Decalobanthus bimbim (Gagnep.) A.R.Simões & Staples

1. Decalobanthus bimbim (Gagnep.) A.R.Simões & Staples View in CoL — Fig. 1 View Fig ; Map 1 View Map 1

Decalobanthus bimbim (Gagnep.) A.R. Simões & Staples (2017) View in CoL 569. — Ipomoea bimbim Gagnep. (1915a) View in CoL 140. — Merremia bimbim (Gagnep.) Ooststr. (1939b) View in CoL 343. — Type: Bon 2700 (holo P [P00608896]; iso P [P00608897, P00608898]), ( Vietnam, Ha Nôi,) Tonkin, ‘vers Vo-xa, inter rupes arcis Regis Hô’.

Merremia boisiana (Gagnep.) Ooststr. var. fulvopilosa View in CoL auct. non Gagnep.: C.Y.Wu (1965) 113;R.C.Fang & S.H.Huang (1979) 79;R.C. Fang & Staples (1995) 299.

Stems and branches pilose at first, later glabrescent, not lenticellate. Indumentum on all parts drying dull reddish. Leaves basally attached, suborbicular, bases deeply cordate; secondary veins 8–10 on either side of the midvein. Inflorescences many-flowered corymbs; peduncles 16–20 cm long, naked. Flower buds conical, tapering-pointed; sepals (in bud) unequal, outer 2 shorter, elliptic-ovate, 1–1.2 cm long, apices tapering acute; corolla broadly funnelform, golden-yellow, c. 3 cm long, midpetaline bands sericeous outside; stamens included, equal, anthers oblong, 3–4 mm long, curved; pistil included, slightly exceeding stamens. Fruiting calyx accrescent, spreading, sepal margins entire or eroded. Capsule broadly ovoid, 0.9–1.2 cm long, glabrous, 4-valved. Seeds 4 or fewer, narrowly ovoidtrigonous, 6–8 mm long, velvety pubescent.

Previously published illustrations — One colour photo included in Simões et al. (2020: f. 2E) actually shows D. bimbim although it is wrongly labelled as ‘ D. boisianus var. sumatranus ’.

Distribution — China ( Yunnan), Vietnam ( Ha Nôi, Hà Tinh, Ninh Binh, Quang Binh, Quang Ninh). Probably in Laos, but not yet documented from there.

Habitat & Ecology — Found on the edges of primary tropical forest, evergreen broadleaf forest, and in secondary forest regrowth, in ravines and river valleys, on hillsides, along roadsides, on clay soils; elevation from 220–900(–1300) m.

Vernacular name — Bìmbìm ( Vietnam).

Note — Herbarium specimens of D. bimbim have been thoroughly confused with and often misidentified as ‘ M. boisiana ’; particularly problematic are specimens called M. boisiana var. fulvopilosa . Wang et al. (2007) seem to have adequately sorted out the confusion, in so far as I can judge a paper written in Chinese with Latin nomenclature and an English abstract. In fact, much of the Chinese material recently treated as D. boisianus var. fulvopilosus in floras ( Fang & Huang 1979, Fang & Staples 1995) is actually D. bimbim . However, Wang et al. (2007) failed to annotate the specimens they studied with the correct names and so the taxonomic confusion lives on via the Chinese Virtual Herbarium (CVH; http://www.cvh.ac.cn/, last accessed 28 July 2020), where not a single digital image for D. bimbim was found.