We have counted the currently known, described and accepted number of plant species as ca 374,000, of which approximately 308,312 are vascular plants, with 295,383 flowering plants (angiosperms; monocots: 74,273; eudicots: 210,008).

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Phylogenetic relationships of the pantropical and polyphyletic family Icacinaceae were investigated, focusing on the Old World vining genera. Plastid ndhF, rbcL and matK sequences from taxa representing 32 of the 36 currently recognized genera were analysed with maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods. As in previous studies, our results show that the family is divided into several poorly resolved groups. An evaluation of the traditional tribal classification revealed Iodeae as polyphyletic and the monogeneric Sarcostigmateae as sister to a monophyletic Phytocreneae (with the inclusion of Rhyticaryum). In Iodeae, the monospecific, eastern Malesian Polyporandra was embedded in the Old World Iodes. A strongly supported clade containing Phytocreneae plus Rhyticaryum was present in the Icacina group. The tropical African genera Chlamydocarya and Polycephalium were embedded in the Old World Pyrenacantha. Further relationships in the family and potential synapomorphic characters of the clades are discussed. New combinations are made for Polyporandra and Chlamydocarya/Polycephalium spp., which are formally synonymized with Iodes and Pyrenacantha, respectively. Conclusions about family‐level relationships (and circumscription) cannot be reached with these data because of several weakly supported inter‐relationships between some clades, such as Cassinopsis, Platea/Calatola and the Emmotum group. © 2014 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2014, 176, 277–294.

Syzygium Gaertn. is the largest woody genus of flowering plants in the world. Unpublished but extensive recent herbarium surveys suggest 1200‒1800 species distributed throughout the Old World tropics and subtropics (Table 1). Until recently, Syzygium exemplified a recurring taxonomic impediment among megadiverse genera, wherein few taxonomists worked on the group in any sustained manner, a majority of the herbarium specimens remained undetermined or misidentified, few if any attempts were made to look at the genus globally, and limited or no molecular studies were available to provide a predictive phylogenetic context of the genus. The situation with Syzygium has slowly begun to change as allied genera have been absorbed into the genus (Biffin et al., 2006; Craven & Biffin, 2010), and predictive phylogenetically-based infrageneric classifications are emerging. Taxonomic outputs on Syzygium also have been increasing across its range with the description of new species, resolution of nomenclatural and typification issues, and some regional revisions being initiated or updated. However, virtually all regional treatments (which some areas lack) need urgent revision because they are severely outdated, have limited molecular sampling and are error-ridden. We are coordinating a genus-wide taxonomic update of Syzygium through a series of 22 regional revisions, including 9 in the Flora Malesiana region (Figure 1). Each treatment will include a phylogenetic framework with species descriptions, type information, synonymy, distributions, ecological notes, and keys. Field images (Figure 2) and/or line drawings will be included with the goal of every species being illustrated. This working group has been formed to encourage a coordinated effort to document this unwieldy taxonomic giant and regional botanists working on the group are encouraged to be involved. A robust taxonomy of the genus is a prerequisite for testing the many complex questions about evolution and ecology that Syzygium could help address.

Following ongoing ecological research on the tree diversity of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, we describe five new species of Syzygium. These are the first descriptions of Syzygium species from the island since Blume (1850, Jambosa celebica and J. cornifolia), highlighting the significant lack of taxonomic research on the genus for the region. The five species proposed as new are Syzygium balgooyi sp. nov., Syzygium contiguum sp. nov., Syzygium devogelii sp. nov., Syzygium eymae sp. nov., and Syzygium galanthum sp. nov. All species are illustrated and information on their distribution, ecology, and conservation status is given.

The monophyly of Delphinium subg. Delphinium remains unresolved, owing to the controversial systematic position of the monotypic, eastern Asian endemic D. sect. Anthriscifolium. The other section of the subgenus, D. sect. Delphinium, is distributed in the Irano-Turanian (IT) region extending westward to the Mediterranean Basin. Recently, a new genus endemic to Turkey, Pseudodelphinium, was described and considered related with Delphinium (Delphinieae) or Garidella (Nigelleae). In this study, we first conducted a broad phylogenetic analysis within Ranunculaceae using matK sequences and placed Pseudodelphinium in Delphinieae. We then performed a series of analyses using four molecular markers (trnK-matK, trnS-G, trnL-F, ITS) focused on the tribe. The phylogenetic analyses based on the four-marker dataset indicate that Pseudodelphinium is embedded within sect. Delphinium. The Swofford-Olsen-Waddell-Hillis tests also reject the exclusion of Pseudodelphinium from Delphinium and sect. Delphinium. The monophyly of subg. Delphinium is not recognized because sect. Anthriscifolium unites with D. subg. Delphinastrum and Consolida. Based on molecular, morphological, and karyological data, we raise sect. Anthriscifolium to subgeneric status, whereas sect. Delphinium composed subg. Delphinium s.str. An integration of phylogenetic, molecular dating, and biogeographical methods indicates that the subgenus s.str. originated in East Asia during the latest Oligocene and began to diversify in the IT region at 8.45 Ma. Subsequently, the westward colonization events occurred at 7.06 Ma from the IT region to the Italian and Balkan Peninsulas and at 5.4 Ma from Italy to North Africa. A dispersal from North Africa to the Iberian Peninsula was inferred in the late Pliocene, supporting a hypothesis of trans-sea dispersal. Within the Mediterranean Basin, climate aridification and eustatic sea-level changes could have initiated the westward stepwise expansion of Delphinium.

A new species of Syzygium Gaertn. (Myrtaceae), Syzygium pyneei Byng, V. Florens & Baider, is described from Mondrain Reserve on the island of Mauritius. This species is endemic to the island and differs from any other species by its combination of cauliflory, relatively large flowers, light green to cream hypanthium, light pink stamens, short thick petioles, coriaceous leaves and round, cuneate or sub-cordate to cordate leaf bases. Syzygium pyneei Byng, V. Florens & Baider is known from only two individuals from the type locality and merits the conservation status of Critically Endangered (CR C2a(i,ii); D).

Syzygium Gaertn. is the largest woody genus of flowering plants in the world. Unpublished but extensive recent herbarium surveys suggest 1200‒1800 species distributed throughout the Old World tropics and subtropics (Table 1). Until recently, Syzygium exemplified a recurring taxonomic impediment among megadiverse genera, wherein few taxonomists worked on the group in any sustained manner, a majority of the herbarium specimens remained undetermined or misidentified, few if any attempts were made to look at the genus globally, and limited or no molecular studies were available to provide a predictive phylogenetic context of the genus. The situation with Syzygium has slowly begun to change as allied genera have been absorbed into the genus (Biffin et al., 2006; Craven & Biffin, 2010), and predictive phylogenetically-based infrageneric classifications are emerging. Taxonomic outputs on Syzygium also have been increasing across its range with the description of new species, resolution of nomenclatural and typification issues, and some regional revisions being initiated or updated. However, virtually all regional treatments (which some areas lack) need urgent revision because they are severely outdated, have limited molecular sampling and are error-ridden. We are coordinating a genus-wide taxonomic update of Syzygium through a series of 22 regional revisions, including 9 in the Flora Malesiana region (Figure 1). Each treatment will include a phylogenetic framework with species descriptions, type information, synonymy, distributions, ecological notes, and keys. Field images (Figure 2) and/or line drawings will be included with the goal of every species being illustrated. This working group has been formed to encourage a coordinated effort to document this unwieldy taxonomic giant and regional botanists working on the group are encouraged to be involved. A robust taxonomy of the genus is a prerequisite for testing the many complex questions about evolution and ecology that Syzygium could help address.