Name:

Aspidistra magnifica N.S.Lý, K.S.Nguyen & T.S.Hoang, Phytotaxa 480(1): 23 (2021).

Holotype:

 

Vietnam. Quảng Ngãi Province, Trà Bồng District, Trà Tây Commune, Vàng Village, Mount Cà Ðam, Nước Biếc stream, 15°9’13.40”N, 108°27’51.25”E, 900 m a.s.l., 23 July 2017, Lý Ngọc Sâm, Lý-807 (holotype VNM, isotype P).

Distribution:

Vietnam: Quảng Ngãi province.

Phenology:

Flowers in July; fruits in August–October.

Description

from 

protologue:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perennial rhizomatous herb, up to 105 cm tall. Rhizome creeping, unbranched, epigeous, with dense short internodes, 8–10 mm in diam., brownish, with many swollen roots, up to 40 cm long, 4–5 mm in diam. Cataphylls 3–4, oblong to ovate-oblong, up to 20–25 cm long, the inner ones longer than the outer ones near the base, dark purple to purple, whitish near base, later straw-brown. Leaves solitary, 0.8–3.5 cm apart, distinctly divided into petiole and lamina, petiole stiff, 34.5–62 cm long, light green, ventrally with shallow v-shaped furrow, basally slightly swollen 5–9 mm in diam., greenish-white, sometimes with purplish blotch, lamina elliptic to oblanceolate-elliptic, unequal, 39.3–63.2 × 8.5–13 cm, attenuate at both ends, adaxially dark-green, semi-glossy, abaxially light green, semi-glossy, mid vein strongly prominent on abaxial surface, each half of lamina with 6–10 prominent secondary veins, between them 8–10 fine tertiary nerves with numerous anastomoses, somewhat prominent at lower surface, margin very minutely serrate. Flowers (1‒)2‒3, usually obliquely upright, sometimes horizontal, with a slight fragrance. Peduncle stout, thick, erect or obliquely upwards, rarely horizontal, 5.8–7.2 cm long, 4–5 mm in diam., whitish at basal third, bright purple distally, basally with 2–3 triangular ovate scales, 6–8 × 10–15 mm, distally with 2–3 larger broadly oblong-ovate scales adjacent to flower, 15–17 × 21–22 mm, scales externally bright purple with dark-purple at apical part, internally whitish at basal half, tinted purple distally, densely purple dotted at dorsal surface, with 9–18 inconspicuous nerves, slightly prominent on outer surface, apex rounded with a mucro ca. 1 mm long. Perigone tube broadly campanulate to bowl-shaped, fleshy, 18–22 mm tall, 40–45 mm wide, externally purple-red, finely tiny verrucose, internally purple-black, densely verrucose at upper half, 12-lobed apically, lobes unequal, deflexed, narrowly ovate, apex obtuse, arranged indistinctly in 2-whorls, lobes (16–)18–22 mm long, (6–)8–13 mm wide at base, each with 3–4 strongly prominent keels, 2.5–3 mm high, running from the lower half of adaxial side of perigone lobes to the upper half of inner surface of perigone tube, adaxially purple-black, semi-glossy and irregularly foveolate, abaxially purple-black to reddish-purple, with thin marginal edges ca. 0.3 mm wide, tube wall 2.5–3 mm thick, lobes 3–3.5 mm thick near base. Stamens 12, radially arranged at more or less flat base of tube, at the same radii with lobes, completely hidden below stigma, anthers sessile, sunken in tube wall, oblong-ovate, 4.2–5 mm long, 2–3 mm wide near the base, yellow, latrorse, thecae separated by cream-whitish connective tissue, without a connective appendage, pollen golden-yellow. Pistil table-shaped, 5–7 mm tall, ovary indistinct, style stout, very short cylindrical, 1–1.5 mm long, 5–6 mm in diam., dark-purple; stigma fleshy, disc shaped, circular, 25–26 mm in diam., filling nearly completely the base of tube, flat with slightly downcurved margin, upper surface smooth at centre, peripherically with numerous fine radiate ridges, white, lower surface darkpurple, purple at margin, with radiate ridges. Fruiting peduncles stiff, 5.8–6.3 × 0.4–0.5 cm, purple, glabrous; mature fruit berries, subglobose, without spines, ca. 15 × 12 mm, deeply black, semi-shiny, corrugated with prominently longitudinal stripes. Seed wedge-shaped, 1.3–1.5 × 0.9 –1 cm, pale cream.

Sourses:

Lý et al. (2022) – Phytotaxa 480 (1): 22–28.

Gallery: