A taxonomic revision of Ctenitis (C. Chr.) C. Chr. (Dryopteridaceae) from Africa and the Western Indian Ocean was carried out. Forty species are recognized, of which 12 are described as new, eight are transferred to Ctenitis from other genera, and one is elevated from variety to species and transferred from Aspidium Sw. to Ctenitis. These 21 nomenclatural novelties include C. analamazaotrensis (Rakotondr.) Hennequin & Rouhan (comb. nov.), C. brevipetiolulata Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. bullescens Rouhan, Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. cerea Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. comorensis Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. crinigera (C. Chr.) Hennequin & Rouhan (comb. nov.), C. decaryana (C. Chr.) Hennequin & Rouhan (comb. nov.), C. dentata Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. fibrillosa (Baker) Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (comb. nov.), C. hispida (Kuhn) Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (comb. & stat. nov.), C. jouyana (Rakotondr.) Hennequin & Rouhan (comb. nov.), C. longivillosa Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. marginalisora Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. mayottensis Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. multilobata Li Bing Zhang, Yi F. Duan & Rouhan (sp. nov.), C. reunionensis Hennequin, Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. sieberiana (Kaulf.) Hennequin & Rouhan (comb. nov.), C. sparsa Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.), C. spekei (Baker) Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (comb. nov.), C. subcrenulata (Baker) Li Bing Zhang, Rouhan & Yi F. Duan (comb. nov.), and C. tardieu-blotiae Li Bing Zhang & Yi F. Duan (sp. nov.). A key to these species is provided; all species are described and illustrated; and information on their distribution and habitats is given. Twenty-three relevant species reported in the literature are excluded from the flora, and their taxonomy, distribution, and nomenclature are discussed. Seventeen related names are lectotypified or neotypified including Aspidium cirrhosum Schumach., A. crinitum (Poir.) Wall. var. hispida Kuhn, A. cyclochlamys Fée, A. nitidum Bory ex Willd., A. pauciflorum Kaulf., A. sulcatum Kaulf. ex Bory, C. anjenabensis Tardieu, Dryopteris blepharochlamys C. Chr., Gymnogramma subsimilis Hook., Nephrodium crinitum (Poir.) Desv. var. maritimum Cordem., N. magnum Baker, N. spekei Baker, N. welwitschii Baker, Phegopteris biformis Mett. ex Kuhn, P. bivestita Mett., Polypodium baronii Baker, and P. efulense Baker; type information of related 262 names is also given.

The genus Pterichis Lindl. encompasses terrestrial orchids characterized by tuberous roots, rosulate leaves, non-resupinate flowers with floral bracts, and ovaries densely ciliate or pubescent. The concave lip of the genus representatives is usually ornamented with a series of knoblike or clavate cells. The geographical range of Pterichis extends from Costa Rica and Jamaica to Bolivia, but the greatest species diversity is observed in the Colombian Andes. The aim of the current study was to present a critical review of the Colombian representatives of Pterichis. As a result of examination of herbarium material and field observations, 17 species are accepted. They are arranged in two sections: Pterichis sect. Pterichis, which encompasses plants with petals free from the dorsal sepal, and Pterichis sect. Acraea (Lindl.) Kolan. & Szlach., established in this paper, which is characterized by petals being adnate to the dorsal sepal. A key to the species identification and their distribution maps are provided. The morphological characteristics of national genus representatives are accompanied with line drawings of their perianth segments, information about their geographical range and vertical distribution, and brief notes on their taxonomic affinities. A lectotype is designated for P. galeata Lindl. Additionally, the conservation status of each species is determined based on IUCN criteria.

The Iowa Farmer and Horticulturist was an agricultural and horticultural journal that began publication in 1853 at Burlington, Iowa. An article serialized in its second, third, fourth, and seventh issues listed 252 native plants of horticultural merit that grew in the vicinity; for 79 of the species, it was the first report for Iowa. The author of this article was identified only by the pseudonym “Flores.” The article evinces numerous similarities of topic and phraseology with an address delivered to the Southern Iowa Horticultural Society in October 1852 by Dr. John Henry Rauch (1828–1894). The previous year, Rauch had published the first checklist of the state's flora at the behest of the Iowa State Medical and Chirurgical Society, and it is suggested that he was the author of the 1853 article as well.

In this paper, the fourth in a series documenting palynological characters across angiosperms using a contemporary phylogenetic framework, we deal with the basal eudicots, a group which includes Buxales, Proteales, Ranunculales, Sabiaceae, and Trochodendrales. Using available molecular sequences of matK and rbcL from previous studies, we reconstructed a maximum likelihood tree for a total of 196 genera (including nine outgroups), representing 13 families and all four orders of basal eudicots. Across the 196 genera, 20 pollen characters were documented from prior publications and new observations. These were coded using two strategies and optimized onto the reconstructed phylogenetic tree using Fitch parsimony, maximum likelihood, and hierarchical Bayesian inference to infer ancestral states. Pollen samples of 24 species from 24 genera in eight families were imaged under LM and SEM to illustrate the diversity of basal eudicot pollen. In addition, we tested for correlated evolution between plant growth form and pollen shape class, and between anemophily and pollen aperture number, using maximum likelihood and Markov chain Monte Carlo analyses. Basal eudicot pollen showed high morphological diversity, especially in characters including tectum sculpture, aperture number, and ectoaperture shape. Depending upon the method of reconstruction, 14 to 18 plesiomorphic palynological states were unequivocally inferred, and a total number of 357 character state transitions were found at or above tribal level. These provide palynological support for at least 58 of the clades discovered by molecular phylogenetic estimation. For example, using hierarchical Bayesian inference with comprehensive data coding, 222 state changes were inferred. Pollen size, tectum sculpture, and pollen shape class changed the most frequently among the 20 studied characters. The most concentrated character state changes in basal eudicot pollen are estimated to have occurred around the Barremian to Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. Tests of correlated evolution suggest that the herbaceous growth form is significantly associated with spheroidal pollen shape and the arborescent growth form with oblate pollen shape. However, no significant correlations were found between anemophily and aperture number. Patterns of evolutionary change in pollen size and tectum sculpture, and their adaptive functions, are discussed. Based on previous evidence and our data, pollination syndrome is the most likely factor associated with the high frequency of state changes in these two characters.