Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences
A new species of Bulbophyllum in limestone forest of Xishuangbanna
Source:XTBG     Release time :2016-02-21


Bulbophyllum Thouars is one of the largest orchid genera. The species possess a wide range of vegetative form and floral structure. There are about 103 species (33 endemic) in 18 sections in China Section Stachysanthes (Blume) is distinguished by inconspicuous pseudobulbs and includes 72 species. There are five species (three endemic) of  section Stachysanthes in China. During their fieldwork in Mengla County of Xishuangbanna, a few young researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) found a new species of Bulbophyllum of sect. Stachysanthes in the limestone forest. They named it as Bulbophyllum mengyuanense for Mengyuan town where the type was collected.
   This new species is characterized by having yellow flowers with purple stripes, lateral sepals basally fused and obliquely triangular column stelids; it differs from B. drymoglossum by yellow color of flower and conspicuous column stelids, from B. hainanense by the lip without callus (the labellum has at the base one pair of calli in B. hainanense) and from B. hymenanthum by the yellow flowers and elliptic lip (the flower is white with purple stripes and the lip is elliptic with a rounded apex in B. hymenanthum).
   Bulbophyllum mengyuanense is epiphytic on trees in the limestone forest and flowering from October to November. At present, Bulbophyllum mengyuanense is known from two sites, and just two populations were discovered during four years of botanical surveys.
  For more information, please refer to “A new species of Bulbophyllum (Orchidaceae; Epidendroideae; Dendrobiinae) from Yunnan, China” in Phytotaxa.

 

 Bulbophyllum mengyuanense.  A. Habitat. B. Front view of flower. C. Lateral view of flower. D. Plant (Photo by LIU Qiang)

 

 


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