The phylogenetic relationships among Japanese species of Eurya (Pentaphylacaceae) were investigated using sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and the external transcribed spacer (ETS) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA, with reference to a previous study focused on Taiwanese species. The maximum likelihood phylogenetic tree revealed that the Japanese species were divided into two lineages (Clades A and B), with several unexpected close relationships among them. In Clade A, E. yakushimensis and E. zigzag formed a distinct subclade consisting of only these two species, while E. osimensis formed a solitary subclade with a long branch length. Eurya boninensis and E. yaeyamensis were placed in a subclade of Clade A along with species from Taiwan, the Philippines, and Vanuatu. Notably, E. boninensis from Chichi-jima Island was found to be more closely related to E. yaeyamensis than to E. boninensis from Haha-jima Island. In Clade B, E. japonica is monophyletic, while E. emarginata and E. sakishimensis were not. Regarding the varieties of E. emarginata, var. minutissima is likely to be treated as a distinct species, but the genetic distinction of var. ryukyuensis remains unclear. Eurya sakishimensis was genetically indistinguishable from E. emarginata in the southern Ryukyu Islands and some Taiwanese species. Furthermore, E. hayatae in Taiwan is distinct from E. nitida. The former appears to include an undescribed species.

An unknown taxon morphologically similar to Swertia bimaculata (Sieb. & Zucc.) Hook.f. & Thoms. ex C.B.Clarke (Gentianaceae) was discovered in Japan. This taxon and S. bimaculata were found growing in close proximity or side by side at two surveyed sites. In this study, we examined the relationship between S. bimaculata and the unknown taxon using high-resolution molecular phylogenetic analyses and population genetic analysis, employing multiplexed ISSR genotyping by sequencing (MIG-seq). The results indicated that the unknown taxon forms a distinct clade, separate from S. bimaculata, with no evidence of genetic admixture. Detailed morphological observations revealed that it can be distinguished from S. bimaculata by the following characters: color of filaments, color and shape of nectaries, size of black purple spots on the adaxial corolla surface, color of the abaxial corolla surface, and posture of corolla lobes after anthesis. Based on these findings, we formally describe it as a new species, S. shiraiwamontana Myotoishi & Yahara.

We identified two previously unrecognized taxa of Rosa (Rosaceae), one from Kyushu and the other from Shikoku, Japan. To clarify their taxonomic identities, we conducted phylogenetic analyses of 36 samples of Rosa using multiplex inter-simple sequence repeat genotyping by sequencing (MIG-seq). Both SplitsTree and maximum likelihood tree revealed that the unrecognized taxon from Kyushu forms a separate cluster, which is sister to R. onoei Makino var. onoei, distributed in the same region. It is morphologically distinguishable from R. onoei var. onoei by its glaucous abaxial leaf surfaces, larger flowers, longer stamens, and typically pinkish petals. We therefore describe it as R. kirishimensis Yahara & Tagane. The other one from Shikoku is morphologically similar to R. fujisanensis (Makino) Makino subsp. fujisanensis but differs in having broader and typically circular leaflets and larger flowers. Although this taxon shows a high degree of genetic similarity to R. fujisanensis in both STRUCTURE and Principal Component Analyses, it formed a distinct clade in the maximum likelihood tree. Based on this evidence, we describe it as R. fujisanensis subsp. shikokumontana Yahara & Se.Fujii.

Leguminosae can be classified into two subgroups based on the embryo shape: the one is Papilionoideae, having a curved embryo in seeds, and the other is composed of the remaining five subfamilies, having a straight embryo. To identify the factors that induce the curved embryo of Papilionoideae, I observed the development of the inner structures of seeds of five species of the subfamily in comparison with three species with straight embryos of other two subfamilies, Cercidoideae and Caesalpinioideae. As a result, I recognized that radicles grow with their apexes facing the micropyle, and cotyledons grow with their apexes facing the chalaza in the seeds. For this reason, when the distance between the micropyle and the chalaza on the raphe-side (i.e., raphe side lengths of the seed coat) is significantly shorter than that on the anti-raphe side, as commonly observed in Papilionoideae seeds, the embryo axis curves and the angle between the radicle and cotyledon axes becomes acute. The present results suggested that restraint of growth of the seed coat at the raphe side is a preceding factor of a curved embryo.

Pinnatella homaliadelphoides is newly reported from Myanmar based on morphological and molecular examinations of the specimen collected in Kayah State. Illustrations and ecological information based on the Myanmar material are provided.

Polytrichites aichiensis Yasui, a fossil moss from the Pliocene of the Neogene Period, was discovered in lignite by Dr. Kono Yasui (1880–1971), Japan’s first female Doctor of Science, and described as a new species in 1928. This study compiles information on the scientific name and morphological characteristics of the species while searching for the original specimens, which are currently missing. Four slide specimens that might be P. aichiensis were identified at the National Museum of Nature and Science. These specimens, collected from the Nagakute coal mine in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, exhibit features consistent with P. aichiensis, such as plant cross-sectional size and xylem cell shape. However, the large thick-walled cortical cells characteristic of the species were not observed. Due to insufficient evidence, these specimens could not be definitively identified as P. aichiensis, nor could they be conclusively classified as moss stems. Consequently, no lectotype or neotype designation was made. Further investigation is necessary to locate specimens that can be definitively identified as P. aichiensis.

Based on the protologue, extensive literature survey, and herbarium consultation, lectotypes of the names, Bupleurum gracillimum Klotzsch, B. himalayense Klotzsch and B. hoffmeisteri Klotzsch, are designated from the illustrations provided in the protologue for each name.

Mycetia longiflora (Rubiaceae) is newly recorded for the flora of Vietnam, from the rainforest of Hoa Binh Province, northern Vietnam. Description based on the Vietnamese material is provided.

Two species of Chara, C. braunii var. braunii and C. contraria are reported from Lalitpur District in Central Nepal. The former is the first, and the latter is the second record for the Charophyte flora of Nepal. Detailed descriptions, with comprehensive notes on their diagnostic characteristics, accompanied by photomicrographs, and an overview of habitat and distributions for each species are provided.

We found two specimens of Chionographis koidzumiana (Melanthiaceae) collected in Tenryu-ku, Hamamatsu-shi, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The specimens represent the easternmost distribution limit of this species. Three new specimens from the southeastern part of Gifu Prefecture were also reported.

We discovered a population of Gratiola fluviatilis (Plantaginaceae) in Izu Peninsula, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. The species has been rarely found in Mie Prefecture (now extinct) and in regions further east in Japan. The new locality greatly extends the distribution area of the species further eastwards.