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Ischaemum amboliense (Poaceae, Andropogoneae), a new species of Muraina grass, is described and illustrated here. The new species is closely allied to I. travancorense but differs from it in having annual habit and erect posture, culm with sparsely hairy nodes, well-exerted racemes, lower glumes of sessile spikelets with 3–4 side nodules without ridges, upper glume of sessile spikelets with bicuspidate apex and margins with a membranous wing on one side of apical region and lower lemma of sessile spikelets winged on both sides towards the apex. A strict consensus tree obtained from the Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian analyses of trnLC–trnLD and ETS datasets supported the novelty of the species. Here, we provide a detailed morphological description, molecular phylogenetic analysis, distribution map, and photo-plates of the novel and allied species.

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Pseudoxytenanthera madhavii a new species of bamboo, locally known as Mes and traditionally utilized in the northern Western Ghats of India, is described and illustrated. The new species can be distinguished from its allied species, P. stocksii by longer and shining culms, young culms covered with white powdery scuff, undulating culm blades, fresh culm sheaths with waxy coating, black to brownish black hairs on culm sheaths, hollow culms with wall thickness of 0.9–1.9 cm at breast height and filaments united more than half of the length. A detailed description, photoplates, distribution map are provided for the new species in addition to the key for Indian Pseudoxytenanthera.

The genus Smithsonia Saldanha (1974: 73) belongs to family Orchidaceae, subfamily Epidendroideae, tribe Vandeae, subtribe Aeridinae and is endemic to Western Ghats of India (Kumar et al. 2001, Irwin & Narasimhan 2011). The genus comprises three species, viz. S. straminea C.J.Saldanha (1974: 73), S. maculata (Dalzell) (1851: 282) C.J.Saldanha (1974: 74) and S. viridiflora (Lindl.) (1858: 38) C.J.Saldanha (1974: 75).