Typhonium kbangense is described as a new species from Vietnam. It is one of eleven species recently found in central and southern Vietnam. It belongs to the pedate leaf blade group of species and is closest to T. bachmaense and T. dongnaiense, but is differentiated from the two latter by having much longer sterile flowers, not dense as in T. dongnaiense, and without being clavate apically as in T. bachmaense. A table of morphological characters for the three species, the ecological characteristics, specific habitat and conservation status of the new species are estimated and provided.

Explaining where plants originated and how plants migrated between eastern Asia and other Northern Hemisphere regions is still challenging. The genus Arisaema is considered a good example to illuminate this process, due to its wide distribution in both the tropical and temperate zones. Based on comprehensive taxon sampling, the historical biogeography of Arisaema was conducted using the molecular data from four chloroplast DNA regions. The phylogeny of Arisaema was studied by using ML and BI methods. Divergence times of Arisaema species were estimated by the uncorrelated lognormal Bayesian method. The ancestral area reconstruction of Arisaema was performed with BioGeoBEARS and Bayes-DIVA. Our results indicated that the crown group of Arisaema originated in Southeast Asia ca. 31.28 Ma. After the initial origin, Arisaema was inferred to have become widespread in Southeast Asia. Members in Himalayas, Africa and North China, Japan, the Korean Peninsula region (NJK region) were derived from migrants originating in Southeast Asia. American members were derived from migrants originating in the NJK region. Arisaema originated in Southeast Asia during the Oligocene with the development of tropical rainforest and a warm, moist climate. During the Oligocene to Miocene, Southeast Asia was the original center for the diversification of Arisaema in the NJK region.

DNA barcoding is one of the widely useful tools to identify the nomenclature of creatures. The target of this study is to identify 5 gastropods and 3 bivalves distributed in the Truong Sa Islands (Spratly Islands) of Vietnam using the 16S rDNA gene of mtDNA. The 16S gene fragment was isolated from the molluscs genome mtDNA by PCR technique. The PCR product was purified and sequenced. The 16S rDNA gene fragment was approximately 600 bp in length. The nucleotides of the 16S rDNA gene fragment were compared with those published on Genbank using the BLAST tool. The results showed that four gastropods named Cypraea tigris Linnaeus, 1758; Mauritia arabica Linnaeus, 1758; Oxymeris maculata Linnaeus, 1758; Drupa morum Röding, 1798; Haliotis ovina Gmelin, 1791 and three bivalves titled Tridacna squamosa Lamarck, 1819; Pinna atropurpurea G.B. Sowerby I, 1825; and Chama congregata Conrad, 1833 were identified. In which, T. squamosa and H. ovinawere classified as Vulnerable in Vietnam’s Red Data Book (2007). C. congregata is mainly distributed in South America, but in the study was first recorded in Vietnam’s sea. Using the 16S rDNA gene to determine molluscs in the Truong Sa Islands (Spratly Islands) of Vietnam contribited to accurately identifying creatures and provided basic data for further research in ecology, evolution and conservation of creatures.