Aspidistra letreae (Asparagaceae), a new species from central Vietnam

Abstract

Since last account of the genus Aspidistra Ker Gawler (1822: 628) in Vietnam reported 43 species (Tillich 2014), at least 25 additional species were discovered and described in this country (Averyanov & Tillich 2014, 2015, 2016, Vislobokov et al. 2014a, 2014b, 2016, Leong-Skornickova et al. 2014, Olivier 2015, Ly & Tilllich 2015, Vislobokov 2015, 2016, Averyanov et al. 2016). Meanwhile, the diversity of the genus in Vietnam and allied countries remains insufficiently inventoried. One more new species of Aspidistra, named here as A. letreae was discovered recently in central Vietnam. This species is described and illustrated with data on its ecology, phenology, tentative relations, distribution and expected conservation status. The new species somewhat resembles Aspidistra truongii Averyanov & Tillich (2013: 108), A. obtusata Vislobokov (2016: 694) and Aspidistra zhangii Averyanov, Tillich & Nguyen in Averyanov et al. (2016: 62), but differs clearly by a series of morphological features noted below.

Aspidistra anomala, A. elegans and A. sinensis spp. nov. (Asparagaceae, Convallariaceae s.s.) from China, Laos and Vietnam

“…This paper contains new results of a successive investigation of the species diversity of the genus Aspidistra Ker‐Gawl. (, p. 628), which has a significant center of richness in mainland southeastern Asia (Huang , Li , , Lang et al , Liang and Tamura , Tang and Liu , Bogner and Arnautov , Tillich et al , Tillich , , Tillich and Averyanov , , Lin and Liu , Liu et al , Averyanov and Tillich , , , , Lin et al , , , , Hu et al , Meng et al , Vislobokov et al , Olivier ). It includes illustration and descriptions of three new species discovered in southern China, central Laos and northern Vietnam.…”

New taxa and new records in Aspidistra (Convallariaceae s.s.) of Laos and Vietnam

“…Available data indicate eastern Indochina as the largest center of species diversity of this genus. The most recent results of investigations in this area have been summarized in a series of recent publications (Averyanov and Tillich , , Averyanov et al , , , b, , b, Vislobokov 2015, , Vislobokov et al , , Nguyen et al , , Nuraliev et al , Tillich et al , Tillich and Averyanov ). Meanwhile, the diversity of the genus is still far from well known and understood.…”

New species of Aspidistra (Convallariaceae s.s.) in the flora of Vietnam

“…Presently, more than a hundred species, which represent at least 70–75% of the currently known taxa, are found in this region. Though many species have been discovered during last years (Averyanov and Tillich 2016, 2017, Averyanov et al 2016, 2017, 2018a, b2018b, 2019a, b2019b, Vislobokov 2016, Vislobokov et al 2016, 2017, 2019, Nguyen et al 2017, 2020, Nuraliev et al 2017, Tillich et al 2017, Tillich and Averyanov 2018) our knowledge on species composition and distribution of many species in this area remains incomplete. The data reported in this paper provide new additional information obtained during fieldwork and garden observations in 2016–2020.…”