Description: The circular which was enclosed in Bulletin 24 has received full attention of our readers and a large number of cards were received. The large majority favours the continuation of our annotated bibliography as it is, not cutting off references on the Australian and Pacific floras, and not discarding the references on the Cryptogams. A review of Mr. Ferguson’s Index is given on p. 1912. October 21, 1970, Foundation Flora Malesiana existed twenty years. This anniversary was marked by a small festivity in the Rijksherbarium. Although curtailed financially since January 1958, it has kept its promise to promote all studies encompassing progress of the botany and plant geography of the Malesian subcontinent. It is gratifying that with the distinct tendency of the rehabilitation of the economical and political situation in Indonesia during the last few years, science in general, and biology in particular, are getting a new impetus. Amongst others through international agreement and co-operation, two master organisations have been set up, SEAMEC and BIOTROP, the latter being the centre of biological studies and education allotted to Bogor. It is clear that this focus will be a great stimulant and will sponsor biological activity. It was particularly pleasant to learn from Professor Sarwono and Dr. Didin, chairman and secretary of LIPI respectively, that this general scientific rehabilitation scheme included assistance towards the Flora Malesiana Foundation. Although the scientific elaboration of Flora Malesiana has been transferred as a major work project to the Rijksherbarium, a necessity since 1958, there are various desiderata left, amongst others contributions from Indonesian systematists. Unfortunately, the net result of Dr. Kostermans’s efforts to have promising Indonesian students thoroughly trained and prepared to share the tremendous task still before us, is meagre. Two of them, Dr. Soegeng and Dr. Didin, are occupied with very responsible and very necessary but largely administrative tasks, Dr. Prijanto died unexpectedly, and Dr. Soepadmo spends his time largely on educational matters. Clearly something must be done and we trust that in the near future creative work by Indonesian systematists can be resumed. We shall, I sincerely hope, overcome, and the future carries certainly very promising features for a more intense co-operation. And disinterested loyal co-operation is the very basis of ensuring achievement. It is with immense satisfaction that I see this perspective of a bright future ahead.

Description: Dr. J.A.R. Anderson, who retired from the Sarawak Forest Service, and now lives at 15 Church Hill, Edinburgh EH10 4BG, will continue his interest in Malesian botany and ecology as a consultant forester and ecologist. The MS. of a project on which he had been working for several years is now in the final stage. This is a ”Check List of the Trees of Sarawak”; the scientific names will be coded and alphabetically arranged by families, genera and species, together with a moderately comprehensive list of vernacular names. This should be of value to the Forest Department in Sarawak. Miss P. Aston, senior botanist at the Melbourne Herbarium, is Australian liaison officer at Kew where she will remain until mid-1974. She is specialized in aquatic plants of Australia on which subject she wrote a most informative book (1973) which will be duly reviewed in this journal.

Description: The entries have been split into five categories: a) Algae – b) Fungi & lichenes – c) Bryophytes – d) Pteridophytes – e) Spermatophytes & General subjects. — Books have been marked with an asterisk.

Description: In mid-1971 Dr. K. Iwatsuki made a four-weeks’ collecting trip in Thailand, 10 Sept.- 10 Oct. From Oct. 1971 till mid-January 1972 a joint Leyden exploring expedition was made by Mr. C.P. van Beusekom and Mr. R. Geesink to various parts of Thailand.

Description: I must apologize that this Bulletin appears late. Material had been assembled for it and I had anticipated to compose this number about Christmas 1971. But on my birthday, 31 Oct. 1971, it was announced as a complete surprise that the firm of Brill was authorised to publish a book on the Javanese Mountain Flora of which the core is 57 hand-coloured plates on which 456 different species are depicted. The fieldwork was done, and drawings were composed in 1939-1941. After the war no publisher could be found; a precursor with 4 plates appeared in Endeavour (21, 1962, 183-193). The condition attached to this allowance was that I should promise stante pede to deliver the text by end December 1971 or at least as soon as possible, because the promotors of the plan intended to present me with the printed book on the occasion of my retiring from office, 1 Sept. 1972. So the rather peculiar situation arose that I had to make my own present. With my already tight time schedule for my last year of office I hesitatingly agreed. The available text was, however, very incomplete, having been written in the war prison camp, thirty years ago. Moreover it was at that time intended to be very popular for a pocket size atlas, as Schröter’s ’Pflanzenführer fur Alpenwanderer’ which had stood model for the purpose. With the generous life-size plates and folio format book now envisaged to edit, this text had to be completely rewritten in much enlarged scope and all captions carefully checked with the present literature and with the herbarium. Though the plates are explained by the captions, the general text also needed illustration and so figures had to be made or selected and photographs sorted. I had to give this project absolute priority. Notwithstanding the most liberal assistance rendered to me by my senior staff members, to whom I could entrust several time-consuming official duties, the composition of the text was real slave labour for seven days a week until late for five months. The captions were delivered end January, the general text May 22nd. The colour plates are printed and come out magnificently, practically as good as the original water-colour drawings, and the captions are by now in page proof, so that I hope the work will indeed be printed early September and available in October. Publication of Flora Malesiana proceeds well. In April 1971 the third instalment of the Fern volume appeared (Lindsaea-group by Dr. Kramer) and the text for a fourth instalment by Prof. Holttum & Drs. Hennipman is almost finished in MS. The final instalment of vol. 6 is in press and will appear presumably in September. Of vol. 7 the first instalment containing revisions of 12 families appeared in Jan. 1972. The second instalment of vol. 7 is in print (Fagaceae, Passifloraceae) and will appear in autumn. There is the prospect of publishing in the rather near future three very large families: Moraceae, Cyperaceae and Dipterocarpaceae. From the third chapter of this Bulletin it can be observed that progress with revisional work is satisfactory, though speed of publication still falls short of my expectation.

Description: Asher’s Guide to botanical periodicals is a 3-weekly printed announcement of articles published in more than five thousand selected periodicals, in the field of: anatomy bibliography botanical history cytology dendrology ecology economic botany evolution floristics horticulture hydrobiology limnology medical mycology microbiology morphology palaeobotany palynology personalia pharmaceutical botany phytochemistry phytogenetics phytogeography plant physiology plant taxonomy toxicology Symposium and Congress Proceedings also to be included in the journal. An author index and plant name index taken from the titles of the articles will be added annually.

Description: Dr. J.A.R. Anderson, Kuching, was on leave in spring 1971; he would return in the middle of the year for a final short tour. Dr. Anderson’s merits for the development of Botany in Sarawak are extremely large; it is a great pity to see such most experienced personalities leave the scene. We are thankful for his important endeavours and wish him a happy retirement. Prof. Dr. C.D.K. Cook, Zürich, is preparing a manual for the identification of aquatic plants.

Description: The entries have been split into five categories: a) Algae — b) Fungi & Lichenes — c) Bryophytes — d) Pteridophytes — e) Spermatophytes & General subjects. — Books have been marked with an asterisk.

Description: Until his retirement in September 1972, Dr. C.G.G.J. van Steenis was director of the Rijksherbarium and professor of botany at Leiden University as well as Editor of the Flora Malesiana. In the function of professor-director he was succeeded by Dr. C. Kalkman, but has retained the Editorship of the Flora Malesiana. About the same time, a change in legislation in the Netherlands established ’democracy’ at all hierarchical levels of universities. It means that decisions are made by chosen committees or by voting. The merits of this system are still largely in the realms of hope. Fortunately, the Rijksherbarium people are very much of one mind, and to a man expressed themselves in favour of continuation of work on the Flora Malesiana. So it came about that, when Professor Van Steenis laid down the editorship of the Flora Malesiana Bulletin — although, as I am very glad to say, he will continue to contribute, and to compile the Bibliography — my name was put up for discussion and was approved by the members of the ’tropical staff’. Almost immediately thereupon, both Dr. Van Steenis and I went abroad (separately). This set the closing date of the Bibliography at 1 September 1973.

Description: Biotrop Bulletin. This new Bulletin started with No. 1 in 1970, printed by Archipel, Bogor, a paper by Mr. M. Soerjani, ’Alang alang, Imperata cylindrica (L.) P.B. pattern of growth as related to its problem of control’. 88 pp., 18 fig., 18 tab. This served also as a Ph.D. thesis for the author (promotor Prof. Ir. O. Soemarwoto, at Gadjah Mada University, 29 Aug. 1970). It comprises a detailed autecological study, partly experimental, on the morphology, phytochemistry, etc., effects of the environment and behaviour under various treatments. A combination of mechanical and chemical treatment is advised for eradicating this noxious weed.