The taxonomic status of Isachne subglobosa Hatus. & T.Koyama (Poaceae: Micrairoideae), described from the southern Ryukyu Archipelago, is re-examined. This species was originally described as being closely related to I. globosa (Thunb.) Kuntze, which is widely distributed in temperate regions throughout tropical Asia and Australasia, but was often considered a synonym of I. dispar Trin., or has been treated as an insufficiently known taxon. Our field study and re-examination of the type materials revealed I. subglobosa to be distinct from I. dispar (= I. pulchella Roth), but it was difficult to distinguish from I. globosa (spikelet size, leaf width and hairiness were often variable even within the same population at the type locality). Type materials of I. globosa var. effusa (Trimen ex Hook.f.) Senaratna from Sri Lanka, which has morphological characteristics similar to I. subglobosa, were also considered to fall within the variation range of I. globosa. In conclusion, we consider I. subglobosa to be a synonym of the widespread and variable I. globosa, as well as I. globosa var. effusa. The lectotype of I.australis R.Br. var. effusa Trimen ex Hook.f. is designated.

A filmy fern specimen collected in Ishigaki-jima Island of the Ryukyu Islands located in southwestern Japan was identified as Hymenophyllum digitatum (Sw.) Fosberg (Hymenophyllaceae). It is a new record of the species for the flora of Japan as its northernmost distribution record in the world, and is also a new record in Japan for Hymenophyllum subgen. Sphaerocionium to which H. digitatum belongs. The nature of hairs observed in the present specimen matches that of H. digitatum, widely distributed in the Old World tropics, and the plastid rbcL sequences supported its inclusion in the presently circumscribed H. digitatum.

We collected an undetermined Luzula plant at Mt. Furanodake, Daisetsuzan Mountains, Hokkaido, Japan, which was similar to L. arcuata (Wahlenb.) Sw. subsp. unalaschkensis (Buchenau) Hultén but is distinguishable by the characters of leaves, sheaths, and inflorescences. The unknown plant was identified as L. tundricola Gorodkov ex V.N.Vassil. by referring descriptions and the specimens in the herbarium of the Hokkaido University Museum (SAPS). The species has been recorded in circumpolar areas north of the middle Kuril Islands, Kamchatka, Okhotsk, Siberia, and North America, and this is the first record from Japan. Description of morphology and habitat information based on the Hokkaido plants are provided.

We rediscovered a population of Euphorbia watanabei Makino subsp. watanabei (Euphorbiaceae) from Izu peninsula, Shizuoka Pref., Japan. This subspecies is endemic to the prefecture, and there has been no report since the 1960's in the Izu peninsula. The new population consisted of about 100 individuals in a semi-natural grassland dominated by Pteridium aquilinum subsp. japonicum.

In general standard, 100% alpha cellulose paper or cotton acid-free paper is used as the mounting paper for specimens in herbarium. However, there are no companies in Japan that produce herbarium mounting papers which emphasize storage stability and preservation. As the only way to obtain cotton papers suitable for specimens is to import it, domestic herbaria have used wood-pulp printing papers domestically produced. Toward the standardization of specimen mounting papers in Japan, this article attempts to select the most suitable paper for herbarium specimens from the papers of practical use in Japan in consideration of economic efficiency, storage stability, and storability.

Since its first edition in 1940, Makino’s “Illustrated Flora of Nippon” has been revised several times, in accordance with contemporary system of classifications, and published basically as “Makino’s Illustrated Flora of Japan” with slight modifications on its title. The original and revised versions have been widely used in Japan. Makino's original descriptions and illustrations remaining in these versions are still enlightening in various aspects. At the occasion of the publication of the reprint of the first edition in reduced size in 2019, some comments on the following species appeared in the Makino's Flora are presented: Cannabis sativa L., Zingiber mioga (Thunb.) Roscoe, Zoysia japonica Steud. and the genus Potamogeton L.