Aspidistra letreae Aver., Tillich & T. A. Le 2017, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Averyanov, Leonid V.
name: Tillich, Hans-Juergen
name: Le, Tuan Anh
name: Pham, Van The
name: Maisak, Tatiana V.
name: Vu, Tien Chinh
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Asparagales
Asparagaceae
Aspidistra
Aspidistra letreae

description: Aspidistra letreae Aver., Tillich & T.A. Le, sp. nov. (Fig. 1)
Type:— VIETNAM. Quang Tri province, Vinh Linh district, Vinh Ha commune, around point 16°5’80.44”N 106°5’24.39”E, primary and secondary evergreen broad-leaved lowland forest at elevation about 100 m a.s.l., terrestrial herb on shady reclined slope, not common, 10 October 2016, Anh Le Tuan, Ta Quoc Khanh, PVT 712 (holotype – LE; isotypes – VNMN). Plate:—d-EXSICCATES OF VIETNAMESE FLORA 0268/PVT 712 (Fig. 1).
Terrestrial perennial herb with epigeous simple or few branching, erect or oblique stem-like stout rhizome (1.5)2–4(5) cm long, Ø (4)5–6(7) mm, densely covered by many, dirty gray or yellowish-gray papyraceous-fibrous remains of cataphylls; leafy apical part of rhizome very short, simple, (0.5)1–1.5(2) cm tall; basal, leafless part dirty gray, more or less flexuose, with many stilt roots. Roots gray straight rigid, Ø (2)2.5–4(5) mm. Cataphylls during anthesis dry, dull pale yellowish, narrowly lanceolate to linear, obtuse, straight, upright, (2)5–16(20) cm long, (2.5)3–6(8) mm wide (being flattened), somewhat broadening at the base. Leaves on individual shoot (3)4(5), petiolate; petiole dark green, stiff, rigid, erect, straight, (10)15–25(30) cm long, Ø (1.5)2–2.5(3) mm, adaxially grooved; leaf blade straight to slightly arching, leathery, more or less flat or slightly conduplicate, narrowly lanceolate to almost linear, tapering to acute apex, with rather broad, shortly cuneate base, (45)50–65(70) cm long, (1.5)2–3(3.2) cm wide, straight or hardly irregularly wavy along margin, uniformly dark grass-green on both sides, with prominent median vein and 4 distinct secondary veins. Flowers 1–2(3), solitary, arising laterally from leafy part of the stem, shortly pedunculate, nutant, widely opening, Ø (3.8)4.5–5(5.5) cm. Peduncle horizontal, down curved, short, (1)1.5–2.5(3) cm long, Ø (2.8)3– 3.5(4) mm, light green to dirty olive, almost completely enveloped by (3)4(5) densely imbricate, sterile bracts; sterile bracts dirty olive-greenish tinged with purple-brown to uniformly dark olive-green, broadly ovate, obtuse, with broad base, usually apically splitting, concave, coriaceous, (6)10–15(18) mm long, (8)10–16(18) mm wide (being flattened). Perigonium with 6–7 free lobes, rather uniformly purple-brown to chestnut, fleshy, smooth and glossy, syntepalous part concave, (3.5)4–5(6) mm in depth. Perigonium lobes subequal, fleshy, almost flat or slightly longitudinally convex, smooth and glossy, uniformly purple-brown to chestnut, triangular, (1.2)1.4–1.7(1.8) cm long, (0.8)0.9–1.4(1.5) cm wide, obtuse at apex. Stamens 6–7, sessile, placed in the middle part of syntepalous part of perianth; anthers ovoid, (3)3.2–3.5(3.8) mm long, (2.2)2.5–3(3.2) mm wide, much distant from each other; pollen sacs introrse; pollen bright yellow. Pistil white, mushroom-shaped; style fleshy, shortly cylindrical (5.5)6–7(8) mm tall, Ø (2.8)3–5(6) mm; stigma almost hemispheric, 4–5 mm tall, Ø (12)14–16(18) mm, circular in outline, shallowly irregularly crenulate along margin, or obscurely hexagonal, shallowly ribbed beneath, fleshy, densely papillose, white to light dull greenish. Ovary inconspicuous, very indistinct, white. Fruits unknown.
Etymology:—Species epithet refers to Dr. Le Thi Tre, teacher of Hue University’s college of education, who was an educator of the third co-author of this paper.
Habitat, phenology and conservation status:—Terrestrial rhizomatous herb. Primary and secondary evergreen broad-leaved lowland forest on alluvial soils at elevation around 100 m a.s.l., commonly on shady reclined slopes in assemblage with Curculigo sp., Thottea hainanensis and Gomphia serrata. Not common. Flowering in September– October. Estimated IUCN Red List status DD.
Distribution:—Central Vietnam (Quang Tri province, Vinh Linh district). Endemic of central Vietnam.
Similar species:—The new species, with its nodding flowers, is similar to Aspidistra truongii and A. obtusata, both described from central Vietnam (Averyanov & Tillich 2013, Vislobokov 2016), but can be clearly distinguished from both. A. letreae differs from the first species in presenting much shorter peduncle and circular stigma. From the second species, it differs in the broadly opening campanulate flowers and distinct cylindrical style. From both species it differs in the narrowly lanceolate to almost linear leaves and larger flowers with hemispherical stigma clearly overtopping perigonium tube. The floral morphology of the new species resembles Aspidistra zhangii, described from limestone lowlands of northeastern Vietnam (Averyanov et al. 2016). However it distinctly differs in the large, narrowly lanceolate to almost linear leaves, twice larger, rather uniformly purple-brown, nutant flowers, triangular, acute perianth lobes and almost circular (not lobed) stigma.
description: Published as part of Averyanov, Leonid V., Tillich, Hans-Juergen, Le, Tuan Anh, Pham, Van The, Maisak, Tatiana V. & Vu, Tien Chinh, 2017, Aspidistra letreae (Asparagaceae), a new species from central Vietnam, pp. 137-140 in Phytotaxa 308 (1) on pages 137-139, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.308.1.14, http://zenodo.org/record/13700866