Liparis zhipingiana X.H. Jin, 2025

Liparis zhipingiana X.H. Jin , sp. nov.

ḂỸ¥Hñ

( Fig. 4–5 View FIGURE 4 View FIGURE 5 ).

Type: — CHINA. Xizang, Motuo county, Xirang town, subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, elev. ca. 900 m, 6 August 2023, Xiaohua Jin et al., 40694 (holotype: PE!).

Terrestrial or litho-terrestrial, 9–18 cm tall at anthesis. Roots hairy. Pseudobulbs short, round to ellipsoid, erect, fleshy. Rhizomes short, creeping along the rocks, about 1 mm in diameter. Leaves 2-3, glabrous, plicate, horizontally spreading, base amplexicaul, sheath-like; blade obliquely ovate-elliptic, oblong-ovate, or narrowly elliptic-lanceolate, ca. 2 × 2.5 cm, apex acuminate or acute. Inflorescence erect, 8–13(–17) cm, narrowly winged; rachis 5(–8) cm, more than 10-flowered, green; floral bracts ovate, 0.5(–1) mm, yellowish green, apex acuminate. Flowers greenish yellow, resupinate; pedicel and ovary 0.3(–0.5) cm long. Dorsal sepal lanceolate, ca. 3 × 1 mm. Lateral sepals linearlanceolate, ca. 2 × 1 mm. Petals linear, often narrower than sepals, ca. 2 × 0.5 mm. Lip cordiform, 3-veined, midvein rather conspicuous, margin revolute, with a U-shaped callus at the base, 2.5 × 1.5 mm; apex obscurely irregularly crenate. Column erect, conical, lacking a foot, ca. 0.3 mm long, not winged. Anther cap deltoid-oblong. Pollinia 4. Stigma concave, suboblong. Rostellum white, triangular, 3-parted: two front parts linear, narrowed toward the middle; rear part ligulate. Capsule ellipsoid.

Diagnosis: Liparis zhipingiana differs from Malaxis weberbaueriana by having elliptic pseudobulbs, green flowers, a lip without auricle, a U-shaped callus at the base of the lip, a short, conical column lacking wings, and a triangular rostellum ( Table 1 View TABLE 1 ).

Etymology: The specific epithet refers to Zhiping Wang, the discoverer of this species.

Distribution and habitat: Liparis zhipingiana is known to occur at two sites. It grows on humus-rich, mosscovered rocks in subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, at elevation 780– 900 m.

Phenology: Flowering from July to August, fruiting from August to December.

Conservation status: Two populations with approximately 300 plants have been discovered. Although the habitat is not affected by any immediate threats, we tentatively assess the risk of extinction of L. zhipingiana as Critically Endangered (CR) under criteria B2ab (i, ii, iii, iv, v) according to the IUCN criteria version 15.1 ( IUCN 2022).