Gardens BulletinSingapore64(1): 133-137. 2012 133 First record of Taeniophylhun (Orchidaceae) in Myanmar H. Kurzweil1 and S. Lwin2 1Herbarium, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569 hubert kurzwei1<anparks.gov.sg 2 Myanmar FloriculturistAssociation.Ahlone Road, Yangon, Myanmar ABSTRACT. Taeniophylhun Blume was recently discovered in northern Myanmar, a new- generic record forthe country. The Myanmarspecimens are referredto the widespread species T. glanduloswn Blume, characterised by terete roots, warty inflorescence axes, distichous bracts, sepals and petals basally fused into a tube about as long as their ovate-lanceolate free parts, and an ovate-lanceolate lip with a globose spur. Keywords. Myanmar, Taeniophylhun Introduction While undertaking fieldwork near Lake Inndawgyi in Kachin State, Myanmar, the authors of this article came across a leafless epiphytic orchid and recognised it as member of the genus Taeniophyllwn Blume. Subsequent studies revealed that this genus has notyetbeen recordedin Myanmar(Govaerts etal. 201 1, Kressetal. 2003, P. Ormerodpers. comm.). The genus Taeniophyllum comprises about 120 species, which are distributed from Sri Lanka and India throughout tropical and subtropical Asia eastwards as far as Japan, Australia and several Pacific islands, with a single species found in tropical Africa. Given the fact that Taeniophyllum occurs in all surrounding countries, its newly discovered occurrence in Myanmar is not surprising. Usingrecentorchidfloratreatments(particularlyJayaweera 1981; Seidenfaden 1988, 1992; Seidenfaden & Wood 1992; Pearce & Cribb 2002; Chen & Wood 2009), theplants couldbe positively identifiedas T.glanduloswn Blume. This speciesbelongs to a taxonomically difficult complex of several closely related species, and several botanists have recently pointed out the need for further studies. The complex is most diverse in the Malay Islands. Taeniophyllumglandulosum Blume Bijdr. (1825) 356; Seidenf., Opera Bot. 95 (1988) 23; Comber, Orch. Java (1990) 363; Seidenf. & Wood, Orch. Pen. Malays. Singap. (1992) 575; Chen & Wood in Fl. China 25 (2009) 444. SYNTYPES: Indonesia, Java, Mount Gede and Pangurangu, Blume & s.n. (repositories not known). Fig. 1 2. Epiphytic herbs, entirely glabrous, leafless in the flowering stage. Roots creeping directly on the tree bark or in moss growing on it, whitish-green in the dry state, smooth, terete or semi-terete and hardly flattened, about 2—5(—10) cm long, 0.7-1 mm in diameter. Inflorescences solitary, erect or spreading at the base and arching 134 Card Bull. Singapore64(1)2012 Fig. 1. Taeniophyllumglandulosum Blume. A.Whole plant. B. Flower.Kurzn>eil& Lwin2790. Photo credits: Dr. E. Frei. mm mm above, 7-10 long; peduncle and rachis brownish green, 0.2-0.4 in diameter, warty; rachis 3-7-flowered with one flower open at a time; floral bracts distichous, mm ovate-lanceolate, thickly textured, 0.9-1.2 * 0.7-0.9 when spread out, warts as on the rachis though somewhat denser. Flowers yellowish green. Pedicel and ovary mm indistinguishable, 1.5-2 long. Sepals and petals fused in their lower halfforming mm a tube c. 1.5 long, free portions somewhat recurved, dorsally slightly carinate, apices subacute; free parts ofmedian sepal lorate, 1.25 x 0.4 mm, free parts oflateral sepals ovate-lanceolate, c. 1.5 * 0.7 mm; free parts ofpetals broadly ovate-lanceolate, 1.3 x 0.5 mm; lip ovate-lanceolate, navicular with incurved margin, spurred, base with a septum at the spur entrance, c. 2.2 x 0.75 mm, apex acuminate, with a reflexed elongate appendage c. 0.5 mm long; spur a globose pouch, c. 1 x 0.95 mm, glabrous on the outside, distal part with a minute thickened gland on the inside. Gynostemium c. 0.5 long, with prominent stelidia. Capsule not seen. Illustrations. Seidenf, OperaBot. 95 (1988) 23, Fig. 9a-c; Comber, Orch. Java (1990) 363, photo; Seidenf. & Wood, Orch. Pen. Malays. Singap. (1992) 575, Fig. 259 1-n; Chenetal. in Fl. China25, Illustrations(2010) 589,Fig. 589.1-14& 591, Fig. 591.2-4. Specimens examined: MYANMAR. Kachin State: Inndawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary about 115 km SWofMyitkyina, western shore ofLake Inndawgyi, N 25° 10.329', E 96° 16.815". 5 May 2010,Kurzweil& Lwin 2790(SING spirit). Habitat, abundance andflowering time. The Myanmar specimens were growing as epiphytes in degraded forest and were locally common on tall trees of Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb. (Combretaceae). Plants were growing on twigs about 1 cm thick. Flowering specimens were found in the beginning ofMay and the presence of several plants in the bud stage suggests that flowering would still continue for many Taeniophyllumglandidosum(Orchidaceae) 135 Fig. 2. Taeniophyllum glandulosum Blume. A. Roots and base ofinflorescence. B. C. Cross- sections ofroots. D. Inflorescence apex. E. Sepals and petals flattened out. showing the length ofthe floral tube. F. Lip. Scale bars: 1 mm. Kurzweil& Lwin 2790. Drawn from spirit material by Evonne Tay. weeks. This corresponds well with a previous report from China where flowering was reported as occurring between April and August (Chen & Wood 2009). In other parts of the distribution area. Taeniophyllum glandulosum is generally reported as occurring in forest, and in Vietnam the species is common in primary mountain forest (Averyanov et al. 2003). Elevations differ significantly in this and previous reports. While the Myanmar plants were collected in a lowland forest about 185 m above sea level, altitudes were given as 400-1100 m in China (Chen & Wood 2009) and 1000-2500 m in Vietnam (Averyanov et al. 2003). In Java, this species is found in high-altitude forest at c. 2280-2700 m, and is sometimes also found growing on rocks (Comber 1990). SW Distribution. India (Assam). Myanmar, Thailand. Vietnam, central and China (N Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan. Hunan, NE Sichuan, S Yunnan), Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Peninsular Malaysia. Java. Sulawesi, New Guinea. Notes. Ourspecimensclearly matchthedescriptions and illustrationsofTaeniophyllum 136 Gard. Bull. Singapore64(1)2012 glandulosum Blume that we have consulted (Seidenfaden 1988, Seidenfaden & Wood 1992, Chen & Wood 2009, Chen et al. 2010). Distinctive characters ofthis species are the smooth, slender, terete roots; the short and few-flowered inflorescences with warty peduncles and rachis; the distichously arranged thick warty bracts; the minute yellowish green flowers; the basal fusion ofthe sepals and petals which is about as long as their ovate-lanceolate or lorate free parts; and the ovate-lanceolate lip with a reflexed elongate appendage near the tip and the basal globose spur. The eastern Himalayan T. retrospiculatum (King & Pantl.) King & Pantl. and T. arunachalense A.N.Rao & J.Lai share the general habit and the shape of the sepals and petals but differin arelatively shortersepal/petal tube with the free portions 3- or4-times as long as the fused portion. We suspect that Taeniophyllum glandulosum may be rather widespread in Myanmar. The orchid flora of this country is generally not well explored and a comprehensive inventory is not yet available. While searching for orchids in the wild, the few collectorsusually focuson the large-floweredorchidswhich arehorticulturally valuable and consequently T. glandulosum may have been overlooked because ofits small size. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.WeacknowledgetheMyanmarForestryDepartmentforpermission to undertake floristic survey work and to collect material ofOrchidaceae. We express sincere thankstoMr. Stephen Lasi BawkNawandMr. Brangaung forhelp in manywaysandtoU Sein Tun (Warden ofInndawgyi Wildlife Sanctuary) forassistance in the field. Furthermore, we are indebted to Mr. P. Ormerod for useful comments. We also thank Mrs. Evonne Tay (Singapore) for making the line drawings and Dr. E. Frei (Switzerland) for permission to use his colour photos here. 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