Seeds of the wild type of Nagaimo, Dioscorea opposita, were introduced from the People's Republic of China in 1995. The obtained seedlings contained both male and female plants (Kanazawa et al. 2002), and produced abundant seeds under natural conditions in Morioka, northeast Japan. These seeds germinated and seedlings grew. The male plant produced flowers bearing normal stamens and the degenerated pistil. The female plant, we initially thought so because the genus Dioscorea has been regarded to be a dioecious plant group with unisexual flowers in each plant, produced hermaphrodite flowers. Thus this Nagaimo turned out to be androdioecious. Embryo sac formation is of the Polygonum type. The filament terminal of the stamens in the hermaphrodite flower, when observed from above, was considerably smaller than that of the male flower. The pollen morphology showed two types in the hermaphrodite flower; one was normal globular shape as the pollen grains of male flowers, and the other was deformed shape of empty hemisphere like a degassed rubber ball.

The chromosome number of Thelypteris flexilis (H.Christ) Ching from Kochi Prefecture, Japan, was determined to be 2n = 280, a octoploid based on x = 35. This result contrasts with that reported in Chinese materials (n = 68, 4x based on x = 34; Wang and Sun 1982). In Kochi Prefecture, this species grows in lowland sites near limestone outcrops with some calciphiles.

Five new species of Pedicularis (Scrophulariaceae) from western China are described. Names of two species of Pedicularis from Bhutan are amended here.

Aster pseudoglehni, formerly misidentified as A. glehni or A. glehni var. hondoensis in Ullung Island, Korea, is described and illustrated. This species is most similar to but differs markedly from A. ageratoides by petiolate median leaves with 8-20 pairs of serrate teeth and multinerved veins, and compact corymb-like capitulescences consisted of more than 40 heads.

Transplantation of square fragments of thalli was successfully performed for Parmotrema tinctorum. The fragments were covered with pieces of nylon mesh stapled to the substratum and were cultured on the trunks of Cryptomeria japonica under natural condition. Numerous granules, cylindrical protuberances and lobules were formed on the periphery of the fragments 15 months after transplantation. The granules and cylindrical protuberances seemed to have been originated from the upper cortex and medulla, including algal layer, of the transplanted fragments and resemble isidia formed on the upper surface. They were fused each other to form obovate or palmate dorsiventral protuberances and lobules in later stages. Lecanoric acid and atranorin were produced in the newly developed lobules.