The family Cyatheaceae (s. str.) defined here is a group with scaly stems. The classification of this scaly group has a long history, but views on the generic rank are controversial. The division of three genera based mainly on indusia had lasted for almost one century and was finally proved unnatural. Not all species lacking indusia are closely related to each other. In other words, among the exindusiate species, some are closer to those of indusiate species than to the other exindusiate ones, and vice versa. Obviously, the loss of indusia must have taken place in different evolutionary lines. In the last few decades, Tryon (1970, 1982) made a new chart on the basis of the structure of petiole scales, in which six scaly genera were proposed, while Holttum (1957, 1963, 1974, 1981), with the emphasis on the chromosome number n=69 in all species so far counted, insisted on one genus in a broad seuse, including two subgenera and two sections in each subgenus. After Chinese material has been studied, the author proposes several points as follows: 1) It is acceptable that the family is divided into two main groups based on the structure of petiole scales. New information from Chinese material supports this separation. Pneumathodes, a kind of aerating tissue along lateral sides of raches and stipes, are of two forms. If they come to the surface, the surface is broken and a row of fusiform holes emerge at the maturity, when we call them open pneumathodes. If they do not come to the surface, no hole but a discontinous whitish line apears on the surface, when we call them closed pneumathodes. These two forms of pneumathodes are correlated with the two patterns of petiole scales. 2) Sporangia of two kinds, producing 16 or 64 spores, occur in the family. For Chinese species, one group is of 16-spored sporangia and is considered as a derivative, and the others are of 64-spored sporangia as most ferns. 3) Among various forms of indusia, two evolutionary changes may be traced. although the parallel development of indusia in different groups indicates that the structure is not a useful systematic character for distinguishing genera. In one line the primitive hemitelioid indusium fully developed finally forming a spherical one covering a whole sorus, and in the other it simplified forming a scalelike indusium hidden by a mature sorus. Perhaps, the loss of indusia results from simplifying. Recognized in the present paper are 14 species and 2 varieties, which are grouped into three taxa: Sphaeropteris, Alsophila and Gymnosphaera. Sphaeropteris, characterized by closed pneumathodes and structurally conform petiole scales, is given the generic status. Alsophila and Gymnosphaera are both with open pneumathodes and structurally marginate petiole scales, but the former is with 16-spored sporangia, while the latter with 64-spored sporangia. They are so closely related in morphology that they hardly merit generic rank, as compared with the genus Sphaeropteris which has 64 spores in each sporangium. They are thus treated as two subgenera under the genus Alsophila. Cyatheaceae has a pantropical distribution extending northwards to S. China and S. W. China. Its northern limit in China is at the Huaying Mountain in Linshui County of Sichuan Province, at about 30°N. I am indebted very much to Prof. R. G. Ching and K. H. Shing for stimulating discussions of the classification of Cyatheaceae, and also to Prof. W. M. Chu and H. S. Kung for very helpful comments on the manuscript.

The present paper deals with the systematic position of Daphniphyllaceae. The genus Daphniphyllum was first described by Blume in 1826 as a member of Rhamnaceae. In 1858 Baillon removed it to the tribe Phyllantheae of Euphorbiaceae, while Müller (1869) raised this genus to the rank of family, Daphniphyllaceae. Although Müller’s treatment has been accepted by most botanists, including the present authors, its systematic position has been debated. The first aim in our studies on the cladistics of Hamamelidae is to answer the question which families should be included in this monophyletic group. By observing their pollen grains and stoma types of some representative species of Daphniphyllaceae, Hamamelidaceae and Buxaceae under light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM,) and analysing morphological, anatomical, palynological, embryological characters and chemical components in the three taxa and Euphorbiaceae, we find that Daphniphyllaceae is very similar to Hamamelidaceae, but greatly different from Euphorbiaceae, in inflorescence racemose or spicate, calyx nearly reduced, stamens numerous and sometimes synandry, connective usually exserted, disc absent, carpels 2; vessel with scalariform perforation plates and often not spiral-thickened, fiber bordered-pitted; stomata mostly paracytic; pollen 3-colpate; tapetum glandular, endosperm development cellular, obturator and caruncle absent; iridoid compounds present; sieve-element plastids S-type. The present authors have noticed the fact that Daphniphyllaceae is also similar to Magnoliaceae in the stamens numerous, anthers larger and filaments very short, connectives obviously exserted and with several bundles; anther wall thicker, endosperm development cellular, embryo small. It is considered that not only are Daphniphyllaceae and Hamamelidaceae phenetically close to each other but also much possibly derived from a common ancestor, the extinct group of Magnoliales. However, Daphniphyllaceae appears to be remote from Euphorbiaceae and Buxaceae in relationship and should be separated from Euphorbiales and Buxales. Meanwhile, since Daphniphyllaceae differs from the members of Hamamelidales in the incompletely septate ovary, drupaceous fruit, indistinct sexine sculpture of pollen grains, small embryo, and an unique alkaloid, daphniphylline, but lacking proanthacyanins, the establishment of an order, Daphniphyllales, for the family, is considered reasonable. According to our opinion, the order is related to Hamamelidales rather than to Euphorbiales as originally suggested by Huru-sawa (1954).

Nine of 10 genera and 119 of approximately 240 species of the Pinaceae occur in China, including 67 endemic species and two endemic genera. In this paper, the distributional maps of all the genera of the Pinaceae are presented (fig. 1-8). The horizontal and vertical distributions of species in each genus are discussed. The analysis of the distribution patterns of the genera indicates that some genera, such as Keteleeria, Tsuga, Pseudotsuga, Cathaya and Pseudolarix, are restricted to the area south of the Qinling Mountains and the Huaihe River, and the others, i. e. Picea, Abies, Larix and Pinus, extend northward to northeastern China. However, all of the genera except Keteleeria and Pinus are not found in very dry areas and tropical mountainous regions of China. The monotypic genera, Cathaya and Pseudolarix, are distributed in eastern and central China. The genus Keteleeria consists of 10 species, 7 of which are concentrated in southern Guizhou, northern Guangxi, southwestern Hunan and easternmost Yunnan. The distribution of the remaining 6 genera shows the maximum concentration in western Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan. (Figs. 2-8). Furthermore, more than third of species of the Pinaceae (37.8%) are also concentrated in western Sichuan and northwestern Yunnan. where a great variety of habitats and different topographic features occur. It is apparent that to conduct our systematic and evolutionary studies on this family in these region is especially needed. The relations between the areal size and the tolerance of species are discussed. The distributions of macrofossils and microfossils of the genera of the Pinaceae ia China are given, and it has been proved that areas of most genera of the family were considerably larger in the past. than at present.

Meiosis and mitosis of eight species of Polygonatum from Sichuan, China, were investigated. Ten bivalents (n=10) at meiosis of pollen mother cells were observed ih P. odoratum (Mill.) Druce. Meiotic observation on pollen mother cells in P. punctatum Royle ex Kunth shows 16 bivalents (n=16) at diakinesis, P. kingianum Coll. et Hemsl. 13 bivalents (n=13) at diakinesis. P. zanlanscianense Pamp. 15 bivalents (n=15) in MI, P. cirrhifolium (Wall.) Royle 28 bivalents at diakinesis. Somatic chromosomes were observed in root tip cells. The karyotype formulae are as follows: P. odoratum (Mill.) Druce K(2n)=20=4st+6sm+10m; P. cyrtonema Hua K(2n)=20=6sm+14m; P. punctatum Royle ex Kunth K(2n)=32=2t+8st+ 2sm+20m; P. kingianum Coll. et Hemsl. K(2n)=26=8st(2SAT)+14sm+4m; P. alternicirrhosum Hand.-Mzt. K(2n)=32=6st+8sm+18m(2SAT); P. zanlanscianense Pamp. K(2n)=30= 2t+6st+6sm+16m(2SAT); P. sibiricum Delar. ex Redouté K(2n)=24=2t+14st(2SAT)+6sm +2m; P. cirrhifolium (Wall.) Royle K(2n)=56=18st+10sm+28m. The karyotypes of P. punctatum, P. kingianum, P. alternicirrhosum and P. cirrhifolium are reported for the first time. Both the chromosome number and structure in our materials are certainly different from thoses in previous reports. Of numerical variation polyploidy and aneuploidy have been recorded, and aneuploidy is frequent. According to degree of asymmetry of the karyotype, the 8 species are divided into three types: 2B, 3B, 2C. The increasing asymmetry is correlated with the increasing of the chromosome number. There are no obvious differences in chromosome number and karyotype between Alternifolia Baker and Verticillate Baker. They are not two natural groups. This opinion is different from that of Therman and Suomalainen.

In the present paper the karyotypes of Keteleeria calcarea Cheng et L. K. Fu and K. oblonga Cheng et L. K. Fu are reported, and they are compared with those of K. cyclolepis Flous and K. formosana Mast. The karyotype formula of K. calcarea Cheng et L. K. Fu is K(2n)=24=16m+8sm, and K. oblonga Cheng et L. K. Fu is K(2n)=24=18m+6sm. They both belong to “2A” type of karyotype symmetry. There are secondary constrictions on the short arms of 1th, 3th, 6th chromosome pairs in K. calcarea Cheng et L. K. Fu and 2th, 4th, 6th in K. oblonga Cheng et L. K. Fu. K. oblonga Cheng et L. K. Fu is more advanced than K. cyclolepis Flous, but more primitive than K. calcarea Cheng et L. K. Fu, and K. formosana Mast is the most advanced among the four species in karyotype.

Isozymes of peroxidase of 10 species in Juglans L. were analyzed by using polycrylamide gel electrophoresis, and, as a result, 16 different patterns of isozymes were observed. Polymophism of isozymes patterns appears within species and more significant differences in pattern between species have been found. “Zymogram distance” was measured for each species pair and section pair. The ten species may be divided into 4 groups according to their “zymogram distance” and specific bands, which accords with the classical taxonomy of Juglans L.. Evolutionary relationship among species and rate of evolution for Juglans L. are discussed.

In the present paper a new species, Osmanthus gracilinervis Chia ex R. L. Lu, is described from Guangxi. The new species is also distributed in Guangdong, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Hunan and Sichuan. Based on the analysis of a great deal of specimens, eight species, i.e. Osmanthus corymbosus H. W. Li, O. longispermus H. T. Chang, O. angustifolius H. T. Chang, O. triandrus H. T. Chang, O. longicarpus H. T. Chang, O. omeiensis Fang ex H. T. Chang, O. nanchuanensis H. T. Chang and 0. cylindricus H. T. Chang, are reduced as the synonyms of O. marginatus (Champ. ex Benth.) Hemsl. var. marginatus. O. longissimus H. T. Chang and O. pachyphyllus H. T. Chang are respectively reduced to varieties of O. marginatus, i.e.O. marginatus var. longissimus (H.T. Chang) R. L. Lu and var. pachyphyllus (H. T.Chang) R. L. Lu. And finally O. maximus H. T. Chang is treated in this paper as a synonym of O. matsumuranus Hayata.