Elymus L. and Hordeum L. are the two largest genera in the wheat tribe (Triticeae Dum. ). The former comprises approximately 150 perennial and exclusively polyploid species and the latter encompasses about 40 perennial or annual taxa with different ploidy levels. Both of the genera are widely distributed in the temperate regions all over the world.Owing to the fact of a large number of species in each genus, wide geographic distribution,

By examining the somatic chromosome numbers and average numbers of bulbils per leaf of 10 populations belonging to 5 species of Pinellia, 5 chromosome numbers (P.peltata Pei 2n = 78, P. cordata N. E. Brown 2n= 72, P. ternata (Thunb.) Breit. 2n= 54,99,108) new to this genus are reported. The present work also shows that the species with x= 13 including P. yaoluopingensis X. H. Guo et X. L. Liu (popullation Ⅰ ～ Ⅲ ), P. tripartita (Blume) Schott (previous reports), P. pedatisecta Schott (population Ⅳ)and P. peltata (population Ⅴ )have no bulbils at all,while those with x= 9 including P. cordata (population Ⅵ ) and P. ternata (population Ⅶ ～ Ⅹ )have bulbils more or less depending on their ploidy－the average number of bulbils per leaf of hexaploid (population Ⅶ ) is only 0. 043,which is much lower than 1.95 of that of dodecaploids (population Ⅹ ). Based on these observations, it could be supposed that polyploidy reinforce apomixis, the diploid ancestors of P.ternata have no bulbils and in Pinellia, x= 13 may be more primitive than x = 9. The chromosome counts of the Araceae are changeable and complex, but appear to be explainable on the dual basis of ascending and descending dysploidy at secondary (paleopolyploid)level from a primitive basic number x = 7. P. ternata is a polyploid complex and probably it came from a diploid ancestors without bulbils and with x = 7,8,9, etc. The basic chromosome numbers x=7,8,9 of Pinellia ternata may have been derived from x= 13 of P. yaoluopingensis by descending dysploidy in the early stage of the evolution of this genus. Then, as a result of secondary polyploidy, bulbils which enable the species to adapt to its varied environments occur and they might lead to a more rapid evolution in this species.

Disagreement exists among research workers in regard to the taxonomic relationship among three Chinese endemic species of Hemerocallis : H. plicata , H. forrestii and H.

multiflora. The present authors attempt to resolve this problem based on a study on kary-

otypes. The karyotype formulas of H. plicata, H. forrestii and H. multiflora are respec-

tively 2n = 12m + 8sm + 2T, 2n = 8m + 12sm + 2T and 2n = 12m + 4sm + 4st + 2T, in which

the T chromosomes (No 11 ) of all the three species have microsatellites at the centromeric

end. The Euclidean distances of chromosome complements are 0. 2728 between H. plicata

and H.forrestii ,0. 4501 between H. plicata and H. multiflora and 0. 5741 between H.

forrestii and H. multiflora. These data clearly indicate that H. plicata is more closely related to H. forrestii than to H. multiflora, and that H. multiflora is more advanced than

Observations on the dichotomous leaf venation of Circaeaster agrestis found no intermediate forms of the fusion of vascular bundles between the two completely fused commissural veins of anastomoses and the two separate approximate veins, but found different degrees of the vestige of commissural veins . The fact indicates the impossibility of the formation of anastomoses from approximate veins. The occurrence of blind veins is related to the degeneration of teeth, the interruption of the commissural veins and the interruption of nonanastomosous veins at the branching point. Therefore, we considered the dichotomous leaf venation of this species as a reduced characteristic.

Pollen morphology of 27 species representing 11 genera of the Alismataceae was  studied by light microscope (LM), scanning electron microscope (SEM) and transmission  electron microscope (TEM). Based on the observed pollen characters, three types of pollen  were distinguished: (A) The Caldesia-oligococca type. Disc- or lens-shaped, with 2 pores  (pores probably equatorially orientated, opposite each other); pores situated in depressions,

Cupressaceae and Taxodiaceae have recently been merged under the earlier name

 Cupressaceae s.I. by many authors, as the two families are similar in a number of morpho-

 logical characters. Sciadopitys S. et Z., which has often been treated as a morphologically

 isolated member of the Taxodiaceae, has recently been considered as a monotypic family,

 Sciadopityaceae. The Cupressaceae s.s. may be reorganized into two subfamilies. The Cu

pressoideae is composed of genera with the uppermost cone-scales infertile and can be divided

 into four tribes: Cnpresseae, including Cupressus, X Cupressocyparis, Charnaecyparis and

 Fokeinia;Thujopsideae, including Thuja, Thujopsis and Platycladusl Junipereae, includ-

ing Juniperus and Microbiota; and Tetraclineae, including Calocedrus and Tetraclinis.

The Callitroideae is composed of genera with the uppermost cone-scales fertile and can be divided into three tribes: Actinostrobeae, including Actinostrobus, Callitris, Fitzroya and

Neocallitropsis; Widdringtoneae, including Pilgerodendron, Diselma and Widdringtonia ;

Libocedreae, including Libocedrus, Papuacedrus and Austrocedrus. Five geographical dis-

tribution patterns are recognized in the 21 genera of Cupressaceae. (a) One genus, X Cu-

pressocyparis, is a natural hybrid derived from selections in England; (b) Two genera, Cu-

pressus and Juniperus, are distributed in Africa, Europe, Asia and North America; (c)

Three genera, Thuja, Chamaecyparis, and Calocedrus, are disjnnctly distributed in East-

em Asia and North America; (d) Five genera, Actinostrobus, Callitris, Libocedrus,

Papuacedrus and Widdringtonia, have limited distribution; and (e) The other 10 genera,

which are monotypic, are restricted to narrow areas except Plotycladus. Three centers of

genera diversity are identified in the Cupressaceae, i. e Eastern Asia with nine genera, southwestern North America with five genera, and Australia and its adjacent islands in the east　with six genera, including New Zealand,. Tasmania, New Caledonia, and New Guinea.

Other important areas are western Mediterranean with three genera and Chile and Argentina

This paper reports the fossil flora in the Yilan Coal Mine, Heilongjiang Province.The Paleogene flora of the Dalianhe formation includes two groups according to their geology column:one (flora A) is from sand-shale above the lower coal seams and the other (flora B) is from oil shale above the upper coal beds. The flora contains two species of pteridophytes, 10 species of gymnosperms and over 40 species of angiosperms including 1 new species and 10 uncertain species, assigned to 49 genera and 35 families. The analysis of the floristic composition and their foliar physiognomy showes that the flora A consists of elements in evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous broad-leaved forests indicating its subtropical feature, whereas the flora B consists of elements in deciduous broad-leaved forests indicating a warm-temperate feature. Compared to the Paleogene floras of Northeastern Asia and North America, the flora A is assigned to the early Eocene, and the flora B to the late Eocene. These results seem to indicate that in the Eocene, paleoclimatic decline took place in Northeast China.

 The terminology of classification of dicotyledonous leaf architecture is introduced in Chinese version. It is very useful for the standardization of terminology and academic communication.