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Type: Article
Published: 2026-05-28
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Taxonomic revision of the genus Ophiopogon (Asparagaceae) in south China: new species and species reinstatements

State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agroecosystems; College of Ecology; Lanzhou University; Lanzhou 730000; China
Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China; South China Botanical Garden; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510650; Guangdong; China; South China National Botanical Garden; Guangzhou 510650; Guangdong; China
Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Plant Conservation and Utilization in Southern China; South China Botanical Garden; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Guangzhou 510650; Guangdong; China; South China National Botanical Garden; Guangzhou 510650; Guangdong; China
State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol and Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology; School of Life Sciences; Sun Yat-sen University; Guangzhou; China; National Park and Nature Education Research Institute; Sun Yat-sen University; Guangzhou; China
College of Life Sciences; Zaozhuang University; Zaozhuang 277160; Shandong; China
Monocots Convallarioideae Indochina karst flora Ophiopogonea plant diversity

Abstract

Based on extensive field investigations in karst habitats of southern China (Guangxi) and adjacent Indochina, cultivation and detailed morphological examination of living plants, and critical study of herbarium specimens (including types), a taxonomic revision of the genus in this region is presented. This study demonstrates that two species previously subsumed into the broadly defined O. intermedius complex (O. compressus and O. longipedicellatus) possess stable diagnostic morphological characters and distinct ecological niches, warranting their reinstatement as independent species. Furthermore, three new species from the limestone areas of Guangxi are discovered and described: O. dahuaensis, O. crassifilamentus, and O. napoensis.

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How to Cite

Xu, T., Li, L., Zhang, B.Y., Fan, Q. & Feng, H.Z. (2026) Taxonomic revision of the genus Ophiopogon (Asparagaceae) in south China: new species and species reinstatements. Phytotaxa 759 (2): 101–123. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.759.2.1