The identity of Drosanthemum micans is discussed and determined by analysing the lectoype Dillenius 1732: t. 215 f 282 and its extensive description; the version of the figure coloured by Dillen himself kept at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, is found to agree completely with the original description of Dillen and is hence chosen as the epitype, without which the species cannot be identified. The only other studied coloured image of the same engraving, however, must be excluded as being too imaginative to meet the subject of Dillenius. Furthermore, character states of growth, leaves, black filamentous staminodes, and fruits are found to present reliable features for the species, making identification independent from features of the flower, which, however, also offers distinctive character states in its morphology.

Despite having a high diversity of cacti, the knowledge of the family in the northeastern region of Brazil still suffers from field collection gaps. This is the case for the state of Ceará — one of the lesser known areas for Cactaceae in Brazil. We made a survey of literature and herbarium holdings for the family in Ceará. Field studies have reduced the number of gaps in records for Cactaceae in the state. We gathered 252 findspot records, including nine new records of taxa for the state: Arrojadoa rhodantha, Brasiliopuntia brasiliensis, Discocactus zehntneri, Melocactus oreas, Pereskia aculeata, Pilosocereus catingicola subsp. salvadorensis, Tacinga palmadora, Tacinga ×quipa and Tacinga subcylindrica (stat. nov.; syn. T. inamoena subsp. subcylindrica). We also collected taxa that had not been previously documented by herbarium vouchers: Discocactus bahiensis, Harrisia adscendens and Pilosocereus flavipulvinatus. Ceará has 24 native taxa, one of which is endemic to the state: Pilosocereus chrysostele subsp. cearensis P.J. Braun & Esteves, whilst P. piauhyensis can be removed from the list for the state. Additional field research is needed to look for new records, to further fill record gaps, to understand biogeographic patterns of the family and to better determine the conservation status of each taxon.

Esterhuysenia grahambeckii, a new rare succulent cliff-dwelling member of the Aizoaceae (Mesembryanthema) is described from the upper south facing cliff face of the Rooiberg, near Robertson (Western Cape). Unique features include its linear petals, 25–30 mm in length, remaining persistent on the plants for some time, capsules that remain open after their first opening, the capsule valves without wings and locules with erect covering membranes leaving their seeds exposed to the view from above.

Although its placement is somewhat uncertain it is here grouped in the genus Esterhuysenia, because it shares with the other five species the possession of a distinct mucro at the leaf tip. It is closest to Esterhuysenia stokoei from Dutoitskloof only in vegetative features, which include the soft textured leaves; however, the latter species differs in its smaller flowers, hygrochastic capsules and locules with covering membranes.

Crassula fragarioides, a new dwarf succulent, is described from sandstone outcrops on the Bokkeveld Escarpment, south of Nieu-woudtville in the Northern Cape. It is currently known from only three subpopulations. The white flowers, with dorsal petal appendages and globular, translucent trichomes on the reddishpurple leaves distinguish it from C. clavata, C. namaquensis subsp. comptonii and C. elegans.

Aloe springatei-neumannii, from southwestern Kenya, has soft maculate leaves and flowers with an abrupt constriction above the ovary, which are characters that are typical of the Series Saponariae. It is close to A. wollastonii, but is distinguished mainly by the fewer inflorescence branches, and the yellow flowers with floral bracts much shorter than the pedicels. Aloe tegetiformis, from a mountain in northern Kenya, has profusely branching prostrate stems and grows into a dense mat overlying rocks or soil. It is related to A. morijensis, which is typically a tall scrambling plant with larger leaves and larger inflorescences.

Aloe mendesii Reynolds (Asphodelaceae) is a distinctive cliff-dwelling species from southern Angola. It is one of the few species of Aloe L. that Dr G.W. Reynolds described using immature flowering material. Although the name has an unambiguously designated holotype, up to now uncertainty existed as to the origin of the material on which it was based. It is shown conclusively that Dr Eduardo Mendes sent material that he obtained from Mr J. Brito Teixeira to Reynolds in Swaziland. Reynolds described the new species in 1964 from this material, naming it for Mendes. However, the type was collected by Sr R. [Romeu Mendes dos] Santos and Sr C. [Carlos Alves] Henriques, under the number Santos & Henriques 1131, at Tundavala on 4 July 1963, a year before Reynolds published this new name.

The Mexican Agave americana L. subsp. americana var. expansa (Jacobi) Gentry, a distinctive variety of the widely cultivated, blue-leaved century plant, is here recorded as having become established in South Africa. A description and key that can be used to distinguish it from A. americana (subsp. americana) var. americana, which is more widely naturalized in South and southern Africa, is provided.

The history of Opuntia Mill. in South Africa is well documented with invasive species of this genus having been controlled for many years. Despite these costly efforts some 12 species (13 taxa) of Opuntia are evidently persisting in a naturalised state and some are emerging as alien invasives. One such species is Opuntia microdasys (Lehm.) Pfeiff., which is already known from the Gauteng, and Western and Eastern Cape provinces. A description of the species in South Africa is provided, along with notes on its areas of occurrence and likely means of spread. A summary of the nomenclature of the genus Opuntia in South Africa is also provided, dating from 1976 to the present.

Summary: An overview of the 22 taxa recorded in the genus Cyphostemma (Planch.) Alston (Vitaceae) in Angola is presented. An identification key to all taxa recorded is provided, together with a referenced list of taxa with synonymy, geographical distribution range, endemic status and the citation of type specimens that originated from the country. Distribution maps are also presented. A list of herbarium collections consulted is given in an appendix.

Zusammenfassung: Es wird eine Übersicht über die 22 aus Angola bekannten Taxa der Gattung Cyphostemma (Planch.) Alston (Vitaceae) gegeben. Der Beitrag besteht aus einem Schlüssel zu allen Taxa, sowie einer referenzierten Taxonliste mit Synonymen, geographischer Verbreitung (inkl. Verbreitungskarten), Angaben zum Endemiestatus und Zitaten der Typusbelege, soweit sie aus dem Land stammen. Ein Anhang listet die untersuchten Herbarbelege auf.

Recent field observations have given cause to re-examine one of the most enigmatic of all conophytum species, namely C. reconditum sensu lato. What follows chronicles a story over more than 25 years since its original description and in doing so describes the recent discovery of several hitherto unreported populations of the species. Their discovery has, in turn, led us to reevaluate the species and we now propose that C. reconditum subsp. buysianum is restored to specific level and a new subspecies is recognised in the form of C. buysianum subsp. politum subsp. nov.

South Africa hosts the largest cactus pear germplasm bank in Africa. However, since cactus pear undergoes significant genotype × environment (G × E) interaction, characterisation based on agronomic and morphological traits in a country such as South Africa is complicated by its wide agro-ecological regions. However, the effects of G × E interaction on characterisation can be circumvented by the use of molecular markers. Therefore, AFLP markers were used to estimate the genetic diversity among 38 cactus pear cultivars from the South African genebank. The number of polymorphic fragments between different accessions varied with the use of different AFLP-primer combinations, suggesting that sufficient detectable genetic differences exist within the germplasm for the use of AFLP markers for genetic diversity assessment, cultivar identification and parental selection. A large number of markers had polymorphic information content (PIC) values between 0.3–0.5, indicative of good discriminatory ability. The majority of the cultivars grouped into two main clusters. The commonly grown cultivars were dispersed amongst the different clusters, with the greatest percentage falling in clusters i and sub-cluster iib. Culitvars that originated from Botswana (R1251, R1259, and R1260) clustered together, whilst those from Israel (‘Sharsheret’, ‘Ofer’, and ‘Messina’) were dispersed within cluster ii. Ten genotype specific fragments (GSF) were generated from six primer combinations (E-AGG M-CAT, E-ACT MCAG, E-ACT M-CAT, E-ACA M-CAT, E-ACA M-CTT, and E-ACA M-CAG). These GSF should be tested further, since they will allow varietal identification if proven to be repeatable. The genetic similarity values indicated in this study will provide breeders with information useful for selecting diverse parents with desired traits for their crosses.

A new species of Aloe L., Aloe sharoniae N.R.Crouch & Gideon F.Sm., is recognised from northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and Swaziland. This taxon was previously known as A. cooperi Baker subsp. pulchra Glen & D.S.Hardy but is here elevated to the rank of species. From A. cooperi Baker it differs in having leaves that are consistently devoid of teeth in the upper 2/3 of its leaf margins and basally covered below with white, tuberculate maculations. These leaves are further always strongly keeled and arranged distichously. Plants typically present both fewer leaves, and fewer flowers per inflorescence than typical A. cooperi.

Since the name Aloe thompsoniae Groenew. was published in the mid-1930s, doubt has existed about whom it was named for. We determine that the specific epithet commemorates (Mrs) Edith Awdry (‘Googoo’) Thompson [née Eastwood] (2 January 1895-2 August 1991) who first collected material on which the name is based. Biographical information is provided for Awdry Thompson, as well as notes on naming species after people.

Aloe graciliflora Groenew., which has previously been included in the synonymy of A. greatheadii Schönland var. davyana (Schönland) Glen & D.S.Hardy, is here reinstated. This species is adapted to the climatic extremes of South Africa's eastern Highveld where it occurs southward from near Dullstroom to Waterval-Boven and Badplaas, and westward to Carolina. Morphologically it differs from A. greatheadii var. davyana by having larger flowers that generally lack the greyish longitudinal stripes, the flower colour being more intensely red, and by being a more robust plant in all respects.

A new species of Pilosocereus subg. Gounellea, P. frewenii, is described and illustrated for the first time. It is a dwarf, geographically disjunct relative of P. gounellei and, in contrast to other members of its subgenus, occurs in dense dry forest (on limestone rock outcrops) in an area situated between the Atlantic Forest and savanna (cerrado) biomes, far distant from the caatinga. Its phytogeographical significance is discussed and conservation status assessed as Critically Endangered (CR).

The Red List of South Africa is a useful tool for assessing conservation priorities, and furthermore, provides insight into areas where information is lacking and future research thrusts are needed. Succulents are prone to threats from overharvesting, and also have an unusually high number of species classified as Data Deficient due to lack of information. Our analyses show that in South Africa, the Asphodelaceae are the most threatened of the succulent plant families and are therefore most in need of conservation attention. Mesembryanthemaceae have the highest proportion of (and highest number of) Data Deficient species and are therefore most in need of future research efforts. It is concluded that succulents are particularly vulnerable to threats because of their relatively slow growth compared with other herbaceous plants, coupled with their desirability in the horticultural industry.

Nine species with black filamentous staminodes can be distinguished at present, the differences lying mainly in character states of leaf and calyx base surfaces, and in flower morphology. While flower colours cannot be used to identify a species, the morphology and size of the black filamentous elements appear distinctive for three different groups, which, however, do not agree with groupings suggested by similarities of leaves or calyx surfaces. A key is presented; D. uniondalense is described as a new species; D. boerhavii is re-established as a new name replacing D. insolitum, an illegitimate name. D. bellum, D. edwardsiae, D. hallii, D. lavisii, D. pulchrum, and D. speciosum are described as presently known, and for D. micans Hartmann (2011) is referred to.

This paper updates the previously published list (Figueiredo & Smith, 2010) of 876 epithets used in the genus Aloe L. (Asphodelaceae). A further 32 epithets are added to the list. Some epithets for which derivations could not be traced at the time are relisted here with their meaning. This addition brings to 908 the total number of unique epithets used in the genus at specific, subspecific and varietal ranks. The list of epithets provided here includes their dates of application, meaning and derivation.