Lasianthus bunzanensis Simizu, Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc.

Lasianthus bunzanensis Simizu, Trans. Nat. Hist. Soc. View in CoL Taiwan 34: 301. 1944. Type : CHINA, Taiwan , Taipei, Suzuki 16385 (holotype TI!). Fig. 2 View Fig .

Shrubs, evergreen, up to 1.5 m high. Twigs terete, densely villous with yellowish brown hairs; internodes 2–4 cm long. Leaves opposite; blades elliptic to ovate-oblong, 6.5–10 × 2.5–5 cm, thinly coriaceous, yellowish brown when dry, adaxially glabrous, abaxially densely villous, yellowish brown, apex cuspidate-acuminate or acuminate, aristate with arista 1.5–2 mm long, base acute or obtuse, margins entire, midrib prominent adaxially, prominent abaxially, secondary veins 4–6 pairs, ascending at an angle of 45–70° from midrib, curved to the margins, slightly prominent adaxially, tertiary veins parallel; petioles 4–7.5 mm long, densely villous with yellowish brown hairs. Stipules subulate, 0.5–1 mm long, hirsute on both surfaces. Inflorescences solitary, subsessile; bracts absent. Flowers subsessile; calyx campanulate, 1–1.5 mm long, densely villous with yellowish brown hairs, tube c. 1 mm long, lobes 5, c. 0.5 mm long; corolla not seen. Fruits drupaceous, globose, 3.5–5 mm in diam., hirsute, blue when ripe; pyrenes 5.

Flowering & fruiting: Fruits were collected in September and March, flowers not seen.

Habitat: Lasianthus hispidulus grows in secondary evergreen forests, at 450–520 m elevation.

Distribution: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam. Our finding in Laos fills the gap of the distribution of this species.

Specimens examined: LAOS, Bolikhamxai Province, Viengthong District, Ban Nadi, Nam Kading National Protected Area , at 515 m, N 18° 13’ 9.859’’, E 104° 30’ 21.09’’, 05.09.2023, Tagane et al. Z417 ( FOF, KAG [ KAG186854 About KAG ], VNM) GoogleMaps . Khammouane Province, Khounkham District, Tad Nam Sanam , at 458 m, N 18° 13’ 10.6674’’, E 104° 30’ 11.016’’, 15.03.2024, Tagane et al. Z828 ( FOF, KAG [ KAG187243 About KAG ], VNM [ VNM00072869 View Materials ]. GoogleMaps

Notes: Lasianthus hispidulus is newly recorded in the Flora of Laos. This species is closely related to L. fordii Hance which is also distributed widely in tropical and subtropical regions in Southeast and East Asia, but distinguished by its branches, petioles, lower leaf surface and calyx densely covered with yellowish brown hairs (vs. subglabrous to thinly appressed hairy). It is also similar to L. curtisii King & Gamble distributed widely in Southeast to East Asia but differs in having calyx lobes shorter than calyx tubes (vs. longer than calyx tubes).