Orophea chalermprakiat, a new species in the subgenus Sphaerocarpon

NEWS - Researchers have described a new species of Orophea chalermprakiat growing in southern Thailand. A team of researchers from Chiang Mai University, Songkhla Rajabhat University, Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, National Park Innovation Institute and several other organisations reported the new species in the subgenus Sphaerocarpon.

Orophea Blume (1825) consists of about 62 species distributed collectively in India, southern China, the islands of Southeast Asia to the Moluccas. The genus is a member of the Miliuseae, which has been subdivided into two subgenera: Orophea and Sphaerocarpon.

Members of O. subg. Orophea generally have alternate tertiary leaf venation and cylindrical-ellipsoidal to cylindrical monocarps, whereas members of O. subg. Sphaerocarpon generally exhibit reticulate tertiary leaf venation and rounded monocarps. At least eight species in Thailand.

The genus is mainly characterized by whorls of unequal petals, the inner petals are usually longer, clawed towards the base and usually fused at the anthesis. There are a reduced number of stamens and carpels per flower and the stamens are loosely arranged with small connective extensions that do not cover the thecae. Most Orophea species have various forms of glands in the inner petals.

At least eight species in Thailand. Members of O. subg. Orophea generally have alternate tertiary leaf venation and cylindrical-ellipsoidal to cylindrical monocarps, whereas members of O. subg. Sphaerocarpon generally exhibit reticulate tertiary leaf venation and rounded monocarps.

Original research

Anissara Damthongdee, Kithisak Chanthamrong, Suwannee Promsiri, Banchong Tongsang, Thani Jaisamut, Chattida Wiya, Aroon Sinbumroong, & Tanawat Chaowasku (2024). Orophea chalermprakiat (Annonaceae; Malmeoideae), a new species from southern Thailand. Phytotaxa 658 (3): 296-300. DOI:10.11646/phytotaxa.658.3.8

Laniger bat tick (Ixodes lanigeri), new hard tick species (Ixodidae) from mouse-eared bats (Myotis) in Vietnam

NEWS - Researchers have identified Ixodes ticks from Vietnam based on morphological and molecular characteristics of females, nymphs and larvae as a new species, laniger bat tick ( Ixodes lanigeri ), which like other members of the Ixodes ariadnae complex appears to show a preference for vesper bats as a typical host. Historically, for more than a century and a half, only one species has been called the “long-legged bat tick”: Ixodes vespertilionis Koch. However, over the past decade, it has been molecularly recognized that long-legged ixodid ticks associated with bats may represent at least six species. Host associations and geographic separation may explain the evolutionary divergence of the new species from its closest living relative Murina hilgendorfi Peters in East Asia, Japan, as no Myotis or Murina spp. have overlapping distributions between Vietnam and the Japanese mainland. On the other hand, assuming that I. lanigeri may be present in other myotine bats and knowing that s...

Tekijem (Cyperus cyperoides)

Tekijem ( Cyperus cyperoides ) is a plant species in Cyperaceae, annual grasses that grow in seasonal wetlands, open or shaded fields, swamps, ponds, rice fields, roadsides, open forests, secondary forests and shrubs at altitudes up to 1,800 m in the tropics. C. cyperoides has an upright, triangular shape, 20-75 cm tall from a very short rhizome and has no stolon. The lanceolate-shaped leaves are narrow and long, the tips are pointed, slippery, shiny, green and grow at the bottom and at the top of the stem. The terminal flower appears on the tip of the stem, cylindrical spiklet shaped and green. Each stem has two to seven flowers, each of which has a short or long stem that grows at the end of the stem together with the leaves. Tekijem grows solitary or in small groups at a distance. Propagating using vegetative and generative methods using seeds. At least three sub-species are Cyperus cyperoides cyperoides , Cyperus cyperoides flavus and Cyperus cyperoides pseudoflavus . Th...

Kemadih (Schultesianthus coriaceus)

Kemadih ( Schultesianthus coriaceus ) is a species of plant in the Solanaceae family. It grows as a climber and covers host trees. It is a perennial, multi-branched, hardwood plant with hard, brown bark and dark green young bark. S. coriaceus has thick leaves, 15 cm long and 8 cm wide. A central vein is linear, with a pointed tip and base. The upper surface is dark green and the lower surface is bright green. The petiole is 3 cm long. The flowers are fan-shaped with 5 inflorescences. The base is narrow, whitish-yellow or bright green, and 8 cm wide. Four inflorescences with brownish-white tips and one inflorescence with a green tip grow in the center. The fruit is green, 3.5 cm long, and the stalk is 2 cm long. Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Solanales Family: Solanaceae Subfamily: Solanoideae Tribe: Solandreae Genus: Schultesianthus Species: Schultesianthus coriaceus

Dlium