We have described a new genus Taihangia, collected from, the south part of Taihang

Mountain in northern China. At the same time, comparative studies on Taihangia with its

related genera have been made in various fields including external morphology, anatomy

of carpels, chromosome and pollen morphology by light, scanning and transmission electron microscope. In addition, isoperoxidases of two varietier were analysed by means of polya-crylamide gel slab electrophoresis. The preliminary results are as follows:

      Morphology: The genus Taihangia is perennial and has simple leaves, occasionally

with 1—2 very small reduced lobes on the upper part of petiole; flowers white, andromo-

noecious and androdioecious, terminal, single or rarely 2 on a leafless scape; calyx and cpicalyx with 5 segments; petals 5; stamens numerous; pistils numerous, with pubescent styles, spirally inserted on the receptacle in bisexual flowers, but with less number of abortive and glabrous pistils in male flowers.

      In comparison with the related genera such as Dryas, Geum, Coluria and Waldsteinia,

the new genus has unisexual flowers and always herbaceous habit indicating its advanced

feature but the genus has a primitive style with thin and short hairs as compared with the genus Dryas which has long, pinnately haired styles, a character greatly facilitamg anemo-choric dissemination. The styles of Taihangia are slender and differ from those of the ge-nus Geum which are articulate, with a persistent hooked rostrum, thus adapting to epizo-ochoric dissemination to a higher degree.

      The anatomy of carpels shows the baral position of ovules in the genus Taihangia like those in other related genera such as Dryas, Geum, Acomastylis, Coluria and Waldsteinia. This suggests that the new genus and its related ones are in a common evolutionary line as compared with the other tribes which have a pendulous ovule and represent a separate evolutionary line in Rosaceae. Dorsal and ventral bundles in carpels through sections are free at the base. Neither fusion, nor reduction of dorsals and vertrals. are observed. This shows that the genus Taihangia is rather primitive.

      Somatic chromosome: All the living plants, collected from both Honan and Hopei

Provinces were examined. The results show that in these plants the chromosome number

is 2n= 14, and thus the basic number of chromosome is x=7. Such a diploid genus is first

found in both anemochoric and epizoochoric genera. Therefore, in this respect Taihangia is primitive as compared with herbaceous polyploid genus Geum and related ones.

     Pollen: The stereostructure shown by scanning electron microscope reveals  that  the pollen grains of the genus Taihangia are ellipsoid and 3-colporate. There are two types of exine sculpture. One is rather shortly striate and it seems rugulate over the pollen surface; the other is long-striate. The genus Dryas differs in having only short and thick striae over the surface. The genus is similar to the genera Geum, Coluria and Waldsteinia in colpustype, but differs from them in that they all have long, parallel striae which are distributed along the meridional line.

      In addition, under transmission electron microscope, the exine in the Taihangia and related genera Acomastylis, Geum, Coluria, Waldsteinia and Dryas has been shown to be typically differentiated into two distinct layers, nexine and sexine. The nexine, weakly statined, appears to consist of endoxine with no foot-layer, in which the columellae are fused, and which is thicker beneath the apertures. The sexine is 2-layered, consisting of columellae and tectum. Three patterns of tectum can be distinguished in the tribe Dryadeae: the first, in the genera Taihangia, Acomastylis, Geum, Coluria and Waldsteinia, is tectate-imperforate, with the sculpturing elements both acute and obtuse at the top and broad at the base; the second, in the genus Dryas, is semitectate, with the sculpturing elements shown in ultrathin sections rod-like and broader at the top than at the base or as broad at the top as at the base, and the third, tectate-perforate, with the sculpturing elements different in size. From the above results, the herbaceous groups and woody ones  have palynologically evolved in two distinct directions, and the genus Taihangia is related to other herbaceous genera such as Acomastylis, Geum, Coluria and Waldsteinia, as shown in the electron microphotographs of ultrathin sections. The genus Taihangia, however, is different from related herbaceous genera in that the pollen of Taihangia is dimorphic, i.e. in addition to the above pattern of pollen another one of the exine in Taihangia is rugulate, with the sculpturing elements shown in the ultrathin sections being obtuse or emarginate and nearly as broad at the top as at the base.

     The interesting results obtained from the comparative analysis of morphology, ana-

tomy of carpels, chromosome countings, microscopic and submicrosocopic structures of pollen may enable us to evaluate the systematic position of Taihangia and to throw a new light on evolution of the tribe Dryadeae. It is well known that the modes of dissemination of rosaceous fruits play an important role in the expansion and evolution of the family. The follicle is the most primitive and the plants with follicles, like the Spiraeoideae, are mostly woody and mesic, while the achene, drupe and pyrenarium are derived. In Rosoideae  having a achene is a common feature. Particularly in the tribe Dryadeae, which is distinguished from the other related tribes by having orthotropous ovules, the methods of dissemination of fruits have developed in three distinct specialized directions: anemochory with long, plumose styles (e.g. Dryas), formicochory or dispersed by ants or other insects, with the deciduous styles (e.g. Waldsteinia and Collria),and epizoochory with the upper deciduous stigmatic part and the lower persistent hooked rostrum, an  adhesive organ favouring  epizoochory dissemination (e. g. Geum and related taxa). Taihangia is a genus endemic to mesophytic

forest area of northern China. Due to its narrow range and specific habit as well as pubescent styles, neither perfectly adapted to anemochory nor to epizoochory, the genus  Taihangia might be a direct progeny of the ancestry of anemochory. Maintaining the diploidy and having an ntermediate sculptural type of pollen, the new genus might probably represent a linkage between anemochory and zoochory (including epizoochory and dispersed by ants).

      Experimental evidence from isoperoxidases shows the stable zymograms of root and

roostoks. The anodal isozyme of T. rupestris var. rupestris may be divided into 6 bands:

A, B, C, D, E, F, and T. rupestris var. ciliata into 4 bands: A, B, C, G. The two varieties

 The present paper, mainly dealing with phytogeographical, Cytological and Palynolo

gical studies on Chinese Stachyuraceae, is the first part of a series of contributions to systematics of this family. As we know, Stachyuraceae, a monogeneric family, is  endemic to

East Asia, with a strong differentiation in China. Systematic position of the family is still uncertain. Undoubtedly, multidisciplinary studies on it wisl give a better understanding of plant differentiation in East-Asiatic floristic region and systematic position of the family.

     The distribution of all the 9 Chinese species of Stachyurus have been studied on the basis of morphogeographical method. The status of some taxa has been changed as follows: Stachyurus chinensis Franch. ssp. latus (Li) Y. C. Tang et Y. L. Cao, stat. nov. S. chinen-sis Franch. Ssp. cuspidatus (Li) Y. C. Tang et Y. L. Cao, stat. nov. S. chinensis Franch. ssp. brachystachyus (C. Y. Wu et S. K. Chen) Y. C. Tang et Y. L. Cao, stat. nov. S. salicifolius Franch. ssp. lancifolius (C. Y. Wu) Y. C. Tang et Y. L. Cao, stat. nov., S. yunnanensis Franch. var. pedicellatus Rehd. and S. oblongifolius Wang et Tang being reduced as synonyms of S. yunnanensis Franch. From morphological point of view, we would consider that sect. Callosurus is more primitive and its present area might be the preservation center of the family.

     In this paper the chromosome numbers of 5 taxa, i.e. Stachyurus yunnanensis, S. chinensis ssp. chinensis, S. chinensis ssp. cuspidatus, S. salicifolius ssp. salicifolius, S. retusus, are reported for the first time. Along with the chromosome countings of S. himalaicus and S. sigeyosii by S. kurosawa, we come to the conclusion that all the species so far studied have 24 small somatic chromosomes (2n=24).

     The pollen grains of 6 taxa, i.e. Stachyurus yunnanensis, S. obovatus, S. himalaicus, S. chinensis ssp. chinensis, S. salicifolius ssp. salicifolius, S. retusus were also examined. Together with the observations of G. Erdman and Huang Tsengchien on  S. himalaicus, it seems that the pollen grains of the genus Stachyurus are rather uniform in  morphology. The pollen grains of sect. Callosurus are tricolporoidate, while those of sect. Stachyurusare tricolporate. Two pollen types, representeb by the two sections, though not strongly distinct, may be considered as further evidence of the validity of the two taxa as section.

      Sexuality of flowers is also disscussed in the paper. According to our observation

 Situated in western part of Sichuan Province, 29°30'N, 103°20'E, the sacred Mt.

Emei is one of the well-known large mountains in China. Its summit is about 3100 m ab-

ove sea level with a relative height of 2550 m.

       The orchid flora in Mt. Emei so far known comprises 47 genera and 109 species,

among which 21 are epiphytes, 83 terrestrials and 5 saprophytes (Table 1.)

       1.  The vertical distribution of the orchid flora in the mountain.

The epiphytic orchids are concentrated in the lower region  below Hongchunping

and Wanniansi (1100 m alt.), where there are 20 species, which make over 95% of epiphytic

species; the upper limit for the epiphytic orchids is Jiulaodong and Chudian ( 1800 m alt.).

The terrestrial orchids also mainly occur at the lower region below Jiulaodong and Chudian (1800 m alt.), where there are 54 species, most of which are found at even lower part of the mountain, below Hongchunping and Wanniansi (1100 m alt.). The tropicas orchids in the mountain, such as Cleisostoma, Vanda, Holcoglossum, Tropiclia, Thunia, Mischobulbum, Ludisia, Anoectochilus, Odontochilus, etc. all grow only at the lower part of the mountain below Hongchunping and Wanniansi (1100 m alt.).

       2. The floristic features of the orchid flora in the Mt. Emei.

       (1)  The orchid flora in the mountain so far known comprises 47 genera (over 2/3

of the total orchid genera in Sichuan) and 109 species (over 1/3 of the total orchid species in Sichuan). The Mt. Emei is very rich in orchid species, as compared with neighbouring

mountains of same magnitude, such as Mt. Shennonjia in western Hubei, Qin Ling in sou-

thern Shaanxi, Jinfo Shan in south-eastern Sichuan, and Erlang Shan in western Sichuan.

       (2)  The orchids in the mountain are complex in floristic components as indicated

below:

       1)  Twenty seven species, belonging to 18 genera, are widespread, covering the whole East-Asian region.

       2)  Twenty three species, belonging to 15 genera, are the elements of the Sino-Japanese Subregion. Among them 13 species occur only in Japan and eastern China with the mountain ar the westernmost limit, but the other species extend westwards as far as Kangding and ErLang Shan or Baoxing in Sichuan Province.

       3)  Forty two species, belonging to 22 genera, are the elements of the Sino-Himala-yan Subregion, with 5 species having their range extending from the Himalayan  region

eastwards to Mt. Emei.

       4)  Some tropical genera (8 species), belonging to Indo-Malaysian floristic elements, have the mountain as their northern limit of distribution.

      The orchid flora of the Mt. Emei contains not only the East-Asian elements, but also some Indo-Malaysian elements, though its composition is mainly of the temperate and subtropical Eastern Asian (Sino-Japanese) ones.

       (3)  The orchid flora in the mountain is characterized by geographical vicariation and differentiation.

      There are nine species-pairs (belong to genera Calanthe,  Platanthera,  Dendrobium etc.) of the vertical vicarism and six species-pairs (belonging to genera Tropidia, Aneoctochilus, Mischobulbum, Gymnadenia Orchis, etc.) of the horizontal vicarism in the Mt.

 Emei.

      Remarkable differentiation of orchid flora in the Mt. Emei is shown in the abundance of endemic elements and as clear geographical vicariation.

       (4)  There are 8 endemic species and one variety of orchids in the Mt. Emei, more

 abundant than in Xizang.

 The genus Neolepisorus Ching was proposed in 1940 and then consisted of five species

including the type, Polypodium ovatum Wall. ex Hook. et Grev. The generic sense of Ne-

olepisorus is now more homogenour than originally constructed. Strictly speaking, the genus then had only three species: Polypodium ovatum Wall. ex Hook. et Grev. of the Hi-

malayas and China, P. ensatum Thunb. of Japan, and China, and P. lastii Baker of Africa

(Madagascar). Since then our knowledge of the genus has substantially been enriched, as there are now 10 species known from China as described in the present paper.

     Phylogenetically, the genus Neolepisorus is a natural one in the family Polypodiaceae,

beiny closely related to Nicrosorium Link, Calysis Presl and Tricholepidium Ching in general habit, scale structure, spores and chromosome numbers (x = 36), while its affinity with the genus Lepisorus (J. Sm.) Ching is much less close in these respects. From its related genera Neolepisorus differs in terestrial habit,typically long-stipitate simple fronds, distinct lateral main veins with 1--3(4) striate and irregularly dispersed sori covered when young with angular, clathrate and long-stalked paraphyses. One marked morphological peculiarity of the genus Neolepisorus is, however, that the fronds in many species from Guizhou and Sichuan are so divided into more or less similarly pinnatifid or lobed monstrous shapes that their proper identity is frequently indiscernible--a character not yet seen in ferns of other genera in China at least. It offers an interesting research subject for the morphologists.

 In the present paper, an brief historical account and the comments on the modern taxonomic systems of the genus Triticum L. are made. The author suggests that principles to determine a species be (1) a special type of genome, and (2) reproductive isolation. The principles to determine a subspecies are the special co-type of genome and incomplete reproductive isolation. There are no differences on the level of genome constitution and no reproductive isolation between the varieties or concultivars. According to these principles, the author schemes a taxonomic system of the genus Triticum L. based on biosystematics as follows:

     Triticum monococcum L. sensu lat.

       subsp. boeoticum (Boiss.) Yen, st. nov.

          var. thaoudar (Reut ) Flaksb.

          concv. Einkhorn

       subsp. urartu (Tum.)Vap.

     T. timopheevi Zhuk. sensu lat.

          var. araraticum (Jakubz.) Yen, st. nov.

     T. zhukovskyi Men. et Er.

     T. turgidum L. sensu lat.

          var. dicoccoides (Körn. in litt. in Schweinf.) Bowden

          concv. (1) Emmer, (2) Durum wheat, (3) Rivet wheat, (4) Polish wheat, (5)

Persian wheat.

     T. aestivum L. sensu lat.

          concv. (1) Tibetian weed wheat, (2) Spelt, (3) Vavilov wheat, (4)  Macha

wheat, (5) Yunnan hulled wheat, (6) Winter common wheat, (7) Spring common wheat,

(8) Branch-eared wheat, (9) Club wheat, (I0) Indian dwarf wheat, (11) Xinjiang rice

 A numerical taxonomic study of Chinese jasminum is presented. The 57 OTUS include

 Owing to the diagnostic characters used for distinguishing Lespedeza bicolor Turcz. from its allies L. formosa (Vogel) Koehne and L. elliptica Benth. ex Maxim. etc. beiny totally quantitative, and the great variability found in themselver as well, the group is therefore regarded as a taxonomically perplexing one. Therefore  quantitative measurements of the diagnostic characters, namely, the lengths of flowers (including standards and keels) and calyces (including calyx teeth and tubes) upon the total 307 herbarium sheets collected from 22 provinces and autonomous regions were made, and the data obtained were treated statistically (Table 1) and compared using methods of scatter diagram (Fig. 1--5),polygraph (Fig. 6) and topoclinal variation  (Fig. 7--10) in order to bring to light the differentiation pattern of these characters correlated to geographical distribution.

     The diagrams of topoclinal variation (Fig. 7--10) of single characters represented by the lengths of calyx-teeth and corolla, or the calyx-teeth/calyx-tube ratio, between which exists a strong positive correlation, show a tendency of increasing gradation from northeast towards south-west. But the different combinations of morphological characters as shown in the scatter diagrams and more particularly in the polygraphs, make it possible to divide the Lespedeza bicolor group into the following three geographical types: (1) Bicolor type, with the distributional area of four provinces and one autonomous region of north-eastern and northern China; having the shortest (shorter than the calyx-rube) calyx-teeth of the whole group; with the standards of 71% herbarium materials exceeding the keels;  the  corolla length/calyx length ratio being 2.24; (2) Formosa type, with the distributional area covering six provinces and one autonomous region of eastern, south-eastern and southern China; with calyx-teeth nearly as long as calyx-tuges; with the keels of 69% herbarium sheets exceeding the standards, including all from whole  Guangdong  (Kwantung)  and  Guangxi (Kwansi); the corolla length/calyx length ratio being 2.59, the largest among the group;

(3) Elliptica type, with the largest distributional area occupying ten provinces of south

western, central, northwestern and eastern China and with most complicated morphologi-

cal variation; the range of calyx-teeth length being 1.23--5.53 mm; with the keels of 80% herbarium sheets exceeding the standards, including all from whole Hubei (Hupeh) and Sichuan ( Szechuan ).