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Issue: Vol. 774 No. 3: 17 Sept. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-09-17
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.774.3.2
Page range: 219-229
Abstract views: 32
PDF downloaded: 2

Ophiopogon tanganum, a new species of Asparagaceae in Yunnan Province, China

College of Life Sciences; Zaozhuang University; Zaozhuang 277160; Shandong; China
College of Life Sciences; Zaozhuang University; Zaozhuang 277160; Shandong; China
State Key Laboratory of Herbage Improvement and Grassland Agroecosystems; College of Ecology; Lanzhou University; Lanzhou 730000; 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
College of Life Sciences; Zaozhuang University; Zaozhuang 277160; Shandong; China
Monocots morphology Ophiopogon taxonomy Yunnan

Abstract

During recent floristic surveys in southeastern Yunnan, China, an unknown species of Ophiopogon (Asparagaceae) was discovered. Morphological comparisons with related taxa reveal that it is distinct from all known congeners, and it is here described and illustrated as a new species. The new species is characterized by its creeping stolon, elliptic leaves longer than the petiole, rugose leaf margins, strongly reflexed perianth segments, stamens connivent around the pistil, and an inferior ovary; it is currently known only from Guangnan County, Yunnan, and assessed as Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN criteria.

The genus Ophiopogon Ker Gawler (1807: t. 1063) is belonging to the subfamily Convallarioideae of the Asparagaceae (Burnett 1835, APG IV 2016, Chase et al. 2009, Tanaka & Nguyen 2023). Together with Liriope Loureiro (1790: 200) and Peliosanthes Andrews (1810: 605), Ophiopogon constitutes a monophyletic group characterized by several apomorphic traits, notably racemes presumed to have been reduced from compound racemes, pericarps rupturing in early stages of fruiting, and berry-like exposed seeds (Kim et al. 2010, Averyanov et al. 2016). Ophiopogon is estimated to comprise approximately 70–82 taxa (Jessop 1979, Tanaka 2001, Nguyen et al. 2021, POWO 2026, WFO 2026), distributed widely across tropical, subtropical and temperate forests of south, southeast and east Asia (Tanaka 2001a, 2001b). The genus exhibits remarkable morphological diversity, particularly in stem habit (indistinct, procumbent or erect), leaf morphology (linear or oblong, sessile or petiolate), and tepal characteristics (incurved, patent or revolute) (Chen & Tamura 2000).

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How to Cite

Sun, Y.T., Li, Y.T., Xu, T., Fan, Q. & Feng, H.Z. (2026) Ophiopogon tanganum, a new species of Asparagaceae in Yunnan Province, China. Phytotaxa 774 (3): 219–229. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.774.3.2