Two new dioecious species of Symplocos Jacquin from southern Brazil are described and illustrated. Both species belong to section Barberina (Vellozo) A. DC. of subgenus Symplocos. Symplocos bidana Aranha is characterized by its cymose or racemose inflorescences (9.5–)11–34 mm long, corolla with five or six lobes 3.7–4.9 mm long, and fruits (10–)13–20 × 5–10 mm with the calyx lobes covering the fruiting disc. Symplocos incrassata Aranha is characterized by its reduced cymes, bracts caducous in fruit, and fruits 12–18 × (5–)6–8 mm. In addition, both species have thick endocarps (0.8–1.2 mm), a notable character among the Brazilian species of section Barberina.

A new species of Caryodaphnopsis Airy Shaw from Henri Pittier National Park, in the Coastal Cordillera of Aragua State, Venezuela, is described and illustrated, and its morphological relationships with allied species are discussed. Caryodaphnopsis fieldii Aymard & G. A. Romero resembles C. fosteri van der Werff, but it is distinguished by leaves with densely puberulent petioles and a rounded apex, pedicels 2–3 mm long, inner tepals 3–4.5 mm long and densely sericeous inside, stout filaments ca. 2 mm long, inner stamens with two globose glands attached at the base, and the pubescent ovary. Geographical information about the Coastal Cordillera region and a key to the Neotropical species of Caryodaphnopsis are presented. This species represents the first report of this genus for Venezuela.

A new species belonging to the genus Cinnamodendron Endlicher (Canellaceae) is described: C. occhionianum F. Barros & J. Salazar. The new species is known only from Cardoso Island off the coast of southeastern Brazil. It is similar to C. axillare Endlicher ex Walpers and C. sampaioanum Occhioni, but differs from the former by the fasciculate inflorescence and dark purple flowers, and from the latter by the nonplicate apex of the leaves and a shorter fruit pedicel. It also resembles C. dinisii Schwacke in its vegetative features, but differs from it mainly by the flowers with 10 petals, 10 stamens, and ovary with two placentae.

Se presenta una nueva especie y combinación de Malvaceae, Wissadula stipulata Bovini y W. cuspidata (R. E. Fries) Bovini, respectivamente. Ambas fueron encontradas en el centro-oeste de Brasil, en las regiones del Pantanal y Amazónica. Se presenta la descripción e ilustración de la nueva especie, y una clave taxonómica para las especies de Wissadula en Brasil que están relacionadas. El nombre W. cuspidata es lectotipificado.

Three new species of Brachystelma Sims (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae, Ceropegieae) are described and illustrated. These are B. pruinosum Bruyns from the mountains of southern Angola and the Kaokoveld of northern Namibia, B. tenuissimum Bruyns from central Tanzania and northern Zambia, and B. theronii Bruyns from the western parts of the Great Karoo of South Africa.

Sinoleontopodium lingianum Y. L. Chen (Asteraceae, Gnaphalieae), originally described from Xizang (Tibet), China, was not validly published in 1985 because two gatherings were designated as type. The name is validated here, with the specimen bearing female florets designated as holotype.

Two new species of Pentagonia Bentham (Rubiaceae, Hippotideae) are described and illustrated. Pentagonia tapacula Cornejo is from the pluvial forests of Bajo Calima, Valle del Cauca Department, southwestern Colombia. This new species belongs to a species group of plants with entire leaves that have a tapering, subsessile base, and with a 5-lobed calyx, but differs mainly by its thicker coriaceous leaf blades, obovate stipules, and inflorescences with remarkably elongated and thick peduncles. The second new species is P. clementinensis Cornejo from the wet forests of western Ecuador. This is segregated from P. involucrata C. M. Taylor, which differs sharply by its leaf blades, floral bracts, fruits, and calyces.

Agrostopoa Davidse, Soreng & P. M. Peterson, a new genus endemic to the páramos of Colombia, is proposed. The genus includes two new species, A. barclayae Davidse, Soreng & P. M. Peterson and A. woodii Soreng, P. M. Peterson & Davidse, and a third species transferred from Muhlenbergia Schreber, A. wallisii (Mez) P. M. Peterson, Soreng & Davidse (lectotype designated here). A key for determining the species and illustrations of the three species are provided. Agrostopoa is placed in subfamily Pooideae because it has non-Kranz anatomy and lanceolate membranous lodicules, and in tribe Poeae where it differs from Agrostis L. by having carinate lemmas with a terminal awn or mucro, well-developed paleas, and peculiar synflorescences with recurved branches and fragile pedicels. It is classified near Poa L., but differs from that in its single-flowered spikelets that lack rachilla extensions and possess awned or mucronate lemmas.

The new name Matelea endressiae Goes & Fontella is proposed to replace Gonolobus cordatus Malme from Brazil. A new species, M. demuneri Goes & Fontella, from Espírito Santo State, Brazil, is described and illustrated. Matelea demuneri is similar to M. endressiae and M. maritima (Jacquin) Woodson subsp. cearensis (Malme) Fontella, but it is distinguished from the first by its shorter pedicel and corolla tube, pubescent corona, and follicles with short projections, and from the second by its mixed indumentum, inflorescence with peduncle, green-purple corolla, rounded 5-lobed corona, shorter pollinia, and follicles with short prickles.

Cuphea fluviatilis S. A. Graham, a new species of the Lythraceae from the margins of the Río Samaná in Antioquia Department, Colombia, is described and illustrated. The taxonomic relationships of the species are unsettled. The species bears flowers closely similar to those of species in section Amazoniana (Lourteig) Lourteig, but lacks the distinctive malpighiaceous trichomes characterizing the section; its pollen morphology, a significant indicator of broad relationships in Cuphea, is also unlike that of the section. Pollen of section Amazoniana is typically nonsyncolpate, without protruding pores, and with a psilate to finely rugulate exine; that of C. fluviatilis is syncolpate with protruding pores and a striate exine, a type common to numerous species currently classified in the polyphyletic sections Brachyandra Koehne and Euandra Koehne.

Cyclanthera lalajuela Hammel & J. A. González, known only from the Caribbean slope of Alajuela Province, Costa Rica, is described. The combination of trifoliolate leaves with conspicuous, sessile glands at the base of the leaflets and unarmed fruits distinguish it from all other species in the genus.

Se describe y se ilustra Forestiera isabelae Hammel & Cornejo, conocida de una sola población pequeña en Costa Rica, por Montezuma en la Península de Nicoya. Siendo una especie costera con pétalos, y además con hojas y frutos relativamente grandes (9–17 × 4–6 cm y 15–20 mm, respectivamente), se separa fácilmente de las otras dos especies costarricenses, apétalas y de elevaciones más altas. Se compara con y se distingue detalladamente de otras dos especies costeras recién descritas y con las cuales está cercanamente relacionada, F. corollata Cornejo & Wallander de más al norte en Mesoamérica (México, Guatemala y Belice) y F. ecuadoriensis Cornejo & Bonifaz del Ecuador.

Cephalanthera nanlingensis A. Q. Hu & F. W. Xing, a new species of Orchidaceae from Guangdong, China, is described and illustrated. It is similar to C. longifolia (L.) Fritsch and C. erecta (Thunberg ex A. Murray) Blume, sharing slender stems, plicate leaves, and white flowers. The new species is distinguished by its deltoid bracts and a subactinomorphic perianth.

While investigating the fern called Adiantum meishanianum F. S. Hsu ex Y. C. Liu & W. L. Chiou (Pteridaceae), it was discovered that the name was not validly published because it had not appeared in an effectively published work. The name is validated herein; the holotype is deposited in HAST, and there are paratypes in TAIF, HAST, and SYSU.

Meliosma chartacea Lombardi (Sabiaceae), a new species from southeastern Brazil, is described from Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo. It is characterized by its entire internal petals, very short petiole (generally less than 1 cm), brochidodromous venation, and entire leaf margin. A key to determine the species from southeastern Brazil is presented. Lectotypes and new synonyms are proposed for formerly described Brazilian species: M. sellowii Urban and M. itatiaiae Urban.

Cnidoscolus monicanus J. A. Lomelí, Sahagún & V. W. Steinmann (Euphorbiaceae), endemic to western Mexico, is described and illustrated. This new species belongs to Cnidoscolus Pohl sect. Calyptrosolen (Müller Argoviensis ex Pax) Pax & K. Hoffmann and is closely allied to C. elasticus Lundell and C. tepiquensis (Costantin & Gallaud) McVaugh. We provide an identification key to the C. tepiquensis complex. These species share an arborescent and little or non-urticating habit at maturity, inflorescences that are often unisexual, and large seeds. We hypothesize that these species constitute a monophyletic group within section Calyptrosolen. Cnidoscolus monicanus is characterized by the following combination of characters: tree with grayish non-exfoliating bark and verticillate branching, petioles with two discrete glands projecting outward from the epidermis, leaf laminas (16–)20–41(–60) × (25–) 36–67(–75) cm, leaf margins entire or with a few obscure to rarely caudate teeth, staminate flowers with a pubescent zone on the staminal column 3–4 mm long, pistillate flowers with a tomentulose perianth, a tomentose to sericeous ovary, peduncles of the pistillate infructescence 1.7–5 cm long, capsule with distal ribs and an acute apex, pedicels 5–20 mm long, and seeds 24–32 mm long. The new species occurs at elevations of 750–1640 m in tropical deciduous and semideciduous forest. We applied the Method for Evaluation of Risk Extinction for Wild Species in Mexico (MER) to estimate the conservation status of C. monicanus, and we concluded that it is threatened. We also evaluated the new species using applicable IUCN criteria and found it to be Endangered (EN).

The two new species Sonerila anaimudica Lundin & B. Nordenstam and S. coriacea Lundin & B. Nordenstam, from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, respectively, are recognized in connection with a taxonomic revision of the South Indian species of Sonerila Roxburgh (Melastomataceae). Descriptions, discussions, and illustrations are provided. Both species are endemic to the Western Ghats in South India. Sonerila anaimudica is a small succulent herb, and the usually single terminal flower has very obtuse or even retuse obovate petals with glandular margins. Sonerila coriacea is a somewhat woody succulent herb with a coriaceous layer on the stems, coriaceous leaves, and showy racemose flowers. Both species have restricted distribution and small populations and are regarded as Vulnerable (VU) and Endangered (EN), respectively, based on IUCN Red List criteria.

Morphological characters support the description of four new species of Eugenia L. sect. Racemosae O. Berg (Myrtaceae) from Brazilian Atlantic Forest. The new species are described, illustrated, and compared with putatively related species. They are: E. brunneopubescens Mazine from Paraná, E. capixaba Mazine from Espírito Santo, E. costatifructa Mazine from Bahia and Sergipe, and E. longibracteata Mazine from São Paulo.

Myriocarpa Bentham (Urticaceae), a genus endemic to Central and South America, is characterized by string-like pendent pistillate inflorescences. Among Mesoamerican species, there is significant confusion over the application of names, especially M. bifurca Liebmann, M. cordifolia Liebmann, and M. heterospicata Donnell Smith. Two new species from Mesoamerica are described and illustrated: M. cubilgueitzensis A. K. Monro and M. trifurca A. K. Monro. In addition, a key to the seven species recognized for Mesoamerica and a nomenclatural review are provided. The names M. bifurca Liebmann, M. cordifolia Liebmann, and M. longipes Liebmann are lectotypified, and the name M. colipensis Liebmann is neotypified.

Nitidobulbon Ojeda, Carnevali & G. A. Romero, a new genus of the Maxillariinae (Orchidaceae), is described and illustrated. Its circumscription is supported by morphological, anatomical, and molecular evidence. The three species of Nitidobulbon are characterized by long flower peduncles, smooth, shiny pseudobulbs, and distinctive leaf anatomy. We present a taxonomic key to differentiate Nitidobulbon from related genera and also provide a key to the species within the genus. Three new combinations are established: N. cymbidioides (Dodson, J. T. Atwood & Carnevali) Ojeda & G. A. Romero, N. nasutum (Reichenbach f.) Ojeda & Carnevali, and N. proboscideum (Reichenbach f.) Ojeda & Carnevali. In synonymy to N. nasutum, the name Maxillaria oxysepala Schlechter is lectotypified.

The traditional circumscription of the genus Stonesia G. Taylor (Podostemaceae, Podostemoideae) includes three species restricted to western tropical Africa. Here, a new species, S. ghoguei E. Pfeifer & Rutishauser, is described, which represents the first Cameroonian member of the genus. There are another three Stonesia species restricted to western tropical Africa (Guinea and Sierra Leone). The genus Stonesia is characterized by capsule valves with five or seven ribs each, with the ribs nearest the sutures shorter and not reaching the ends of valves. This unique pattern is shared with the two Madagascan genera Endocaulos C. Cusset and Paleodicraeia C. Cusset. Molecular (matK) data indicate that this capsule pattern is homoplastic, occurring in Madagascar and (with Stonesia) in tropical Africa. Various characters of Stonesia (including S. ghoguei) are also found in other African podostemoids. These include flower buds inverted in the sac-like spathella; crustose roots or broad ribbons with exogenous root lobes (daughter roots); stems usually simple (rarely branched), up to 10(–40) cm long; flowers arising primarily from endogenous buds inside the stem cortex in S. ghoguei and S. fascicularis G. Taylor; and leaves repeatedly forked into narrow segments, with epiphyllous flowers arising from the clefts of these forks in S. ghoguei and S. heterospathella G. Taylor. Unlike the western African Stonesia species, S. ghoguei has pollen mainly released in monads (not only dyads), one stamen per flower with two lateral tepals (not two stamens with three tepals), and unilocular ovaries (not bilocular ones).

Results from molecular phylogenetic analyses indicate that three varieties of Mentzelia multicaulis (Osterhout) J. Darlington (Loasaceae) are more closely related to other species of Mentzelia sect. Bartonia Torrey & A. Gray than to M. multicaulis var. multicaulis. We elevate three varieties of M. multicaulis, originally described from Utah, to specific rank, recognizing them as M. librina (K. H. Thorne & F. J. Smith) J. J. Schenk & L. Hufford, M. flumensevera (N. H. Holmgren & P. K. Holmgren) J. J. Schenk & L. Hufford, and M. uintahensis (N. H. Holmgren & P. K. Holmgren) J. J. Schenk & L. Hufford. Both stamen and leaf shape characters support evolutionary relationships of these species with their closest relatives among the mentzelias found in the Intermountain West of the United States.

Two new species of Bulbophyllum Thouars (Orchidaceae) from Brazil belonging to section Xiphizusa (Reichenbach f.) Cogniaux are described and illustrated. Both species are epiphytic, but grow in different vegetational types. Bulbophyllum gehrtii E. C. Smidt & Borba is native to cerrado vegetation in São Paulo and Minas Gerais states and is related to B. plumosum (Barbosa Rodrigues) Cogniaux, while B. teimosense E. C. Smidt & Borba grows in the Atlantic rainforest in southeastern Bahia State and is related to B. chloropterum Reichenbach f. According to IUCN Red List criteria, B. gehrtii is categorized as Endangered and B. teimosense as Critically Endangered.

In 1973, Verdcourt made the combination in Myriophyllum L.: M. aquaticum (Vellozo) Verdcourt based on Enydria aquatica Vellozo in the Haloragaceae. However, significant morphological differences exist between the study of the Vellozo 1825 protologue and the Vellozo 1831 plate of E. aquatica. Therefore, we propose the designation of an epitype to better fix the taxonomic application of the name M. aquaticum (Vellozo) Verdcourt.

In this paper, we provide corrections to a recent synoptical revision of the family Onagraceae (Wagner et al., 2007). The first valid publication of subfamily Onagroideae was in 1834 by Eaton, and not in 2007 by Wagner et al. We correct the authorship and place of publication of Camissonia contorta (Douglas) P. H. Raven, Chylismia scapoidea (Torrey & A. Gray) Nuttall ex Raimann, and Camissonia chamaenerioides (A. Gray) P. H. Raven. We correct the authorship and typification of Oenothera suffulta (Engelmann ex A. Gray) W. L. Wagner & Hoch, as well as the typification of Chylismia claviformis subsp. lancifolia (A. Heller) W. L. Wagner & Hoch. Our new genus Holmgrenia W. L. Wagner & Hoch is a later homonym of a name validly published by S. O. Lindberg in 1863. We propose the replacement name of Neoholmgrenia W. L. Wagner & Hoch to correct this problem, and make the two species-level combinations, N. andina (Nuttall) W. L. Wagner & Hoch, and N. hilgardii (Greene) W. L. Wagner & Hoch.

Chelonopsis chekiangensis C. Y. Wu, originally described from Zhejiang, China, was not validly published in 1959 because no type specimen was designated. To enable formal use of the name, the species is validated here, as is C. chekiangensis var. brevipes C. Y. Wu & H. W. Li, a variety from Guangdong Province.

Astragalus ghanbarianii Maassoumi, Podlech & Zarre and A. nervifolius Maassoumi, Podlech & Zarre, two new species of Astragalus sect. Campylanthus Bunge (Fabaceae) from Iran, are described and illustrated. Because of the considerable changes in the delimitation of this section, a new diagnostic key to its species is presented. Moreover, A. susianus Boissier subsp. sericeus Tietz is reduced to synonymy of A. chalaranthus Boissier & Haussknecht.