This report describes Thismia belumensis Siti-Munirah & Suhaimi-Miloko, a novel species of achlorophyllous herb discovered in the Royal Belum State Park, Peninsular Malaysia. This new species is unlike any previously described species of Thismia. In particular, T. belumensis possesses a unique annulus, which has been expanded and modified into a cucullate (hood-like) structure. This structure covers the apical floral tube and has an opening on one side facing a thickened part of the annulus, and the off-centre floral aperture confers a zygomorphic symmetry to the flower, indicating T. belumensis is more similar to Thismia labiata J.J.Sm. This morphological detail makes this new species distinct from all other described species of Thismia. In this report, we provide descriptions, illustrations, colour plates, and the provisional conservation status of Thismia belumensis.
This paper reports the mosses from Crocker Range Park (CRP) in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. In total, 293 species, three subspecies and eight varieties belonging to 118 genera and 36 families are reported. This represents about 40% and 47% of the species and infra-specific taxa reported from Borneo and Sabah, respectively. Out of these, six species are new records for Borneo, namely Barbella horridula, Chaetomitrium lancifolium, Distichophyllum leiopogon, Rhaphidostichum luzonense, Rosulabryum capillare and Taxiphyllum taxirameum and 12 species and one variety are new to Sabah. With these additions, the current number of mosses in Sabah and Borneo are 651 and 766, respectively. The largest family of mosses is Calymperaceae with 35 species and one subspecies, followed by Sematophyllaceae with 32 species and two varieties and Pylaisiadelphaceae with 21 species and one variety. In conclusion, CRP has a very high species richness of mosses which is the second highest in Borneo, after Mount Kinabalu.
A new genus from Borneo, Borneocola Y.Y.Sam, is described here. The genus currently contains eight species previously classified as members of the Scaphochlamys Baker. The finding is based on the results of the morphological and molecular studies of Scaphochlamys throughout its geographical range and its closely allied sister groups, Distichochlamys M.F.Newman and Myxochlamys A.Takano & Nagam. Borneocola is nested within the tribe Zingibereae and its monophyly is strongly supported by both ITS and matK sequence data. The genus is characterised by several thin, translucent and marcescent floral bracts, absence of coloured streaks on the labellum and capitate stigma with two dorsal knobs. The genus is distributed in northwest Borneo and all species are very rare and highly endemic.
The Klang Gates Quartz Ridge (KGQR) is proposed for protection as National Heritage and as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its spectacular size, exceptional beauty and significant biodiversity. The checklist of vascular plants documents 314 species that comprise a unique combination that grows on lowland quartz and that is distinct from the surrounding lowland equatorial rain forest by the absence of orchids, palms, gingers and tree canopy families. The Rubiaceae, Gramineae, Moraceae, Apocynaceae, Melastomataceae and Polypodiaceae are the most speciose families. The summit vegetation at 200-400 m elevation is dominated by Baeckea frutescens (Myrtaceae) and Rhodoleia championii (Hamamelidaceae) and shows similarities to the plant community on rocky mountain peaks above 1500 m. About 11% of its species are endemic in Peninsular Malaysia and four are endemic to KGQR: Aleisanthia rupestris (Rubiaceae), Codonoboea primulina (Gesneriaceae), Spermacoce pilulifera (Rubiaceae), and Ilex praetermissa (Aquifoliaceae). All four are provisionally assessed as Critically Endangered. Two, Eulalia milsumi (Gramineae) and Sonerila prostrata (Melastomataceae), are endemic to KGQR and a few neighbouring smaller quartz dykes. They are assessed as Endangered. The KGQR is a fragile habitat and conservation management is urgently required to halt the spread of the aggressive alien grass, Pennisetum polystachion and to prevent further habitat degradation from visitors. Based on KGQR being a threatened habitat, its biodiverse flora, and endangered species, it qualifies as an Important Plant Area.
Hanguanadeflexa sp. nov. (Hanguanaceae) from Lawas district, Sarawak, Malaysia (northern Borneo) is described and illustrated, bringing the total number of species in Borneo to eight. The new species differs from all other recognized Hanguana species by a combination of flat leaf blade, deflexed infructescences, one-seeded dull red fruits with centrally positioned stigma and globose seed with wedge-shaped ostiole. Revised key for Bornean Hanguana species is presented.
Thismialatiffiana Siti-Munirah & Dome, a new species from Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, is described and illustrated. The new species differs from all other species of Thismia, described so far, in having golden trichomes that are present on the outer surface of its floral tube and mitre, as well as pyramidal protuberances on the inner surface of the floral tube. Additionally, it is remarkable in its supraconnective apically bearing two long trichomes. Thismialatiffiana is assigned a preliminary conservation status as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN Criteria.
A new mycoheterotrophic species, Thismiakenyirensis Siti-Munirah & Dome from Peninsular Malaysia, is described and illustrated. Thismiakenyirensis differs from other previously described species in the following characteristics: the flower tube is completely orange, with alternating darker and paler-coloured longitudinal lines on the outer and inner surfaces, the outer tepals are ovate (petaloid), the inner tepals are narrowly lanceolate, each ending with a long appendage. According to the IUCN Red List categories and criteria, T.kenyirensis is provisionally classified as Least Concern.
Ridleyandra merohmerea, a new species of Gesneriaceae, is described and illustrated. It is endemic in Peninsular Malaysia and known from a few populations along the Tuang River in the lowland dipterocarp forest of the Ulu Galas Forest Reserve in Kelantan, Peninsular Malaysia. Its conservation status is assessed as Critically Endangered.
Thismialimkokthayi, a distinct mitriform species of the mycoheterotrophic genus Thismia, is described and illustrated. It was found at a locality in the upland areas of Genting Highlands, Pahang, Malaysia. This new species is morphologically similar to members of Thismiasect.Geomitra, but differs in several characteristics, including the colour of the floral tube, the inner surface of the floral tube with longitudinal ribs and absent transverse bars, a stamen apex with a central lobe (prolongation of the rib) and two lateral lobes (the tips of each are recurved) and a black-purplish stigma. Thismialimkokthayi is provisionally classified as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
As part of the Flora of Peninsular Malaysia Project, a species checklist of the genus Capparis in Peninsular Malaysia is presented here with a total of 11 species, two subspecies and four varieties. A new species and two varieties, endemic to Peninsular Malaysia, are described and illustrated: Cappariskenaboiensis, C.scortechiniivar.ruthiae and C.trinerviavar.chungiana. Cappariskenaboiensis is known from a single site in Negeri Sembilan and is assessed as Vulnerable (VU); C.scortechiniivar.ruthiae from Pahang is Vulnerable (VU); and Capparistrinerviavar.chungiana is known from Negeri Sembilan, Pahang and Selangor and its conservation status is assessed as Near Threatened (NT). A checklist and updated key to the genus in Peninsular Malaysia are provided.
Two new species, Phlegmariurus iminii Kiew (Lycopodiaceae) from limestone karst and P. monticola Kiew from montane habitats, are described from Peninsular Malaysia and a new combination is made for Phlegmariurus pinifolius (Trevis.) Kiew. Phlegmariurus iminii, known from a single hill threatened by quarrying, is Critically Endangered; while P. monticola and P. pinifolius that are relatively widespread are of Least Concern.
In Peninsular Malaysia, Coleus is represented by five species. Two, C.hairulii Kiew and C.rafidahiae Kiew, are new species. Both are narrowly endemic and restricted to limestone hills as is C.kunstleri (Prain) A.J.Paton. All three are Critically Endangered. Coleusscutellarioides (L.) Benth., although widespread, is probably not indigenous. It is also a common ornamental, while C.monostachyus (P.Beauv.) A.J.Paton is a recent introduction that has spread rapidly and threatens to become a troublesome weed.
Ridleyandra chuana, a new species of Gesneriaceae, is described and illustrated. It is endemic in Peninsular Malaysia and known from two small and restricted populations in montane forest. Its conservation status is assessed as vulnerable.
Begoniayenyeniae is a new species of horticultural value known only from the Endau Rompin National Park, Peninsular Malaysia. It is similar to Begoniarajah with which it had previously been confused in the number of tepals and leaf characters. The new species is compared with three similar species, B.foxworthyi, B.rajah and B.reginula and photographs of all four species and descriptions of B.yenyeniae and B.rajah are provided. Molecular analysis using the ndhF-rpl132 chloroplast marker confirms the four species as distinct. Amongst native species, the three variegated species, B.yenyeniae, B.rajah and B.reginula, are some of the most popular Malaysian begonias in cultivation. Based on its restricted distribution, Begoniayenyeniae, under the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, is assessed as Critically Endangered.
A new species of Asplenium is described from two collections made on limestone hills in Peninsular Malaysia. Conspicuous by its extremely narrow pinnae, it is probably allied to A. salignum but differs in sufficient characters (scale size, size and shape of lamina, venation and sorus length, position and orientation) to be a species in its own right.
The genus Senyumia was previously known from a single species, S.minutiflora (Ridl.) Kiew, A.Weber & B.L.Burtt, from a limestone karst, Gunung Senyum, in Pahang, Malaysia. Senyumiagranitica Kiew, here described and illustrated, is the second species of the genus. It differs from S.minutiflora, not only in its habitat, but also in its shorter leaves, larger, non-resupinate or only partially resupinate flowers and smaller seeds. It is known from a small, fragmented population from a low range of hills. Therefore, under the IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria, it is assessed as Critically Endangered.
A checklist of the bryophyte flora of Mount Tebu Forest Reserve in Terengganu, Peninsular Malaysia, is presented. A total of 189 taxa in 71 genera and 26 families were enumerated. This figure represents 63% of the 298 bryophyte species recorded so far for the State of Terengganu. Out of 189 taxa of bryophytes, 26 liverworts are new additions to the bryoflora of Terengganu. The most prominent liverwort family is represented by Lejeuneaceae, with 54 species from 17 genera, while the moss family is the Sematophyllaceae, with 34 taxa in 13 genera. The majority of the species are epiphytes, either corticolous or ramicolous. Almost half of the bryophyte species have wider elevational ranges and occur from the lowlands to the summit of Mount Tebu.
A new species, Wikstroemiafragrans (Thymelaeaceae, Daphneae), from Danxiashan National Park, Shaoguan, Guangdong of China is described and illustrated. It is similar to the sympatric W.trichotoma, but can be differentiated easily from the latter by its shorter racemose inflorescences, yellowish green calyx tube, and smaller leaves. It also resembles the allopatric W.fargesii, but differs from it by its strigose-pubescent ovary and disk scale that is 2- or 3-dentate apically. Phylogenetic analysis using the nuclear DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region revealed that W.fragrans falls within the Wikstroemia clade; based on current sampling, W.fragrans is closely-related to W.capitata. It is also the first species of Wikstroemia known to be endemic to the Danxia landform and is classified provisionally as Critically Endangered according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.
Of the 92 Codonoboea species that occur in Peninsular Malaysia, 20 are recorded from the state of Terengganu, of which 9 are endemic to Terengganu including three new species, C. norakhirrudiniana Kiew, C. rheophytica Kiew and C. sallehuddiniana C.L.Lim, that are here described and illustrated. A key and checklist to all the Terengganu species are provided. The majority of species grow in lowland rain forest, amongst which C. densifolia and C. rheophytica are rheophytic. Only four grow in montane forest. The flora of Terengganu is still incompletely known, especially in the northern part of the state and in mountainous areas and so, with botanical exploration, more new species can be expected in this speciose genus.