A Collaborative Effort Uncovers Hidden Botanical Treasures

Six New Aspidistra Species Discovered in China and Vietnam

A joint effort by Chinese and Vietnamese botanists has led to the exciting discovery of six new Aspidistra plant species in southern China and northern Vietnam. These new additions to the Aspidistra genus were announced by the Guangxi Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Four of the newly discovered species hail from South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Southwest China's Guizhou Province. These include Aspidistra dentata, A. dissecta, A. dongxingensis, and A. anlongensis. The remaining two species were found in Ba Be National Park in northern Vietnam and are named A. longibracteata and A. backanensis.

The findings have been published in the international botanical taxonomy journal Phytotaxa. Aspidistra, with its diverse floral structures, holds significant scientific value. Beyond research, these plants also have potential applications in horticulture, landscaping, and medicine.

The China-Vietnam border region is recognized as a center for Aspidistra diversity and evolution. Since 2019, a team of researchers from the Guangxi Plant Diversity Research and Innovation Team has collaborated with Vietnamese botanists to conduct biodiversity surveys in the region's karst environments. Their efforts have resulted in the collection and identification of these six new species.

One of the unique characteristics of these plants is that their flowers grow close to the ground, often hidden by fallen leaves, making them difficult to spot during fieldwork. Additionally, the leaves of the new Aspidistra species are remarkably similar, with some resembling orchids and others being elliptical. This similarity makes visual classification challenging and highlights the limits of the genus' evolutionary diversification.

China is home to the highest diversity of Aspidistra species, with Guangxi being the most species-rich region. The Guangxi Institute of Botany has so far published 63 new taxa. Notably, all the newly described species are endemic to southern China and northern Vietnam. Except for A. dongxingensis, which grows in non-karst environments, the other species are exclusively found in karst habitats. These discoveries provide crucial material for studying the biodiversity, origins, and evolution of karst ecosystems.

The researchers are currently establishing a seed bank for further study and are working with the Southwest Karst National Park in China to classify plants and conduct field investigations. With improved transportation infrastructure, cross-border collaboration has become easier, facilitating further discoveries and enhancing our understanding of biodiversity.