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Nepenthes barcelonae is described as a new species in sect. Insignes, where it is unique in the inset mouth and the dichromic upper pitchers (first-produced pitchers red, later-produced pitchers green) which are also dimorphic. This is a newly recorded phenomenon in the genus: the first produced (primary upper pitchers) are red, larger, stouter, and have an uncoiled long tendril, while those later produced (secondary upper pitchers) are green, smaller, more slender, and have a coiled tendril. The only population of this species that is currently known grows in an area less than 10km² on a single mountain. Individual plants are at risk from collecting for the horticultural trade. Following the IUCN criteria, N. barcelonae is assessed as Critically Endangered.

Vascular plants are often considered to be among the better known large groups of organisms, but gaps in the available baseline data are extensive, and recent estimates of total known (described) seed plant species range from 200 000 to 422 000. Of these, global assessments of conservation status using International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories and criteria are available for only approximately 10 000 species. In response to recommendations from the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity to develop biodiversity indicators based on changes in the status of threatened species, and trends in the abundance and distribution of selected species, we examine how existing data, in combination with limited new data collection, can be used to maximum effect. We argue that future work should produce Red List Indices based on a representative subset of plant species so that the limited resources currently available are directed towards redressing taxonomic and geographical biases apparent in existing datasets. Sampling the data held in the world's major herbaria, in combination with Geographical Information Systems techniques, can produce preliminary conservation assessments and help to direct selective survey work using existing field networks to verify distributions and gather population data. Such data can also be used to backcast threats and potential distributions through time. We outline an approach that could result in: (i) preliminary assessments of the conservation status of tens of thousands of species not previously assessed, (ii) significant enhancements in the coverage and representation of plant species on the IUCN Red List, and (iii) repeat and/or retrospective assessments for a significant proportion of these. This would result in more robust Sampled Red List Indices that can be defended as more representative of plant diversity as a whole; and eventually, comprehensive assessments at species level for one or more major families of angiosperms. The combined results would allow scientifically defensible generalizations about the current status of plant diversity by 2010 as well as tentative comments on trends. Together with other efforts already underway, this approach would establish a firmer basis for ongoing monitoring of the status of plant diversity beyond 2010 and a basis for comparison with the trend data available for vertebrates.

Tricalysia lejolyana is described as a new species from the Banyang Mbo Wildlife Sanctuary in western Cameroon and its conservation status assessed. Its diagnostic characteristics are elucidated in relation to other taxa of the genus, in particular, to the species of the 'T. atherura' group of Tricalysia subg. Tricalysia, sect. Tricalysia, in which it falls.

Summary. A new Cameroonian species, Coffea montekupensis (Rubiaceae, Coffeeae) is described and morphological and ecological documentation supplied. C. montekupensis is endemic to the Bakossi Mountains and all but one of the known collections are from Mount Kupe. It resembles the more widely distributed C. brevipes Hiern which also occurs on Mount Kupe, although the two are not sympatric.

This paper forms a part of the studies towards a World Monograph of Nepenthes Linnaeus (1753: 955) building on a Skeletal Revision of Nepenthes (Jebb & Cheek 1997) and the Flora Malesiana account (Cheek & Jebb 2001). In the course of studying previously unseen specimens from the Philippines, four sheets (Ramos & Edanõ 45690, K, NY, UC, US), of a species previously unknown came to light from Mt Alzapan. The oblong, glabrous, ligulate, sessile leaf-blades with 5–7 pairs of nearly evenly spaced longitudinal nerves placed the species unambiguously in the Insignes group of Danser (1928) which is restricted to the Philippines apart from one species, N. insignis Danser (1928: 314), in New Guinea and, more ambiguously, N. northiana Hooker, J.D. (1881: 717) in Borneo (Cheek & Jebb 2001).

The Gulf of Guinea is believed to have been one of the two major Pleistocene refugia in Africa. Mount Cameroon lies towards the centre of this area and is one of Africa’s centres of plant diversity. At least 50 species and 3 genera are strictly endemic and 50 more species near endemic, to the main massif and the foothills Large areas of indigenous forest occur on the slopes, and the mountain, West Africa’s tallest at 4,000 m, is unusual in having natural vegetation extending from sea-level at the coast to the sub-alpine grassland at the top. An active volcano, the mountain’s soils are extremely fertile and the surviving forest is under some pressure from logging and farming. Since 1992, a series of botanical inventories have been carried out of the mountain’s forests. Approaching 10,000 specimen numbers have been gathered in the course of these inventories and this paper sets out the progress made in analyzing the data.

A survey of rheophytes of Ghana, begun in early 1994, has been set up between the Botany Departments of the University of Ghana and Aberdeen, the Institute of Aquatic Biology, Accra and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. The purpose of the survey is to assess whether rheophytes can be used as indicators of pollution from, for example, effluents from human settlements and farming activities. An identification guide to Ghanaian rheophytes is to be produced. This paper reviews progress made with the survey and the different classes of rheophytes in Ghana.

It is shown that the single record of the genus Brucea J. F. Mill. (Simaroubaceae) from Yemen in the Arabian Peninsula (Wood 2886), identified as Brucea antidysenterica J. F. Mill., is based on a misidentification. The specimen is actually Polyscias fulva (Hiern) Harms in the Araliaceae, a genus and species not previously recorded from the Peninsula although a common pioneer tree of submontane forest in neighbouring continental Africa.

The material belongs unambiguously to Peucedanum L., due to the glabrous, dorsally-flattened paired mericarps with a broad commissure and welldeveloped lateral wings on the two marginal mericarp ribs, and to the lack of either a strong apical notch in which the stylopodium is located or a distinct median vein between the midrib and margins. Both of these features are present in the closely related Lefebvrea A. Rich. Using the generic keys of Cannon (1958), Jacques-Felix (1970) and Townsend (1989), the plant always keys out to Peucedanum. Peucedanum is a widespread genus of 100 120 species, distributed in Eurasia, Africa and North America. It is probably an unnatural assemblage of species held together by convergent fruit characters, and may well merit division into segregate genera after further research (Pimenov & Leonov 1993). The most recent revision of African Peucedanum was

Myosotic cameroonensis Cheek & R Becker (Boraginacene) is described from Cameroon. Its conservation status and taxonomic affinities are assessed and an updated key to the Tropical African species of the genus is presented.

A new subspecies of Hibiscus vitifolius L. is described from the Ngaia Forest, Meru District of Kenya, and its conservation status is assessed.

The new genus Kupea, with the only species K. martinetugei is described in the Triuridaceae from western Cameroon and its conservation status assessed.

Rinorea fausteana Achoundong and Rinorea thomasii Achoundong are described as new species from South West Province (S.W.P.), Cameroon. The first is a submontane forest species which appears to be endemic to the Bakossi Mts and Rumpi Hills area and the second is a lowland forest species which extends from the Korup National Park to the foothills of both Mt Cameroon and Mt Kupe. The affinities and conservation status of both species are discussed.

A new tribe, Kupeaeae Cheek (Triuridaceae) is proposed here to house three species, all from Africa. Two of these species are newly described here: Kupea jonii Cheek and the second, for which a new genus is proposed, Kihansia lovettii Cheek. Notes on the ecology, phenology and conservation status of the new species are given. Each of the three species is critically endangered.

Afrothismia baerae Cheek (Burmanniaceae) is newly described from a coastal forest remnant in Kenya. Its affinities and conservation status are assessed.

Two new species of Phyllanthus (Euphorbiaceae), P caesiifolius Petra Hoffm. & Cheek and P nyale Petra Hoffm. & Cheek, are described from the Bakossi Mts area, South West Province, Cameroon. Both are placed in subgen. Phyllanthus sect. Phyllanthus subsect. Swartziani G. L. Webst.

Summary. Two new varieties of Dorstenia poinsettiifolia Engl., var. achoundongiana Cheek & Bygrave and var. etugeana B. J. Pollard are described and illustrated from western Cameroon. In addition, Dorstenia astyanactis Ake Assi is newly reported from Cameroon, and notes on the distribution, ecology and conservation of all taxa are provided.

Ledermanniella onanai Cheek (Podostemaceae) is described from the upper reaches of the Chide River in the Bakossi Mts of South West Province, Cameroon. Its morphology, affinities and conservation status are discussed.

Newtonia duncanthomasii Mackinder & Cheek is newly described, and its relationships, biogeography and conservation status discussed.

Three new species, Psychotria moseskemei Cheek, Psychotria martinetugei Cheek and Psychotria lebrunii Cheek are described from material previously referred to as Psychotria chalconeura (K. Schum.) E. M. A. Petit. A key, table of distinguishing characters and notes on conservation are given for all four of the taxa previously known as P. chalconeura.

Coffea bakossii Cheek & Bridson, an arborescent species apparently endemic to Mt Kupe and the Bakossi Mts of Western Cameroon is described. Notes are given on its conservation status and on the phytogeography of the area in which it occurs.

Three new species of Cola, C. cecidiffolia Cheek, C. metallica Cheek and C. suboppositifolia Cheek, all with simple-leaves and short-petioles, are described from western Cameroon and their conservation status is reviewed.A vegetative key to the 24 species of Cola known from Mt Cameroon, where all three species were originally discovered, is presented.

Cola lukei Cheek is described from the Usambara Mts, Tanzania, and its affinities with species in the Kenyan coastal forest and the Udzungwa Mts of Tanzania are discussed.

A new species of Rhaptopetalum, R. geophylax, is described from western Cameroon. It is vegetatively similar to R. depressum Letouzey, but differs in several floral characters.

Impatiens frithii is described as new from the Bakossi Mts and also from Mt Etinde near Mt Cameroon. It is unusual among African Impatiens in being epiphytic. The new species is illustrated and its taxonomic affinities and ecology are discussed.

A new species of Xylaria (Xylariaceae, Ascomycota) from western Cameroon is described on teleomorphic and cultural characters.

first one described here, were later found in other areas of forest around Mt Cameroon, but the remainder, for example the second species, have not been located elsewhere and appear to be local endemics, perhaps once more widespread in the eastern foothill forests. A checklist of the flora of Mt Cameroon and its adjoining foothills was recently published (Cable & Cheek 1998). Within the BonadikombeBimbia forest, a grid of paths ("transects") was set up along which most of the specimens cited were collected, allowing exact locations to be given. The system of naming of these transects (e.g. "SBLW 1190 m") is explained in Cheek (1992). The genus Psychotria was revised for Africa by Petit (1964, 1966). He recognized 161 species. Diversity of Psychotria species in Africa is at its highest in the GuineoCongolian region, with 69 species in the Flora of Tropical West Africa area alone (Hepper 1963). Four new species of Psychotria were identified during botanical inventories around Mt Cameroon. The two described here are particularly distinct and are also represented by abundant material.

Western Cameroon has one of the richest floras in Tropical Africa. This paper examines the subject of the phytogeographic delimitation of the area. The Cross River-Sanaga River interval is known to be of importance in primate geography. Is it also important for plants? The characteristics of the area may be more a product of the Cameroon Highlands than of the flora of lowland Guinea: more work is needed to decide this.

Chassalia laikomensis is described as a new species from the Bamenda Highlands of western Cameroon. Its diagnostic characteristics are elucidated in relation to other taxa of the genus with which it has been confused. Notes on its conservation status and on its main stronghold, Mount Oku and the Ijim ridge, are provided. A new combination is made for a lowland species, Chassalia pteropetala, from Mount Cameroon.

Summary. This is the first revision of Belonophora Hook. f., an evolutionarily isolated, African, woody genus distributed throughout West, Central to East Africa, but centred in western Cameroon, where all five species occur. One species from Cameroon, B. ongensis, is described as new. The most widespread species in continental Africa, B. hypoglauca (Hiern) Chev., is shown to be conspecific with the type of the genus from SSto Tome, B. coffeoides Hook. f., but is maintained as a subspecies. A key to the species is presented. The tribal placement, infrageneric groupings, geography, ecology, conservation and possible occurrence of myrmecophily in the genus are discussed. Leaf lobes, heterostyly, floral dimorphy, secondary pollenpresentation ('ixoroid' mechanism) and nectar, previously unknown in the genus, are described.

Summary. The two Tropical African representatives of the type subsection of Luzula are each confined to very small areas, one in West and the other in East Tropical Africa. They are shown to belong to a species distinct from L. campestris (L.) DC. to which they have usually been referred, respectively, as Luzula campestris var. mannii Buchenau or Luzula campestris subsp. mannii (Buchenau) Weim., and L. campestris var. gracilis S. Carter. The relevant nomenclatural combinations are made, the two taxa are described in detail, and the specimens studied are listed.

Ancistrocladus Wall. (Ancistrocladaceae), with 19 species, is a genus of lianas largely confined to the lowland evergreen forest of Guineo-Congolian Africa and continental Tropical Asia. The discovery of the genus in E Africa dates from the collection in 1953 (Drummond & Hemsley 3936, K!) of incomplete material from a remnant of the coastal Kenyan forest at Buda in Kwale District. It was not until 30 years later that fruits were gathered and the species described (Leonard 1984) as A. robertsoniorumJ. Leonard. In 1989, after publication of the account of this family for Flora of Tropical East Africa (Leonard 1986), this species was also discovered from Mwele forest (Luke 1641, K!) and Gongoni Forest (Robertson & Luke 5972, K!), both also in Kwale District. The purpose of this paper is to describe a second East African species of Ancistrocladus discovered in February 1997. Readers are urged, if they have the opportunity, to seek and collect flowers so that this Tanzanian species may be more completely known and its affinities determined. Unfortunately, the only known population of A. tanzaniensis is on a steep escarpment and in an adjacent barely accessible gorge and although one return visit (December 1997) was made to find flowers, this was not successful. This genus has seen much recent pharmaceutical interest on account of the diverse biologically active alkaloids contained in several species, one of which, michellamine B, has been shown to have anti-AIDS activity (see, e.g., Thomas & Gereau 1993). A detailed survey of the napthylisoquinoline alkaloids in the family has been presented by Bringmann & Pokorny (1995).

The following new species of tree was discovered in the course of a botanical inventory of the largest intact remnant of the forest in the eastern foothills of Mount Cameroon. This forest, managed by the Mount Cameroon Project based at the Limbe Botanic Garden, is about 36 km2 in extent and is now known as the Bonadikombe-Bimbia forest (formerly Mabeta-Moliwe). The forest was the first of several to be inventoried for plant species diversity by the Mount Cameroon Project. About 20 new taxa were identified in the course of the inventory (Cheek 1992). Several of these were later found in other areas of forest around Mount Cameroon, but the majority have not been located with certainty elsewhere and appear to be extremely local endemics, perhaps once more widespread in the eastern foothill forests. A checklist of the flora of Mount Cameroon and its adjoining foothills was recently published (Cable & Cheek 1998). Detailed localities (e.g. TC+6256m) are given for all the specimens cited, by reference to the position on the permanent cutline grid established in the Mabeta-Moliwe forest (for details see Cheek 1992).

Summary. This is the first revision of the African species of Ancistrocladus Wall. (Ancistrocladaceae), a genus of lianas restricted to evergreen forests of the Old World. 13 species are recognized in Africa, including Ancistrocladus grandiflorus, here described as a new species from the east of Mt Cameroon. A key and synoptic accounts of the African species are presented and infra-generic groupings, geography, ecology and conservation are discussed.

Until recently (Jebb & Cheek 1997), only a single species of Nepenthes, N. alata Blanco, was recognised from Palawan. This species is the most widespread, common and polymorphic Philippine species. Subsequently, we described, in abbreviated form, two more species from Palawan (Cheek & Jebb 1998). Nepenthes deaniana Macfarl. may well yet represent a fourth species, but neither illustration nor original material has been traced. It is discussed further below. We have located type material of Nepenthes brachycarpa Macfarl., likewise described from Palawan, but this appears to be no more than a stunted form of N. alata. The two species that we published from Palawan in 1998 were Nepenthes miraJebb & Cheek and Nepenthes wilkieiJebb & Cheek (Cheek & Jebb 1998). In this paper we illustrate them, amplify our original descriptions and present our views of the affinities of these species. The discovery of long-overlooked original material of N. philippinensis Macfarl. has sadly made necessary the sinking of N. wilkiei. Exact collection localities have been withheld in view of the threat from plant collectors to rare and new species of this genus. The format of these descriptions is the standard set for Nepenthes descriptions by Danser (1928) and followed by subsequent authors on the genus, although differing from usual plant descriptions in leaving notes on indumentum and colour to the end of the description. This paper was prompted by the collections (cited below) made in 1998 by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh Philippine National Herbarium Expedition which in January and February of that year visited Palawan. Additional data on N. mira have recently become available from photographs taken by Heiko Rischer and Joachim Nerz from an expedition to Palawan in August 1998 (Rischer & Nerz 1998). Palawan is an island of the Philippines of about 11,655 sq. km and links Borneo with Luzon, forming a large part of the boundary between the South China and Sulu Seas. It has a central mountain chain reaching 2000 m alt., a monsoonal climate, and a higher proportion of evergreen rainforest surviving at lower altitudes

Grey-Wilson (1980) recorded 110 species of Impatiens for Africa (excluding Madagascar), of which he considered only six to be wholly epiphytic: I. keilii Gilg, . paucidentata De Wild., I. glandulisepsala Grey-Wilson, I. iteberoensis R.Wilczek & G. M. Schulze, I. letouzeyi Grey-Wilson and I. grandisepala Grey-Wilson. Fischer (1997) added a further obligate epiphyte, I. irangiensis Eb. Fisch. from eastern Congo. However, none of these are recorded as being tuberous. Some terrestrial grassland species of Impatiens in East Africa are known to have perennating underground tubers, but these are slender and not spherical or ellipsoidal as in the species described here. In Madagascar, at least three species bear spherical to ellipsoidal tubers, the most spectacular of these, with tubers 20 cm diameter or more, being Impatiens tuberosa H. Perrier, which grows on rocks in northern Madagascar. The species described in this paper is wholly epiphytic, growing in tree crowns (or just below them). It is particularly common on stunted trees growing on ridges near the peak of Mt Etinde. The brightly coloured red and yellow flowers suggest that L etindensis is pollinated by birds. Despite searches elsewhere on the mountain, this species has been recorded nowhere else apart from a single collection just to the west of Etinde, on the slopes of Mt Cameroon proper, above the village of Njonji. Although sterile, this specimen is recognisable as L etindensis by the presence of the distinctive tubers. Mt Cameroon is one of the best botanized localities in

Summary. The aquatic herb Villarsia aurantiaca Ridl. ex C. B. Clarke, endemic to Peninsular Thailand and Malaysia, is typified and shown to be synonymous with Nymphoides aurantiaca (Dalzell) Kuntze though heterotypic. Consequently the genus Villarsia is known in Malesia by the single species V exiliflora F. Muell. from the south of New Guinea. Some authors have also placed V exiliflora in Nymphoides. Villarsia thus consists of some twelve Australasian species with two outliers: one species in South Africa (V capensis (Houtt.) Merr.) and one in mainland Indochina (V cambodiana Hance).

Octolobus Welw. ex Benth. & Hook. f. (Sterculiaceae-Sterculieae) is a genus of three species of trees and shrubs, hitherto restricted to Guineo-Congolian Africa (Hutchinson 1937) and closely related to Cola K. Schum., but distinct in their 8