National Parks Board

Following a bryological investigation of Shiwandashan National Nature Reserve in Guangxi, China, Acromastigum herzogii is reported as a new national record, accompanied by a detailed morphological description. Furthermore, two additional species of Lepidoziaceae, Kurzia borneensis and Zoopsis liukiuensis, are documented. The taxonomically poorly understood species K. borneensis is considered here as a distinct and well-circumscribed taxon, new to mainland China. The genus Zoopsis is recorded for the first time from Guangxi.

Abstract Peatlands in Southeast Asia regularly experience fire due to clearance of forests and drainage for agriculture and plantation development. Fire represents a mainstay for rural communities managing tropical landscapes, but these can lead to uncontrolled ‘wild’ fires that pose a major threat to people and the ecosystem, leading to a cycle of increased susceptibility to fire and increased vulnerability of people and peat ecosystem to future fires. Using an exposure-sensitivity-adaptive capacity framework, we constructed indicators of exposure, sensitivity, and adaptive capacity of peatlands and communities to fires in Sumatra and Kalimantan (Indonesia) and used these indicators to calculate the social and ecological vulnerability of peatlands and communities to fires. We operationalized this framework and defined spatial indicators which we used to construct three indices of vulnerability (ecological vulnerability, social vulnerability of burning, and social vulnerability smoke-haze). Our assessment found peatlands with high ecological vulnerability on eastern Sumatra (Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra), southern Kalimantan (Central, South Kalimantan), and East Kalimantan. Majority of these provinces overlapped with sites of high social vulnerability for burning (North Sumatra, Riau, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan) and high social vulnerability for smoke-haze (Riau, Jambi, South Sumatra, Central Kalimantan, South Kalimantan). As districts play an important role in land use decisions and fire mitigation efforts, we identified the top six districts that had high numbers of villages with high ecological and social vulnerability scores. Hotspot analyses showed that ecological vulnerability hotspots were co-located with social vulnerability hotspots but clusters of social vulnerability hotspots for burning did not completely overlap with social vulnerability hotspots for smoke-haze. Our vulnerability assessment of peatlands and villages is the foundation for an important tool for policymakers at multiple governance levels to identify high ecological and social vulnerability to peatland fires and channel aid and mitigation efforts where they are most needed.

Societal Impact StatementCollections of dried plant specimens (herbaria) provide an invaluable resource for the study of many areas of scientific interest and conservation globally. Digitisation increases access to specimens and metadata, enabling efficient use across a broad spectrum of research. The value of physical specimens is enhanced by digitisation, but these specimens remain fundamental for the study of traits not yet captured digitally. We investigate the requirements for physical access and the curation and facilities needed to maximise specimen use and value. We present recommendations to ensure that specimens and data are both fully accessible to support research into global challenges.SummaryHerbarium management has traditionally focused on providing direct access to the physical specimens, but this scope must now expand to also embrace digital collections. Advances in technologies such as artificial intelligence and high‐throughput genomics are increasing the amount of information that can be extracted from specimens, and it is becoming commonplace to provide digital access to specimen images and collection metadata. These developments are facilitating the use of herbarium collections to inform conservation planning and in studies plant and fungal taxonomy, distribution and evolution. This paper examines how herbaria are transitioning from physical specimen‐centric collection management practices to increasingly digitised curation, and the effects that digital availability of data are having on demands for physical access. We provide a set of recommendations to institutions holding herbarium collections. We emphasise the critical importance of further digitising herbaria of all sizes; the need to ensure that historical inequalities in deposition of specimens are not perpetuated; and that the capacity to utilise new technologies must be further developed, especially in biodiverse regions from which most herbarium collections are derived.To improve access to collection data, herbarium managers need to more rigorously adopt community‐agreed data standards, and more strongly support open access platforms such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility either directly or through regional coalitions. As digitisation and open data access increase, herbaria will need to offer users with seamless hybrid access to physical and digital records while continuing to develop their collections to advance research and conservation.

SummaryGnetum gnemon L., a tree native to a region spanning from southern China through Assam, across most of Malesia, Papuasia, and southwards to Queensland, is described and illustrated. This enigmatic species displays characteristics from both gymnosperms and angiosperms and is also grown as an economic crop in Southeast Asia.

SummaryPapilionanthe Miss Joaquim ‘Agnes’, an artificial hybrid between Papilionanthe teres (Lindl.) Schltr. and Papilionanthe hookeriana (Rchb.f.) Schltr., is described and illustrated. This hybrid, still commonly known as Vanda Miss Joaquim, originated in Singapore and was selected as the country's national flower in 1981. It is notable for its vibrant pink‐purple flowers borne on inflorescences, its ability to bloom year‐round in tropical climates, and its historical importance to Singapore's horticultural and cultural heritage.

SummaryKopsia singapurensis Ridl. forms large shrubs to small trees most commonly found in lowland swampy forests or riverbanks. In cultivation, the plants freely flower throughout the year but records indicate a twice annual flowering previously occurred in the wild. The leaves have stout, short petioles and are arranged in pairs along the stem (opposite). The plant produces a thin white latex when the tissue is broken, like all members of the Apocynaceae. The flowers are arranged in a lax inflorescence and characterized by an elongate tubular white corolla bearing anthers near the throat which is marked by a red “eye”. The paired ovaries (again characteristic of the family) form ellipsoid follicles with a small spur on one side. Due to its ability to survive in poor and acidic soils and its attractive constantly present flowers has become popular for ornamental planting to mark entrances and gates.

Summary Flagelliflory, a rare form of cauliflory, refers to plants with long whip-like branches, or flagella, on the main trunk that bear inflorescences. In extreme cases, the flagella can either be slightly buried in soil or creep above it and extend up to metres away from the trunk. The new Eugenia species described here, from Manus Island, represents the only Eugenia taxon known thus far to exhibit flagelliflory and the first species from Papua New Guinea to do so. Morphological characteristics of the new species were observed from herbarium collections and supplemented with field notes provided by the collectors. A risk of extinction assessment of the new species is provided, alongside preliminary phylogenetic placement, a line drawing, field images and a distribution map.

Summary The history of Singapore Botanic Gardens, founded in 1859, and its role in research into the flora of Southeast Asia is recounted.