Abstract
We describe an extraordinary new species in the genus Thismia from the Terengganu State of Malaysia in the Malay Peninsula. The new species, which we name Thismia sitimeriamiae, is distinct from all other Thismia species known to science, most notably in its unique mitre configuration formed by the inner tepals and its floral surface morphology characterised by conspicuous orange trichomes. We discuss our findings in the context of underestimated species diversity in the genus Thismia and implications for their conservation. We recommend assigning T. sitimeriamiae the conservation status as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN criteria.
Highlights
The Thismiaceae is a highly unusual family of flowering plants belonging to the order Dioscoreales (APG IV 2016)
We describe an additional new species which we name Thismia sitimeriamiae Siti-Munirah, Dome & Thorogood from the vicinity of Gunung Sarut, which is located in the Hulu Nerus Forest Reserve (FR) in the State of Terengganu
Thismia sitimeriamiae has a unique combination of morphological traits, by which it differs from all its congeners including its orange colour, its surface characteristics and its floral architecture: the flower is strigose with pale orange simple and stellate trichomes covering the outer surface of the floral tube, mitre and ovary; the upper surface of the annulus is covered by very short trichomes; the outer tepals are reduced and inconspicuous and the inner tepals are curved upwards, connate, forming an umbrella/parasol-like mitre with a flattish apex
Summary
The Thismiaceae is a highly unusual family of flowering plants belonging to the order Dioscoreales (APG IV 2016). Over a third of the known species of Thismia have been recorded to occur in Malaysia where the majority have very local distributions. These include 24 species in East Malaysia with six species in Sabah and 16 in Sarawak (Dančák et al 2020a, b, c) and two species which occur in both states: T. goodii Kiew (Kiew 1999) and T. brunneomitra Hroneš, Kobrlová & Dančák (Hroneš et al 2015). A further 15 species occur in Peninsular Malaysia (PM) (Jonker 1948; Siti-Munirah et al 2021; Siti-Munirah and Dome 2021) including T. clavigera (Becc.) F.Muell. which occurs in both PM and Sarawak (Stone 1980; Dančák et al 2020c)
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