A new Microtatorchis species (Orchidaceae, Vandeae, Aeridinae) in New Caledonia, and identification key for the aphyllous Aeridinae of the territory.

Morphological characters support the description of a new species, Microtatorchis labatii M.Pignal & Munzinger, sp. nov., and allow to signal for the first time Taeniophyllum muelleri Benth. in New Caledonia. An identification key is given for the genera Microtatorchis and Taeniophyllum in New Caledonia.

All the names accepted in the genus Ensete Horan. are listed and typifications supplemented. All Ensete names have originally been described as belonging to the genus Musa L. Altogether, 37 names were found, the fossil Ensete oregonense excluded, 36 species and variety are considered. Currently, eight species are recognised, i.e. E. agharkarii, E. gilletii, E. glaucum, E. holstii, E. homblei, E. perrieri, E. superbum and E. ventricosum, and one variety, E. glaucum var. wilsonii comb. nov. Of the names, eight are illegitimate, and three dubious. A great confusion seems to be connected with E. ventricosum, which is indigenous in Africa. We consider that 14 names are synonymous with it. As herbarium specimens of type material are often of bad quality and sometimes completely undiscovered or perhaps lost completely, some typification is based on the drawings. In this article, nine Musa names, currently included in Ensete, are lectotypified.

Patersonia neocaledonica sp. nov., a new endemic species from New Caledonia of this predominantly Australian genus, is the first record of Iridaceae as native from this southwestern Pacific island. Eighteen species of Patersonia occur in Australia, and one or several more (depending on taxonomy) occur in Malesia, including New Guinea, where they grow in temperate highland areas. Patersonia neocaledonica sp. nov. is distinguished by the fan of relatively broad, sword-shaped to subfalcate leaves with woolly margins, large, brown inflorescence spathes 35 mm long, particularly large white flowers and woolly tomenrose ovary, bract margins and septa of the capsules. Known from a single population subjected to fire and impacts from human visitors, P. neocaledonica sp. nov. is assigned a preliminary threat assessment of Critically Endangered.

A new species of Cassipourea is described from the banks of the Mana River, in the southeastern boundary of the Korup National Park in Cameroon and placed provisionally within the subgenus Cassipourea. The leaves of the new species are close to those of C. afzelii, but its flowers differ from those of the latter and the rest of the species of the subgenus Cassipourea in having a glabrous ovary and a diplostemonous androceum, with filaments distinctly of two lengths. The illustration of the new species is provided and based on its narrow distribution, the provisional conservation status Vulnerable VU D1 is assigned.

Novitates Gabonenses 76. A new Maesobotrya (Euphorbiaceae) from Crystal Mountains (Gabon and Equatorial Guinea).

Maesobotrya oligantha O.Lachenaud & Breteler, sp. nov., a new species endemic to the Crystal Mountains (Equatorial Guinea and Gabon) is described and illustrated. It is close ro M. pauciflora Pax in having very reduced inflorescences, bur differs in its hirsute leaves with rounded or subcordate base, and its female flowers with three stigmas. From M. cordulata J.Léonard, which ir resembles in the vegetative state, it differs in its much shorter axillary inflorescences and its shorter petioles.

Uapaca in Madagascar, formerly considered to comprise 12 species, is here treated as consisting of eight species, all endemic. Staminodes (in the staminate flowers) are reported for the first time in the genus, and a key is proposed, along with descriptions and notes on variation.

Novitates Gabonenses 78. Two new species from Gabon in the Bridelieae (Phyllanthaceae, formerly Euphorbiaceae) with keys for Gabonese species within genera Bridelia and Cleistanthus.

In the framework of the taxonomic treatment of the Phyllanthaceae for the Flore du Gabon, two new species of Bridelieae are described, one in the genus Bridelia, the other in the genus Cleistanthus. The new species are illustrated, their distribution maps are provided, and their taxonomic position within their respective genera is discussed. An assessment of their conservation status is provided. Identification keys for the Gabonese species of Bridelia and Cleistanthus are added.

Humbertioturraea labatii Lescot & Callm. (Meliaceae), a new endemic species from Madagascar.

We describe a new species in the endemic Malagasy genus Humbertioturraea J.-F.Leroy: H. labatii Lescot & Callm. The new species is provided with illustrations, a discussion of its morphological affinities and a conservation threat analysis based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.

A revision of Dombeya subsect. Rigidae, which comprises two Malagasy species (D. linearifolia and D. rigida), is presented. The classification of these species within Dombeya is preferred to an alternate placement within Helmiopsis. Three subspecies of D. rigida are recognized: subsp. parvifolia, characterized by small leaves, is newly described, and subsp. guazumifolia is newly recognized at that rank. Arènes' two subspecies of D. linearifolia are synonymized, and a new subsp. muricata, characterized by fruit similar to that of D. rigida, is described. Both species display considerable variation in leaf and fruit morphology in the north, but variation is discontinuous, indicating that the species are usually reproductively isolated.

A new critically endangered species of Foetidia (Lecythidaceae, subfamily Foetidioideae) recently discovered in Mayotte, Comoros archipelago.

A new species of Foetidia Comm. ex Lam., Foetidia comorensis Labat, Bidault & Viscardi, is described for the Comoros archipelago. This species, morphologically close to F. africana Verdc .and F. macrocarpa Bosser, has been found on one single locality on Mayotte Island: Sazilé peninsula. The fact that the unique known population is facing high grazing, stomping, and cutting pressure, leads us to propose the IUCN criteria CR (critically endangered). We also propose urgent conservation measures, in order to maintain this new and rare species, such as the acquisition of the concerned land by the Conservatoire de l'espace littoral et des rivages lacustres, the protection of the species by the law, and the monitoring by a heading plan of conservation.

Generic evaluation of Diospyros L. (Ebenaceae) for the Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar project necessitates the following nomenclatural actions: 12 new combinations are proposed for species originally described in Maba J.R.Forst. & G.Forst, or Tetraclis Hiern; two new combinations are proposed for species originally described in Olax L.; four new combinations are proposed resulting from the elevation of infraspecific taxa to the rank of species; two species are each provided with a new name; and 52 names (some of which are placed into synonymy) are lectotypified.

A new circumscription and new generic delimitations of the tribe Morindeae in the subfamily Rubioideae (Rubiaceae) have been proposed as a result of two recent molecular phylogenetic studies. The adoption of a narrow circumscription of Morinda and a broad circumscription of Gynochthodes requires new combinations and names in these genera. This study presents descriptions of the newly delimited Gynochthodes and Morinda, and 78 new combinations (73 in the former and five in the latter) and three new names (Gynochthodes alejandroi Razafim. & B.Bremer, G. ridsdalei Razafim. & B.Bremer, and G. wongii Razafim. & B.Bremer). We make three lectotypifications, and recognize 15 species in Appunia, 11 species in Coelospermum, 93 species in Gynochthodes, 39 species in Morinda, and one species in Siphonandrium. Finally, a list of all currently recognized species for each genus of Morindeae is presented.

A recent review of the Malagasy Bignoniaceae for the Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar has enabled us to discover new species in most genera in the family. In this part of a series of publications detailing the necessary taxonomic changes, we provide descriptions of four new species in the endemic Malagasy genus Rhodocolea: R. humbertii Callm. & Phillipson, R. magnifica Callm. & Phillipson, R. parvifoliolata Callm. & Phillipson and R. ranirisonii Callm., Phillipson & L.Gaut. Each of the new species is provided with line drawings, a discussion of its morphological affinities and a conservation threat analysis based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.

Patterns of speciation in the angiosperm genus Santolina (Asteraceae, Anthemideae) have recently been intensively studied, but progress is hampered by nomenclatural confusion. In this paper, the species S. ageratifolia Barnades ex Asso, S. pectinata Lag. var. paniculata Loscos & J.Pardo and S. longidentata Pau are lectotypified. An invalid name has been found: S. rosmarinifolia L. subvar. virens macrocephala Pau. The nomenclature of S. ageratifolia is provided.