Shu-Peng Dong’s research while affiliated with South China Botanical Garden and other places

A new bamboo species, Bambusa rushunii, from Yangjiang City, Guangdong Province, China, is described and illustrated in this paper. The new species resembles B. gibba and B. dissimulator in having branchlets specialised into weak thorns at the lower nodes of culms, but can be easily distinguished from the latter two by having one or two extremely shortened internodes at the culm base, glabrous internode, culm leaf sheath being dark brown strigose on the central part and with a nearly truncate or slightly obliquely truncate apex, relatively high culm leaf ligule, culm leaf blade base not narrowed, extending outwards and contiguous with auricles and the glabrous foliage leaf with a ciliate ligule margin.

A species could not be known to the world of science if it not be discovered and described, considerable number of new species are neglected due to the plant itself and some other external restricted factors. On the basis of morphological and molecular evidences, a new species previously identified as Salvia scapiformis is now described and illustrated as Salvia tainingensis, named after Taining County in Fujian Province, where it was discovered. S. tainingensis does not closely resemble S. scapiformis, but is more similar to Salvia glabrifolia and Salvia daiguii, which were once identified as S. scapiformis, in terms of leaf shape, apex, base, corolla color, and connective length. However, it can be easily distinguished from the latter two by its thinly leathery leaves, serrate leaf margins, densely villous or glabrescent leaf abaxial, and the X-shaped arrangement of connective and filament.

Conservation of plant diversity is essential in the current status of rapid biodiversity loss. A critically endangered species of Oleaceae, Osmanthus pubipedicellatus was rediscovered in its type locality after nearly a century based on morphological and molecular evidence, further supplemented by a revised description. Meanwhile, the static life table was established, the survival curve was drawn, and the quantitative analysis of population dynamics was made to evaluate the populations status of O. pubipedicellatus. Additionally, we analyzed the community characteristics to understand its natural habitat. The results showed that O. pubipedicellatus mainly grows in dense forests dominated by plants from Lauraceae and Fagaceae. The static life table, survival curve, and quantitative analysis of population dynamics showed that the population is fluctuating and vulnerable to external disturbance. In general, the population of O. pubipedicellatus was characterized by few individuals, lacking of seedlings and small trees, a single peak pattern of age class distribution and a trend to decline in the future. Consequently, we strongly recommend that more field work and conservation measures should be taken to suppress the decline of the O. pubipedicellatus population.

Aspidistra yangchunensis, a new species of Asparagaceae from Guangdong, southern China, is described and illustrated. Aspidistra yangchunensis resembles A. subrotata, but can be distinguished by the syntepalous part of perigone almost flat, 4 alternate perigone lobes folded at base in full bloom, pure white pistil, lower surface of stigma folds inward to form a circular inner space.