Tên Khoa học: Aspidistra oviflora Aver. et Tillich
Tên tiếng Anh:
Tên tiếng Việt: Trứng nhện hoa tròn
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Description

Rhizome hypogeous, plagiotropic, creeping, to 30 cm long, much branched, densely nodal, forming large dense clus¬ters of erect leaves, covered by numerous long persistent fibres. Roots numerous, almost white, semi-woody, straight, spreading. Cataphylls convolute, linear to narrowly cuneate, light green to green when young, later becoming dull pale brownish, up to 15(20) cm long, enveloping petiole, later splitting into fibrous-papyraceous persistent remains. Leaves (3)4-6(8), densely crowded near rhizome apex, indistinctly petiolate, linear-lanceolate, gradually narrowing from the middle to base and apex, 70-90 cm long, 1.5—2.5 cm wide at the middle, straight and slightly arching toward attenuate apex, uniform dark glossy green, straight or slightly wavy along margin, with strongly prominent midvein and few parallel secondary veins; base of leaf rigid, conduplicate, pet¬iole-like. Flowers solitary, arising from rhizome near apex, pedunculate. Peduncle arising horizontally, white, terete, (2)3-5(6) cm long, 2.0-3.0(4.5) mm in diameter, with (2)3-4 sterile bracts along the axis and 1-2 at perigone base; bracts along the axis broadly ovate, concave, rather fleshy, white with sparse small dirty purple speckles, blunt to obtuse at apex, 0.8-1.2 cm long and wide, those adpressed to perig¬one broadly triangular-ovate, concave, 1.4-1.5 cm long, 1.5-2.0(2.2) cm wide, commonly splitting into 2-3 lobes. Flowers pink-purple, purple-violet to almost black, ascend¬ing to erect, perigone ovoid to almost globular, outside ver- ruculose, 2.0-2.5 cm long and wide. Perigone tube broadly urceolate, very thick, fleshy, with 6 prominent warts 2 mm in diameter below sinuses of perigone lobes. Lobes 6, subequal, very fleshy, straight, 6-8 mm long, 3-4 mm wide, blunt at apex, laterally fused to each other, forming a conical structure with a very small apical opening and a narrow canal inside; sepals slightly broader with small scarious auricles (rudimen¬tary tepals?) at the base; each perigone lobe inside with 2 paired tall densely papillose crests almost completely closing perigone entrance and extending down inside perigone as 2 paired warty keels. Stamens 6, with short filaments, inserted near base of perigone; filaments fleshy, massive, 1 mm tall, with base 1.5 mm long; anthers bean-shaped 3.0-3.5 mm long and wide; pollen sacs introrse, upward directed, dull yellow. Pistil dark violet to almost black, mushroom-shaped; ovary inconspicuous; style stout, shortly cylindrical, glossy black-violet, 3 mm tall, 5 mm in diameter, broadening to the base and apex; stigma fleshy, umbrella-like, convex, 1.5¬1.8 cm in diameter, papillose in central part of upper surface, shallowly 6-lobed; each lobe entire, round or obtuse at apex, with erect folds between lobes.

Distribution

Northern Vietnam (Cao Bang province, Nguyen Binh dis¬trict). Endemic.

Ecology

Primary broad-leaved and coniferous forest with Pseudot¬suga sinensis along highly eroded rocky limestone ridge at elevation about 1400 m a.s.l., most frequent in shady humid depressions between shady cliffs in middle part of the range slope. Flowering in October-November. The species is considered to be of ‘Least Concern’ (LC) (IUCN 2012).

Similar species

The species is outstanding in the genus. There are only two more species with the entrance to the perigone reduced to a pore of 1.0—1.5 mm: A. reconditaTillich (Tillich et al. 2007) and A. locii Arnautov & Bogner. In both latter cases this can be interpreted in two ways: either the perigone lobes are completely missing, and the perigone tube opening is reduced to a small pore, or the lobes are fused congenitally. In A. oviflora, the lobes are well visible but fused along their lateral margins. The question is left open whether this fusion develops congenitally or postgenitally.