In this study, we critically revised and updated the checklist of native vascular plants of Mongolia. The checklist comprises 3,041 native vascular plant taxa (2,835 species and 206 infraspecific species) from 653 genera and 111 families, including 7 lycophytes, 41 ferns, 21 gymnosperms, and 2,972 angiosperms. In the angiosperms, we identified the 14 families with the greatest species richness, ranging from 50 to 456 taxa. Species endemism is also noted here; 102 taxa are endemic to Mongolia, and 275 taxa are sub-endemic that co-occur in adjacent countries. Since 2014, a total of 14 taxa have been described new to science based on morphological evidences. Moreover, five genera and 74 taxa were newly added to the flora of Mongolia. Based on our critical revisions, names of three families, 21 genera, and 230 species have been changed in comparison to the previous checklist, “Conspectus of the vascular plants of Mongolia” (2014).

Following recent taxonomic, distributional, and nomenclatural revisions, an updated checklist of endemic plants on the Korean Peninsula is needed. This study provides an updated checklist of vascular plants endemic to the Korean Peninsula and describes their distribution within administrative provinces. The revised checklist includes 373 endemic taxa (304 species, six subspecies, 49 varieties, and 14 nothospecies) from 179 genera and 64 families, representing 9.5% of the total native flora of the Korean Peninsula. Asteraceae (41 taxa), Ranunculaceae (29 taxa), Liliaceae s.l. (24 taxa), and Rosaceae (22 taxa) were the most widely represented families. Compared with the most recent checklist published in 2017, 39 taxa were excluded from the checklist; one taxon was excluded because it did not have a valid published name, seven taxa were excluded because their natural habitats extended to neighboring countries, four taxa were excluded because they were treated as a rank form, and 27 taxa were excluded because they had been identified as heterotypic synonyms of taxa distributed outside of the Korean Peninsula. Fifty-two new taxa were included based on the literature. This checklist will help to focus conservation efforts and provide a framework for research, protection, and policy implementation related to these endemic taxa.

The genus Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) has near-cosmopolitan distribution and serves as a significant resource for both ornamental and medicinal purposes. Despite its economic importance, Euphorbia's taxonomy has long been challenged by the intricate nature of morphological traits exhibiting high levels of convergence. While molecular markers are essential for phylogenetic studies, their availability for Euphorbia has been limited. To address this gap, we conducted comparative analyses focusing on the chloroplast (CP) genomes of nine Euphorbia species, incorporating three newly sequenced and annotated accessions. In addition, phylogenetic informativeness and nucleotide diversity were computed to identify candidate markers for phylogenetic analyses among closely related taxa in the genus. Our investigation revealed relatively conserved sizes and structures of CP genomes across the studied species, with notable interspecific variations observed primarily in non-coding regions and IR/SC borders. By leveraging phylogenetic informativeness and nucleotide diversity, we identified rpoB gene as the optimal candidate for species delimitation and shallow-level phylogenetic inference within the genus. Through this comprehensive analysis of CP genomes across multiple taxa, our study sheds light on the evolutionary dynamics and taxonomic intricacies of Euphorbia, offering valuable insights into its CP genome evolution and taxonomy.

Clematis, a widely distributed genus in Ranunculaceae, is one of the most difficult groups of taxa in the family from a taxonomic point of view. A comprehensive study on achene morphology and the anatomy of 19 taxa of Clematis from Korea was carried out using scanning electron and light microscopy to evaluate the taxonomic significance of achene characters. Clematis achenes are elliptical, obovate or fusiform in shape, light yellow or brown to black in color and completely or sparsely covered with hairs. The permanent style is elongated and plumose in all the studied taxa except C. brachyura. We found that the size, indument, permanent style, surface sculpture, shape in cross-section, and nature and thickness of the exocarp, and endocarp were valuable achene features for species delimitation and may contribute to the unraveling of the taxonomic problems in the genus Clematis. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that the quantitative achene variables among the species were highly significant (p < 0.001). Principal component analyses based on seven quantitative characters and UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic mean) analysis based on seven quantitative and 18 qualitative characters also signify the utility of achene features for taxonomic discriminations of the Clematis taxa within the genus. Similar to other morphological characters in the genus Clematis, achene morphological and anatomical characters with the limited taxonomic value alone cannot be expected to resolve the infrageneric relationships but certain achene features combined with other morphological features could be useful as an alternative means of determining the infrageneric relationships within the genus.