Melastoma tetramerum is one of the most seriously endangered of the the endemic species of the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands. Although only one wild tree remained in Higashi-daira (HD) of Chichi-jima in the 1980s, a new population of over 200 trees was found in Higashi-kaigan (HK) of Chichi-jima in 1993. This study reports gradual reduction of the number of adult trees in HK, which included the death of most adult trees in 2007. Botanical Gardens of the University of Tokyo is keeping the last 10 trees including the last one in HD and starts the genetic assessment of kept trees for their conservation in future. The phylogenetic analysis using chloroplast ndhF and rpl16 intron indicated that M. tetramerum is sister to M. pentapetalum, endemic to Haha-jima. Within M. tetramerum, two sequence types were found in chloroplast psbA-trnH region. This result of genetic assessment suggested that we would come into next stage for propagation and risk aversion on conservation activity.

Two new species of the genus Carex L. (Cyperaceae) from the Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands, C. chichijimensis Katsuy. and C. yasuii Katsuy., are described. C. chichijimensis belongs to sect. Graciles Tuck. ex Kük. and is closely related to C. hattoriana Nakai which is endemic to the Ogasawara Islands, but differs from the latter in having larger, rather glabrous and strongly veined perigynia. C. yasuii belongs to sect. Mitratae Kük. and resembles C. gracilispica Hayata and C. rhynchachaenium C. B. Clarke from Taiwan in having gourd-like lanceolate, more than 4.5 mm long perigynia, and stoutly stipitate, cylindrically necked achenes. However, C. yasuii is easily distinguished from the latter two species by longer culms, narrowly ovate pistillate scales with acuminate and short aristate apex and glabrous perigynia. Both C. chichijimensis and C. yasuii are found only in Chichijima Island.

Based on a specimen from Shangsi, Guangxi, China, Peliosanthes reflexa (Asparagaceae) is newly described. This species is similar to P. kaoi, but differs from it in the reflexed perianth, flowers drooping or descending, and linear, pale green, erect bracts.

A new species Leptolejeunea arunachalensis Sudipa Das & D. K. Singh, is described from Mehao Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh in Eastern Himalaya, India. The new species is different from L. elliptica (Lehm. & Lindenb.) Steph. in having smaller, 3-5 mm long plants, closely imbricate leaves 0.16-0.34 x 0.13-0.29 mm in size with only two ocelli and underleaves with parallel to subparallel, uniformly 2-celled uniseriate lobes.

Usnea rubicunda and U. rubrotincta are distinguished by the mode of branch elongation, the amount of fibrils on branches and soralia morphology. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of these species with maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods based on internal transcribed spacer regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA (ITS rDNA) sequences support the monophyly of each species. Primers for the amplification of Usnea ITS rDNA sequence are newly designed.