A new species of fossil winged fruits of Palaeocarya (Juglandaceae) is recognized from the Oligocene Ningming Formation in Guangxi, South China. The fruits of Palaeocarya huashanensis sp. nov. consist of a trilobate wing with an oblong median lobe, pinnate and eucamptodromous lobe venation, a hispid nutlet, and a very short pedicel. This new species, along with other four species reported previously from the same locality, represents the Oligocene Palaeocarya occurrence in the lowest latitude and provides additional evidence of diversity of Juglandaceae in the Paleogene in South China, and new data for the investigation of the origin and evolution of the tribe Engelhardieae.

All yellow Camellia plants in China are threatened, but their classification is contentious. Here, we performed a phylogenetic reconstruction based on nuclear double‐digest restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (ddRAD), transcriptomes, nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS), and the small single‐copy region of the chloroplast genome, in combination with morphological evidence to help resolve taxonomic ambiguity of those rare and threatened species. Conflicting relationships were derived from nuclear and chloroplast sequences. The strong hybridization/introgression signal detected suggests reticulate evolution mainly caused this discordance pattern. The nuclear‐ddRAD and RNA‐seq phylogenies fit better to the yellow camellias' morphology, providing a clear resolution for inferring their relationships in China. Based on present phylogenetic analyses and morphological characters, we propose these taxonomic suggestions: (i) Camellia petelotii and Camellia nitidissima are distinct species; (ii) Camellia ptilosperma, Camellia longruiensis, Camellia longgangensis, and C. longgangensis var. grandis are conspecific with Camellia flavida; (iii) Camellia multipetala and C. longgangensis var. patens are synonyms of Camellia quinqueloculosa, and C. quinqueloculosa should be recognized as an independent species; (iv) Camellia wumingensis should be formally recognized as an independent species; (v) Camellia longzhouensis is a synonym of Camellia chrysanthoides; (vi) Camellia xiashiensis and Camellia parvipetala should be treated as synonyms of Camellia micrantha; (vii) Camellia achrysantha is a good species; (viii) Camellia tunghinensis is an independent species; (ix) species status of Camellia huana is well‐supported; and (x) Camellia pingguoensis var. terminals should be correctly identified to species level as Camellia terminalis. These results provide the basis for the recognition 20 yellow Camellia species in China.

Camellia debaoensis R.C.Hu & Y.Q.Liufu, sp. nov. is described and illustrated as a new species from southwestern Guangxi, China. It is morphologically similar to Camellia pubipetala Y. Wan & S. Z. Huang, C. mingii S.X. Yang and C. tuyenquangensis D.V. Luong, N.N.H. Le & N. Tran, but it differs from these species in having glabrous young branches, glabrous petiole, glabrous sepals, glabrous petals, glabrous stamens and glabrous ovary, 10 petals, cylindrical ovary and style 3-lobed to 1/6 style length.

Acer ningmingensis Y.F.Chen & W.O.Wong sp.nov. is described for asymmetric samaras from the Oligocene Ningming Formation in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. It represents the Oligocene Acer occurrence in the lowest latitude and the only record from a tropical zone today. Together with the coeval fossil record from the mid-latitudes in China, Korea and Japan, the present discovery suggests that the genus Acer had been widely distributed in East Asia by the Oligocene, during which the climate in the Ningming area was cooler than the present.

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