A Revision of the Orchid Subfamily Apostasioideae in China

Chen Sing-Chi, Lang Kai-Yung

Received:1900-01-01 Revised:1900-01-01 Online:1986-10-18 Published:1986-10-18
Contact: Chen Sing-Chi

Abstract:

Apostasioideae, a small subfamily of Orchidaceae, is largely distributed in tropical

Asia with its northern limit extending to the Ryukyu Islands and south China. The first Chinese

species of this subfamily was reported by E. D. Merrill (1927) based on a specimen collected

from Hainan (McClure 9519, AMES), which he regarded as Apostasia wallichii R. Br. As

later labelled by E. F. de Vogel, it is in fact identical with A. odorata Bl., a widespread spe-

cies also found in southern Guangdong, Guangxi and Yunnan of China. It was not until re-

cently that the true A. wallichii was collected from southwestern Yunnan bordering on Burma,

which is initially reported here. In addition, an interesting new species, A. ramifera S. C. Chen

et K. Y. Lang, is described from Hainan.

The only Chinese species of Neuwiedia has long been known as N. veratrifolia Bl. (of.

Iconographia Cormophytorum Sinicorum 5: 602, t. 8034. 1976, and Flora Hainanica 4 180, t.

1078. 1977), which, however, was considered by de Vogel (1969) to be not found in China. In

de Vogel's revision, no Chinese taxon but a variety, N. zollingeri Rchb. f. var. singapureana

(Baker) de Vogel, is cited with some doubt based on a specimen of Hainan (F. C. How 73122,

in young fruit, AMES). N. zollingeri var. singapureana is in fact quite different from N.

veratrifolia by having glandular hair, much shorter inflorescence and flattened filaments. As

recently pointed out by de Vogel and G. Barretto (in Journ. Taiwan Museum 37: 78. 1984),

the plants found in Hongkong, as well as those in Guangdong and Yunnan, possess glandular

hair and short inflorescence. They are identical with the Vietnamese species N. balansae Gagnep.,

which was reduced by de Vogel to a synonym of N. zollingeri var singapureana. E. F. de

Vogel's suggestion seems to be acceptable except the varietal rank. It is treated here as a se-

parate species, N. singapureana (Baker) Rolfe, according to its fruit and hair characters. Thus

we have altogether one species of Neuwiedia and three species of Apostasia in China, including a new species and a newly recorded one.

Key words: Apostasioideae, Neumiedia, N.singapureana, Apostasia, A.odorata, A.wallichii, A.ramifera

Chen Sing-Chi, Lang Kai-Yung. A Revision of the Orchid Subfamily Apostasioideae in China[J]. .

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