The Korea National Arboretum (KNA) in Pocheon, Korea has diverse plant species including Rosaceae species of high ecological and landscape significance; however, no fungal disease surveys have been conducted. Thus, we investigated rust occurrence and identification across diverse plant species of the subtribe Malinae (Rosaceae) and examined host diversity (or specificity) of rusts in this study, as well as in the literature and databases. We collected rust (aecial stages) samples from the leaves of nine Malinae species on June 20, July 7, July 21, or August 8, 2025. We also identified rust samples by analyzing the sequences of internal transcribed spacer and large subunit rDNA regions, as well as aeciospore characteristics. We revealed that Gymnosporangium asiaticum occurred in six host species of five genera (Aria, Chaenomeles, Crataegus, Pseudocydonia, and Pyrus) in subtribe Malinae; Gymnosporangium yamadae occurred in three species of the genus Malus in the subtribe. Literature and databases further revealed that G. asiaticum occurred in plant species of nine genera (Aria, Chaenomeles, Crataegus, Cydonia, Malus, Photinia, Pourthiaea, Pseudocydonia, and Pyrus); G. yamadae occurred in plant species of only the genus Malus in Malinae. This is the first comparative study of rusts caused by G. asiaticum and G. yamadae at KNA; it provides basic information on the occurrence of two different rusts and may facilitate the development of appropriate rust management strategies.

A newly recorded species, Boehmeria nakashimae Yahara, is confirmed for the first time to be distributed on forest edges on Jejudo Island, Korea. This species is known to be endemic to northern Kyushu, Japan. It is characterized by ovate to broadly ovate, ellipticovate, or sub-orbicular middle leaf shapes, serrulate-dentate and uniform margins, 17–29 teeth on one side, a short caudate or narrowly acute apex, dense glomerules at fruiting, and densely strigillose on the stems, both surfaces of the leaves, the perianth of staminate flowers, and achenes. Therefore, it is given the new name ‘Je-ju-top-mo-si-pul’ in Korean based on its serrulate-dentate leaf margin and geographical distribution. A description, photographs, illustrations, and keys of related taxa in Korea are provided.

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.

This review provides information about the nomenclatural status of new names proposed by Dr. Yong No Lee, in accordance with the current International Code of Nomenclature for Algae, Fungi, and Plants. A total of 363 designations and names were proposed from 16 books and 95 papers by Dr. Yong No Lee, and their status was examined, with 161 designations found to be not validly published. In addition, 13 later isonyms and ten later homonyms were found by this review. However, 173 names were found to be legitimate. All designations and names were categorized according to their nomenclatural status and were listed by place of publication. The nomenclatural statuses of six designations or names, including “Iris odaesanensis,” were not confirmed in this review. It is therefore necessary to undertake further research into the nomenclatural status of these taxa by examining their types and published protologues.

Mosladadoensis (Lamiaceae), a new species from the southern islands of South Korea, is described and illustrated. The new species is morphologically similar to M.chinensis, but is distinguished from the latter by having two types of hairs on its stems, wider leaf blades, longer corolla length, and ellipsoid nutlets with a narrowly U-shaped extended area of abscission scar. Mosladadoensis is also distinguished from the Chinese narrow endemic M.hangchouensis by having an included pistil to the corolla, smaller ellipsoid nutlets, and later flowering and fruiting season. Phylogenetic analyses, based on two nuclear ribosomal (ETS, ITS) and three chloroplast (rbcL, matK, trnL-F) DNA regions, confirmed that the new species was constructed as monophyletic, and that M.dadoensis and M.hangchouensis form a sister group with robust support. We hereby provide a detailed morphological description of M.dadoensis with its corresponding geographical distributions, and comparison tables of related taxa.

We provide information on 143 sheets of type specimens of 39 species and infraspecific taxa of vascular plants stored in the herbarium of the National Institute of Biological Resources. The specimens were donated by Changwon National University (Prof. Hyeok-Jae Choi), Chungbuk National University (Prof. Byoung-Un Oh), Ewha Womans University (Prof. Chang-Sook Lee), Hallym University (Prof. Young-Dong Kim), Jeonbuk National University (Prof. Muyeol Kim), Korea National Arboretum, Mokwon University (Prof. Jeong Ki Sim), Sungkyunkwan University (Prof. Seung-Chul Kim), and some researchers at KB. The specimens included four sheets for holotypes, 46 sheets for isotypes, and 93 sheets for paratypes of three species and infraspecific taxa of pteridophytes, 21 dicotyledons, and 15 monocotyledons. Nine sheets were sourced from China and 134 sheets were sourced from Korea.

Ligularia stenocephala (Maxim.) Matsum. & Koidz is a widely known edible plant species in Korea. It contains various useful antioxidant compounds and has been developed as a horticultural cultivar blooming showy inflorescence. We report the complete plastid genome (plastome) of Ligularia stenocephala, a collection from Korea. The plastome of L. stenocephala is 151,158 base pairs (bp) long and includes a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions (24,830 bp each) that are separated by a large single copy (LSC) region (83,265 bp) and a small single copy (SSC) region (18,233 bp). The phylogenetic tree shows that L. stenocephala is closely related to L. fischeri with strong bootstrap support.

A new species Impatienshambaeksanensis from Gangwon-do, South Korea, is described and illustrated, based on its morphology and distribution. I.hambaeksanensis is different from I.furcillata, another similar Impatiens species in South Korea, in some ways: I.hambaeksanensis possesses a serrate leaf margin with flat tooth tip, while I.furcillata possesses a crenate leaf margin with erect tooth tip; it has an erect inflorescence, while I.furcillata has a pendulous inflorescence; it has a smaller flower which is 2-2.6 cm long, while I.furcillata has a flower of 2.3-3.2 cm; the flower is white or pinkish-white with yellowish and purplish spots, while I.furcillata has a white lower sepal and pinkish-white lateral united petals with yellowish spots; the distal part of the lower sepal is mostly not coiled or rarely 1-coiled, while that of I.furcillata is never coiled; the spur tip is expanded, round and slightly biparted, while that of I.furcillata is expanded, ellipsoidal and clearly biparted. A taxonomic description, a holotype and photos of morphological characteristics of the new species are provided. A table which includes the morphological comparison and a geographical distribution map are presented as well.

Cymbidium goeringii, commonly known as the spring orchid, has long been favoured for horticultural purposes in Asian countries. It is a popular orchid with much demand for improvement and development for its valuable varieties. Until now, its reference genome has not been published despite its popularity and conservation efforts. Here, we report the de novo assembly of the C. goeringii genome, which is the largest among the orchids published to date, using a strategy that combines short- and long-read sequencing and chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) information. The total length of all scaffolds is 3.99 Gb, with an N50 scaffold size of 178.2 Mb. A total of 29,556 protein-coding genes were annotated and 3.55 Gb (88.87% of genome) repetitive sequences were identified. We constructed pseudomolecular chromosomes using Hi-C, incorporating 89.4% of the scaffolds in 20 chromosomes. We identified 220 expanded and 106 contracted genes families in C. goeringii after divergence from its close relative. We also identified new gene families, resistance gene analogues and changes within the MADS-box genes, which control a diverse set of developmental processes during orchid evolution. Our high quality chromosomal-level assembly of C. goeringii can provide a platform for elucidating the genomic evolution of orchids, mining functional genes for agronomic traits and for developing molecular markers for accelerated breeding as well as accelerating conservation efforts.

Scrophularia species are highly valued and widely used traditional medicinal plants in East Asia. In this article, the complete chloroplast genome of Scrophularia cephalantha, a species endemic to South Korea, is reported for the first time. The genome is 153,016 bp long, and it is composed of a pair of 25,485 bp inverted repeats (IRs), separated by a large single copy (LSC) region of 84,124 bp, and a small single copy (SSC) region of 17,922 bp. There are 133 predicted genes in the genome, comprising 88 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNAs, and 8 rRNAs, with an overall GC content of 38%. Phylogenetic analysis based on the chloroplast genome data showed that S. cephalantha is a sister species to S. buergeriana and S. ningpoensis. The data provide useful molecular information for phylogenetic and evolutionary studies of the genus Scrophularia and its related species.