the species are provided.

Two new species from the eastern Himalaya are described, one in Physospermopsis and one in Sinocarum. Additionally, new combinations are proposed for the Indian area in Bupleurum. Schulzia, Meeboldia, Sinocarum, Pimpinellu, and Angelica.

The species of Podocarpus L’Hér. ex Pers. (Podocarpaceae) occurring in the Central America and Northern Mexico Bioregions are revised. Four species (Podocarpus costaricensis de Laub., P. guatemalensis Standl., P. matudae Lundell, P. oleifolius D.Don) occur in these bioregions as well as three infraspecific taxa, that are here all treated as subspecies [Podocarpus matudae subsp. matudae, P. matudae subsp. jaliscanus (de Laub. & Silba) Silba, P. oleifolius subsp. costaricensis (J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray) Silba]. A fifth species, Podocarpus magnifolius J.Buchholz & N.E.Gray, may also be present in Panama but this requires verification; a brief account is provided. Podocarpus monteverdeensis de Laub. is considered a synonym of P. oleifolius subsp. costaricensis, the concept of which is amplified to include all Central American material of P. oleifolius. Several previously recognised infraspecific taxa within both Podocarpus guatemalensis and P. matudae are reduced to synonymy. Within Podocarpus matudae, P. matudae subsp. matudae is regarded as including subsp. macrocarpus and subsp. reichei but P. matudae subsp. jaliscanus is regarded as a distinct, second subspecies disjunct in westernmost Mexico. Podocarpus costaricensis, P. matudae (both subspecies) and P. oleifolius subsp. costaricensis are endemic to these bioregions. A key is provided, all definitely recorded species are illustrated and the distributions of all definitely recorded taxa are mapped. The distributions are discussed in relation to the geology and geological history of the region as well as altitude and climate. New IUCN conservation assessments are proposed for Podocarpus matudae subsp. jaliscanus, P. matudae subsp. matudae and P. oleifolius subsp. costaricensis while details of the current assessments for the remaining taxa (including Podocarpus matudae as a whole) are given. Two appendices list all accepted names and synonyms, and give a list of exsiccatae.

A taxonomic revision of Oreorchis is presented. A key to the species and synonymies, descriptions, illustrations and distributions for each taxon are provided. The status of the genera Kitigorchis F. Maek. and Diplolabellum F. Maek. are discussed. The former is redefined as a monotypic genus, with three of the four species included by Maekawa being returned to Oreorchis; the latter is considered congeneric with Oreorchis. Three species, O. angustata, O. aurantiaca and O. nepalensis, are newly described here and O. indica is reduced to varietal status within O. foliosa. Some outstanding problems in the taxonomy of the genus are noted.

The neotropical species of Calycobolus (Convolvulaceae) are revised. Three species are recognised. A fourth species is here recognised as belonging to the genus Porana. All four species are described, keys for identification are provided, selected characters are illustrated, distributions are mapped, and an index to numbered herbarium specimens examined is included to aid herbarium curation.

A new monotypic genus, Tamijia (Zingiberaceae), and its species T. flagellaris are described from Sarawak, Borneo. T. flagellaris is quite unique with the lateral staminodes connate to the labellum, the plane of distichy of the leaf shoot transverse to the rhizome, long trailing inflorescences and ovary unilocular with parietal placentation. Although the species is placed in Alpineae based on the plane of distichy, it is quite distinctive from most of the species in the tribe in some other characters, and is important in considering the current system of tribes and genera of the family.

A striking new species of Begonia, B. joshii, is described from Amazonas Region, Peru. The new species is unusual among the South American members of the genus both in its combination of tuberous habit with peltate leaves and in living in a seasonally dry tropical forest environment. A phylogeny of this and closely related species is presented, and its sectional affiliation and IUCN conservation status are discussed. A key to the peltate Peruvian species of Begonia is provided.

The genus Phellodendron (Rutaceae) is revised. This work is based on herbarium collections and field observations in eastern Asia. Two species are recognized: Phellodendron amurense Rupr. and Phellodendron chinense C.K.Schneid. All other specific and infraspecific names published in the genus are reduced to synonymy or excluded from the genus. Detailed morphology, character variability, an identification key, a distribution map, line drawings, and taxonomic treatments and lists of specimens examined are provided.

A new species of Begonia (Begoniaceae), B. varipeltata D.C.Thomas, is described from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. It exhibits peltate leaves, which are rare in Begonia section Petermannia, to which it belongs.

Four new species of Begonia are described from Northern, Peninsular and Southwestern Thailand. Three belong to Begonia sect. Diploclinium (B. exposita Phutthai & M.Hughes, B. pengchingii Phutthai & M.Hughes and B. pseudosubperfoliata Phutthai & M.Hughes), and one (B. phutthaii M.Hughes) to Begonia sect. Apterobegonia. All four species are karst limestone endemics. The provisional IUCN status of all the new species is ‘Vulnerable’.

Two new genera, Stygiomyces (Coelomycetes) with type species S. galliformis on Pseudocyphellaria faveolata from Tasmania, and Pseudonitschkia (Dothideales) with type species P. parmotrematis on Parmotrema tinctorum and P. pseudotinctorum from South America (Paraguay, Venezuela), Africa (Ivory Coast, Malawi, South Africa) and Nepal, are described. Their placement and differences from similar genera are discussed.

Ormosolenia Tausch is shown to be a separate monotypic genus of the Umbelliferae, distinct from Peucedanum L. A new combination, O. alpina (Sieber ex Schultes) M. Pimenov is proposed for the only species of the genus which is endemic to the eastern part of the Mediterranean.

The Neotropical genus Mezia (Malpighiaceae) comprises 15 species of lianas (except M. huberi W.R.Anderson, a shrub or small tree). All have multibranched, densely brown-sericeous inflorescences with the ultimate unit a 4-flowered umbel of bilaterally symmetrical flowers. The distinctive pair of large cymbiform bracteoles subtends a rudimentary pedicel and encloses the floral bud. The flowers contain elongate sepals, the lateral four biglandular, yellow petals, the posterior often splotched with red, a heteromorphic androecium, and a tricarpellate gynoecium. The three styles are all free; the posterior pair is lyrate in five species but erect in the others. The samaras have an orbicular to oblate lateral wing and a much smaller dorsal wing; in most species, additional winglets and/or crests are present between the lateral and dorsal wings. Only Mezia mariposa W.R.Anderson has butterfly-shaped samaras lacking additional ornamentation. Four new species are proposed: Mezia andersonii C.E.Anderson, M. bahiana C.E.Anderson, M. fanshawei C.E.Anderson and M. sericea C.E.Anderson. One variety is elevated to species level and provided with a new name, Mezia peruviana C.E.Anderson; a lectotype is chosen for Diplopterys involuta var. ovata Nied. Full descriptions and synonymies are provided, as well as a distribution map. All species are illustrated.

Wild evergreen azalea populations of Rhododendron kiusianum and R. kaempferi (Ericaceae) were analysed using a chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) PCR-RFLP marker that was used to detect introgressive hybridization in our previous study of the Kirishima Mts populations.

The populations of the intermediate region in the Unzen Mts, which show phenotypic variation, were demonstrated to result from interspecific hybridization between Rhododendron kiusianum and R. kaempferi, possessing cpDNA from either R. kiusianum (1030/420 bp) or R. kaempferi (950/420/80 bp).

Most individuals of Rhododendron kiusianum in the Kujyu Mts, the Aso Mts and the surrounding mountains exhibited the PCR-RFLP pattern of R. kaempferi. These results from the Kujyu Mts and the Aso Mts indicate that natural hybridization and cytoplasmic introgression from Rhododendron kaempferi to R. kiusianum have occurred in the relatively distant past. In the case of Mt Yufudake and Mt Haneyama, the Rhododendron kiusianum population retains the effects of natural hybridization with R. kaempferi in the cpDNA as well as in the variation in flower characteristics.

All individuals of Rhododendron kiusianum on Mt Onogaradake in the Takakuma Mts exhibit R. kiusianum cpDNA (1030/420 bp), in spite of variation in flower colour.