Lasianthus schmidtii K.Schum. (1902: 340)

Dang, Van-Son & Naiki, Akiyo, 2023, A revision of the genus Lasianthus Jack (Rubiaceae) from Vietnam, Phytotaxa 581 (1), pp. 1921-1935 : 1921-1935

62. Lasianthus schmidtii K.Schum. (1902: 340) — Fig. 92 (plate), Fig. 89 (map)

Type: — THAILAND. Trat, Koh Chang island , 1 March 1900, Schmidt 6676 (holotype C! [C10018245]) .

Lasianthus kerrii Craib (1911: 396) . Type:— THAILAND. Chiang Mai, Doi Suthep, 20 October 1910, Kerr 1501 (holotype K! [K000777023]; isotype BM! [ BM001191354 ]).

Specimens examined: — VIETNAM. Central: Dak Nong Province, Gia Nghia District , 810 m elev., 9 May 2019, Dang V.S. & Hoang N.S., Dang 302bis ( VNM) .

Distribution: —Widespread in the tropical and subtropical regions in Asia ( China, Thailand). In Vietnam, Lasianthus schmidtii occurs in Dak Nong and Lam Dong.

Habitat & Ecology: —Growing in the shade of the evergreen forest and the hill or edge of the evergreen montane forest at 700–1200 m elev.. This species was collected from forest habitats where dominated by Lasianthus chrysoneurus (Korth.) Miq. (1857: 322) , Goniothalamus sp. , Dracaena elliptica Thunb. (1808: 6) , Garcinia sp. , Tetracera indica (Christm. & Panz.) Merr. (1917: 367) , Mallotus paniculatus (Lam.) Müll.Arg. (1865: 189), Gnetum latifolium Blume (1834: 162) , Memecylon chevalieri Guillaumin (1921: 7) , Rhodamnia dumetorum (DC.) Merr. & L.M.Perry (1938: 195) , Ardisia crenata Sims (1817: 1950) , Melicope pteleifolia (Champ. ex Benth.) T.G.Hartley (1993: 521) , Leea aequata L. (1767: 627), Camellia chrysantha (Hu) Tuyama (1975: 299) , Smilax glabra Roxb. (1832: 792) .

Phenology: —Flowering and fruiting from October to May next year.

Vernacular name: —Xú hưƠng schmidt.

Notes: — Lasianthus schmidtii was described in 1902 by Schumann. It was clarified in the revision by Zhu and Taylor (2011) and a Vietnamese species, L. kerrii Craib (1911: 396) was treated as the synonym of L. schmidtii .

This species is easily identified in the field in having densely tomentose on branches, oblanceolate, oblong or elliptic-oblanceolate leaves, secondary veins 5–7 on each side of midrib, bracts 4–6 mm long, flower white, and fruits subglobose, crowned by calyx lobes, pyrenes 4.

Figures

FIGURE 89. Distribution maps of Lasianthus sapaensis, L. saprosmoides, L. saxorum and L. schmidtii.

FIGURE 92. Lasianthus schmidtii K.Schum. (A & D from Dang 302bis, B & E–G from Kerr 1501 and C, & H–I from Schmidt 6676, VNM, P and C): A. Branch, B. Stipules, C–D. Adaxial leaf surfaces, E–F. Inflorescence showing lateral view buds and flower, G–I. Fruits.