<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leandra altomacaensis</Emphasis> (Melastomataceae), a new species from Brazil

Leandra altomacaensis (sect. Oxymeris), a new endemic species of Melastomataceae from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is described and illustrated. Diagnostic characteristics of the species are the leaves sparsely stellulate-lepidote, triplinerved, and calyx lobes small, with apex acute-apiculate. Leandra gracilis var. glazioviana is proposed as a synonym of this new species.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elaphoglossum</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepidoglossa</Emphasis> subsect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Muscosa</Emphasis> (Dryopteridacae) with cristate spores

A new species from the Bolivian highlands is described as Elaphoglossum cristatum. It is very similar to E. engelii but is characterized by a (for subsect. Muscosa unique) cristate perispore structure with irregular deposits (versus papillate spores), more densely ciliate petiole scales (50–80 versus 10–30 cilia per scale), somewhat thicker blade texture, denser scale cover, and paler, more reddish rhizome scales.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Funastrum rupicola</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apocynaceae:</Emphasis><Emphasis Type="Italic">Asclepiadoideae</Emphasis>), a new species from Bolivia

Summary   Funastrum rupicola Goyder, a new species of Apocynaceae: Asclepiadoideae from Bolivia, is described and illustrated. The conservation status of this species is assessed.     

Two new species and a new combination in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elaphoglossum</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polytrichia</Emphasis> subsect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Apoda</Emphasis> (Dryopteridaceae) from Costa Rica and Panama

Two new species, Elaphoglossum alvaradoanum and E. pendulum, are described. The first species is endemic to Cocos Island, and the second to the mountains of Costa Rica. Elaphoglossum auripilum var. longipilosum is elevated to species rank as E. longipilosum.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polygala</Emphasis> subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Hebeclada</Emphasis> (Polygalaceae) from central Brazil

Polygala pauciramosa, a new species from the Federal District and the state of Goiás is described, illustrated, and compared with related species of Polygala subgenus Hebeclada. The new species is an herb that grows in seasonally to permanently wet savannas. A key to the species of Polygala subgenus Hebeclada from Goiás state, Brazil is provided.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Myrcia incompleta</Emphasis> (Myrtaceae), a new species from Amazonian Brazil

Myrcia incompleta, from the northern Brazilian states of Amazonas and Rondônia, is described and illustrated. This species is apparently related to Calyptranthes paniculata and C. speciosa, from which it is distinguished mainly by its narrower leaves with midvein strongly raised adaxially and shorter, pauciflorous inflorescences. Conservation status for the species is proposed.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Stylogyne carautae</Emphasis> (Myrsinaceae), a new species from south-eastern Brazil

Stylogyne carautae Carrijo & M. F. Freitas is described and illustrated as a new endemic species from south-eastern Brazil. The relationships between S. carautae and S. depauperata Mez are discussed, and comments on their ecology and conservation are provided.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Typhonium stigmatilobatum</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Araceae</Emphasis> tribe <Emphasis Type="Italic">Areae</Emphasis>), a new species from Vietnam

Summary   Typhonium stigmatilobatum V. D. Nguyen, a new species from Vietnam, is described and illustrated.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Matayba obovata</Emphasis>, a new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Matayba</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Matayba</Emphasis> (Sapindaceae) from Brazil

The new species, Matayba obovata (Sapindaceae), from southern and southeastern Brazil is described, illustrated, and contrasted to its putatively closest relatives. Palynological characters are also described. The new species belongs to sect. Matayba. A key to identify M. obovata and related species in the Atlantic Forest is included.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Elaphoglossum mickeliorum</Emphasis> (Dryopteridaceae), a new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elaphoglossum</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Polytrichia</Emphasis> from Peru

Elaphoglossum mickeliorum, a new species from the eastern slopes of the Peruvian Andes, is here described and illustrated. It belongs to E. sect. Polytrichia, which is characterized by the presence of subulate scales and absence of hydathodes on the sterile leaves of adult sporophytes. Herbarium specimens of this new species were first collected by Alwyn H. Gentry ca. 40 years ago, but these got readily confused with E. erinaceum and went undescribed since then. The new species differs from members of the E. erinaceum complex by having a nearly continuous band of planar, nonsubulate scales along the laminar margins of sterile leaves. Based on this character, E. mickeliorum resembles species such as E. glaziovii, E. ornatum, and E. scolopendrifolium. It differs from these by the presence of minute glandular hairs on petioles and costae. A distribution map and a figure with line drawings are also provided. For comparative purposes, the line drawing includes E. blepharoglottis, which is here illustrated for the first time.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carapichea lucida</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rubiaceae: Psychotrieae</Emphasis>), a new species from Eastern Bahia,Brazil

A new species of Carapichea was discovered in the Atlantic Forest of Bahia, Brazil. Carapichea lucida J. G. Jardim &; Zappi is described, illustrated, and its phenology, habitat and conservation status are discussed.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Erythroxylum</Emphasis> sect. <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhabdophyllum</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Erythroxylaceae</Emphasis>) from north-eastern Brazil

Summary   Erythroxylum longisetulosum I. Loiola & M. F. Sales and E. timothei I. Loiola & M. F. Sales (sect. Rhabdophyllum) from north-eastern Brazil are described and illustrated, and their taxonomic and ecological relationships are discussed.     

Two new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Calathea</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Marantaceae</Emphasis>) from South-eastern Brazil

Summary   Calathea dryadica and Calathea reginae are described, circumscribed and illustrated. These new species are probably endemic to the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro State in Southeast Brazil and are considered critically endangered because of the restricted geographic area of occurrence, sometimes enclosed by densely urbanised areas.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Kerianthera longiflora</Emphasis> (Rubiaceae), a remarkable new species from eastern Brazil,with some observations on <Emphasis Type="Italic">K. preclara</Emphasis>

A new species of Kerianthera, K. longiflora Zappi & C. T. Oliveira (Rubiaceae), has been discovered in relicts of Atlantic Forest in Minas Gerais and Espírito Santo, Brazil. This genus was, until now, thought to be monotypic and to occur only in the Amazon. The morphology, phenology and habitat of the new species are discussed and the IUCN conservation status of this and K. preclara are provided.     

Three new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Passiflora</Emphasis> subgenus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Decaloba</Emphasis> (Passifloraceae) from Brazil

Three new species from Brazil are described and illustrated. Passiflora cervii, P. jiboiaensis, and P. transversalis all belong to Passiflora subg. Decaloba.     

A new species of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Macroptilium</Emphasis> (Benth.) Urb. (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leguminosae</Emphasis>: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Papilionoideae</Emphasis>: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phaseolinae</Emphasis>) from North-Eastern Brazil

Summary  A new species of Macroptilium sect. Microcochle (Benth.) J. A. Lackey is herein described from the states of Piauí and Bahia, Brazil. Macroptilium cochleatum is characterized by few-flowered inflorescences, calyx teeth longer than the tube, a tightly four-coiled keel, and linear, patent fruits. The discovery of this unique Macroptilium species, with its distally coiled keel, expands the diagnostic features of the genus. A key to the Brazilian species of sect. Microcochle is provided.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Shackletonia cryodesertorum</Emphasis> (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Teloschistaceae</Emphasis>, Ascomycota), a new species from the McMurdo Dry Valleys (Antarctica) with notes on the biogeography of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Shackletonia</Emphasis>

A new species of Shackletonia (Teloschistaceae) is described from the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, one of the regions with the harshest conditions on Earth. Distinctive traits of the new taxon are the grey thallus, its black lecideine apothecia with a dark greenish blue exterior side of the exciple, Lecidea green pigment present at the cortex and exciple, emodin-dominated anthraquinones only in epithecium, and spores on average 11.2?×?6.0 μm with 3.6 μm wide septum. New chemical data from HPLC analyses further supports the uniqueness of the genus Shackletonia regarding secondary metabolite production within subfamily Xanthorioideae. Using three molecular markers (nrITS, nuLSU, and mtSSU) we found the new species sister to S. sauronii, a species so far known only from Livingston Island (Antarctica). Using secondary calibrations we inferred a long-time evolution of Shackletonia in the Southern Hemisphere, which separated from the remaining lineages of Xanthorioideae between the late Cretaceous and the early Paleogene, and diversified during the late Paleocene and early Oligocene.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhynchospora rheophytica</Emphasis> (Cyperaceae), a new species from western Bahia,Brazil

A new species of Rhynchospora section Tenues, from western Bahia, Brazil, is described, illustrated, and compared to related species.     

A new <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dactylella</Emphasis> species from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Orbilia alba</Emphasis>

A new Dactylella species, Dactylella alba was isolated from the ascospores of Orbilia alba collected in Wenshan County, Yunnan Province, China. Conidiophores were either not branched or occasionally branched, bearing divergent sterigmata on the tip with single conidium on each. Conidia were elongated ellipsoids, 1–2 septate, mostly 1 septate. By combining the ITS sequence with morphological characteristics, a new anamorphic species is described and illustrated together with its teleomorph.