Name:

Aspidistra babensis K.S.Nguyen, Aver. & Tillich, Ann. Bot. Fenn. 57(1-3): 18 (2019).

Holotype:

 

 

Herbarium specimen prepared from cultivated plant on 23 April 2019, Nguyen Sinh Khang, NSK 969a (holotype: HN0000074111). Original collection: Vietnam. Bac Kan Province, Ba Be District, Ba Be National Park, Nam Mau Commune, remnants of primary evergreen broad-leaved forest on limestone mountain, around point 22°24´49.4´´N, 105°37´35.7´´E, ca. 250 m a.s.l., 8 August 2017 Nguyen Sinh Khang et al., NSK 969.

Specimens:

 

 

 

 

Paratypes: NSK 969 (HN0000074112, HN0000074113, HN0000074114, LE01058147); Herbarium specimen prepared from cultivated plants on 28 June 2017, Nguyen Sinh Khang & Chuong Quang Ngan, NSK 963b (HN0000074115) and on 4 July 2019, Nguyen Sinh Khang & Chuong Quang Ngan, NSK 963c (LE01058148) originated from Vietnam, Bac Kan Province, Ba Be District, Ba Be National Park, Nam Mau Commune, Ao Tien Lake area, remnants of primary evergreen broad-leaved forest on limestone mountain, around point 22°26´57.1´´N, 105°37´00.8´´E, ca. 210 m a.s.l., 19 April 2016 Shui Y.M., Chen W.H., Liu C., Nguyen Q.H., Nguyen T.H., Chuong Q.N. s.n.

Distribution:

Vietnam: Bac Kan province.

Phenology:

Flowers in April in greenhouse.

Description

from 

protologue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Terrestrial perennial herb with hypogeous simple or few branches, creeping stout rhizome (5)9–15(23) cm long bearing many dull yellowish-gray wiry rigid roots; rhizome consisting of (3)5–7(13) sympodial plagiotropic segments, each (1)1.5–2.5(3) cm long, (0.6)0.7–0.9(1.2) cm in diam., old naked, showing (5)7–9 annular rings, apical segments terminated by oblique, strongly abbreviated stems (3)5–7 mm long, bearing (5)7–9 cataphylls and 1 erect young leaf. Cataphylls during anthesis herbaceous, black to dark purple-violet or red-violet when young, later purple brown to light brown, broadly deltoid, elliptic, to oblanceolate, obscurely conduplicate to convolute, straight, upright, enveloping a young shoot and a leaf petiole, (0.5)1–8.5(9.5) cm long, (0.9)1.1–1.5(1.8) cm wide (being flattened), with broadly acute to subacute apex, entire and membranous along margin, rotten within 2 months after maturing. Leaves petiolate; petiole usually dark green, with yellowish brown underground base, stiff, rigid, erect or slightly oblique, straight, (7)10–17(25) cm long, (3)3.5–4(4.5) mm in diam., adaxially grooved; leaf blade rigid, suberect to somewhat arching, leathery, more or less flat, narrowly ovate to ovate or elliptic, tapering to an acute apex and distinctly oblique base, (12)20–25(30) cm long, (4)6.5–8.5(9.5) cm wide, irregularly wavy along margin, glossy, adaxially dark green, abaxially pale green; median vein slightly sunken at upper surface and prominent at lower surface from base to apex; secondary veins numerous (15–20 veins per 1 cm width) rather indistinct from both surfaces of fresh material. Flowers 1–2, arising laterally from nodes, near youngest leaf of leafy stem in apical rhizome segment, pedunculate, suberect or oblique, thick fleshy, campanulate, at anthesis widely opening for a few days, then gradually closing, (2.8)3–3.2 cm in diam., (2.2)2.5–2.8(3) cm tall. Peduncle straight, (1.5)2–3.5(4.5) cm long, (3)3.5–4(4.5) mm in diam., yellowish to purple, with (5)7–9 distant or overlapped sterile bracts; sterile bracts purplish brown to dark purple, broadly deltoid to ovate, concave, nearly rounded to broadly obtuse at apex, herbaceous, enveloping peduncle, smallest size proximally, 1–2(3) bracts near middle and 2–3(4) bracts at base and apex; bract (0.3)0.6–1.2(1.4) cm long, (1)1.2–1.4(1.6) cm wide (being flattened). Perigone thick, fleshy, split almost to base forming 6 free lobes, syntepalous part almost flat. Perigone lobes subequal, fleshy, suberect or slightly patent, dark red to black purple, abaxial surface verrucose, narrow deltoid to oblong, (1.6)1.8–2.1(2.3) cm long, (0.9)1–1.3(1.4) cm wide, adaxially irregulary crumpled with two partly inconspicuous ribs and a strongly protruding thickening near base (5–6 mm width), apex obtuse, straight or incurved. Stamens 6, anthers sessile, attached to base of syntepalous part of perigone near base of ovary; anthers almost flat, ovate, (4.5)4.8–5(5.2) mm long, (2.2)2.5–2.8(3) mm wide, 1–1.5 mm distant from each other, apex with a short, recurved connective extension 1 mm long, base somewhat cordate; pollen sacs upward opening; pollen dull yellow. Pistil mushroom-shaped; style fleshy, obconoid (2)2.2–2.5(3) mm tall, (4)4.5–5 mm in diam. at apex, narrowing downward to base; stigma slightly convex to almost hemispheric, fleshy, (4.5)5–5.5(6) mm thick, (1.4)1.5–1.6(1.8) cm in diam., nearly circular in outline, with 6 blunt recurved lobes, irregularly crenulate along margin, surface glossy, verrucose, dull yellowwhite at margin, central area with a dark purplered tripartite patch, lower surface almost uniformly red-purple, with 6 radial straight furrows. Ovary inconspicuous, 3-loculate, each chamber containing 3–5 ovoid ovules. Fruits unknown.

Sourses:

Nguyen et al. (2020) – Annales Botanici Fennici, 57(1-3): 17-22.

Gallery: