In order to organize a new checklist for endemic vascular plants of the Korean Peninsula, 358 taxa of the Korea Forest Service and 375 taxa of the National Institute of Biological Resources were reviewed. In addition, the names of previously published endemic plants above the rank of variety were checked up to 2016. From the two lists, a total of 444 taxa were identified. Among them, 289 taxa were common on the two lists, but 69 and 86 taxa were listed only by the Korea Forest Service and by the National Institute of Biological Resources, respectively. Taxonomic documents including journal papers and dissertations were examined with regard to the 444 taxa. In some cases, opinions of Korean experts in this field were also reflected. From the results, 312 taxa in total were recognized as plants endemic to the Korean Peninsula, while 132 taxa could not be included on the endemic list. On the other hand, 48 taxa, none of which existed on the two lists, were newly listed. In conclusion, the new checklist of vascular plants endemic to Korea was confirmed, with a total of 360 taxa consisting of 64 families, 172 genera, 297 species, 4 subspecies, 51 varieties and 8 hybrids. The new common name Halla-seol-aeng-cho is given to Primula farinosa L. subsp. modesta (Bisset & S. Moore) Pax var. hannasanensis (T. Yamaz.) T. Yamaz. Sillaphyton Pimenov (Deok-u-gireum-na-mul-sok) is newly identified as a genus endemic to Korea. However, Pentactina Nakai could not be included on the list of Korean vascular endemic genera.

No abstract

Documentation of diversity and assessment of cultural importance of wild edible plants gathered and consumed in Ulleung Island, South Korea was conducted in this research by asking 83 key informants (average age 70) using semi-structured interview questionnaire, and utilizing quantitative ethnobotanical indices such as use value (UV) and fidelity level (FL). A total of 66 taxa in 36 families of wild food plants were recorded, 10 of which, endemic. Asteraceae and Rosaceae were the most represented families with 10 taxa for each. Leaves, young shoots and fruits were the most collected plant parts especially in spring. The plants which recorded high UVs were Allium ochotense (0.627), Aster pseudoglehnii (0.398) and Aruncus dioicus var. kamtschaticus (0.349), indicating that these plants are considered the most important by the informants. This study also recorded 29 wild edible plant taxa with 100 % FL values. Notable plants (and their preparation) with relatively high FL and use-mentions are Vitis coignetiae (89.47 %), Anthriscus sylvestris (86.67 %) and Lilium hansonii (86.67 %) which are consumed as fruit, prepared by parboiling the shoots and by steaming the bulbs, respectively. Category 5 ''Cooked'' (COO) was the most preferred mode of preparation when taken as a whole recording 49 % of the total, implying that wild edible plants play a big role in the informants' regular diet despite growing modernization in the island brought about by government-led tourism and infrastructure development programs. Some social, cultural, nutritional and ecological aspects were also discussed in this paper.

The Holocene Hypsithermal Interval(or climatic optimum) was the warmest post-glacial period: temperatures rose to as much as 1-4 o C above present temperatures. We hypothesize that southern plants expanded northward and upward during the Hypsithermal Interval. The Hypsithermal relict populations are defined as populations which distribute mainly in Is. Cheju and Southern subregions and have populations of short-distance dispersion separated by more than 100 km from the nearest distribution. The Hypsithermal relict species were identified and their distributions were mapped based on botanical floras and checklist, herbaria specimens, ecological studies, and field surveys of selected species. Evaluation of the hypothesis was based on reviews of published pollen stratigraphic and paleoecological studies. The results showed that the Holocene Hypsithermal relicts such as Corylopsis coreana Uyeki, Carpinus turczaninowii Hance, Stewartia koreana Nakai ex Rehder were expanded northward during the Holocene Hypsithermal Interval.

-To survey and collect the traditional knowledge on the regional folk plants, we interviewed 125 (male 37, female 88) native inhabitants in inland, 12 cities and counties of Chungnam province from March to October, 2011. The results showed that the regional folk plants in inland of Chungnam province consisted of a total 273 taxa; 92 families, 225 genera, 237 species, 4 subspecies, 29 varieties and 3 forms. Of 273 taxa surveyed ; 5 Korean endemic plants, 8 rare plants and 16 naturalized plants were also included. And of 273 taxa, cultivated plants were 82 taxa and 191 taxa were wild plants. The analysis of use by usage for 273 taxa showed that the edible use was the highest with 981 times, followed by medicinal with 439 times, material with 179 times, oil with 68 times, respectively. The leaf of plant was the most useful part, followed by stem and fruit. The consistency comparison between the Korean name and the local name were the highest in 50's and the lowest in 90's. Key words -