Rafael Govaerts has worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew since 1994. He generates synonymised taxonomic lists for selected families and has recently all Monocot families. This publication will be the eighth in the World Checklist series of which he is co-author. He is convener for TDWG and has interests in plant conservation.David Simpson has worked at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew since 1985 and is currently Assistant Keeper for Monocotyledons in the Herbarium. He is a leading specialist in Cyperaceae and has studied them in their natural habitats worldwide. As well as research on the systematics of the family his work focuses on the biogeography, conservation and sustainable utilisation of Cyperaceae, especially in Africa and Southeast Asia.