Primula recubariensis is described as a species new to science, illustrated and its distribution is mapped. P. recubariensis is similar to P. hirsuta, but differs by lilac-violet (not purple) corollas, few remains of withered leaves, a much stronger aromatic scent and features of the indumentum, viz by hairs with distinctly smaller glandules and, particularly, by a high percentage (at least 25%, usually more than 90 %) of four-celled besides three-celled hairs, the latter in contrast to P. hirsuta with a conspicuously slender subterminal cell (2–4 times longer than wide). P. recubariensis grows in shady dolomitic cliffs at 1400–2030 m, on the SE side of the Carega Massif (SE Prealps, in the border zone of the districts of Trento, Verona and Vicenza), particularly on two mountain chains above Recoaro named Il Fumante and Tre Croci. P. recubariensis hybridises with P. auricula subsp. ciliata and this hybrid is described as P. ×vallarsae, a nothospecies new to science, and illustrated.

The typification of the basionym Carduus mollis is discussed, a previous lectotypification rejected and a new lectotype with an epitype designated. Jurinea mollis subsp. moschata is shown to be identical with J. mollis subsp. mollis and its basionym Carduus moschatus is lectotypified. J. mollis f. erectobracteata is described as a forma new to science.

Crassula campestris, a species widespread in S Africa, was discovered in Sicily near Palermo, which is a new record for the Italian flora. A description and illustration of C. campestris is provided and the species is compared with C. tillaea and C. basaltica, the two other Crassula species in Sicily.

Eragrostis virescens is reported as new for the hemerophytic flora of N Italy (Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Alto Adige/Südtirol and Lombardia). An analytical key to the species of Eragrostis known to occur in Italy is given.

Campanula pangea from the montane Fagus zone on Mt Pangeon, NE Greece, is described as a species new to science and illustrated. It is a morphologically well defined species belonging to C. sect. Involucratae, unique in the combination of a biennial habit with a fusiform root and triangular-ovate, cordate, coarsely crenate-serrate lower leaves.

Allium brulloi, belonging to A. sect. Codonoprasum, is described as a species new to science and illustrated. The new taxon occurs on calcareous rocks on Astypalea, a SE Aegean island. Its karyology, leaf anatomy and taxonomic relationships with other rare endemics of the E Aegean area are examined.

79 records of native, adventive and cultivated taxa new to the SW Aegean island of Kithira and new localities for 51 other, little known taxa are presented. The families Isoetaceae and Ruppiaceae, and the native genera Aethionema, Arabidopsis, Crataegus, Crypsis, Echinochloa, Echinops, Isoetes, Lunaria, Moenchia and Ruppia are reported from the island for the first time. The family Amaranthaceae and the genera Aeonium, Amaranthus, Aster, Ipomoea, Mirabilis, Paspalum and Zantedeschia, which are represented by naturalized taxa, are also reported as new to the island. Morphological, chorological and other data are included for the majority of the taxa.

The flora and vegetation of the north-easternmost islands of the prefecture of Dodekanisos, Agathonisi and Pharmakonisi, which remained floristically almost unexplored until recently, have been investigated. Included are also the flora and vegetation of the seven islets around Agathonisi. Altogether, 402 species and infraspecific taxa of higher plants belonging to 131 genera and 52 families have been found. The analysis of the flora and the classification of the taxa into three main chorological units and five life form types shows that the Mediterranean elements and the therophytes predominate. A comparison of the individual floras of the two islands and seven islets revealed very low values of Sørensen's similarity coefficient, indicating a remarkable floristic independence. This floristic independence is also expressed by the fact that the nine islands and islets have not one taxon in common, whereas 130 taxa occur only on one island or islet each. Three vegetation zones (littoral, epilittoral and interior) are distinguished and described. The vegetation physiognomy differs from islet to islet due to different dominant species. Human activities such as agriculture, grazing, fires, etc. likewise affect the local floristic composition and vegetation physiognomy.

The W Mediterranean sedge Carex oedipostyla is recorded from a locality in the Anaga Mountains, NE Tenerife. It is the first record of this sedge from one of the Macaronesian archipelagos. The habitat of Carex oedipostyla is described and the significance of its occurrence on Tenerife is discussed.

Based on investigations of the spontaneous flora of Feiran Oasis in 1995 and 1996, 70 taxa of vascular plants, 49 dicots and 21 monocots, are listed, of which 33 taxa are recorded for the first time from the oasis. This inventory is compared with herbarium collections and published records of investigations made in the 1930s and 1960s. Considerable changes in the composition of the spontaneous flora of Feiran Oasis in the last 60 years are ascertained and reasons are discussed.

Satureja nabateorum is described as a species new to science and illustrated. It is confined to crevices of smooth-faced sandstone in SW Jordan (Edom) and closely related to S. thymbrifolia, a species restricted to the Judean Desert and belonging to S. sect. Zatarioideae. The different ecology of both species is discussed and their distribution mapped. Ten new records of interesting plants from Edom include the southernmost record of Arbutus andrachne from the Petra area. In this context also the new combination Bituminaria bituminosa var. brachycarpa is made.

Based on studies of herbarium material and the relevant literature, arguments are given for an emended circumscription and definition of the Near-Middle East endemic Bromus sect. Triniusia, hitherto regarded as monotypic. The section is here characterized by strongly acute apical lemma teeth in combination with lemma awn triplets. The new concept results from the recognition of a second species besides B. danthoniae, i.e. Bromus turcomanicus with somewhat deviate, very blunt lemma lobes, described as new to science (only known from the type locality). The new concept also lays stress on the fact of frequent transitional links between the three subspecies of B. danthoniae here recognized. Of these, B. danthoniae subsp. rogersii is described as a subspecies new to science, while B. danthoniae subsp. pseudodanthoniae is a new combination, made to treat the taxon sometimes considered a separate species, B. pseudodanthoniae, more appropriate. B. lanceolatus, here lectotypified, remains excluded from B. sect. Triniusia.

Chaerophyllum posofianum and Vicia erzurumica from the NE Turkish districts of Posof and Tortum, respectively, are described as species new to science and illustrated.

Centaurea hadimensis from the Central Taurus is described as a species new to science and illustrated. It belongs to C. sect. Psephelloideae and is allied to C. pyrrhoblephara, C. taochia and C. holtzii, which are likewise endemic to a restricted area within Turkey.

Continuing a series of miscellaneous contributions, by various authors, where hitherto unpublished data relevant to the Med-Checklist project are presented, this instalment deals with the families Boraginaceae, Callitrichaceae, Chenopodiaceae, Compositae, Convolvulaceae, Crassulaceae, Cruciferae, Dipsacaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Labiatae, Leguminosae, Orobanchaceae, Papaveraceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Solanaceae, Umbelliferae, Valerianaceae, Violaceae; Gramineae, Liliaceae, and Typhaceae. It includes new country and area records, taxonomic and distributional considerations. New names and combinations are validated in the genera Ballota, Elytrigia, Poa, Rostraria, Stipa, and Trachynia.

A pink-flowered population of Opuntia weberi is reported from San Juan Province, Argentina. The variation and geographical distribution of the species are discussed. Investigation of the extant original material confirms the choice of a type specimen by Kiesling in 1984 to be appropriate.

The taxonomy of foliicolous representatives of the Porina epiphylla group is revised. As a result of our studies of world-wide material, a more subtle species concept within the Porina epiphylla aggregate, i.e. species with 7-septate ascospores, is given. Thallus structure, perithecial morphology and development, and ascospore shape and size proved to be most valuable for species delimitation. A key to all known foliicolous species of the Porina epiphylla group, including facultatively foliicolous taxa, is presented. Eight species and one variety are described as new to science: Porina andreana, P. atropunctata, P. guianensis, P. mazosioides, P. minutissima, P. mirabilis, P. subepiphylla, P. subnucula, and P. lucida var. australiensis. The combination Porina foliicola (Bas.: Clathroporina foliicola) is formally proposed. P. radiata is introduced as a new name for the illegitimate younger homonym P. rugosa. Porina atriceps is reinstated as an autonomous species, and P. multiseptata is reduced to synonymy with P. virescens. P. distans is a sterile taxon, which most probably belongs to one of the several species in the genus producing cylindrical isidia, but cannot be identified at present. Notes on the distribution and ecology of the species are given, and the systematics and evolution of the group is outlined.

As part of an international project dealing with genetic diversity in wild forage species of the Sahelian Zone, a preliminary investigation of soil algal crusts in highly degraded environments was made. Soil sealing and the formation of crusts belong to the complex mechanisms of desertification processes. The kinds of soil algae present in the crusts and their temporal dynamics through the seasons are of relevance for the understanding of these processes. Surface crust samples from two wet and two dry seasons were examined for their algal flora by culturing and microscopy, in order to assess the role of algae in such processes. At least two different types of crusts were distinguished: dark crusts with a high algal contribution, dominated by filamentous blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), and light crusts with a far lesser algal contribution. The development of cyanobacterial crusts over two years suggests a seasonality, with a codominance of coccal green algae during the dry seasons. On light soils, a gradient was also apparent in the algal flora from sealed to sandy patches. In long-term development of fast changing arid ecosystems such as the Sahel, soil algae might prove a useful bio-indicator in screening for desertification and revegetation.

The morphological variation and ecology of a rarely reported but widely distributed flagellate, previously referred to as Phacus similis and Euglena smulkowskiana, was studied in detail during one year in a pond of the Botanic Garden Berlin-Dahlem. Its taxonomy and nomenclature are discussed and the new combination Phacus smulkowskianus is made.

Specimens at the Berlin-Dahlem herbarium collected by Commerson, Dusén, Kuntze and Pöppig, and representing original material (isotypes) of names in Misodendrum, are listed and discussed. A lectotype is designated for Misodendrum linearifolium var. contractum. Several other noteworthy historical specimens are briefly mentioned. These include some specimens collected by C. Gay and R. A. Philippi, and one, in the Willdenow herbarium, collected by L. Née.

Life and work of Karl Touton (1858–1934), a physician (dermatologist at Wiesbaden) and amateur botanist, are presented. Touton's Hieracium collection, which comprises c. 20 000 specimens, including many types as well as duplicate material from other collectors, was acquired in 1929 and 1935 by the Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem (B) and is being incorporated in the general herbarium.

A collection of 177 wood blocks is described, each bearing a red impression of the seal of Chikusai Kato dated ‘11 Meiji’, i.e. 1878, and consisting of a minimum of nine elements: the rectangular wood block proper, four cylindrical slices cut from branches and fixed to the corners, and four more or less rectangular pieces of bark and underlying wood fixed to the edges of the wood block. This arrangement offers a quick impression of wood characters in longitudinal and cross sections as well as an idea of the bark. 136 species are represented, most of them native to Japan, some specimens have been taken from introduced trees. In addition, each wood block carries a painting, being an accurate illustration of the species from which the wood sample is taken and, usually, showing a twig, leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, etc. Clearly painted in the western tradition, these figures testify to the new approach to plant illustration characteristic of the Meiji period, which had started a few years before Chikusai Kato's xylothek was finished. 152 of these wood blocks are kept in the Botanical Museum Berlin-Dahlem, 25 in the Economic Botany Collections at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, all belonging to the same series.