Genista etnensis (Raf.) DC. subsp. etnensis found in Isparta Province, is confirmed as a new record for Turkey based on morphological and nrDNA ITS sequence data. Based on historical records, we also discuss the introduction and naturalization of the species through human activities linked to afforestation in the past 70 years. This study provides the first detailed description of G. etnensis subsp. etnensis in Turkey. Additionally, the taxonomy and nomenclature of G. etnensis are reviewed and clarified. Lectotype of Drymospartum sardum C.Presl, Spartium aetnense Biv. and S. trispermum Sm. are designated here.

Two new species of Carex (Cyperaceae), C. satsumasendaica Okih.Yano, Katsuy. & W.Ohnishi and C. shimizui Okih.Yano, Katsuy., W.Ohnishi & T.Hoshino, are described from Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan. Carex satsumasendaica resembles C. sociata and C. uber, but mainly differs from C. sociata by having pale brown basal bracts, spikes solitary at each node and subdensely many-flowered, and from C. uber by having setaceous bracts, spikes not dense on upper part of culms, narrowly cylindrical pistillate spikes and short awns of pistillate scales. Carex shimizui resembles C. conica s.l., including var. conica, var. pallescens, and var. scabrocaudata, and C. oshimensis, but C. shimizui differs from C. conica s.l. by having long-beaked perigynia and scales with long awns, and from C. oshimensis by having perigynia with a long beak and narrower spikes.

Chamaesiphon bursiformis M.Fukuoka, Kitano & Hidek.Suzuki is described as a new freshwater benthic cyanobacterium discovered in the springs of Hokkaido and north and central Honshu of Japan. This species is characterized by a colony consisting of cells arranged in either parallel or radial patterns, surrounded by a thick sheath and a sac-like thallus, which has not been reported in any other Chamaesiphon species. The genetic distance of the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S rRNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region between C. bursiformis and other Chamaesiphon species was above the threshold for interspecific differences. In addition, the secondary structures of the 16S-23S rRNA ITS region of C. bursiformis were found to have unique structures not found in other species of Chamaesiphon. These characteristics clearly distinguish C. bursiformis from the other species in Chamaesiphon. Chamaesiphon bursiformis has been observed in the springs with low water temperatures at the foot of large stratovolcanoes such as Mt. Chokaisan. There were no morphological and genetic differences among the samples obtained from some Japanese localities.

The fine structure of a benthic diatom Luticola ventriconfusa has been examined using both light and electron microscopy. The following morphological features of this species are first revealed in detail through the present study. The raphe is a complex slit C-shaped in section. The areola is occluded by a hymen with perforations arranged in regular scatter pattern. The mature cingulum consists of four girdle bands, open at one pole, divided into two types: a valvocopula with two rows of areolae, has a crenulated edge (pars interior) fitting on top of valve ribs; three copulae with ligulae are thinner than the valvocopula. This species is distributed over a wide area from Okinawa to Kanto in Japan, and grows especially in the tidal river areas.

This is the first report of the submerged aquatic plant Najas guadalupensis (Hydrocharitaceae) from Okinawa Prefecture and the third report of it from Japan. Its habitat was a small stream leading from a spring to a mat-rush paddy field in the central part of Okinawa Island. The plant was found in every field survey conducted in 2018, 2019, and 2022 and seemed to be established in the environment there. The morphology of the plant was described in detail and compared with that of the four subspecies of N. guadalupensis. Although the characteristics of the vegetative and female organs of the plant were generally consistent with N. guadalupensis subsp. olivacea, which has never been reported outside North America, its leaves were larger and its seed color was darker. We could not find the reproductive organs in its natural habitat, but the female organs were obtained from the cultivated plants. The male flowers could not be observed, making it difficult to identify the subspecies for which the number of anther locules is an important diagnostic trait. It remains to be clarified whether N. guadalupensis on Okinawa is an introduced plant or it shows an isolated distribution through natural long-distance dispersal.

Agrostis clavata (Poaceae, Pooideae) is recorded for the first time from India based on specimens collected from Sikkim Himalaya.

Regarding the eight alien species listed in “Florula Musashinoensis,” we investigated the date of their introduction to Japan and the first publication of their Japanese names. As a result of searching for the first collection in Japan, it was revealed three of the eight species were collected several years earlier than previously known. The first specimens collected in Japan of Amsinckia lycopsoides and Boltonia asteroides were stored in Musashi High School, while those of other species were found in other herbaria. As for their Japanese names, all eight species were first recorded in “Florula Musashinoensis.” If additional specimen information is gathered, it is possible that the dates of their first introduction to Japan will be pushed back even further. Precious specimens collected before World War II, such as those stored in Musashi High School, are sometimes found in schools. However, many of the old specimens stored in schools are currently at risk of being discarded, and there is an urgent need for investigation.