Wild and naturalized populations of Pyrus ussuriensis Maxim. are taxonomically reinvestigated in Japan based on fresh materials and herbarium specimens. The species is newly circumscribed based exclusively on wild forms. It is characteristic in having leaves with the lamina less than 10 cm long, small fruits less than 3 cm long excluding the calyx and persistent calyx on the mature fruit. The species is divided into two varieties: var. ussuriensis and var. hondoensis (Nakai & Kikuchi) Rehder. Natural populations of P. ussuriensis are dispersedly distributed in Chubu and Northern Tohoku regions of Honshu. They grow in almost natural woodlands, but may hardly regenerate in wild. The present conditions may be endangered for P. ussuriensis var. ussuriensis and vulnerable for P. ussuriensis var. hondoensis in Japan. Conservation for the species should be necessary with its natural habitats.

Somatic chromosome numbers and karyotypes of eight species of Saussurea subgenus Eriocoryne collected from the Nepal Himalaya are reported. The karyotypes of all but one species were analyzed for the first time. The chromosome numbers of Saussurea laminamaensis, S. bhutkesh and S. kanaii were reported for the first time. The chromosome numbers were 2n = 32 and 36. The chromosome number 2n = 36 was found in S. gossipiphora, S. laminamaensis, S. nishiokae, S. tridactyla and S. bhutkesh; 2n = 32 was found in S. simpsoniana, S. topkegolensis and S. kanaii. All of these are considered to be diploid, but the basic chromosome numbers, x = 16 and 18, differ among the species. These findings suggest an evolutionary trend toward the formation of aneuploids at the diploid level during species diversification in the Himalayas. The chromosomes were gradually reduced from the longest to the shortest and had median, submedian, subterminal, and terminal centromeres.

The embryological process of a large perennial Himalayan “glasshouse plant” Rheum nobile was anatomically analyzed. Its megagametophyte development was classified as Polygonum type, embryogenic type as Polygonad type and endosperm formation as the Nuclear type. These embryological features of R. nobile were almost the same as those of R. palmatum and some species of Polygonum. The embryological evidences suggest that this species steadily carries out normal amphimixis and produces a great number of seeds at the final year of its life under severe environmental conditions such as low temperature with much rain, strong window and intense UV radiation.

Fourteen species of the genus Juncus are recognized in the Mustang District, Central Nepal. Juncus mustangensis, a new species, is distinguished from similar species by the short creeping rhizome, the absence of auricles and cauline leaves, and the basal leaves with a single groove on the adaxial side. Juncus trachyphyllus Miyam. & H.Ohba, previously known from Sichuan, SW. China, was discovered in Nepal for the first time. This species is similar to J. allioides Franch. and J. glaucoturgidus Noltie, but differs in having grooved basal leaves, the blades U-shaped in cross section, and scabrid leaves and culms.

A new species Eria nepalensis D.M.Bajracharya & K.K.Shrestha (Orchidacee), belonging to the section Dendrolirium, is described and illustrated from Nepal.

A new species of Pedicularis, P. pushpangadanii Husain & Garg, from Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh, India is described and illustrated.

Astragalus sikokianus Nakai is hitherto known as an endemic species of Japan. This plant was first recorded from Isl. Seongmo-do, Korea, however, it is extinct now. Recently two populations of this species have been found on the eastern coast of Korean Peninsula.

A new hybrid of Drosera, D. tokaiensis （Komiya & C.Sibata） T.Nakamura & Ueda subsp. hyugaensis, subsp. nov., here described from Miyazaki Prefecture, southwestern Japan. This hybrid, which has the chromosome number 2n = 30 = 10L + 20S, is intermediate in the shape of leaves and scape between the parental species (Drosera rotundifolia L. and D. spatulata Labill) and also shows sterility.