Summary Two new species of Digitaria are described from two locations in western Tanzania, including the Uzondo plateau, following collecting trips by Kaj Vollesen and colleagues, Digitaria laciniata and D. setarioides . Line drawings accompany the descriptions and scanning electron micrographs show spikelet and trichome morphology. Digitaria parodii is recorded from Tanzania for the first time. All three species represent asp...

Summary Descriptions and illustrations are presented for three new species to science, Vepris udzungwa Cheek , V. lukei Cheek (both Udzungwa Mts, Tanzania), and V. robertsoniae Q.Luke & Cheek (SE Kenyan kaya forests), in the context of a synoptic taxonomic revision and with an identification key to all the known unifoliolate taxa of Vepris in continental Africa. The new species are described and illustrated, while the remainin...

Summary A new genus, Lukea Cheek & Gosline (Annonaceae) , is erected for two new species to science, Lukea quentinii Cheek & Gosline from Kaya Ribe, SE Kenya, and Lukea triciae Cheek & Gosline from the Udzungwa Mts, Tanzania. Lukea is characterised by a flattened circular bowl-shaped receptacle-calyx with a corolla of three free petals that give the buds and flowers a unique appearance in African Annonaceae. Both species are e...

In a recent paper, “Environmental DNA: What's behind the term? Clarifying the terminology and recommendations for its future use in biomonitoring,” Pawlowski et al . argue that the term eDNA should be used to refer to the pool of DNA isolated from environmental samples, as opposed to only extra‐organismal DNA from macro‐organisms. We agree with this view. However, we are concerned that their proposed two‐level terminology spec...

Summary Cola cheringoma is described from the limestone gorge forest of the Cheringoma Plateau in Sofala Province of Central Mozambique. Tentatively treated previously as C. clavata Mast., it differs in being restricted to limestone substrate, the leaves drying white-green below (not on sandy soils, drying dark grey-brown). The tepal number of female flowers is 5 (not (5 –) 6), staminode number 5 (not 8), and the indumentum of...

Summary DNA sequence data, macro-morphological evidence and pollen analysis are used to clarify the phylogenetic placement of two African species of Acanthaceae: Schaueria populifolia C.B.Clarke and Rhinacanthus ndorensis Schweinf. The combined data demonstrate that these species are only distantly related to the genera in which they are currently placed and provide strong support for recognition of new genera to accommodate t...