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In the present study, we investigate the variation of European representatives of Alnussubg. Alnus,i.e., Alnus glutinosaand A. incana,in Europe and partly North Africa. Four distinct Alnustaxa were recognized using a multidisciplinary approach based on multivariate morphometrics, karyology, flow cytometry and nuclear microsatellite analyses. Besides the long-recognized diploid taxa (2n = 2x= 28) A. glutinosaand A. incana,we revealed the presence of morphologically, cytologically and genetically noticeably delimited tetraploid populations (2n = 4x = 56), which we consider new species. These form two geographically well-delimited clusters located in the Iberian Peninsula and the adjacent part of North Africa, designated here as Alnus lusitanica,and in the Dinaric Alps extending south-easterly to Greece, denominated here as Alnus rohlenae.Detailed information concerning their diagnosis and geographical distribution is presented, and photographs of type specimens are provided.

Curcumacomprises 120 species that occur throughout tropical and subtropical Asia. The taxonomy of the genus is haunted by polyploid speciation and homoploid hybridization, making it the most challenging genus in Zingibereae (Zingiberaceae). Curcumais best known for turmeric (C. longa),but numerous species are extensively used as medicinal plants, ornamentals, and sources of starch, among many other uses. The delimitation of the genus has been a matter of dispute since its establishment by Linnaeus (1753), and further conflict has arisen from recent molecular and morphological studies suggesting either paraphyly of Curcumaor the necessity to broaden the genus to include four small genera (Laosanthus, Paracautleya, Stahlianthus, Smithatris)as well as several species currently placed in Kaempferiaand Hitchenia.All previous infrageneric classifications were based on limited material that did not include species from the Indochinese f loristic region, and these classifications are unable to unequivocally accommodate all currently known members of the genus. To test the monophyly and delimitation of Curcumaand to gain more insight into infrageneric relationships, three plastid regions (trnL–trnF, psbA–trnH, matK)and the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA were sequenced. Fifty Curcumaspecies covering the morphological and geographic variation of the genus and 12 Curcuma–like species currently or previously treated as members of other genera were included in this study. In addition, four Zingibereae and three other Zingiberaceae species were used as outgroups. The results of maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses clearly support a broad generic boundary for Curcuma,with inclusion of Laosanthus, Paracautleya, Stahlianthus, Smithatrisand some species of Kaempferiaand Hitchenia (K. scaposa, K. candida, H. caulina, H. glauca).Four main groups in Curcumas.l. were detected, and their importance for classification at the subgenus level is discussed. A new infrageneric classification is proposed here with a formal description of a new subgenus. Cloning uncovered a broad range of variation of ITS sequences within individuals, particularly in the terminal ‘Curcuma’ group containing representatives of the nominal subgenus Curcuma.This ‘intra–individual ITS polymorphism’ increases with ploidy level and is coupled with preferred vegetative reproduction. Additional studies are needed to further uncover highly complex relationships in this subgenus.