ALBERT

Description: Respiration, ammonia excretion and decompression tolerance were studied in several species of lysianassoid amphipods captured at four stations in the deep Arabian Sea with an isolated trap maintaining them at in situ temperature. The amphipods were decompressed from their ambient to atmospheric pressure during recovery. Six amphipods, belonging to the species Eurythenes gryllus, Paralicella caperesca and Abyssorchomene abyssorum, survived decompression from depths between 1920 and 4420 m. The physiological condition of these specimens was good inferred by the fact that their swimming and resting behaviour appeared normal, they reacted to disturbance by light and vibration, and were able to ingest food to maintain full guts. Most of the amphipods (421 individuals), however, were recovered dead, which allows information about their decompression tolerance and their vertical migration ability to be deduced. Weight-specific respiration rates of the deep-sea amphipods that were fed prior to the experiments were not lower than in shallow-water amphipods living at similar temperatures. Differences in respiration rates between the specimens are discussed with regard to body size, species specificity and food supply. Weight-specific ammonia excretion rates were extremely high when compared with shallow-water relatives, indicating a capability for rapid digestion. This may be an adaptation to the unpredictable food supply in the deep sea as it enables the amphipod to empty its digestive tract quickly, thus making it available for additional food. Rapid digestion also enables the animals to regain mobility soon after feeding, permitting them to move to new food sources.

Description: New taxa and combinations are published here in anticipation of the revision of the Rutaceae-Pilocarpinae to be published in the near future (thesis, and in Flora Neotropica). Two new combinations of species excluded from subtribe Pilocarpinae are added.

Description: The author reports the discovery of the moss Rhodobryum roseum (Hedw.) Limpr. in the municipality of Wijlre in the extreme south of the Dutch province of Limburg. This is the first certain find from this area. See distribution map – fig. 2. Rhodobryum occurs on a steep part with a grade of about 30° of a north-facing hillside which borders the valley of the rivulet Geul. This steep part originated by specific land use for several centuries and it forms a part of a pasture which lies below it and is incidentally grazed by cattle. Above the locality a forest stretches towards the hill top. The habitat of Rhodobryum roseum receives no direct sunshine and the microclimatological situation can be defined as open shade. The air humidity is constantly rather high. The subsoil consists of calcareous deposits of Upper-Senone age. The pH measured at a depth of ca. 5 cm. in the soil is about 7-8. The altitude of the locality is about 125 m. above sea level.

Description: Neohattoria Kamim. is a monotypic genus of the Jubulaceae (= Frullaniaceae) with a single species, N. herzogii (Hatt.) Kamim., known from central to northern Japan and the southern part of the Kurile Islands. The present genus was segregated from Frullania by Kamimura (1961; sub. nom. Hattoria Kamim. nom. illeg., non Schust., 1961) on the basis of the branching type, the shape of the first leaf and underleaf on branch, the total lack of secondary pigmentation, the uniform cell structure of the stem in cross section, and the strongly toothed leaf lobes. The generic concept of Neohattoria was greatly expanded by Schuster (1970), who included eight species and classified them into two subgenera, subgen. Neohattoria (with a single species) and subgen. Microfrullania Schust. (with seven species); however, Hattori et al. (1972) transferred all species of subgen. Microfrullania to a newly segregated genus Schusterella Hatt. et al., thus retaining the monotypic status of Neohattoria. As already described and illustrated by Hattori (1955), Kamimura (1961), Mizutani (1961), Ladyzhenskaja (1963), Schuster (1970), and Hattori et al. (1972), Neohattoria herzogii is closely related to species of both Jubula and Frullania. Regarding the taxonomic desposition of Neohattoria, Mizutani (1961) and Mizutani & Hattori (1969) placed it with Jubula in a subfamily Jubuloideae of Lejeuneaceae and Hattori et al. placed it in Jubulaceae (s. lat.). But, Kamimura (1961), Schuster (1970, 1979), and Guercke (1978) placed it more close to Frullania, e.g. in a subfamily Frullanioideae of Jubulaceae (s. lat.); more recently, Asakawa et al. (1979b), admitting three distinct families, Jubulaceae, Frullaniaceae, and Lejeuneaceae, placed Neohattoria and Jubula in the Jubulaceae (s. str.) but Frullania and Schusterella in the Frullaniaceae.

Description: Oil bodies 7-12 in upper leaf cells, 10-20 in elongated basal leaf cells; globose to ellipsoid, 3-7(-10)x3-5 μm; colourless, coarsely segmented, consisting of c. 15-30 aggregated droplets (Colombia, Boyacá, páramos NW of Belén, Cabeceras Q. El Toral, 3765 m, Cleef 2292e; Ecuador, páramos de El Angel, 17 km. S. of Tulcán, 3350 m, Gradstein, Lanier & Weber s.n.). The presence of segmented oil bodies in Colura patagonica is remarkable because previous studies of living Colura (from Japan) reported homogeneous oil bodies (cf. Schuster & Hattori 1964; Inoue 1974).

Description: On 27 May 1976 Peter Arnold Florschütz, bryologist, died at the age of only 53 at De Bilt, Netherlands. Only six weeks prior he had been hospitalized as a result of kidney cancer. His untimely death came as totally unexpected and shocking news to his friends and colleagues all over the world, many of whom had seen him in excellent health the year before at the Botanical Congress in Leningrad. He was a lector of botany and curator of the cryptogamic herbarium at the Institute for Systematic Botany and acting director of the Botanical Gardens of the University of Utrecht, the same institution where he had studied biology from 1941 to 1949. In his professional capacity he had held positions at the Institute for Systematic Botany from 1946 until 1949 as student-assistant and from 1949 on as staff member. Initially under the directorship of his teacher in plant systematics Professor A. A. Pulle, and from 1948 until 1970 under Professor J. Lanjouw’s leadership, the “Flora of Suriname” was being tackled by the staff of the institute. Thus, as a young graduate student, Florschütz was assigned the revision of the mosses of Suriname; a comprehensive and difficult task, because in those post-war years there was a vacuum in European exotic bryology. The heydays, with Herzog in Germany, Brotherus in Scandinavia, Dixon in Great Britain and Thériot and Camus in France were over. At the beginning, Florschütz was entirely dependent on Brotherus’ treatment of the world’s mosses in Engler and Prantl, “Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien.” In those years he had run over the leaves of this book for weeks on end in a typical posture, like he used to tell: folded in a chair, book on his lap.

Description: Campylopus introflexus, a new neophyte in western Europe, occurs throughout the Netherlands. After its first appearance in 1961, it is now a common moss. It grows as a pioneer on acid, well-drained places. The differences with C. pilifer are summarized. The occurrence of the latter in the Netherlands could not be affirmed.

Description: Campylopus galapagensis J.-P. Frahm & Sipman spec. nov. is described. It is closely related to C. pilifer Brid., from which it differs mainly by the presence of substereids in the ventral layer of the costa. It is endemic on the Galapagos Islands, where it occurs frequently from sea level to the highest summits at 1500 m.

Description: Tortula grandiretis Broth., differing from T. muralis Hedw. mainly in the larger, quite smooth lamina cells, is reported from three localities in the SW-Netherlands, where it occurred on open, sandy or clayey, brackish soil on recently enclosed mud flats or salt-marshes. It is also reported from one locality in Turkey. It was formerly known only from Turkestan (U.S.S.R.).

Description: The originally monotypic eastern Malaysian genus Schiffneriolejeunea Verdoorn 1933 has now become a widespread, pantropical group of about fifteen species by the inclusion of species from the genus Ptychocoleus Trev. nom. illeg. Six species are known from Asia, three of which constitute the sect. Saccatae (Verdoorn) Gradst. & Terken comb. nov. These are the widespread Schiffneriolejeunea tumida (Nees) Gradst., the eastern Malaysian S. cumingiana (Mont.) Gradst. and S. nymannii (Steph.) Gradst. & Terken comb. nov. Schiffneriolejeunea tumida is a rather polymorphic species in which two not sharply defined varieties may be distinguished: S. tumida var. tumida with more or less involuted leaf margins, and S. tumida var. haskarliana (Gott.) Gradst. & Terken comb. nov. with plane margins.

Description: The structure of the wood of the genera Castilla, Helicostylis, Maquira, Naucleopsis, Olmedia, Perebea and Pseudolmedia, considered to belong in the Olmedieae (cf. Berg 1972) is described. The diversity in anatomical structure between the genera is small, and it is hard to distinguish Maquira, Perebea and Pseudolmedia from each other. Castilla can be recognized by its thinwalled and wide-lumined fibres, Helicostylis by its parenchyma distribution, Naucleopsis (usually) by its more numerous vessels with a smaller diameter. A more marked difference is shown by the monotypic genus Olmedia with apotracheal banded parenchyma instead of the paratracheal aliform to confluent-banded parenchyma of the other genera. Septate fibres, which are characteristic for the other genera – some species of Helicostylis excepted – are nearly completely absent in Olmedia. This structural difference is considered as an argument in favour of the exclusion of Olmedia from the tribe Olmedieae (Berg 1977).

Description: The new checklist of Dutch liverworts comprises 126 species, 1 subspecies and 5 varieties. Since 1962 seven liverwort species have been added to the flora: Barbilophozia hatcheri, Calypogeia muellerana, Cephalozia pleniceps, Fossombronia incurva, Haplomitrium hookeri, Lophozia perssonii and Plagiochila porelloides. Of twelve species presumed occurrence in the Netherlands needs verification. Nomenclature follows Grolle’s “Verzeichnis der Lebermoose Europas” (Feddes Repert. 87: 171-279. 1976), except for Isopaches, Leiocolea and Microlejeunea, which are maintained as genera and Phaeoceros carolinianus, Cephalozia lammersiana, Chiloscyphus pallescens, Lophozia silvicola and Lophocolea cuspidata. , which are treated as intraspecific taxa.

Description: The new Amazonian liverwort genus Verdoornianthus is considered to be a specialized derivative of the widespread tropical genus Archilejeunea. Differences are the absence of innovations, the dull, suberect leaves, the tristratose rhizoid pad and the larger size of the lobule of the female bracts in Verdoornianthus. There are two species, V. marsupiifolius (Spruce) comb. nov. (Lejeunea marsupiifolia Spruce) from the upstream part of the Rio Negro and V. griffinii sp. nov. from Manaus.

Description: A phytosociological survey based on methods of the Zürich-Montpellier School was carried out in the páramo vegetation of the Cordillera Oriental, Colombia. The study area covers about 10,000 and comprises the páramo between the Nevado de Sumapaz (3°55'N, 4250 m), the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (6°25'N, 5493 m) and the Páramo del Almorzadero (7°N, 4375 m). The páramo vegetation was studied along various altitudinal transects from the upper forest line (3000-3500 m) up to the lower limit of the snowcap (4800 m). A general description of the study area includes data on geology, geomorphology, soils, climate, flora, phytogeography, morphological characters of the vegetation, fauna and landuse. The evolution and Quaternary history of páramo vegetation and climate is reviewed, incorporating the first data from the Lateglacial and Holocene of the Páramo de Sumapaz. The general altitudinal zonation of the páramo vegetation was studied and is presented for both the dry and the humid side of the Cordillera. The zonal and azonal plant communities are described including their physiognomy, composition and syntaxonomy, habitat and distribution. Eighty five syntaxa from the rank of variant to that of the class are newly described, 17 of which are provisional. The vegetation is not ranked syntaxonomically yet, but described on the basis of preliminary tables. A number of azonal communities, part of them of lesser extent, are described in a similar way. The páramo vegetation is primarily determined by the tropical diurnal high mountain climate. The diversity of the páramo vegetation is related to temperature (altitudinal gradient) and to humidity (dry and wet climate). The presence of zonal bunchgrass páramo, bamboo-bunchgrass páramo or bamboo páramo mainly depends on the complex interrelation between these factors. Finally a synthesis is provided on ecology, morphology and phytogeography of the páramo vegetation of the study area.

Description: Isoëtes Palmeri with a distribution in the High Andes from the Páramo of Venezuela to the Páramo of Ecuador is described as a new taxon, and dedicated to the then American specialist of the genus, Thomas Chalkley Palmer (1860-1934). The new species belongs to the tropical-Andeanaustral-antarctic section Laeves, described as new here as well. The publication of the new species had to be anticipated to the projected monographic treatment of the South-American representatives of the genus Isoëtes, as A.M. Cleef, Utrecht intends to base a new association, the Isoëtetum Palmeri on this new taxon, observed and collected by him at many instances within the Colombian Páramo between 1971 and 1980 in the context of the preparation of his doctoral thesis now under way.

Description: In a recent paper PIERROT (BIZOT, PIERROT & POCS 1974) described the new genus Bizotia based on Paraleucobryum densifolium Thér. (THÉRIOT 1939). However, ROBINSON (1967) already made the presumption that Paraleucobryum densifolium should belong to Campylopus, notably C. argyrocaulon (C.M.) Broth. His conception of C. argyrocaulon was apparently based on MUELLER’s original description (MUELLER 1874) only, which includes a detailed description of the cross section of the costa. We examined part of the type collection of C. argyrocaulon (Wallis s. n., Colombia, NY) but this material, although MUELLER’s description is correct, does not exactly match the type material of Paraleucobryum densifolium (Troll 2144-2145, Colombia, PC-TH). The type material of C. argyrocaulon is identical with one of the paratypes of C. leucognodes (C.M.) Par. (Germain s. n., Bryoth. Levier, Bolivia, NY). ROBINSON also mentions Campylopus pittieri Williams (1908) under the presumed synonymy of C. argyrocaulon. Examination of the type material of the former species (Pittier 1088, Colombia, NY) shows that this species is indeed identical with Paraleucobryum densifolium.

Description: In continuation of de Ruiter’s treatment of Myrianthus and Musanga (Bull. Jard. Bot. Nat. Belg. 46: 471-510.1976), the present paper gives a revision of the African representatives of 17 genera of the Moraceae. The area studied not only consists of the African Continent, but also includes Madagascar, the Comoro Islands, the Mascarenes, the Seychelles, and the Aldabra Islands. Several new combinations are made: Antiaris toxicaria ssp. africana (Engl.) C.C. Berg, A. toxicaría ssp. africana var. usambarensis” (Engl.) C.C. Berg, A. toxicaria ssp. macrophylla (R.Br.) C.C. Berg, A. toxicaría ssp. madagascariensis (H. Perrier) C.C. Berg, A. toxicaria ssp. humbertii (Léandri) C.C. Berg, Broussonetia greveana (Baillon) C.C. Berg, Treculia africana ssp. madagascarica (N.E.Br.) C.C. Berg, and T. africana ssp. madagascarica var. sambiranensis (Léandri) C. C. Berg. Many names are brought into synonymy. Besides revising taxa, the present study aims to fill a gap in our knowledge between Asian Moraceae (studied by Corner, whose studies resulted in a new classification of the family) and the neotropical Moraceae, a subject of study by the present author. Therefore discussions about classification of the family and relationships of African Moraceae with moraceous taxa elsewhere are an essential part of the present paper.

Description: From April 1974 to October 1975 the author conducted field work on the Galápagos Islands for a vegetation study of Santa Cruz and Volcán Alcedo, Isabela. Plants were collected on other islands as well. Thirty-five taxa are new for the archipelago. When determining the material, I found some changes in nomenclature to be necessary. The first set of the collection is in U while a duplicate set will be deposited in CAS. A representative set will be deposited in an Ecuadorian Herbarium. The sequence of the taxa in the Flora of the Galapagos Islands (Wiggins & Porter 1971) is followed.

Description: This year Prof. Dr. F.P. Jonker, Frits as he is known among his friends, will retire from the formal academic life at the State University of Utrecht: a long and busy life of 49 years, devoted to teaching, administration, and scientific research. Looking back on all these years, one realises the important contributions that Jonker has made to botanical science in general and to palaeobotany in particular, both in The Netherlands and abroad, as well as the impact he has exerted on his surroundings, culminating in the vigorous activities of the Laboratory of Palaeobotany and Palynology at Utrecht. To describe Jonker’s life history is indeed to describe the history of his laboratory. To understand the significance of Jonker and the character of the “lab”, we have to trace his life from its very beginnings at the town of Almelo in the eastern Netherlands, where he was born in 1912. His father and mother were teachers and both liked (wild) flowers. Thus both an intellectual and botanical background were already part of his life at a very young age. Soon Jonker joined a group of boy-scouts, where he combined his love for the outdoors with his interest in nature. In high school the biology teacher was Dr. J. Van Beusekom, an Utrecht botanist, who was at the same time scout-master of the scout group. In these formative years, “de Beus” was a decisive factor in influencing Jonker’s career. It was largely because of Van Beusekom that Jonker went to Utrecht University as a student.

Description: El 25 de mayo de 1976 falleció inesperadamente, a la edad de 53 años, Peter Arnold Florschütz, eminente briólogo y profesor de Botánica Sistemática en Utrecht (Holanda). Era bien conocido por sus estudios de los musgos de Surinam. Fue coauter del "Index Muscorum”, miembro de la comisión de la Flora Neotrópica y tesorero del IAPT. Durante sus últimos 10 años estudiaba, junto con la señora Florschütz, los musgos de los Andes colombianos. En 1972 visitó muchas zonas de páramos y selvas andinas, especialmente en los alrededores de Bogotá (Cundinamarca), la Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (Boyacá, Arauca) y el Nevado del Ruiz (Caldas). En 1975 tuvo la oportunidad de visitar nuevamente algunos páramos cercanos a la capital colombiana. Sus colecciones de 1972 y 1975 (con cerca de 1.000 números) se conservan en Bogotá (COL) con duplicados en Utrecht (U).

Description: Until recently relatively little attention has been paid to the study of chromosomes in liverworts. The first substantial contributions were made by Heitz (1927, 1928) and Lorbeer (1934). In the second half of this century chromosome studies on liverworts were mainly carried out in Europe (e.g. Fritsch 1972; Newton 1977, 1979) and Japan (e.g. Tatuno 1959; Segawa 1965a, b, c; Inoue 1968). Inoue (in Koponen 1979) reports that until now 28% of all bryophyte species in Japan have been investigated as to their chromosome complement. A comprehensive, but rather outdated, survey of chromosome numbers in Hepaticae and Anthocerotae was given by Berrie (1960). Work on a new, updated survey is now underway (Fritsch, in prep.). In the present article results are presented of a cytotaxonomic investigation of European species of the genera Aneura and Riccardia (Aneuraceae). Most specimens were gathered in the Netherlands, but some chromosome counts based on French and German plants are also included.

Description: The case described here analyses morphological change at the boundary between ecological and evolutionary scales. The size and shape of 8 populations of two sibling species of tenebrionid beetles (Asida planipennis and A. moraguesi) are analysed using landmark-based methods. The two species differ in size, shape and in allometric trajectory. Thin-Plate Spline Analysis (TPSA) combined with Canonical Variate Analysis (CVA) reveal the specific shape changes that allow the best inter-species discrimination. These changes involve the outline of the posterior margin of the pronotum. Moreover, the landmarkbased method provides useful tools for interpreting the intraspecies variability of some continuously varying morphological characters. In the case of A. planipennis, size and shape are correlated at the inter-population level, but are independent at the intra-population level. Moreover, size and shape do not reflect any spatial (i.e., geographical) structure or phylogenetic inertia at the inter-population level. These facts favour sitespecific environmental conditions as the main cause of shape and size variability in this species. One environmental variable is suggested to be the cause of the inter-population morphological differences detected.

Description: The analysis of consecutive ontogenetic stages, or events, introduces a new class of data to phylogenetic systematics that are distinctly different from traditional morphological characters and molecular sequence data. Ontogenetic event sequences are distinguished by varying degrees of both a collective and linear type of dependence and, therefore, violate the criterion of character independence. We applied different methods of phylogenetic reconstruction to ontogenetic data including maximum parsimony and distance (cluster) analyses. Two different data sets were investigated: (1) four simulated ontogenies with defined phylogenies of six hypothetical taxa, and (2) a set of “real” data comprising sequences of 29 ontogenetic events from 11 vertebrate taxa. We confirm that heterochronic event sequences do contain a phylogenetic signal. However, based on our results we argue that maximum parsimony is a biased method to analyze such developmental sequence data. Ontogenetic events require a special analytical algorithm that would not neglect instances of chronological (horizontal) dependence of this type of data. One coding method, “event-pairing”, appeared to fulfill this requirement in the vertebrate analyses. However, to accurately analyze ontogenetic sequence data, a more sophisticated coding method and algorithm are needed, for example, measuring distances of dependent events.

Description: I have long maintained that in the unfolding of exciting lines of research, seldom can one plan how to achieve a cooperative program. “Planned science,” more often than not, is forced science and not particularly productive. Far more significant is the role of serendipity in defining an exciting and innovative line of research, i.e., a truly stimulating cooperation. Fundamental advances simply cannot be planned for; one has to flow with the current. Thus it was that serendipity brought together the research group in Experimental Embryology of Prof. dr. J.A.M. van den Biggelaar at the University of Utrecht, and my own group in Systematics and Zoogeography at the University of Amsterdam. Several years ago I had received a grant proposal to review from the Dutch science research council (NWO). The proposed project intended to examine patterns of early development in the gastropod Patella in a large scale, evolutionary context. I found the project an exciting one and gave it my highest endorsement. Furthermore, so taken was I by the proposal that I made contact with its author. Prof. van den Biggelaar. I had long entertained the idea that a combination of an evolutionarily inclined group in embryology with embryologically sensitive systematists could achieve great things. I revealed myself to Jo van den Biggelaar as one of his reviewers and proposed that we meet.

Description: A critical study of the morphological data sets used for the most recent analyses of metazoan cladistics exposes a rather cavalier attitude towards character coding. Binary absence/presence coding is ubiquitous, but without any explicit justification. This uncompromising application of Boolean logic in character coding is remarkable since several recent investigations have nominated absence/presence coding as the most problematic coding method available for standard cladistic analysis. Moreover, the prevalence of unspecified “absence” character states in the published data sets introduces a discrepancy between the theoretical foundations of phylogenetic parsimony and current practices in metazoan cladistics. Because phylogenetic parsimony assumes transformation of character states, its effective operation breaks down when not all character states are carefully delimited. Examples of resulting meaningless character state transformations are discussed in two categories: 1) when unspecified “absence” states are plesiomorphic; and 2) when unspecified “absence” states are apomorphic (character reversals). To facilitate future progress in metazoan cladistics, the mandatory link between comparative morphology and character coding needs to be reestablished through a more explicit study of morphological variation prior to character coding, and through a more explicitly experimental approach to character coding.

Description: BAKHUIZEN VAN DEN BRINK Jr, R.C., A synoptical key to the genera of the Rubiaceae of Thailand. Thai Forest Bull. (Bot.) 9 (1976) 15-55. Key of the bracketed type, often leading to flowers as well as fruits, with built-in descriptions of c. 6-12 lines; diagnostic characters are marked. Number of genera 68, incl. 3 introductions and 5 genera not recorded but possibly occurring in Thailand (mostly dependent on delimitation); Craib in 1932-34 has 71. Schumann’s system of 1891 is largely upheld, although no subdivision is here given, and some surprising changes in delimitation occur (e.g. in Keenania, Mycetia, Myrioneuron), which means that many new combinations must be floating around on herbarium sheets. Caution is in order where e.g. on p. 49 Mitragyna seems to have a new section Paradina with a supposedly basal placenta, or where Gardenia is authorized L. on p. 35 but authorized L. emend. Bakh.f. on p. 32. A comparison with Thonner’s keys reveals that Bakhuizen’s key works slower. His generic descriptions are true ’mines of information’ – mining requires a lot of backtracking before all characters can be compared. Desirable as it would be to extend a work like this to all Malesia, it would be better to abandon the Backer-way of keying, and instead describe all genera clearly, and prepare a multiple key as worked out by Leenhouts. Some synonyms are given (Notodontia yes, Quiducia and Symphyllarion no), nomina conservanda indicated, no references, no species. Several critical notes are added. — C.E. Ridsdale & M.J.

Description: Portraits of botanists who worked on the Ryukyu Islands, 80 in number, most Japanese, a few Americans, were published in the book by S. Hatusima, Flora of the Ryukyus, p. 56-75 (1971). Baas Becking, L. G. M. A meticulous bibliography, of the former Professor of Experimental Botany at Leiden and later Director of the Bogor Botanic Gardens, was prepared by J. Westenberg, 20 p. (North Holland Publishing Company, Amsterdam, 1977).

Description: Brunonia is the title of a journal that will replace the Contributions from Herbarium Australiense (last no. 17, 1976). Subscriptions Aust. $ 4. annual, Herbarium Australiense, P.O. Box 1600, Canberra City, A.C.T. 2601, Australia. Nature Malaysiana, published quarterly by Tropical Press, 64A Jl. Bukit Bintang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, started in July 1976. The price is Mal. $ 2.50 a copy. This first number, size 28 by 20 cm, containing 40 pages of text and some pages of ads, is devoted to ’our natural heritage’. It is full of showy photographs all in colour, with high quality popular texts on snakes, malaria parasites, spiders, wild orchids, mantis, frogs and elephants. Execution is very good. The journal seems aimed at the general educated public, well suited for display in airline offices, dentist’s waiting rooms, the reading table in an embassy, etc. where is surely will make life more pleasant, and set people’s minds in the proper direction.

Description: Austrobaileya replaces the Contributions from the Queensland Herbarium, and was devised to accommodate also shorter taxonomic notes. The Contributions amount to 20 numbers, with one article each; a cumulative index of names is in no 20, p. 73-88. In format and execution Austrobaileya resembles its predecessor but the useful page heads should be retained. Volume 1 number 1 (1977) was received in March 1978. It carries 9 papers on 74 pages, and a map with subdivisions of Queensland on the back flap. Frequency and price are unknown. Editor: L. Pedley, Queensland Herbarium, Meiers Road, Indooroopilly, Qld. 4068, Australia. Brunonia replaces Contributions from Herbarium Australiense or rather seems a continuation of it in the same scope under a new name, and paged through per volume. The first issue appeared on 24 February 1978, it has 129 pages, carrying 11 papers. It will be ”issued at irregular intervals”. Subscription is A$ 10 per annum. Editor is B.J. Walby, CSIRO, Box 89, East Melbourne, Vic. 3002, Australia.

Description: With the founding of the Museum of Natural History (MNH) at the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) the former Department of Botany Herbarium (CAHUP) has been transferred to this. This required the establishment of another herbarium to cater to the increasing need by courses in systematics of the undergraduate and graduate programs of the Institute of Biological Sciences (IBS), UPLB. Thus, in 1999, the birth of the IBS Herbarium (PBDH). It is used for six more or less advanced courses in biodiversity, botany, ecology, and systematics. It is also the repository of documentation on the flora of Mt Makiling and vicinity. Mount Makiling is the best scientifically studied mountain of the country, materials dating back to the time of the Malaspina Expedition in 1789. Prominent collectors were W.H. Brown, E.B. Copeland, H. Cuming, A.D.E. Elmer, A. Loher, C.G. Matthews, E.D. Merrill, C. Pickering, and many others. Those after WW II are listed below.

Description: Localizing specimens and mapping localities has always been a tedious and time-consuming task for which much depends on the data mentioned on the labels. It has been found a blessing if collectors mention on labels the latitude and longitude. If this is given in an exact way it comprises degrees and minutes, e.g. 6° 45’ S, 141° 30’ E. If no dot-map is provided this appears to be a slightly clumsy formula in print and the question arises whether such exact figures are really needed. In scanning a geographical map the minutes will hardly mean something unless one uses local small-scale maps, as one minute is only a little more than 2 km in the terrain. In Pretoria only the degrees are given, joined into one figure, preceding the collector / after the locality. This simplification is, I think, practical and useful.

Description: At the Biodiversity 2000 Kuching Conference in November 2000, I put forward the thesis that biodiversity is a knowledge resource, and that Asian societies have an attitude problem with respect to the management of knowledge (Ng, 2001). I offered the following evidence: In AD 304, Chi Han published his famous monograph on the Flora of Southeast Asia (available in English translation by Li, 1979), covering about 80 species of plants from what is now Vietnam and S China. Chi Han covered 18 edible fruits and nuts, 5 useful palms, 3 vegetables, 2 other food crops, 5 spices, 2 masticatory plants, 2 dye plants, 5 fibre plants, 6 perfume plants, 7 drug plants, 11 wood and wood-products plants and 10 ornamental plants. Chi Han’s book became a classic in the Chinese scientific literature.

Description: Mount Akiki (16° 37’ N, 120° 53’ E, c. 2760 m alt.) is one of the highest mountain peaks in the Cordillera mountain range, Luzon Island, Philippines. It is situated in the municipality of Benguet, north-east of Baguio City (a world famous tourist city in the region) and is north-west of Mt Pulog, Luzon Island’s highest mountain peak and the second in the entire Philippines next to Mt Apo in Mindanao (Schoenig et al., 1975; Buot & Okitsu, 1997a; Buot, 1999). Locally the mountain is known as ‘Pulag’, internationally as ‘Pulog’. Knowledge about the vegetation types on Mt Akiki (similar to that of many of the Philippine mountains), is quite wanting despite its importance in biodiversity studies, zonation and sustainable forest conservation plans, wise utilisation of forest resources, and bioprospecting possibilities (PAWB-DENR, 1998).

Description: MOGEA, J.P., D. GANDAWIDJAJA, H. WIRIADINATA, R.E. NASUTION & IRAWATI. 2001. Tumbuhan langka Indonesia (Rare plants of Indonesia). 86 pp, illus. Puslitbang Biologi-LIPI. ISBN 979-579-036-6 (In Bahasa Indonesia). This is an illustrated guide to and descriptions of 40 rare or endangered plants of Indonesia. Not surprisingly several species of Aquilaria, mercilessly sought after for their scented wood (gaharu), are included as well as several species of orchids and Rafflesia, of which habitat destruction is the main threat. This is also true for Amorphophallus titanum which, by the way, has been successfully propagated by seeds in the Leiden Botanical Garden, alongside other species of the genus.

Description: Currently both those teaching and those learning about phylogenies face a variety of problems. There are several systems to chose from, yet there is no explicitly phylogenetic system (in the sense of recognizing only strictly monophyletic groups) where all those groups are described. Conventional family descriptions are long, and present a formidable challenge to somebody trying to learn about the family. This website attempts to deal with such problems. It is a web-based treatment of all flowering plant families and orders that very largely follows the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (APG) system (APG, 1998, 2002). It contains characterizations of all plant families, some infrafamilial groups, and most of the well-supported nodes above the level of family including those formally recognized as orders. The characterizations consist of hierarchically organized information (see below), and are linked to trees. Associated material consists of a brief discussion of the characters used, indexes of familial and ordinal names, and a bibliography, as well as links to photographs, lists of genera, and other sites.

Description: On 3 September 1977, Dr. H.P. Nooteboom (L) went to Ceylon for 2 months to collect additional material of Symplocaceae for ’A revised Flora of Ceylon’. Although this project was due to end by September 1977, it appeared to have been extended for another year. The genus Symplocos, with about 20 taxa, is found in the wet zone (in the mountains of the central part, in the mossy forest up to 2400 m, descending to sea-level in the everwet primary forest in the SW. part of the island). Some species also occur in the secondary forest in the same region, one species is found in the whole island, in a variety of vegetation types, but mostly in secondary forest and shrubbery. Dr. Nooteboom could collect material of all the taxa, sometimes in many individuals, which revealed the difficult patterns of variability. Besides he made also general collections (Nooteboom 3036—3420). The weather was extremely bad; heavy rains caused inundations and landslides. Therefore the total number of collections was limited. Labelling and distribution is still going on.

Description: On 25 and 26 June 2001 FRIM and PROSEA Country Office Malaysia organised a First National Workshop on Environmental Education (EE) in Forest Recreational Areas. The workshop was attended by 75 participants, most from municipalities and government agencies. The issue is actual because tourism is increasingly shifting towards eco- or nature tourism and Malaysia has a lot to offer in this respect. PROSEA Malaysia could contribute e.g. by institutionalising EE at all levels of education, including teachers training, providing teachers with support material for EE, bringing school and community closer by making them undertake EE activities together and providing basic environmental knowledge to all government agencies, private sectors, general public, and political parties. Mid 2001, Dr. E. Sukara, Deputy for Natural Sciences for Biology LIPI, succeeded Dr. A. Nontji as Chair of PROSEA’S National Steering Committee in Indonesia.

Description: Flora Malesiana series i volume 8 instalment 2, pages 31-300, came from the press in December 1977*. It contains the Ulmaceae by E. Soepadmo: 6 genera, 27 species; the Iridaceae by D.J.L. Geerinck: 6 genera, 7 species; the Cornaceae by K.M. Matthew: 1 genus Mastixia with 10 species; the Onagraceae by P.H. Raven: 2 genera, 14 species; the Bignoniaceae by C.G.G. J. van Steenis: 15 genera, 31 species + in concise treatment 23 ornamental species; the Crypteroniaceae by R.J. van Beusekom-Osinga: 3 genera, 8 species; the Symplocaceae by H.P. Nooteboom: 1 genus Symplocos, 58 species; the Lentibulariaceae by P. Taylor: 1 genus Utricularia, 22 species. Volume 8 instalment 3 is in proof. It contains the Labiatae and Anacardiaceae, as well as some Addenda, the Dedication to F.A.W. Miquel, and the Index, since volume 8 will then be completed.

Description: The preparation of botanical drawings is a craft in its own right, and furthermore, draughtsmen are human beings. Even these simple truths are trodden down by the taxonomist who during a final hour hands the draughtsman a bundle of specimens and some hasty indications. Naturally the result is anguish and confusion. Let us therefore add some observations to improve the situation. First: a botanical artist looks at plants with a different eye from the taxonomist – that’s why he is an artist and not a scientist. Fortunately, some overlap exists, where the two can meet.

Description: The World Wildlife Fund (Kikori Catchment Developmental Project, Papua New Guinea) has commenced field surveys of the Orchidaceae in the Lake Kutabu and Mt Bosavi areas of Papua New Guinea. The main purpose of the survey is to get a more accurate assessment of the orchids in the region. In a previous survey based on data collected along transects within the region, the total orchid flora appeared to have been underestimated due to a lack of knowledge in the recognition and identification of these plants. A major component of the project therefore was to work jointly with two national botanists, L. Balun, Senior Lecturer, Bulolo University College, and O. Jebia, WWF Botanist, and train them to recognise and identify the orchids encountered in the field. The survey area is biologically rich with diverse tropical rain forest at 800-1400 m altitude on the Papuan fold belt geological region on the southern slopes of the Southern Highlands. Currently it is an area of major economic significance to Papua New Guinea containing major oil and natural gas fields. Much of the forest within the region is in a pristine state with minimal clearing and agriculture evident. The ease of access to various habitats within the region either by road, boat, or air, makes it an ideal situation to conduct research to assess biodiversity in this part of Papua New Guinea.

Description: The entries have been split into five categories: a) Algae – b) Fungi & Lichens — c) Bryophytes — d) Pteridophytes — e) Spermatophytes & General subjects. — Books have been marked with an asterisk.

Description: Dr. J.A.R. Anderson, former conservator of Forests, Kuching, now consultant forester and ecologist, new address: 30 Greenhill Gardens, Edinburgh EH10 4BP, U.K. His Far East address: c/o Room 432, 4th floor, Katong Shopping Centre, Singapore 15. Dr. P.S. Ashton of Aberdeen spent months in Kuala Lumpur, during the second half of 1975, principally to teach economic and forest botany at the University of Malaya.

Description: The idea to establish a regional organization in order to improve the quality of education in South East Asia was conceived in a meeting of Ministers of Education and Culture in 1965. This idea took shape and was realized in an organization called the SEAMEO (South East Asian Ministers of Education Organization) which was officially inaugurated on February 7, 1968 by the signing of the SEAMEO Charter by seven Ministers of Education, representing the Governments of Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and South Vietnam. In 1971 the Republic of Khmer followed as the eighth member country, whereas in 1973 France became an associate member, followed by Australia and New Zealand in 1974.

Description: Arts, T. 2001. A revision of Splachnobryaceae (Musci). Lindbergia 26: 77-96, illus. — 2 gen (1 new), 10 spp (1), 6 Malesian; key; synonymy, descriptions, notes. AWASTHI, U.S., S.C. SRIVASTAVA & D. SHARMA. 2000 (‘1999’). Lopholejeunea (Spruce) Schiffn. in India. Geophytol. 29: 35-60, illus. — 12 taxa, 4 new; key; synonymy, descriptions, notes.

Description: Some of the species and names of hydnoid fungi treated in Furukawa’s work are discussed. Hydnum albidum is recorded in Europe for the first time. Further finds of some interesting species are reported. Auriscalpium barbatum (Western Australia) and Steccherinum peruvianum (Peru) are described as new species. A key to the species of Auriscalpium is given.

Description: Subramanian’s concept of true and false chains of phialoconidia is rejected and replaced by a distinction between connected and disconnected chains. In connected conidial chains the primary conidial wall is strongly thickened at both ends and a connective is formed. This criterion allows the distinction between trichocomaceous or eurotiaceous (connected) and sphaeriaceous (disconnected) catenulate phialoconidia. The ultrastructure of conidiogenesis is described. On the basis of this criterion, the species of the Acremonium diversisporum series as well as the anamorph of Sagenoma viride Stolk & Orr with connected chains are transferred from Acremonium to the new genus Sagenomella to which four new species are added.

Description: A new species of nivicolous myxomycetes, Diderma cristatosporum is described from Spain and compared with the type of D. subdictyospermum. LM and SEM photographs of the microscopical characters are provided.

Description: The author describes two new subspecies of Rubus, viz. R. schlechtendalii subsp. subcentreuropus Beek and R. glandulosus subsp. picearum Beek.

Description: The structure of the top of the ascus in live and fixed Sarcoscypha coccinea has been studied with different methods of light microscopy. Electron micrographs have been made of median sections of asci first fixed in 1.5% KMnO4, then postfixed with OSO4. Light and electron microscopy give somewhat different but supplementary information on the lateral wall and the top of the ascus in Sarcoscypha. In the ascoplasm a funnel and a funiculus have been found. The ascus wall consists of three layers. (1) An outer layer, which after different stainings is visible with the light microscope, corresponds with the two outer strata of the stratified electron-transparent layer, and is very thin in the top. (2) A middle layer, which is formed by the inner stratum of the electron-transparent layer, continues with about the same thickness in the top. (3) An inner layer, which is anisotropic and electron-dense, is deposited on the inside of the wall after meiosis. This layer becomes very thick in the top. Its central part is separated by a conical boundary plane to form the basal part of the opercular plug. Former studies on the structure and dehiscence of the ascus are discussed. The view that the ascus is suboperculate and characterized by having an interrupted apical ring is refuted.

Description: Mede dankzij de gebiedsdekkende inventarisatie door de provincie Zeeland in de jaren zeventig en tachtig zijn er omtrent de Zeeuwse flora in de loop der jaren al veel gegevens op papier gezet. Nu, zo’n twintig jaar later, beginnen deze gegevens aardig gedateerd te raken. Bovendien zijn er ondanks het vlakdekkende werk toch nog redelijk wat ‘witte gebieden’ op de kaart. Reden genoeg om tussen 2001 en 2004 vier speciale inventarisatiekampen te organiseren. Het eerste kamp dat afgelopen jaar vanuit Veere plaatsvond was een succes dankzij een aantrekkelijk programma met goede hokken naast saaie hokken, een uitstekende overnachtingslocatie, goed weer met tot slot een typisch Zeeuwse bui met zware luchten boven de Oosterschelde en bovendien een opkomst 43 floristen van binnen en buiten Zeeland. Niet onbelangrijk te melden dat zowel de provincie Zeeland, het Zeeuwse Landschap, Staatsbosbeheer en Natuurmonumenten dit initiatief financieel ondersteunden. De inventarisaties vonden plaats op Walcheren en Noord- en Zuid-Beveland. In totaal werden 47 kilometerhokken geheel of gedeeltelijk onderzocht. Tevens werden van 14 hokken LMF-formulieren ingevuld. Dit alles was goed voor 5.512 waarnemingen betreffende 541 soorten, waarvan 47 Rode-Lijstsoorten. Het LMFproject maakte op een nogal schokkende manier duidelijk hoezeer de plantengroei in relatief korte tijd kan veranderen. In de periode van 1976 tot en met 1997 werden volgens FlorBase in de geselecteerde kilometerhokken 162 waarnemingen van bijzondere plantensoorten genoteerd. Tijdens het FLORON-inventarisatiekamp werden daarvan slechts 55 groeiplaatsen met zekerheid teruggevonden. Dit is niet meer dan 33,5%. Van de 66 soorten werden er slechts 25 teruggevonden (37%). Naar zeldzaamheden als Rozenkransje ( Antennaria dioica), Wollige distel ( Cirsium eriophorum) Akkerdoornzaad ( Torilis arvensis), Bergnachtorchis ( Platanthera chlorantha) en Grote leeuwenklauw ( Aphanes arvensis) werd tevergeefs gezocht. Overigens werden de laatste twee wel op andere plaatsen gezien. Zeer opvallend is dat de voor Zeeland relatief algemene soorten als Gewone agrimonie ( Agrimonia eupatoria), Rode ogentroost (Odontites vernus susp. serotinus), Wilde marjolein ( Origanum vulgare), Dubbelkelk ( Picris echioides) en IJzerhard (Verbena officinalis) binnen de LMF-hokken niet werden teruggevonden.

Description: The generic names for fungi used by Maratti in his ‘Flora romana’ must be accepted as validly published. Notes are given on the validly re-published names. Of these Agaricum and Coralloides may cause some difficulties. Conservation of Fomes (Fr.) Fr. against Agaricum [Mich.] Maratti is proposed. To the nomina rejicienda of the conserved name Ramaria (Fr.) Bon. Coralloides [Tourn.] Maratti should be added.

Description: During an ecological study of fungi of the tidal mudflats in Kuwait, a Sporothrix species has been recorded twice, in 1977 and 1980. It differs from other species of the genus (de Hoog, 1974, 1978) in several characters and is here described as a new species. A comparison with similar species of the genus is added.

Description: In the course of a study of coprophilous fungi collected in the Zoological Garden in Delhi, an ascomycete belonging to the genus Achaetomium was isolated. It differs from previously described species by larger ascospores and almost colourless ascomata with a wide apical opening.

Description: In the course of investigations on the fungal flora of the salt-marsh soils of Kuwait, a Gilmaniella species was isolated twice in 1973. Its smooth vegetative mycelium and large conidia with relatively wide germ pores indicated that it is sufficiently different from the only known species in Gilmaniella, G. humicola Barron (1964), to warrant its description as a new species.

Description: A new Momordica species from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana is described.

Description: Buergersiochloa was described by Pilger in 1914 with B. bambusoides as the only species. A second species was added by S. T. Blake in 1946. Very little is known about this genus; the plants appear to be very rare in lowland primary forests of New Guinea and only 11 collections are presently known, nine of which were directly available for this study, while of a tenth extensive descriptions and drawings have been published. As was already pointed out by Pilger Buergersiochloa is evidently related to Olyra Linné. Phytogeographically this is very interesting, as Olyra belongs to the Olyreae, a tribe of the Bambusoideae practically restricted to the forests of Central- and South America. Only O. latifolia Linné is found also in Africa and Madagascar (probably not in the Mascarenes as indicated by Hubbard, 1959). Some have included the genera Pharus Linné and Leptaspis R. Br. in the Olyreae (e.g. Pilger, 1954), the latter genus occurring in New Guinea also, but Hubbard (1959) and Jacques-Félix (1962) have convincingly demonstrated that these genera belong to a separate tribe, the Phareae. Calderón & Soderstrom (1973) have even excluded it from the Bambusoideae.

Description: Among the collections of Knema acquired by the Rijksherbarium since the publication of my new account of the genus Knema, in Blumea 25, 1979: 321 — 478, a few specimens caused problems with the identification, and at closer examination these yielded facts of interest which are published here. Some specimens represented stages not yet known, for instance fruits, or male flowers, while other specimens meant a significant range extension of the species. Two new species and one new subspecies are described. For easy reference, the sequence and numbers of the species presently treated correspond with the numbers as used in the account of 1979. The new species bear the number of the species after which they appear in the general key of 1979, with the addition ‘-bis’.

Description: The early development (ontogeny) of the carpels of 20 species belonging to 8 apocarpous families was investigated with the scanning electron microscope. The results indicate that on the floral apex a circular or a convex meristem develops into an obliquely ascidiate primordium by unequal growth of its periphery. By further unequal growth it develops into a young carpel. The terminal mouth of a cup becomes the lateral cleft of a carpel. The different forms of the young carpels in different species are defined by the varying degree of development of the adaxial region of the initial meristem and/or its margin on the side of the floral apex. This hypothesis is theoretically evaluated.

Description: In the course of studying the Asteraceae for a proposed Alpine Flora of New Guinea the first author selected the genus Cotula for this separate paper as it showed some variability that was not easily explained. While working on this, Dr. Lloyd’s paper on the genus in the New Zealand Journal of Botany 10 (1972) 277, came to his notice and on corresponding with him it turned out that he had studied the New Guinea species already to some extent but had nothing ready for publication. At the same time, Dr. J. Koster of Leiden, Netherlands, was known to work on a study of all Asteraceae of New Guinea and it soon transpired that when the manuscript was finished and a copy sent to her that very same day she had put down the first words of her manuscript on this genus. She generously allowed us to go ahead with our publication and after Dr. Lloyd had reviewed the first author’s manuscript the paper developed as presented here. This group of small, mat-forming species has been known in New Guinea to date only by C. leptoloba Mattfeld, described from the Wharton Ra. in Papua. Since then, however, it has been collected in several other regions ranging from the Carstensz Mts. in West New Guinea to Mt. Aniata in the southeastern tip of Papua. At first glance the material looked rather homogenous, but on closer look it turned out that at least one species, the material from Mt. Wilhelmina, had to be taken out as new. At this stage, various papers by Dr. Lloyd from Christchurch, New Zealand, drew attention to the group more forcibly and critically. The material available was studied by Dr. Lloyd and he came to the conclusion that at least 4 species should be distinguished, with which the senior author could concur. The differences between the 4 species recognised here are considerable, but the species limits are not well known and the descriptions may need revising when further material is available. Three new species are described below and C. leptoloba is redescribed to include the variation observed in specimens from new localities.

Description: Identities are given for all 35 combinations published in Anplectrum A. Gray ( Melastomataceae) with additional notes on some of the taxa involved. Two new combinations are proposed in Creochiton Bl. and one in Dissochaeta Bl.

Description: A new monotypic genus Tamaricaria Qaiser & Ali of Tamaricaceae is described with a new combination i.e. Tamaricaria elegans (Royle) Qaiser & Ali.

Description: This volume on medicinal and poisonous plants treats lesser known species. In the brief introduction to the book it is explained that the choice of taxa to be included is a bit arbitrary and mostly based on the amount of information available. For the species treated in vol. 12(1) more information is available than for those treated in vol. 12 (2). However, the book discusses many taxa with surprisingly detailed information, maybe the truly lesser known species are saved for vol. 12 (3). Many of the taxa treated are not originally found in South-East Asia, but are locally or widely cultivated in the area. For general information on medicinal and poisonous plants the reader is referred to vol. 12 (1). As usual for the PROSEA volumes, also this one is produced along the well-known PROSEA standards.

Description: 1. The interrelations between the genera together constituting the Dimocarpus group in the tribe Nephelieae are represented in a scheme. In this scheme are added the main characters that are thought to be of phylogenetic importance. 2. A neotype.is proposed for Cubilia cubili (Blanco) Adelb., the single species of its genus. To its distribution can be added the eastern half of Borneo, incl. also the Island of P. Laut. Mention is made of a geographic clinal variation in a few macromorphological characters. 3. Lilchi is considered to comprise only one species, L. chinensis Sonn., which is subdivided into three subspecies: subsp. chinensis, the commonly grown form, cultivated for thousands of years already, apparently adapted (by nature or partly by selection by man?) to a monsoon climate, if actually wild probably originating from northern Indo China; subsp. philippinensis (Radlk.) Leenh., a wild form closely related to subsp. chinensis, known from the Philippines and New Guinea; and subsp. javensis Leenh., strikingly different from both other forms, known only as a cultivated fruit tree from southern Indo China and Java, apparently adapted to an everwet tropical climate. For subsp. philippinensis a lectotype is proposed. 4. Pometia, though macromorphologically distinctly derived and, moreover, palynologically apparently very exclusive in the alliance under discussion, seems clearly connected with Dimocarpus, the central genus in the group.

Description: The stomata as occurring on the fronds of the sporophytes of a large number of Polypodiaceae s.s. (Filicales) are investigated. A number of different stomatal types is recognised, (newly) described, and their ontogeny investigated. The different types of stomata are discussed in relation to their possible significance for tracing phylogenetic relationships in the Polypodiaceae following a cladistic analysis.

Description: Description of a new species, Diploglottis bracteata Leenh., from Queensland, Australia. Reduction of Euphorianthus (E. Malesia) to Diploglottis (NE. Australia). Discussion of the occurrence of actinomorphic and zygomorphic flowers in the Sapindaceae in nearly all tribes and even within ten genera. Discussion of the systematic position of Diploglottis bracteata: this species seems distinctly allied to and more derived than the New Caledonian genus Storthocalyx, and thus may belong to an old element of the Queensland flora allied with that of New Caledonia. On the other hand, D. bracteata is within Diploglottis closest to the East Malesian species, whereas the further Australian species are distinctly more derived. They may belong to a younger element in the Queensland flora of Malesian derivation.

Description: This is a well-illustrated text book for students of the Open University, comprising six chapters: 1. Plant evolution and structure; 2. Photosynthesis; 3. Water and transport in plants; 4. Plant mineral nutrition; 5. Plant growth and development; 6. Interactions between seed plants and microbes. I cannot really judge the quality of the latter five chapters, although the last chapter (6) and especially the treatment of the plant-fungus relation seem quite fine to me. I feel more capable of evaluating the first chapter (1) on evolution and structure. And, I must say that I am a bit critical on this one. It is always difficult to find an optimum between completeness on the one hand and a good focus on brief treatments of essential items on the other. However, in this case I see too many omissions. No treatment of evolution can be given without presenting a skeleton phylogeny with presumed apomorphies indicated. A phylogenetic tree as presented in fig. 1.3 does not give clues, not to mention possible criticism on e.g. the implied monophyly of the hepatics, hornworts and bryophytes. The book not only focuses on plants (embryophytes), it is restricted to it. Not dealing with its sistergroup and further outgroups, in my view, severely hampers a proper understanding of the phylogeny and evolution of plants. A last omission to be mentioned is that none of the gymnosperm groups have been treated, which again hampers proper understanding of seeds and seed plants and places the discussion on the success of flowering plants in a kind of vacuum. There are enough examples of recent text books on plants, botany or biology showing that with only a few pages more, a much better view on the evolution of plant diversity can be presented. This, in my view, will be of great benefit for especially those students who are mainly interested in the last five, more physiologically oriented chapters.

Description: Herbae erectae caespitosae 1.5—2.0 m altae; rhizoma suberectum 1—2 cm diametro. Folia multa apice rhizomatis spiratim aggregata; petioli usque ad 1 m longi basi vaginantes, sparsim pubescentes; laminae ellipticae oblongo-lanceolatae glabrae 18—35 cm longae, 8—15 cm latae, basi acutae vel cuneatae, apice breviter acuminatae, infra subvirides, nervis lateralibus multis parallelis, nervulis multis scalariformibus inter nervos subtiliter transverse reticulatis; costa basi incrassata gradatim angustata et a nervis lateralibus haud distincta. Pedunculus principalis terminalis usque ad 1.5 m altus ad apicem folio uno inflorescentia unaque, raro folium deest; folium pedunculare foliis primariis simile petiolo ad medium usque vaginante parce piloso, apicem versus pubescente. Inflorescentia laxe paniculata e spicis spiculisque constans, in axillam vaginae folii pedunculati, pedunculo ad 15 cm longo, bractea basi vaginante lineari-lanceolata puberula ad 10 cm longa; panicula puberula, 2—10-ramosa usque ad 15 cm longa et 10 cm lata; spicae 2—10, longitudine variantes, 3—8 cm longae usque ad 4 cm distantes e axillis bractearum principaliarum spiratim dispositae in rachibus principalibus; bracteae principaliae ovati-lanceolatae ± 2 cm longae, ± 1 cm latae, extus puberulae margine hirtae, cito ad medium usque, tandem basem versus in fibras multas secedentes; spiculae multae e axillis bractearum primariarum subspiraliter in spicis dispositae, usque ad 2 cm longae; bracteae primariac ovatae obtusae mucronatae ± 1.5 cm longae, ± 1 cm latae, extus puberulae margine hirtae bracteis principalibus similes. Flores albi in cymis parorum 1—3 vel plurorum; omnis par e axilla prophylli, flos unus paris omnis primo aperiens, ceterus invicem; prophyllum externum magnum dorsaliter 2-carinatum ovato-lanceolatum margine incurvum ± 14 mm longum et ± 5 mm latum, alis carinarum fimbriatis; prophylla interiora dorsaliter 3-carinata parva; pedicelli omnis paris basi connati ± 1 mm longi. Calycis lobi usque ad basim discreti, lineari-lanceolati extra hirti,± 1.2 cm longi, ± 2 mm lati. Corolla basi tubularis, tubo ± 7 mm longo lobis oblongis ovatis erectis obtusis ± 8 mm longis. Staminodia 4 in tubum connata tubum corollae adnata; lobi staminodiorum extemorum subaequales; lobus magnus obovatus obtusus marginibus recurvatis, ± 1 cm longus, ± 8 mm latus; lobus parvus subspathulatus recurvatus, ± 7 mm longus, ± 3 mm latus; staminodium interioris carnosum cucullatum, lobo laterali apicem styli includenti, ± 6 mm longum et ± 3 mm latum; staminodium interiorissimum cucullatum, staminodium extimum magnum omnino adnatum apicem stigmatis includens, infra stigma callo carnoso puberulo instructum, lobo ad laterem stigmatis auriculato. Stamen fertile 1-cellulare appendice subulata ± 1 mm longa uno latere instructum; filamenti segmentum librum ± 3 mm longum; anthera oblonga apiculata lutea ± 2 mm longa. Ovarium ±2 mm longum dense aureo villosum; stylus tubum staminalem adnatus ± 1 cm longus segmento libro cucullato ± 4 mm longo; stigma truncata irregulariter lobata. Fructus 3-lobatus sparsim breviter hirtus rubiginosus ± 9 mm longus, ± 7 mm latus; semina 3 oblonga subtrigona lurida ± 7 mm longa et ± 4 mm diametro arillis 2 lobatis albis lobis lineari-acuminatis ± 3 mm longis. Erect caespitose herbs, 1.5—2.0 m tall; rhizomes suberect, 1—2 cm thick. Leaves many, spirally crowded at apex of rhizome; petiole sheathing at base, up to 1 m long, sparsely pubescent; leaf-blade elliptic to oblong-lanceolate, acute to cuneate at base, shortly acuminate at apex, 18—35 cm long, 8—15 cm wide, glabrous, whitish green beneath; lateral nerves many, parallel, with many fine scalariform transversely reticulate nervules in between; midrib thickened towards base, gradually narrowed and indistinct from lateral nerves towards apex. Main peduncle terminal, up to 1.5 m tall, bearing one leaf and inflorescence at apex, rarely without leaf; peduncular leaf similar to primary leaves; petiole up to 15 cm long, sheathing at basal half, scattered hairy, pubescent towards apex. Inflorescence Inflorescence a lax panicle of spikes and spikelets, arising from axil of peduncular leafsheath with up to 15 cm long stalk, subtended by up to 10 cm long, linear-lanceolate, sheathing, puberulous bract at base; panicle up to 15 cm long, up to 10 cm wide, 2—10- branched, puberulous; spikes 2—10, of various length, 3—8 cm long, arranged at distances of up to 4 cm apart in axils of spirally arranged bracts on main rachis; bracts ovate-lanceolate, ± 2 cm long, ± 1 cm wide, puberulous outside, hairy at margins, soon splitting up in upper half into many fibres, later up to base; spikelets many, subspirally arranged on spikes in axils of primary bracts, up to 2 cm long; primary bracts ovate, obtuse, mucronate, ± 1.5 cm long, ± 1 cm wide, puberulous outside and along margins, similar to main bracts. Flowers white, in cymes of 1—3 or more pairs; each cymule (pair of flowers) in axil of a prophyll, one flower in each pair opening first, the other next; outer prophyll large, 2-keeled at back, ovate-lanceolate, ±14 mm long, ± 5 mm wide, incurved at margins, minutely fringed on wings of keels; inner prophylls 3-keeled at back, smaller; pedicels of each pair of flowers united at base, ± 1 mm long. Calyx-lobes free up to base, linear-lanceolate, ± 1.2 cm long, ± 2 mm wide, hairy outside. Corolla-tube ± 7 mm long; lobes oblong, ovate, obtuse, ± 8 mm long, erect. Staminodes 4. united into a tube and adnate to the corolla-tube; lobes of outer staminodes subequal; larger lobe obovate, obtuse, with recurved margins, ± 1 cm long, ± 8 mm wide; smaller lobe subspathulate, recurved, ± 7 mm long, ± 3 mm wide; fleshy inner staminode hood-shaped with a lateral lobe enclosing style apex, ± 6 mm long, ± 3 mm wide; innermost staminode hooded, entirely adnate to outer large staminode, enclosing lip of stigma, with a fleshy puberulous callus below stigma and an auricular lobe at side of stigma. Fertile stamen 1-celled, with a thin, subulate, ± 1 mm long appendage on one side; free portion of filament ± 3 mm long; anther ± 2 mm long, oblong, apiculate, yellow. Ovary ± 2 mm long, densely golden hairy outside; style adnate to staminodial tube, ± 1 cm long; free portion curved, hooded, ± 4 mm long; stigma irregularly lobed, truncate. Fruit 3-lobed, ± 9 mm long, ± 7 mm wide, sparsely short hairy, reddish-brown; seeds 3, oblong, subtrigonous, ± 7 mm long, ± 4 mm thick, dull brown; arils 2, lobed, white; lobes linear-acuminate, ± 3 mm long.

Description: The Star Mountains of New Guinea are situated at the geographic center of the Island of New Guinea extending on both sides of the Indonesian-Papua New Guinea border. Access to these mountains from either side of the border which divides the island is relatively difficult and as a result few collections have come from the area. A Dutch expedition traveled to the western Star Mountains in 1959, but ran into various difficulties and as a result did little collecting above 1500 m. In 1975 an expedition sponsored jointly by the Division of Botany, Lae, and the Rijksherbarium, Leiden, returned to the Star Mountains collecting extensively throughout the eastern half of the range. The results of this expedition include the first extensive collections of material from the higher altitudes within the Star Mountains. Material collected for the Division of Botany, Lae, by J. R. Croft and G. S. Hope while on the 1975 expedition is surprisingly rich in species of Rhododendron. I was asked by Mr. Croft to examine the Lae material prior to its distribution. The collections contain representatives of several poorly known species of the genus, at least one new plant record for Papua New Guinea, Rhododendron rubrobracteatum Sleumer, and the new taxon described below.

Description: A world-revision of Arthraxon Beauv. ( Gramineae) is presented. Three wide-spread species, A. hispidus (Thunb.) Makino, A. lanceolatus (Roxb.) Hochst., and A. lancifolius (Trin.) Hochst. are very variable and have caused the description of a great number of taxa, most of which are here reduced to synonomy. There are now 7 species and 9 varieties; for 6 of the latter new combinations are proposed. No new taxa are described.

Description: A new species of Uvaria from Gabon is described.

Description: Tristania R. Brown, Aiton’s Hortus Kewensis (2nd Ed.) 4 (1812) 417, was established with three species — T. neriifolia, T. laurina, and T. conferta. A number of other species have since been added to the genus and a recent study (Wilson, 1971) has shown that the three original species belong to three different groups and further that these groups are sufficiently different to warrant their separation at the generic level. All of the New Caledonian species belong to the Tristania laurina group. It has not yet been decided which of the groups should retain the original generic name, but if the T. laurina group is not selected the name Tristaniopsis Brongniart et Gris, Bull. Soc. Bot. Fr. 10 (1863) 371, would become available for it. Six species are currently recognised in New Caledonia where they mostly grow at low elevations in scrub and forest on ultrabasic rocks. Species of the same group are found in Australia, New Guinea, Borneo, and probably elsewhere in Malesia.

Description: The pollen morphology of all 11 species of the genus Mischocarpus is studied. All species possess basically the same syntricolpate pollen type. Transitions to the tricolpate type were observed rarely. Within the syntricolpate type, subtypes could be established. For a few species a rather wide range of variability in some characters is described. Pollen morphology correlates with macromorphology as well as with geography, thus supporting the results, based on macromorphological evidence, concerning infrageneric structure and relationships of Mischocarpus.

Description: At the age of 85, Herman Johannes Lam died at his house on the 15th of February, 1977. From 1933 to 1962 he was director of the Rijksherbarium and although the day of his retirement lies some 15 years behind us now, he is still remembered in our institute for his pleasant personal qualities. The Rijksherbarium as it is today we owe for a large part to his vision and work during the 29 years of his directorate. He broadened the basis of the institute’s research but kept intact its specialization; he succeeded in obtaining valuable collections; he started a programme of botanical expeditions; he provided a home for the Flora Malesiana, to mention some of his accomplishments. When he came to Leiden after a 14 years’ career in the Herbarium at Buitenzorg (now Bogor, Indonesia) he found a small and rather sleepy institute. Through the years of poverty before and during the war, and through the years of prosperity afterwards, he transformed this into a large herbarium which was (and still is, I hope) very much alive and active in many fields.

Description: In this fourth report on the taxonomy of Ulothrix Kützing a new classification of the marine and brackish-water species in western Europe is proposed. Comparative studies on field collections, uni-algal cultures, herbarium collections and sections prepared for electron microscopy lead to the recognition of three marine species, viz. Ulothrix speciosa (Carmichael ex Harvey in Hooker) Kützing, U. flacca (Dillwyn) Thuret in Le Jolis, and U. palusalsa Lokhorst (nov. nom.), and two brackish-water species, viz. U. implexa (Kützing) Kützing and U. subflaccida Wille. The vegetative anatomy, the life history, the fine structure of the vegetative thallus and the distributional pattern in nature are amply discussed. Salient, reliable characters proved to be, e.g., the nature and construction of the cell wall, the texture of the cell wall’s surface, the fine structure of the pyrenoid, the developmental stages of germinating zoospores, the coalescense of filaments, the shape of the gametangial filament, and the limited variation of the number of zoospores and gametes. A brief discussion is given of the ecological status of the individual species. In addition there is a brief comment on the taxonomic affinity of Ulothrix with the morphologically related genus Urospora Fries and on the phyletic relationship of Ulothrix with the progenitors of the higher land plants. The reproductive behaviour of the species under different photo periods in culture appeared to be correlated with the seasonal periodicity expressed by the algae in nature.

Description: There has been a notable divergence of opinion in the recent literature concerning the number of species of dammar (Agathis) that might occur in the general area of the Moluccas. Even early literature presents a tangled nomenclatural trail. Perhaps the difficulty in obtaining good representative collections from these huge rainforest emergents may explain the general lack of careful diagnostic descriptions that bedevils most contributions. Among the hundreds of specimens I have been able to study, however, I have found enough data to support a clear conclusion. The important dammar tree was among those described in the early work by Rumphius (1741) that dealt with Ambon. Meijer Drees (1940) reports that natives in the Moluccas recognize two types of dammar, the ‘white dammar’ damar putih) with abundant resin production and the ‘brown dammar’ damar merah) with poor resin production (the ‘white’ or clear resin does turn brown upon aging about a year). Presumably, Rumphius, who spoke of abundant resin, had in mind the ‘white dammar’ when he referred to this tree as Dammara alba.

Description: Section Moniliformes Carr of the orchid genus Coelogyne is revised using morphological and molecular data. Twelve species are recognised, including two new ones (C. chanii and C. renae). and a dubious one (C. crassiloba). A combined analysis of morphological characters, and sequences of the nrDNA ITS region, matK gene, trnT-trnL intergenic spacer, trnL intron and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer supports the monophyly of the section as here recognised. Persistence of the rhizome scales, shape of the margin of the leaves, inflorescence type, shape of the rachis, its nodes and pedicel scars, indument of the floral bracts, lip size and depth of the sinus of the lateral lobes of the hypochile seem to be phylogenetically informative characters. Shape of the leaf blade, flowering mode, shape of the base and keels of the hypochile, shape of the apex of the lateral lobes and keels of the epichile and shape of the column show many parallelisms.