Dr. W.-L. CHEW has formerly been a curator in SING, staff member of NSW, attached to the IUCN until 1982 and to the United Nations in Thailand for conservation purposes until 1983. He has now returned to botany revitalizing his project on the Malesian Piperaceae on which he had worked before, publishing two precursory papers in the J. Arn. Arb. 53 (1972) 1—25, and Blumea 20 (1972) 145—149. He is eagerly looking for a sponsor or temporary Fellowship to finish the monograph which he thinks can be done in 2 years’ time. Dr. E.H.J. CORNER was awarded the First International Prize for Biology. This prize was established in 1985 by a consortium in Japan to mark the Emperor’s longtime devotion to research in biology and in celebration of the 60th year of his accession. The 1985 award was designated for contributions in the field of taxonomy. The presentation was made personally by the Emperor at the inaugural ceremony on 16—18 November 1985. This award to Dr. Corner was given for his numerous and diverse contributions to plant taxonomy ranging from fungi to figs and recognizes his widely acknowledged status as one of the leading systematists of our time. As he also became 80 on 12 January 1986 we here wish to congratulate him with both occasions!