In this paper I present new taxa, new records and new locations of two biogeographically important species collected from 1990 to 1993 in the Sultanate of Oman. Holotypes are present at ON and duplicates of new records are at E, ON and at the Herbarium, Sultan Qaboos University (abbreviated in this paper as SQUH; not in Index Herbariorum).

Scrophulariaceae-Selagineae is briefly surveyed. Selago L. sensu stricto and Cromidon Compton are re-defined, and a new genus, Chenopodiopsis Hilliard, is established. The generic position of 16 species enumerated by Rolfe (in Fl. Cap. 5(1), 1901) under Selago section Euselago is clarified. Cromidon comprises 12 species; 6 are newly described, 6 have been transferred from Polycarena, Selago or Walafrida. Chenopodiopsis comprises 3 species, 2 transferred from Selago, 1 newly described.

Infrageneric classification of the genus Potentilla L. (Rosaceae) for the Flora of Pakistan and Kashmir is presented. Nine subgenera and 15 sections are recognized within the genus. The two genera Sibbaidiopsis Rydb. and Duchesnea J. E. Smith have been reduced to subgenera, while subgenus Potentilla Syme and subgenus Hypargyrium (Fourr.) Juz. have been combined under subgenus Potentilla Syme.

The species of the tree genus Pterospermum Schreb. (Malvaceae: Dombeyoideae) in Malesia are revised. Twenty-six species of Pterospermum are recognised, six of which are new (P. aureum S.K.Ganesan, P. borneense S.K.Ganesan, P. glabrum S.K.Ganesan, P. havilandii S.K.Ganesan, P. merrillianum S.K.Ganesan and P. zollingerianum S.K.Ganesan) and one (P. grewiifolium Pierre) that is a new distributional record for Malesia. Identification keys are provided. All names are typified, and detailed descriptions of all species recognised are provided. Information on habitat, uses and conservation status is given for all species.

Begonia mariachristinae Wahlsteen, a new endemic species from Kachin, northern Myanmar, is described and illustrated. The new species is characterised by its combination of four perianth segments in the female flower, two ovary wings, two locules, two styles and a dioecious breeding system.

Many taxonomic distinctions are made or refined on the basis of herbarium material that is either dried or preserved in spirit medium. Hitherto, examination of internal structure has only been possible by the destructive sectioning of the preserved material. In this paper, the use of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging for the non-destructive, non-invasive, complete three-dimensional structural examination of herbarium material is demonstrated for the first time. The experimental materials were the fruiting structures of two species of Southern Hemisphere Podocarpaceae: Acmopyle pancheri and Podocarpus nivalis. Material dried in accordance with standard herbarium techniques was used, as well as material preserved in spirit and freshly gathered fruits. The dried material was subsequently rehydrated using standard techniques, and protocols established for the specimens. Appropriate selection of NMR imaging parameters allowed a variety of anatomical features to be highlighted on a single specimen. Fresh specimens from living material gave the best NMR signals. Dry specimens gave no signal except from the lipid in the seed, but when rehydrated the images yielded almost as much information about internal structure as did a fresh specimen of the same taxon. Thus, NMR imaging has great potential value as a non-invasive method for obtaining details of the internal structure of fruits and seeds and is particularly useful when, as in the case of Acmopyle, the sclerotesta of the seed is too lignified for sectioning by conventional methods.

Chromosome numbers for 14 South African species of Albuca L. (Liliaceae) have been determined. Ten of these are first reports, including counts for three new species. Members of all three sections of the genus are represented in this study, and all have a diploid number of 2n = 18. No polyploids or dysploids were encountered in this survey. There is no evidence that the sectional subdivisions of Albuca can be readily distinguished on differences in basic chromosome number or karyotype, for all taxa are characterized by a common basic number of x = 9 and by a remarkably uniform, strongly asymmetric and bimodal complement of three long chromosomes and six markedly shorter ones. Special attention is focused on the hitherto largely overlooked variability of the longest chromosome pair which, in a large proportion of the species examined, shows heterozygous variation in the size, morphology and stainability of its satellite and in some cases, also in the short chromosome arm that bears it. This unusually high incidence of polymorphism, and the diversity of form observed in this satellited (Sat-chromosome) pair is discussed in relation to similar patterns reported elsewhere.

A new Fritillaria species, F. atrolineata, is described from Iran. The new species, an endemic to Western Azarbaijan, belongs to the F. caucasica group, sect. Olostyleae, subgenus Fritillaria. SEM studies of nectaries, stamen, pollen and styles are presented. Differences from other Iranian species in the Caucasica group are discussed. The chromosome number is 2n = 24.

Prangos abieticola Aytaç & H.Duman (Apiaceae) from southern Anatolia, Turkey is described and illustrated. This new taxon grows on calcareous rocks in open Abies cilicica (Antoine & Kotschy) Carrière and Pinus nigra J.F.Arnold subsp. nigra var. caramanica (Loudon) Rehder forest in the middle of the Taurus Mountains (C3 Antalya and Konya Province). It is endemic and closely related to Prangos heyniae H.Duman & M.F.Watson and P. ferulacea (L.) Lindl. The diagnostic morphological characters of similar taxa are discussed.

Cerrado sensu stricto (a physiognomy of the Cerrado domain, the Brazilian savanna) is subject to the annual occurrence of fire. Data on the epiphytic community in this physiognomy is scarce, as is evaluation of the influence of fire on its structure and composition. The aim of this study was to describe the structure of the vascular epiphyte community and its relationships with phorophytes in the Cerrado domain, Southeast Region of Brazil, after the passage of fire. We found the greatest abundance of epiphytes in the upper strata (65% of the individuals occurring above 3 m in height) and the dominance of three generalist species (Tillandsia streptocarpa, T. recurvata and Epiphyllum phyllanthus), suggesting that fire has an influence on the structure and composition of the epiphytic community.

The genus Campanula L. (Campanulaceae) in Iran has been revised in preparation for the treatment in the Flora of Iran. In Iran the genus consists of five subgenera (Campanula, Megalocalyx, Roucela, Brachycodonia and Rapunculus), 10 sections (Quinqueloculares, Campanula, Sibirica, Involucrata, Cordifoliae, Rupestres, Scapiflora, Saxicolae, Dictycalyx and Rapunculus) and 44 species. Since the Flora Iranica treatment by Rechinger & Schiman-Czeika in 1965 eight additional species (Campanula crispa, C. sibirica, C. coriacea, C. hakkiarica, C. lamondiae, C. conferta, C. hermannii and C. fastigiata) have been recorded from Iran. Campanula savalanica is a synonym of C. bayerniana. A key to the species in Iran is presented and the endemic species are highlighted.

Paraboea gracillima Kiew (Gesneriaceae) is described from Perlis, Malaysia, and from Ban Khamphaengphen in Peninsular Thailand. Paraboea lambokensis Kiew is described from two hills in Kelantan, Malaysia. Both are restricted to limestone. Paraboea lambokensis is endemic in Peninsular Malaysia and is Critically Endangered, while P. gracillima, which is protected in the Perlis State Park, is categorised as Least Concern.

Rhytidocaulon P.R.O. Bally is reviewed. The relationships with other genera are discussed in the light of the character assessment carried out and it is suggested that it is closest to Caralluma R. Br. subg. Caralluma and Echidnopsis Hook. f. Descriptions of the genus and the eight known species are provided.

The evolutionary relationships of several, mainly Iberian, Jasione taxa (Campanulaceae) were investigated using molecular data. A parsimony analysis of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA was partially successful in elucidating some interspecific alliances. One of the main clades included three morphologically rather disparate species from S Spain and Morocco which might indicate that these areas were refugia during the last glaciations. The fact that most of the other taxa fell in a large polytomy suggests a recent origin of these species. Amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) were analysed for a larger sample set of two taxa from within the ITS polytomy to assess the partition of genetic variation between and within populations. All the British accessions named J. montana var. montana were found to be close to those so-named from Spain. However, individual accessions of J. montana var. montana from Argyll (Scotland), Devon (SW England) and the Shetland Islands proved to be genetically different from each other. This might suggest a low level of genetic diversification from a common progenitor due to a rapid northward migration. It is proposed that J. montana var. bracteosa and J. maritima var. sabularia merit recognition at higher rank. The possibility that J. montana vars gracilis and latifolia are mere repetitive segregants of J. montana var. montana is considered.

Memecylon wayanadense Ratheesh, Sivu & Pradeep, a new species of Melastomataceae from the Wayanad forests of Kerala, India, is described and illustrated. The new species is allied to Memecylon angustifolium, M. rivulare and M. sivadasanii but differs in habit, leaf shape, sclereid type, inflorescence type and position, and the shape and size of the sepals and petals. An UPGMA analysis of 20 RAPD primers resulted in two major clusters with Memecylon sivadasanii in one cluster and M. rivulare, M. angustifolium and M. wayanadense in the second cluster. Memecylon wayanadense forms a subgroup within the second cluster.

Eight Zingiber species (Z. densissimum S.Q.Tong & Y.M.Xia, Z. kerrii Craib, Z. ligulatum Roxb., Z. nudicarpum D.Fang, Z. orbiculatum S.Q.Tong, Z. parishii Hook.f. subsp. phuphanense Triboun & K.Larsen, Z. recurvatum S.Q.Tong & Y.M.Xia and Z. smilesianum Craib) are newly recorded for the flora of Laos, raising the total number of species to 25. Colour illustrations, notes on their distribution, and citations of the specimens supporting the new records are given, as well as vernacular names and uses. An updated checklist of Zingiber in Laos, with an indication of the current sectional placement of each species, is presented.

Hedychium bordelonianum W.J. Kress & K.J. Williams (Zingiberaceae) is described and illustrated. Several characters make this species one of the most unusual in the genus; however, molecular phylogenetic data place it unequivocally in Hedychium. The similarities and relationships of this species to the anomalous taxa Nanochilus, Rhynchanthus, Stadiochilus, and Hedychium (Brachychilum) horsfieldii are discussed.

Sulawesi (Celebes) is the largest island in the biogeographic region of Wallacea. The Gesneriaceae of the island are represented by 11 genera, some of which show a very high degree of endemism. Knowledge of the origin and affinities of the flora of this island is important for an understanding of the biogeography of the area. The Gesneriaceae promise to be excellent models for phytogeographic analysis, but before this, basic taxonomic studies must be carried out. A list of the currently known genera and species is provided, and descriptions of new taxa will be published over the coming months.

A new species from South India, Salacia agasthiamalana Udayan, Regy Yohannan & Pradeep (Hippocrateaceae), is described from the Western Ghats of Thiruvananthapuram District, Kerala State. An illustration and data on habitat, distribution and phenology are provided.

Curcuma prasina (Zingiberaceae), a stenoendemic species from Thailand, is described and illustrated here. It differs from other similar species in Curcuma subgenus Hitcheniopsis in Thailand in its inflorescences composed of fertile green bracts only (lacking any white coma bracts), purple staminodes, and purple labellum with a bright yellow centre extending from the base to about two-thirds of the labellum towards the apex.