A revision of Microchirita (Gesneriaceae) in Thailand

Abstract

Microchirita (C.B.Clarke) Yin Z.Wang (Gesneriaceae: Didymocarpoideae) in Thailand is revised and 29 species are recognised, two of which have three varieties each. Eight new species are described, Microchirita albocyanea C.Puglisi, Microchirita glandulosa C.Puglisi, Microchirita hypocrateriformis C.Puglisi, Microchirita limbata C.Puglisi, Microchirita luteola C.Puglisi, Microchirita tadphoensis C.Puglisi, Microchirita tetsanae C.Puglisi, Microchirita thailandica C.Puglisi; three new varieties are described, Microchirita involucrata var. gigantiflora C.Puglisi, Microchirita mollissima var. glabra C.Puglisi, Microchirita mollissima var. glandulophylla C.Puglisi; and one name is combined at a new rank, Microchirita involucrata var. capitis (Craib) C.Puglisi. Two lectotypifications are made, one of which is a second step lectotypification. A key to all taxa is given, all taxa are described, and many are illustrated.

Progress on Southeast Asia’s Flora projects

“…Although it is not surprising that a family such as the Gesneriaceae, already known for having large numbers of locally endemic species in other parts of Southeast Asia, should be particularly poorly represented in a region of low collecting density, the contrast here between the Apocynaceae and Gesneriaceae may point to there being Weber & Burtt (1998), Hilliard & Burtt (2002), Hilliard (2004), Middleton (2007Middleton ( , 2009aMiddleton ( , 2016, Xu et al (2008), Anderson & Middleton (2013), Middleton et al (2014Middleton et al ( , 2015, Bransgrove & Middleton (2015), Puglisi & Middleton (2017a, 2017c, 2017d. Data from revisions of taxa from only restricted geographical areas are only included if the number of specimens from outside the area is known and incorporated.…”

Anatomy of Karst Plant: A Study On Microchirita caerulea (R.Br.) Yin Z. Wang (Gesneriaceae) From Madura Island

“…Salah satu marganya yang unik yaitu Microchirita (C.B.Clarke) Yin Z.Wang. Marga tersebut menyebar mulai dari India, Myanmar, Cina Selatan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Kamboja, Semenanjung Malaya, Sumatra, Jawa, hingga Borneo (Puglisi & Middleton, 2017).…”

Microchirita minor (Gesneriaceae), a new species from north-western Vietnam

“…Detailed morphological comparisons of the new species with M. hamosa are shown in Table 1. The floral measurements of M. hamosa were mainly derived from Wang et al (1990Wang et al ( , 1998, Puglisi and Middleton (2017) and our own observations and dissection.…”

“…The genus currently comprises 39 species and six varieties (POWO 2022), including some species published in recent years (e.g. Puglisi et al 2016;Puglisi and Middleton 2017;Rafidah 2019). The genus Microchirita grows exclusively in limestone karst habitats of tropical Asia, of which, Thailand is considered to be the centre of diversity of Microchirita with 29 species recorded (Puglisi and Middleton 2017), followed by Indonesia, Cambodia, China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam (Puglisi and Middleton 2017;Rafidah 2017;Middleton 2018;Vu 2018;Wei 2018;Fu et al 2022;Wei et al 2022;Wen et al 2022).…”