The second volume of The Himalayan Plants follows the same general pattern as the first. The intention once again is to illustrate the diversity of morphological, cytological and ecological features and present revisions of various taxonomic groups that are concentrated in the Himalayan region. This volume contains one chapter on vegetation, five on taxonomy, and one on wood anatomy.

We wish to express our sincere thanks to Dr. David E. Boufford, Harvard University, for his critical reading and for correcting the English of the manuscript. We are indebted to the National Council for Science and Technology, Nepal, for providing us with facilities during our field research. We are grateful to Mr. Keikichi Murayama, President, Sanwa Shoyaku, Co., Ltd., Utsunomiya; Mr. Takashi Miyahara, Executive, Trans Himalayan Tours, Ltd., Tokyo and Kathmandu; Mr. Kenji Midorikawa, Tokyo; and Mr. Kazuyuki Takahashi, Director, Kamoshika Sports, Inc., Tokyo, for their kindness in aiding us in various ways. We are also thankful to the local authorities in Nepal for their help during our field trip.

This research was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Overseas Scientific Research, No. 58041022 in 1983, No. 59043020 in 1984, No. 60041018 in 1985, and No. 61043015 in 1986 (to H.O.), and Overseas Scientific Studies No. 63041060 in 1988 (to Mitsuo Suzuki) from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan.

14 February 1991

Hideaki Ohba and Samar B. Malla