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The Melbourne Congress of 2011 authorized a Special Committee on Registration of Algal and Plant Names (including fossils), which was established the following year (Wilson in Taxon 61: 878–879. 2012). Its explicit mandate was “to consider what would be involved in registering algal and plant names (including fossils), using a procedure analogous to that for fungal names agreed upon in Melbourne and included in the Code as Art. 42”, but expectations at the Nomenclature Section in Melbourne went farther than that. There was the hope that registration systems for at least some of the main groups would soon be set up, to be used and tested on a voluntary basis and, if found to be generally accepted, would persuade the subsequent Congress in Shenzhen, in 2017, to declare registration of new names an additional requirement for valid publication. The Melbourne Congress also approved mandatory registration of nomenclatural novelties in fungi, starting on 1 Jan 2013. The new Art. 42 of the Code (McNeill & al. in Regnum Veg. 154. 2012) requires authors to register any fungal nomenclatural novelty, prior to publication, with a recognized repository, whereupon they are provided with a unique identifier for each name, to be included in the protologue along with other Code-mandated information. Years before registration became mandatory, mycologists had been encouraged, often prompted by journal editors, to register their nomenclatural novelties prior to publication. Most complied. Consequently, when mandatory registration was proposed, it had strong support from the mycological community. There are currently three recognized repositories for fungal names. They vary somewhat in how they operate, but they share records of their registered novelties as soon as publication has been effected. One consequence of implementing mandatory registration is that locating new fungal names and combinations and associated protologue information is much simpler now than it was before. This makes it easier to incorporate the information into taxonomic studies and to update taxonomic treatments, inventories, and indices. A corollary is that, no matter what publication outlet an author chooses, the name cannot fail to be noticed. The positive experience in mycology makes extension of the registration concept to plants and algae a compelling idea. That experience shows that the best way to make mandatory registration of nomenclatural novelties palatable to botanists and phycologists is the establishment of trial registration at repositories with a history of involvement in and commitment to the indexing of names. Trial registration enables users to acquaint themselves with registration procedures, make suggestions on how they might be improved, and appreciate, by personal experience, the benefits of registration. Unfortunately, the task of establishing such repositories proved to be more complex and time-consuming than had been foreseen. Substantial progress has been made in the establishment of such centres (Barkworth & al., in this issue, pp. 670–672) but the Committee is not in a position to make firm proposals to regulate registration procedures, even less to make registration mandatory from a concrete future date. Nevertheless, the Committee sees it as imperative that the Shenzhen Congress be offered the opportunity to move forward with registration without having to wait six more years. In this spirit, we offer the proposals below. Proposal (276) would declare registration an ongoing concern of the botanical, mycological, and phycological community and provide the basic structure for making it possible. Proposal (277) and Prop. (278) would, in addition, define a flexible framework within which a system of voluntary registration could be developed for various categories of organisms. Proposal (279) would provide for future mandatory registration in a way that does not depend on the six-year intervals between International Botanical Congresses. Presentation of each proposal is followed by a summary of the support received from members of the Committee. Fil: Barkworth, Mary E.. State University of Utah; Estados Unidos Fil: Watson, Mark. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Barrie, Fred R.. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados Unidos. Field Museum Of Natural History; Estados Unidos Fil: Belyaeva, Irina V.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Chung, Richard C. K.. Forest Research Institute ; Malasia Fil: Dasková, Jirina. Národní Muzeum; República Checa Fil: Davidse, Gerrit. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados Unidos Fil: Dönmez, Ali A.. Hacettepe Üniversitesi; Turquía Fil: Doweld, Alexander B.. National Institute Of Carpology; Rusia Fil: Dressler, Stefan. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut Und Naturmuseum; Alemania Fil: Flann, Christina. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos Fil: Gandhi, Kanchi. Harvard University; Estados Unidos Fil: Geltman, Dmitry. Russian Academy of Science; Rusia Fil: Glen, Hugh F.. Forest Hills; Sudáfrica Fil: Greuter, Werner. Freie Universität Berlin; Alemania Fil: Head, Martin J.. Brock University; Canadá Fil: Jahn, Regine. Freie Universität Berlin; Alemania Fil: Janarthanam, Malapati K.. Goa University; India Fil: Katinas, Liliana. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Plantas Vasculares; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina Fil: Kirk, Paul M.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Klazenga, Niels. Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria; Australia Fil: Kusber, Wolf-Henning. Freie Universität Berlin; Alemania Fil: Kvacek, Jirí. Národní Muzeum; República Checa Fil: Malécot, Valéry. Universite D'angers; Francia Fil: Mann, David G.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Marhold, Karol. Charles University; República Checa Fil: Nagamasu, Hidetoshi. Kyoto University; Japón Fil: Nicolson, Nicky. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Paton, Alan. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Patterson, David J.. The University Of Sydney; Australia Fil: Price, Michelle J.. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève; Suiza Fil: van Reine, Willem F Prud' Homme. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos Fil: Schneider, Craig W.. Trinity College Hartford; Estados Unidos Fil: Sennikov, Alexander. Russian Academy Of Sciences; Rusia Fil: Smith, Gideon F.. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; Sudáfrica. Universidad de Coimbra; Portugal Fil: Stevens, Peter F.. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados Unidos. University of Missouri; Estados Unidos Fil: Yang, Zhu-Liang. Kunming Institute Of Botany Chinese Academy Of Sciences; China Fil: Zhang, Xian-Chun. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China Fil: Zuccarello, Giuseppe C.. Victoria University Of Wellington; Nueva Zelanda

The Special Committee on Registration of Algal and Plant Names (including fossils) was established at the XVIII International Botanical Congress (IBC) in Melbourne in 2011, its mandate being to consider what would be involved in registering algal and plant names (including fossils), using a procedure analogous to that for fungal names agreed upon in Melbourne and included as Art. 42 in the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants. Because experience with voluntary registration was key to persuading mycologists of the advantages of mandatory registration, we began by asking institutions with a history of nomenclatural indexing to develop mechanisms that would permit registration. The task proved more difficult than anticipated, but considerable progress has been made, as is described in this report. It also became evident that the Nomenclature Section needs a structure that will allow ongoing discussion of registration and associated issues. Simultaneously with this report we are submitting four proposals that would provide such a structure. Fil: Barkworth, Mary E.. State University of Utah; Estados Unidos Fil: Watson, Mark. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Barrie, Fred R.. Field Museum of National History; Estados Unidos Fil: Belyaeva, Irina V.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Chung, Richard C. K.. Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Malasia Fil: Dašková, Jiřina. National Museum; República Checa Fil: Davidse, Gerrit. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados Unidos Fil: Dönmez, Ali A.. Hacettepe Üniversitesi; Turquía Fil: Alexander B. Doweld. National Institute of Carpology; Rusia Fil: Dressler, Stefan. Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum; Alemania Fil: Flann, Christina. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos Fil: Gandhi, Kanchi. Harvard University; Estados Unidos Fil: Geltman, Dmitry. Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Rusia Fil: Glen, Hugh F.. Forest Hills; Sudáfrica Fil: Greuter, Werner. Freie Universität Berlin; Alemania Fil: Head, Martin J.. Brock University; Canadá Fil: Jahn, Regine. Freie Universität Berlin; Alemania Fil: Janarthanam, Malapati K.. Goa University; India Fil: Katinas, Liliana. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División de Plantas Vasculares; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Kirk, Paul M.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Klazenga, Niels. Royal Botanic Gardens; Australia Fil: Kusber, Wolf Henning. Freie Universität Berlin; Alemania Fil: Kvaček, Jiří. National Museum; República Checa Fil: Malécot, Valéry. Université d’Angers; Francia Fil: Mann, David G.. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido. Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology; España Fil: Marhold, Karol. Charles University; República Checa Fil: Nagamasu, Hidetoshi. Kyoto University; Japón Fil: Nicolson, Nicky. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Paton, Alan. Royal Botanic Gardens; Reino Unido Fil: Patterson, David J.. University of Sydney; Australia Fil: Price, Michelle J.. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques de la Ville de Genève; Italia Fil: Prud'homme van Reine, Willem F.. Naturalis Biodiversity Center; Países Bajos Fil: Schneider, Craig W.. Trinity College; Estados Unidos Fil: Sennikov, Alexander. University of Helsinski; Finlandia Fil: Smith, Gideon F.. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University; Sudáfrica Fil: Stevens, Peter F.. Missouri Botanical Garden; Estados Unidos. University of Missouri-St; Estados Unidos Fil: Yang, Zhu-Liang. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China Fil: Zhang, Xian-Chun. Chinese Academy of Sciences; República de China Fil: Zuccarello, Giuseppe C.. Victoria University of Wellington; Nueva Zelanda

Several recent studies have reviewed the extent of fungal biodiversity, and have used these data as basis for revised estimates of species numbers based on known numbers of plants and insects. None of these studies, however, have focused on fungal biodiversity in South Africa. Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the National Collection of Fungi (PREM) in South Africa in 2005, it is thus timely to reflect on the taxonomic research that has been conducted in South Africa over the past Century. Information is presented on the extent of fungal collections preserved at PREM, and the associated research publications that have largely resulted from this resource. These data are placed in context of the known plant and insect biodiversity, and used as basis to estimate the potential number of fungi that could be expected in South Africa. The conservative estimate is of approximately 200 000 species without taking into account those associated with a substantial insect biodiversity.

The ascomycete genera Cryphonectria and Endothia are closely related members of Diaporthales. Recent DNA sequence comparisons have shown that isolates from Elaeocarpus spp. in New Zealand, previously identified as Cryphonectria radicalis and Cryphonectria gyrosa, represent a phylogenetic group distinct from those including other species of Cryphonectria and Endothia. Cryphonectria gyrosa applies to a species that occurs on Elaeocarpus glandulifer in Sri Lanka, the same host genus but a different species from which the New Zealand collections were made. The aim of this study was to provide a name for the fungi residing in the phylogenetic group from New Zealand. Morphological characters that define these fungi include superficial conical conidiomata, conidia of variable size, and ascospores with one to three septa. These characteristics are not found in other species of Cryphonectria. We also recognise a second species in the group from New Zealand that has distinctly larger ascospores. Herbarium specimens of C. gyrosa exhibit the same primary characteristics as the specimens from New Zealand and C. gyrosa is regarded as conspecific with one of the species in the New Zealand collections. A new genus, Amphilogia, is described for the collections of C. gyrosa from Sri Lanka and New Zealand, which also contains the second species from New Zealand, Amphilogia major sp. nov. Amphilogia gyrosa, Amphilogia major, Cryphonectria, Diaporthales, Elaeocarpus, Endothia

Distephanus (Asteraceae: Vernonieae): a new combination and a new record for southern Africa.

ANNA AMELIA OBERMEYER-MAUVE (1907-2001)

OTTO HEINRICH VOLK (1903-2000)

Mary Agard Pocock, bom in Rondebosch in 1886, and best known as an algologist, was also a ‘trailblazer' in the biological exploration o f Angola. She, and the ethnologist Dorothea Bleek, undertook a scientific expedition which started at Livingstone, Zambia, and ended at Lobito Bay, Angola, during the dry season, from April to October 1925.During the journey Mary Pocock collected ± 1 000 specimens in the Zambesian region o f endemism (II). as delineated by White (1983) o f which 12 were considered to be species novae. Many o f the specimens were painted by Mary. Some original paintings are housed in the Selmar Schonland Herbarium, Grahamstown (GRA). She also kept detailed diaries o f her route past villages and through the different vegetation types. Collecting locations, with specimen numbers relating to her collection in the Zambesian region, are indicated. An alphabetical list o f all the species collected by Mary Pocock during this exploration has been compiled

Plantaginaceae

No Abstract available

Lecto- or neotypes are designated for Aloe thompsoniae Groenew.. A. micracantha Haw .. A. schmidticma Regel (a synonym of/4, cooperi Baker). A. longistyla Baker. A. aristata Haw., A. longiaristata Schult. & Schult. f„ (a synonym of the preceding name), A. humilis (L.) Mill. var. incurva Haw.. A. glauca Mill., A. niuricata Schult. (a synonym of the preceding name). A. saponaria (Aiton) Haw. var. latifolia Haw. (a new synonym of A. maculata All.) and A. pluridens Haw. The confusing citation of the type of A. thomcroftii Pole Evans is clarified.

FRIEDRICH VON BREITENBACH OMS (1916-1995)

Schizoglossum theileri (Apocynaceae, Asclepiadoideae) is found to be conspecific with Asclepias meliodora and is here formally reduced to synonymy under the latter.

ENCEPHAIARTOS RELICTUS: A NEW SPECIES FROM SOUTHERN AFRICA

DAVID SPENCER HARDY (1931-1998)

TYPIFICATION OF ALOE SPECIES DESCRIBED BY B.H. GROENEWALD

THE STATUS OF x PLEOPODIUM IN AFRICA

1 Department of Microbiology and Plant Pathology, 3Department of Genetics, Forestry and Agricultural Biotechnology Institute (FABI), University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa, marieka.gryzenhout@ fabi.up.ac.za (author of correspondence), Brenda. Wingfield@fabi.up.ac.za, Mike.Wingfield@fabi.up.ac.za. 2National Botanical Institute, KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium, P.O. Box 52099, Berea Road, Durban 4007, South Africa. glenh@nbidbn.co.za.

Johannes Ludwig Leopold Mund was born in Berlin in 1791. He trained as a pharmacist and served as a field apothecary in the Prussian Army during the Napoleonic Wars. Later he was sent with Louis Maire to the Cape as official plant collector for the Prussian government, arriving in Cape Town on 13 October 1816 (Gunn & Codd, 1981). Some ten years after his arrival, Mund set up as a land surveyor based in Swellendam, where he evidently continued collecting plant specimens. On his death in 1831, his personal herbarium went to Ecklon, who distributed it further. Several species epithets commemorate this rather less than perfect collector, and these are sometimes spelled with a "t". Available evidence, in the form of letters to Hooker signed "L. Mund" shows that he himself did not use this form. Gunn & Codd (1981) remark that epithets "e.g. mundtii ... should be corrected to mundii". This opinion was evidently based on Art. 60.1 of the current edition of the ICBN (Greuter & al., 2000), and is reinforced by Art. 60 Ex. 20 where it is explicitly stated that the epithet pissarti is to be corrected to pissardii, in a name commemorating one M. Pissard. We wish to draw attention to one particular case which came to light in the course of studies for a forthcoming publication on southern African aquatic and wetland plants. Here a specific epithet commemorating Mr. Mund has been consistently misspelled (except in recent publications from PRE), and moreover the citation of the protologue in Index Kewensis (Jackson, 1895), and hence in the International Plant Names Index (IPNI) (http://www.ipni.org/), is also in error.

THE SYNONYMY OF CERARIA NAMAQUENSIS (SOND.) H.PEARSON E.L.STEPHENS

JOHN DENZIL CARR (1916-1997)

ALAN PERCY-LANCASTER (1944-1995)

ALOE BARBERAE TO REPLACE A BAINESII

THE TYPE SPECIMEN OF ALOE SOUTPANSBERGENSIS

A new identification aid combining features of a polyclave and an analytical key is described. It is based on presence-or-absence characters and is presented in the form of a matrix, with the characters in rows and the taxa in columns. The PHYTOTAB program package is used to order the matrix, in order to facilitate identification. The method was used to construct an identification aid for vegetative material and has wider taxonomic and teaching implications.

A numerical taxonomic study of three genera of the Ruschiinae (Mesembryanthemaceae) is presented. Seven species are recognized in Astridia. Four species are recognized in Acrodon and two new combinations are made:A. leptophyllus (L. Bol.) Glen and A. duplessiae (L. Bol.) Glen. Five species are recognized in Ebracteola and two new combinations are made: E. wilmaniae (L. Bol.) Glen and E. fulleri (L. Bol.) Glen. This study is largely based on the cited herbarium material, and the characters used are mainly the following: dimensions of plants, leaves and internodes, number and dimensions of parts of flower and fruit, colour of petals, and colour, dimensions and surface structure of seeds.

Alterations to the inventory of about 24 000 species and infraspecific taxa of bryophytes and vascular plants in southern Africa are reported for the year 1987. The inventory, as presently maintained in the Taxon component of the PRECIS system, contains the accepted name for each taxon, synonyms previously in use as accepted names during the past half-century, and literature references necessary to identify species in each genus and to establish the synonymy. The inventory is updated as new research affecting plant classification in southern Africa is published. During 1987 there were 678 alterations, representing about 2,8% of the total number of taxa.a

Alterations to the inventory of about 24 000 species and infraspecific taxa of bryophytes and vascular plants in southern Africa are reported for the year 1988. The inventory, as currently maintained in the Taxon component of the PRECIS system, contains the accepted name for each taxon, synonyms previously in use as accepted names during the past half-century, and literature references necessary to identify species in each genus and to establish the synonymy. The inventory is updated as new research affecting plant classification in southern Africa is published. During 1988 there were 744 alterations, affecting about 3% of the total number of taxa.

A register of names and types for southern Africa would make possible a more rapid completion of the Flora of Southern Africa. Registers for Mesembryanthemaceae and Poaceae, families which are similar in number of species and names, but different in distribution and importance, are compared, to give guidelines for an efficient approach to extending the register to include other families.

A METHOD FOR THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE EXAMINATION OF LEAVES OF ALOE SPECIES BY SEM

NOMENCLATURE IN THE GENUS MESTOKLEMA

A NEW COMBINATION IN LAMPRANTHUS