Brief biography of the outstanding Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus is given. His most important botanical works are analyzed. Immense contribution of Linnaeus to plant taxonomy is demonstrated.

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Three species of Chelonopsis in Japan were studied regarding their chromosome characters at resting and mitotic prophase and metaphase stages. They had commonly the resting nuclei of the complex chromocenter type, the mitotic prophase chromosomes of the proximal type and the mitotic metaphase chromosomes of 2n=32. Those chromosome numbers were reported here for the first time. The three species indicated quite similar karyotypes with respect to size, centromeric position and monomodal, gradual decrease in length from the largest to the smallest chromosomes.

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The internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of 18S-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) in 36 species of Pinguicula(Lentibulariaceae) in Mexico and Central America, most of which are endemic to Mexico, was sequenced. Based on the ITS results, those species of Pinguicula studied were divided into three clades. In general, these cledes do not agree with the current conventional classification proposed by various authors except for Clade I. Clade I includes only two species belonging to section Isoloba, which are widely but sparsely distributed in Mexico and Central America. Clade II included 18 species, which have been conventionally classified in the sections Heterophyllum (six species), Longitubus (three species), Orcheosanthus (eight species), and Temnoceras (one species). Clade III included 16 species, which have been conventionally placed in section Agnata (four species), Crassifolia (four species), Heterophyllum (two species), Microphyllum (three species) and Orcheosanthus (three species). Clade II is widely distributed in the Sierra Madre Occidental, the Sierra Madre del Sur to the southern part of the Sierra Madre Oriental regions and extends down south to Honduras, while the species in clade III were mostly confined to the northern part of the Sierra Madre Oriental regions. In general, the ITS results were largely consistent with biogeographic patterns, but showed disagreements with the current morphological classification.

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Somatic chromosomes in 12 species and one variety of Lachenalia and their closely related, two species of Massonia and three species of Polyxena, all in the Liliaceae, were studied. The resting nuclei of all of the taxa studied were commonly classified as the round prochromosome type. The mitotic prophase chromosomes of the taxa studied were commonly classified as the proximal type. However, their chromosome numbers varied from 2n=14, 16, 18, 22, 24, 26 to 28. The chromosome numbers of 2n = 14 in Lachenalia algoensis, L. aloides ‘Lutea’, and L. longibracteata; 2n = 18 in L. latimerae; and 2n = 28 in Massonia pustulata and Polyxena longituba were reported here for the first time. The 13 taxa of Lachenalia studied were classified karyotypically into six groups. The two species of Massonia studied showed commonly the bimodal karyotype with four large chromosomes and the three species of Polyxena studied showed commonly the bimodal karyotype with three large chromosomes. The species of Massonia displayed much larger chromosomes at mitotic metaphase than those of the other two genera.

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