New Species of Chionographis (Melanthiaceae) from Eastern Indochina

• Main Authors: Leonid V. Averyanov, Noriyuki Tanaka
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: National Taiwan University 2014-03-01
• Series: Taiwania
• Subjects: Chionographis actinomorpha; Laos; Melanthiaceae; new species; plant diversity; plant taxonomy; Vietnam
• Online Access: http://tai2.ntu.edu.tw/taiwania/abstract.php?type=abstract&id=1347

New species – Chionographis actinomorpha (Melanthiaceae) discovered on the border of central Vietnam and Laos is described and illustrated. Standard citations of type specimens, description, name etymology, data on ecology, phenology and distribution, as well as short taxonomic remarks for the new species are provided. The species differs from all its congeners in having antrorse, actinomorphic flowers with tepals of the same length. This fact may also imply that this new species retains more primitive character states than any other species of this genus. Discovery of this species in middle-east Indochina remarkably extends the generic range hitherto known to the far southwest.