(1) Clematis taiwaniana Hayata, C. grata Wall. var. ryukiuensis Tamura, C . sikkimensis (Hook. f. & Thoms. ) Drumm. ex Burkill, C. connata DC. var. bipinnata M. Y. Fang, C. kilungensis W. T. Wang & M. Y. Fang etc. are reduced to synonymy. (2) New classifications for sect. Tubulosae Decne., C. siamensis Drumm. & Craib and C. connata DC. are proposed. (3) 3 series, 3 species and 4 varieties are described as new. (4) 6 new combinations and 3 newranks are made.

Allozyme variation in 6 enzyme systems coding 10 loci was estimated for 18 subpopulations of Anthoxanthum alpinum from three altitudinal transects in two localities of the Swiss Alps. Mean proportions of polymorphic loci (95% criterion), average number of alleles per locus, and mean expected heterozygosity were 64.9%, 2.37 and 0. 252, respectively. Mean genetic distance among populations was 0.011, and 79% of the genetic variation resided within populations. Based on allozyme analysis, marginal subpopulations appeared to have similar level of genetic variability to central subpopulations. Relatively high genetic differentiation, low gene flow values and small neighbourhood sizes suggested that inbreeding followed by genetic drift was possible causes of lowgenetic variability in Arpette A. alpinum populations.

In the aquatic order Najadales, severe structural reduction, particularly the floral structure reduction, and strong convergence of morphological characters occurring in the Najadaceae and Zannichelliaceae have greatly obscured their phylogenetic relationships and presented systematists with difficult problems in understanding their phylogenetics. To gather more basic phylogenetic information regarding Najadaceae and Zannichelliaceae, pollen morphology of 4 genera of these two families was examined with light microscope (LM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). Our results provide the following insights: (1) Pollen grains of Zannichelliaceae are inaperturate, subspheroidal or subprolate, with ornate or reticulate exine sculpturing. Pollen grains of Vleisia and Zannichellia are smaller, usually with ornate sculpturing, while those of Lepilaena are larger, with crispate, ornate or reticulate sculpturing. (2) Pollen grains of some species, e.g. Najas oguraensis Miki and N. flexilis (Willd.) Rostk. et Schmidt. in Najadaceae, are monosulcate, but in some other species studied here they are inaperturate. Pollen grains of this family usually have not exine sculpturing, but those of N. oguraensis Miki and N. flexilis (Willd.)Rostk et Schmidt have verrucate or granular sculpturing. (3) Evidence from the aperture, wall sculpturing and structure of pollen grains does not support the viewpoint that Najadaceae is closely related to Zannichelliaceae and Potamogetonaceae, but shows that Zannichelliaceae and Pota-mogetonaceae are near relatives.

This paper is the first report of an investigation on the spore morphology of Chinese ferns. Spore morphology of 20 species (10 species from China and 10 species from other countries) in the genus Lygodium (Lygodiaceae) was investigated under scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission electron microscope (TEM). The spores are tetrahedral-globose, trilete, rarely monolete. The surface ornamentation of the spores can be divided into four main types: In type I , the surface of spores is tuberculate or spheroid-tuberculate. Most of the species of the genus have this type of surface ornamentation of spores. In type II , the surface of spores is smooth. L. palmatum, L . subareolatum , L . yunnanense and L . volubile have this type of surface ornamentation of spores. In type III, both the distal and equatorial areas of spores are coarsely verrucate, while the proximal area is smooth. L. dimorphum, L. digitatum and L. kingii have this type of surface ornamentation of spores. In type IV, the surface of spores is coarsely reticulate. L. scandens and L. reticulatum have this type of surface ornamentation of spores. The surface contours of the reticulate type (type IV) are formed by the exospore, while that of the other types (types I, II, III) are formed by the perispore. The surface ornamentation of spores seems to be stable within species and thus is of important value in the taxonomy of the genus Lygodium.

The development of female cone in Thuja occidentalis was investigated by means of SEM together with conventional sectioning technique. It was observed that the female cone initiation in T. occidentalis occurred in August by the transition of vegetative apices into seed cone apices in Beijing. Female cone in T. occidentalis consisted of 4~6 pairs of decussate bracts. Usually, two or three pairs of the fertile bracts in the middle of the cone subtended eight to twelve ovules. The first structure observed in the axil of the fertile bract was a broad swelling, on which two ovule primordia initiated. Furthermore, each ovule primordium differentiated a collar-like integument around the base of the nucellus, and the integument enclosed nucellus progressively and overgrew the nucellus, forming an ovule with a micropyle. During the ovule initiation, it was further noticed that three ovule primordia were initiated in each of the axil of lower fertile bracts in half of the female cones observed. However, only two ovules developed, for the middle primordium aborted in later stages, which indicated that the female cone of T. occidentalis might be derived from that with more ovules per bract of the ancestor by reduction of the number of ovule per bract. We also preliminarily investigated the vascular system development of the cone. There was only a middle trace in the bract of young cones. After pollination, with the intercalary growth of the bracts, 4 to 8 vascular bundles developed in the bracts. However, the new-formed vascular bundles did not show inverted orientation,which was reported as a feature in the cone development of Cupressaceae.

This paper reports the chromosome number and morphology of 8 species of the genus Aspidistra from China. The chromosome number of six species is reported for the first time. The results are as follows: 2n = 2x = 36 = 18m + 2sm(2sat) + 16st for A. ebianensis; 2n = 2x = 36 = 14m + 6sm(2sat) + 16st for A. yingjiangensis; 2n = 2x = 36 = 20m(2sat) + 14st + 2t for A. hainanensis; 2n=2x=36= 16m + 4sm(2sat) + 16st for A. saxicola; 2n ＝ 2x ＝ 36 ＝ 18m+ 2sm(2sat) + 16st for A. muricata; 2n = 2x = 38 = 22m+4sm(2sat) + 12st for A. marginella; 2n = 4x = 76 = 48m (4sat) +2sm+26st for A. xilinensis; 2n = 4x = 76 = 46m(4sat) + 12sm+ 18st for A. cruciformis. All the karyotypes are bimodal and belong to Stebbins’2C type. A. cruciformis and A. xilinensis are the only two tetraploid species found in Aspidistra up to date. Based on our results and those previously reported,we consider that the karyotypes of the genus Aspidistra might have evolved towards the increase of symmetry by the increase of median-centromeric chromosomes in the chromosome complement and the basic chromosome number x = 18 might be primitive, while x = 19 derived.

In this paper, Metasasa W. T. Lin was treated as a new synonym of the genus Acidosasa C. D. Chu et C. S. Chao ex Keng f. A new combination, Acidosasa nanunica (McCl.) C. S. Chao et G. Y. Yang, was given. Metasasa carinata W. T. Lin and Metasasa albo-farinosa W.T. Lin were reduced as synonyms of A. nanunica.

Ulmus taihangshanensis S. Y. Wang is reduced as a synonym of U. lamellosa Wang et S. L. Chang ex L. K. Fu, and Celtis pubescens S. Y. Wang et C. L. Chang as a synonym of C.sinensis Pers. respectively.