Scientific name: Aspidistra clausa N.Vislobokov
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Herbaceous perennial, rhizomatous, evergreen plant. Rhizome creeping, with very short internodes, epigeous, 0 5.4-7 [6.4] mm. Roots grey, 0 1.1-1.4 [1.3] mm, with 1-2-layered velamen, root hairs deciduous, endoderm 1- 2-layered, pericycle of cells with lignified walls. Rhizomes with regularly repeating units, each comprising ca. 4 distichously arranged cataphylls followed by a foliage leaf. Cataphylls oblong, up to 9 cm long, promptly withering and disintegrating. Foliage leaves distinctly divided into petiole and lamina. Petiole green, adaxially sulcate, 15-32 cm long, 0 2.2-3.2 [2.7] mm. Lamina light green, oblong, basally cuneate and distally acuminate, 26-41cm long, 2.8-4.5 [3.6] cm wide. The midvein somewhat prominent at lower surface. Peduncle (specialized reproductive shoot) white, purple spotted, 2.8-4.6 [3.7] cm long, 0 2.4-2.8 [2.5] mm, with 5-7 purple mottled, widely ovate, acuminate, 11.8-13.4 [12.7] mm long, 8.9 mm wide distichously arranged scale leaves. Flower solitary at the end of peduncle. Perigone 18-18.3 [18.2] mm long, 0 38.7-42.5 [40.5] mm; tube white with purple spots outside, purple inside, widely tubular, 12.9-14.6 [13.3] mm long, 0 14.6-15.1 [14.8] mm; lobes 8, purple mottled to completely purple at both sides, triangular-lanceolate, with appendages at the base; appendages purple, protruding to mouth of perigone tube, fimbriate, 2.1-2.8 [2.5] mm long. Stamens 8 (in the same number as perigone lobes), inserted at the middle of the perigone tube lower than stigma, at the radii of tepals; filaments with purple spots, cylindrical, 4 mm long, 0 1.3-1.5 [1.4] mm, anthers 2.4-2.5 [2.5] mm long, 1.4-1.8 [1.6] mm wide, introrse, pollen sacs positioned at lower side of connectives, connectives white. Pistil 11.7 mm high. Style white with purple spots, cylindrical, 4.8 mm long, 0 2.9 mm. Stigma white with purple spots at lower surface, purple with four white radial bifurcated crests at upper surface, highly convex (conical) at center, 7 mm high, 0 7-7.7 [7.4] mm, 4-lobed at margin, lobes emarginated at apex. Ovary inconspicuous, superior, 4-locular. Fruits grayish black, subspherical, 13-15.6 [14.7] mm long, 0 14-16.6 [15.3] mm, with short protuberances. A carpophore is absent.

Distribution:—The species is known only from the type locality.

Taxonomic relationships:—The new species resembles and probably closely relates to A. crassifila but differs in width of leaf blade (2.8-4.5 cm vs. 6-12 cm), perigone tube wide tubular vs. campanulate, appendages longer, filaments and connectives white with purple spots vs. completely purple, stigma conical vs. mushroom-shaped. Also flowers of A. clausa are somewhat similar to flowers of A. patentiloba Wan & Lu (1989: 99), but strongly differ in stigma shape and should not be considered as closely related species.