Saturday, September 22, 2018

[Botany • 2018] Scleria aureovillosa (Cyperaceae) • A New Species of Scleria P.J.Bergius from North-Eastern Thailand


Scleria aureovillosa Kiaosanthie & K.Wangwasit

in Kiaosanthie, Wangwasit & Chaisongkram, 2018. 
กกลูกขนทอง  || DOI: 10.20531/tfb.2018.46.2.01 

ABSTRACT
Scleria aureovillosa Kiaosanthie & K.Wangwasit, a new species of Cyperaceae from North-Eastern Thailand, is described and illustrated. It is closely related to S. benthamii C.B.Clarke but differs in the leaf and culm surfaces, culm shape, the absence of wings at the leaf sheath, contraligule features, nutlet morphology and micromorphology, and leaf and culm anatomy. An emended section of the key to the species in the Flora of Thailand account of Scleria is provided.

KEYWORDS:  anatomy, nutlet, Scleria aureovillosa, taxonomy, Thailand


Figure 2. Scleria aureovillosa Kiaosanthie & K.Wangwasit.
A‒B. part of inflorescence; C. nutlet; D. disk 3-lobed; E. rhizome; F. habitat.

Scleria aureovillosa Kiaosanthie & K.Wangwasit, sp. nov.

Similar to Scleria benthamii C.B.Clarke but differs in having trigonous culms (vs triquetrous in S. benthamii), an obtuse contraligule (vs rounded to truncate) and nutlets 2.1‒2.5 mm long (vs 2.6‒2.9 mmlong), subglobose to globose, terete, with a black, apiculate apex (vs ovoid, subterete to trigonous and obtuse apex) (Fig. 3 & Table 1). 
Type: Thailand, Loei, Phu Rua, 1,155 m, 12 Nov. 2012, Kiaosanthie WK 0152012 (holotype BKF [194620!]; isotypes KKU!, QBG!) (Figs. 1, 2 & 3A‒C).


Ecology.― Growing in seasonally wet, open grassy places on hillsides and on sandy soil; 100‒1155 m alt.

Vernacular.― Kok luk khon thong (กกลูกขนทอง).The Thai name translates as ‘sedge with golden hairs on the nutlet surface’.

Etymology.― The specific epithet of this new species is taken from the Latin aureus and villus, which refers to the distinctive feature of the species having golden villous hairs on the mature nutlet surface.


Wipawan Kiaosanthie, Kamolhathai Wangwasit and Wanwipha Chaisongkram. 2018. A New Species of Scleria P.J.Bergius (Cyperaceae) from North-Eastern Thailand. THAI FOREST BULLETIN (BOTANY). 46(2); 113–122.  DOI: 10.20531/tfb.2018.46.2.01