A revision of the species of Deschampsia P. Beauv., Avenella (Bluff & Fingerh.) Drejer, and Vahlodea Fr. (Poaceae, Poeae, Airinae) present in South America is given. Fifteen species of Deschampsia and two monospecific genera segregated from Deschampsia—Avenella and Vahlodea—are found in the Andes of Argentina and Chile south of 30°S, typically in humid or damp sites and wetlands. Isolated populations of the cosmopolitan D. cespitosa (L.) P. Beauv. are also found in Bolivia and highlands of southern Brazil. Keys to differentiate among the species of Deschampsia and the allied genera Avenella and Vahlodea are provided. A lectotype is designated for D. berteroana (Kunth) Trin.

Section Brachycalyx Sweet comprises nearly 30 species in Rhododendron L. subg. Tsutsusi (Sweet) Pojark. (Ericaceae) and is mainly distributed from China to Japan as well as eastern Asia. A taxonomic revision of section Brachycalyx is proposed and eight species with one subspecies are recognized. Rhododendron dilatatum Miq. var. decandrum Makino is newly recognized at the new rank of subspecies as R. dilatatum subsp. decandrum (Makino) X. F. Jin & B. Y. Ding. Lectotypes are designated for R. dilatatum var. glaucum Hatus., R. farrerae Tate ex Sweet var. leucotrichum Franch., R. mariesii Hemsl. & E. H. Wilson, R. reticulatum D. Don ex G. Don, and R. wadanum Makino.

This paper presents a phylogenetic analysis of Lamiaceae subfam. Lamioideae (including subfamily Pogostemonoideae) based on sequences of the trnL intron, trnL-trnF intergenic spacer, and rps16 intron of the plastid genome. It is the first analysis that includes all major lamioid and pogostemonoid genera. Monophyly of Lamioideae s.l. (i.e., including Pogostemonoideae) is strongly supported, with Cymaria Benth. as its sister group, and Pogostemonoideae, which sometimes has been recognized as a subfamily, is subsumed in Lamioideae. On the basis of the phylogenetic hypothesis, Lamioideae is divided into nine tribes. Three new tribes are established: Gomphostemmateae Scheen & Lindqvist, Phlomideae Mathiesen, and Leucadeae Scheen & Ryding. The other six tribes are: Pogostemoneae Briq., Synandreae Raf., Stachydeae Dumort., Leonureae Dumort., Lamieae Coss. & Germ., and Marrubieae Vis. The genus Betonica L. is reestablished. The results also strongly suggest that the genera Stachys L., Sideritis L., Ballota L., and Leucas R. Br. are polyphyletic or paraphyletic. The results were used to examine evolution of non-molecular characters.

Koilodepas Hassk. (Euphorbiaceae) is a genus of nine accepted species ranging from India (K. calycinum Bedd.) to Southwest China, Indochina, Southeast Asia, West Malesia, and New Guinea (K. homaliifolium Airy Shaw). Two species are widespread on the southeastern Asian mainland and in western Malesia (K. bantamense Hassk. and K. longifolium Hook. f.), one species is present from China to Thailand (K. hainanense (Merr.) Croizat), three others (K. brevipes Merr., K. laevigatum Airy Shaw, K. pectinatum Airy Shaw) are endemic to Borneo, and a new species is found on Sumatra only (K. cordisepalum Welzen & Muzzaz.). The name K. glanduligerum Pax & K. Hoffm. is lectotypified. Typical for the species is the presence of stellately bundled hairs; spicate inflorescences with a single pistillate flower per node basally and more apically tight, globose groups of small staminate flowers per node; and staminate flowers with a broad, short androphore with the typically shaped, sulcate filaments and divergent anthers (K. laevigatum excepted). The species are difficult to distinguish morphologically. Typical characters of the species are found in the leaf margin (serrulate vs. entire), the base of the leaf blade (convex vs. flat), the color of the dried leaves (green or brown), the type of stamens (threadlike filaments vs. sulcate ones), and especially in the calyx and stigmas of the pistillate flowers (sepals free vs. completely united, loose vs. tight around ovary, enlarging in fruit vs. not enlarging in fruit, and degree in which stigmas branch apically).

The genus Dracophyllum Labill. (Ericaceae) has a fragmented distribution in Australasia, but reaches the greatest level of species richness and morphological diversity in New Zealand. We investigated evolutionary processes that contribute to this disparity in species richness by comparing DNA sequences from members of Dracophyllum, its close relatives Richea Labill. and Sphenotoma R. Br. ex Sweet (together constituting tribe Richeeae Crayn & Quinn), along with more distant relatives in the Ericaceae. We created complementary data sets for the chloroplast-encoded genes matK and rbcL. Parsimony, Bayesian, and maximum likelihood analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of our phylogenetic inferences. The results were largely congruent and, when analyzed in combination, provided greater resolution. In our analyses, tribe Richeeae formed a monophyletic group that diverged during the Eocene (at least 33.3 million years ago [Ma]) with a crown radiation during the Early Miocene (at least 16.5 Ma) that resulted in two disjunct lineages. This date corresponds roughly to the onset of aridification in central Australia. The southern Western Australian genus Sphenotoma formed an isolated evolutionary lineage, while Dracophyllum and Richea together formed a second lineage restricted to eastern Australia, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, and New Zealand. The relationships of the Tasmanian endemic, D. milliganii Hook. f., remain an enigma. It was ambiguously placed as sister to Sphenotoma or to the Dracophyllum–Richea clade. We recovered two distinct lineages, traditionally recognized as Richea sect. Cystanthe (R. Br.) Benth. and Richea sect. Dracophylloides Benth., which were nested within Dracophyllum. The Lord Howe Island endemic, D. fitzgeraldii F. Muell., emerged as sister to an eastern Australian clade of Dracophyllum. Our evidence suggests that the New Caledonian and New Zealand species of Dracophyllum dispersed from Australia; we document two independent episodes of long-distance dispersal in the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene. Low levels of sequence divergence suggest a rapid and recent species radiation in these two island archipelagos largely within the last three to six million years. This radiation accompanied Pliocene uplift of the New Zealand Southern Alps and episodes of glaciation during the Pleistocene. Because Dracophyllum is paraphyletic and Richea is polyphyletic, the taxonomic circumscription of these genera requires revision.

The Chrysobalanaceae, a pantropical family containing about 525 species, has often been nested within the Rosaceae despite evidence for recognizing it as a separate family. In 1963, Prance clearly placed Chrysobalanaceae as a distinct family containing 17 genera. However, the family has been linked with various other families and orders and recently has been placed within the order Malpighiales. Because of these discrepancies, a phylogenetic analysis for the family was launched to examine its monophyly and to investigate the relationships within the Chrysobalanaceae as well as its relationships to other groups. Comparative phylogenetic analyses were performed using morphological, rbcL, and ITS sequences. The data sets were analyzed independently and in combination. After exploration for hard incongruencies among the independent data sets, a simultaneous analysis of all the data was completed. The combined analysis resulted in a resolved, supported topology with several unambiguous morphological synapomorphies. The resulting topology indicated that the family is a well-defined monophyletic group that is sister to Euphronia Mart. & Zucc. (Euphroniaceae). The present tribal groupings, however, are paraphyletic.