Taxa of the Photinia villosa complex, including P. villosa, its var. sinica, and P. parvifolia, are taxonomically perplexing. By means of conventional taxonomic methods, it is difficult to discriminate them from one another. Basing upon herbarium materials of about 100 sheets of specimens collected from seven provinces in China, a quantitative analysis of the correlations between certain key characters was then used to reexamine the validity of the above taxa. Results from both pictorialized scatter diagram and histogram have indicated that the complex could be divided into the following parts: (1) I(V)—characterized by many (7-32)-flowered corymbs and prominent pubescence at least when young, agreed with typical Photinia villosa; (2) II(S)—with less (2-12)-flowered corymbs (sometimes with umbels on the same herbarium sheet) and leaves usually pubescent along the midrib on the lower side, agreed well with P. villosa var. sinica; (3)III(P)—with few (1-9)-flowered umbels and plant glabrous throughout, agreed with P. parvifolia, but apparently overlaped with the lower portion of II(S); (4) IV(T)—characterized by umbels with still fewer [1-2(-5)] flowers, especially long, slenderer and pendulous pedicels and plant totally glabrous, was undoubtedly a new form. Both diagrams also showed that these four parts are so closely related to one another that they are by no means strictly separable. Thus it is better to treat them all as varieties of the said complex. A proper taxonomic treatment should include the reduction of Photinia parvifolia to a varietal rank of P. villosa as well as an addition of the newly discovered variety P. villosa var. tenuipes as presentedin this paper.

1. Having analyzed the external morphology of the genus Microula, the author has proposed a series of criteria as bases for the construction of a classification scheme of this genus. The most important ones are as follows: 1) The normally developed stem is primitive, and the strongly abbreviated stem more advanced. 2) The small inconspicuous bracts are more primitive than the large suborbicular densely arranged ones, which almost entirely cover the flowers and the fruits. 3) Nutlets with small dorsal pit are more primitive than those with larger pit on one hand or those without it on the other. 4) The dorsal pit with simple margin precedes that with double margins. 5) Nutlets with subbasal areola precede those with lateral or apical areola. 6) Nutlets without glochids precede those with glochids. 2. Basing upon these criteria the genus Microula may be divided into six sections. The section Schistocaryum may be the primitive one, and the others may be evolved from it respectively. The possible affinities between them are demonstrated in figure no. two. 3. The genus Microula, containing 30 species, is mainly distributed in the Chinghai-Tibetan plateau and the majority of its species concentrates in the eastern border of the plateau, and of the 30 species 26—that is 90 percent—are endemic to China, and the remaining 4 are distributed elsewhere in China, too, and extending southward and westward to Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and Kashmir respectively. In the region between Heishui, Province Szechuan, and Chinghai Lake there are 9 species, which, curiously, represent all the six sections of Microula, hence this region seems to be the center of maximum variation of this genus. M. ovalifolia whose nutlets have small dorsal pit and subbasal areola may be considered the most primitive species. Thus the author is of the opinion that the western part of province Szechuan, to which M. ovalifolia is endemic, may probably be the center of origin of the genusMicroula.

So far, the 15 genera of bamboos with creeping rhizomes in China have been known. Based on the types and evolution of inflorescence, which have been discussed in the paper, and other criteria of classification, the opinions are given as follows: 1. Some species of Semiarundinaria spp. McClure and Sinobambusa spp. McClure should be separated and regarded as representing a new genus, because the racemes of the some species are different from false inflorescence (indeterminate infl.) of the type species of the two genera, and some other species should be transfered to the genus Pleioblastus. 2. On account of the similarities in the type of inflorescence and pistil, Brachystachyum may be combined with Semiarundinaria. 3. As the inflorescence, pistil and rhizome of Sinarundinaria are similar in those of Fargesia, the two genera should be combined. Due to the inflorescence of Fargesia is different from that of Thamnocalamus, therefore, these two genera must be kept separating. 4. Key to the Genera of Chinese bamboos with creeping rhizomes is provided inthis paper. But the key is available to flowering materials only, because the construction of it is mainly based on reproductive organs.

The classification of bamboos is often difficult, because they do not bloom regularly and variation of their vegetative organs occurs easily. This paper deals mainly with the dissection of the culms at the base, middle, and top of 31 species from 10 genera of caespitose bamboos cultivated in South China. Proceeding from the exterior to the interior, observations were made on the sections of the parts mentioned above, and according to differences noted in structure, size, shape, and arrangement of the vascular bundles, a division into 4 vascular bundle types was arrived at and a key for 31 species complied in an attempt to base the classification of bamboos on the structure of the vascular bundles.

This paper deals with morphological characters in seedlings and adult plants of 5 species of Chinese Calycanthaceae. The germination of seeds, morphology of cotyledons, hypocotyl and primary leaves of these species are enumerated, for example, the Chimonanthus campanulatus, sp. nov. is characterized by half-hypogaeous and tetragonal cotyledons, whereas other species epigaeous; the cotyledons of Calycanthus chinensis is obtriangular, Chimonanthus praecox, Ch. salicifolius and Ch. nitens are reniform. On the morphological characters of these adult plants and geographical distribution of 4 species of Chimonanthus are keyed. In addition a new species, Chimonanthus campanulatus, is described and it represents a more primitive type of the genus.

“Huangteng” is an antibacterial drug used in Chinese folk medicine. It contains a large amount of Palmatine. In recent years, although much chemical and pharmaceu tical investigations of this drug have been made, it has been misidentified as Fibraurea tinctoria Lour. After a careful examination, however, the plant in question possesses three stamens with anthers about equal in length to the filaments. On the basis of thisfact, the present paper proposes a revision. It proves to be F. recisa Pierre.