Thismia bryndonii (Thismiaceae), a new species from Maliau Basin, Sabah, Borneo

Abstract

Thismia Griffith (1845: 341) in Thismiaceae or Burmanniaceae (sensu APG 2016) consists of more than 60 species (Ridley 1924, Jonker 1948, Stone 1980, van Steenis 1982; Merckx 2008). Many new species in this genus have been discovered, and 12 have been described after 2010 (e.g., Dančak et al. 2013, Nuraliev et al. 2014, 2015, Chantanaorrapint & Sridith 2015, Li & Bi 2013, Hroneš et al. 2015). Considering that the majority of these species were collected only once (Jonker 1948), it is likely that many more undescribed species remain hidden in the forests, particularly in the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia. Borneo is one of the most biodiverse areas for mycoheterotrophs, and our recent botanical exploration in Borneo revealed many previously undescribed mycoheterotrophic species (e.g., Tsukaya et al. 2011, 2014a,b, 2016, Tsukaya & Okada 2005, 2012a,b,c, 2013a,b, Tsukaya & Hidayat 2016, Tsukaya & Suetsugu 2014). In 2016, we conducted a botanical survey in the Malaiu Basin, Sabah, Borneo, with the permission of the Maliau Basin Management Committee (YS/MBMC/2016/184) and the Sabah Biodiversity Council [access license JKM/MBS.1000-2/2JLD.5(23)]. The Maliau Basin Conservation Area (MBCA) is a huge basin surrounded by sandstone ridges and covers approximately 39,000 ha. Few botanical explorations have previously been conducted in this area. During the survey, we encountered a specimen from the MBCA that apparently belongs to Thismia section Euthismia Schltr. subsect. Odoardoa Schlechter (1921: 31) because it has a free inner perianth, spreading, creeping and vermiform roots, perianth lobes equal in length and size, but it differs from all known species. Here, we describe this new species with a revised key to the species of this genus in Malesia.

Thismia ornata and T. coronata (Thismiaceae), two new species from Sarawak, Borneo

“…One pair of these appendages sits directly on the apical margin of the connective while the other pair is shifted upward to the surface of the connective and resembles appendages known in T. hexagona Dančák, Hroneš, Kobrlová & Sochor and T. bryndonii Tsukaya, Suetsugu & Suleiman (Dančák & al. 2013;Tsukaya & al. 2017).…”

Fairy lanterns in focus

“…Only this year, we described a new species, T. sitimeriamae , which is found along a popular tourist trail in Peninsular Malaysia and has hitherto gone unnoticed (Siti‐Munirah et al, in press). Meanwhile, examples of recent discoveries on neighboring Borneo include T. ornata (Figure 2a), which has especially long tepal appendages (Dančák et al, 2020); T. bryndonii (Figure 2b), which has unique asymmetrical markings (Tsukaya et al, 2017); T. inconspicua (Figure 2c), which (contrasting the previous two taxa) has very short terminal appendages (Sochor et al, 2017); and T. kelabitiana (Figure 2d), which has a unique and unusual mitre and outer perianth lobes forming striking fringe around perianth tube opening (Dančák et al, 2018). Meanwhile, on Mount Kinabalu in North Borneo—famously one of the world's most biodiverse tropical regions a new species was discovered just recently, Thismia kinabaluensis (Figure 2e) (Nishioka et al, 2018) despite centuries of botanical exploration and scrutiny on the mountain—like T. sitimeriamae , cited above, it has been overlooked.…”

Thismia domei and T. terengganuensis (Thismiaceae), two new species, and T. javanica, a new record from Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia

“…(Jonker 1948). Five taxa have been described from Sabah of which three are endemic: Thismiabryndonii T s ukaya, Suetsugu & Suleiman (Tsukaya et al 2017), T.hexagonavar.grandiflora (Tsukaya et al 2014), T.goodii Kiew (Kiew 1999), T.kinabaluensis Nishioka & Suetsugu (Nishioka et al 2018) and T.pallida Hroneš, Dančák & Rejžek (Hroneš et al 2018).…”