Discovering a new species of aristolochia from Quang Nam province, Vietnam

21/09/2022

While investigating the diversity of the genus Aristolochia for the flora of Vietnam, scientists from Vietnam National Museum of Nature, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Ha Long University, and National Institute of Medicinal Materials, discovered and described a new Aristolochia species from Quang Nam province, Vietnam, namely Aristolochia quangnamensis T.V.Do.

Figure: Morphology of Aristolochia quangnamensis (Photos by Do Van Truong)

Morphologically, Aristolochia quangnamensis is similar to A. annamensis, A. balansae, and A. tadungensis. It differs from the latter three species by having cream to yellowish-white, straight, narrowly funnel to cylindrically shaped upper tube, 2.2--2.8 cm long, densely pubescent outer surface, without visible striations and dots. A trumpet-shaped limb, with somewhat recurved margins of three limb lobes, a bright yellow inner surface, lacking verrucae and bristles, annulus absent, and an exclusively bright yellow throat, without dots and striations. These diagnostic characters place the new taxon in Aristolochia subgenus Siphisia.

These result was published on Annales Botanici Fennici 58(1-3) 267-273 (2021).

News: Do Van Truong, Vietnam National Museum of Nature, VAST
Link to Vietnamese version