Name:

Aspidistra atrata Aver., Tillich & Q.H.Bui – Wulfenia 23: 58. (2016).

Holotype:

 

Northern Vietnam, Thanh Hoa province, Quan Hoa district, Phu Son municipality, Khoa village, around point 20°29’12.5”N, 104°57’03.5”E, 16 June 2016, B.H. Quang, V.T. Chinh, D.H. Son, T.D. Binh, DTL 29 [holotype: HN, isotypes: HN, LE].

Distribution:

Vietnam: Thanh Hoa province.

Phenology:

Flowers in nature in May–June.

Description

from 

protologue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrestrial perennial herb with hypogeous, much branching, plagiotropic rhizome. Rhizome rigid, many-nodal, (3)4–5(6) cm long, (2)2.5–4(5.5) mm in diam., with many thick, pale yellowish-gray roots, 2.5–3 mm in diam. Leafy part of rhizome plagiotropic or hardly ascending, short, (1)1.5–2.5(3) cm long, covered by papyraceous, dull yellowish-brown remains of cataphylls, with (4)5–7(8) leaves. Young cataphylls conduplicate to almost tabular, narrowly triangular lanceolate (being flattened), obtuse, brownish-green to green flushed with purplebrown, herbaceous, straight, upright, (3)4–6(7) cm long, (3.5)4–6(8) mm wide. Leaves petiolate; petiole grass-green, stiff, rigid, erect to oblique, straight or slightly curved, (12)16–24(26) cm long (1.5)2–2.5(3) mm in diam., adaxially grooved; leaf blade arching to almost horizontal, leathery, more or less flat, ovate to narrowly ovate, acuminate to attenuate and acute at apex, slightly oblique at the base, (12)14–18(22) cm long, (3.5)4–6(6.5) cm wide, straight or slightly irregularly wavy along margin, light grass-green with many dull yellowish spots on both sides, with prominent median and few rather weak secondary veins. Flowers 1–3(4), solitary, arising from apical part of leafy shoot, pedunculate; peduncle horizontal to suberect, (2)2.2–2.6(3) cm long, white, almost completely enveloped by 3–4(5) imbricate, sterile bracts; sterile bracts pure white, ovate to broadly ovate, concave, obtuse, fleshy to papyraceous, (8)10–18(20) mm long, (5)6–8(10) mm wide (being flattened). Perigone tube cupulate with slightly bulging upper part, entirely uniformly black or dark black-purple, fleshy, smooth and glossy, finely longitudinally grooved, (1.8)2(2.2) cm long, (0.9)1–1.2(1.3) cm in diam., with 6 free lobes at apex. Perigone lobes subequal, triangular, obtuse, (4)4.5–5(6) mm long, (4)4.2–4.6(4.8) mm wide, shallowly 3-grooved, almost flat at the base, with involute margins in apical half, spreading or reflexed. Stamens 6, sessile, placed in shallow hollows at the base of perianth tube; anthers almost half globular, (1.8)2(2.2) mm in diam., dark brown; pollen sacs introrse. Pistil black, the base white flushed with dirty purple; style fleshy, double conical, broadening to the base and apex (6.5)7–8(8.5) mm tall, 2–3(3.5) mm in diam.; stigma fleshy, rather smooth, peltate, (8)8.5–9.5(10) mm in diam., circular in outline, 6-undulate, with 6 triangular roundish lobes, black. Ovary inconspicuous, very indistinct, white flushed with dirty purple.

Sourses:

Averyanov L.V. et al. (2016) – Wulfenia 23: 57– 67.

Gallery: