identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
F4831F5482005842BDCBD9435E61EFCC.text	F4831F5482005842BDCBD9435E61EFCC.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Ophiorrhiza bibracteata Y. Nong & G. Y. Wei 2026	<div><p>Ophiorrhiza bibracteata Y. Nong &amp; G. Y. Wei sp. nov</p><p>Figs 1, 2, 3</p><p>Type.</p><p>China • Guangxi: Longlin County, Jinzhongshan Town, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=104.96388&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=24.615" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 104.96388/lat 24.615)">Dazhai Village</a>, 24°36'54"N, 104°57'50"E, in forest, elev. 1715 m, 5 February 2026, fl. You Nong NY 2026020501 (holotype: GXMI 051220!; isotypes: GXMI!, IBK!) .</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>Ophiorrhiza bibracteata is similar to O. mitchelloides (Masam.) H. S. Lo, but differs in the following characters: the number of secondary veins (5–7 pairs in O. bibracteata vs. 3–5 pairs), the shape and size of the bracts (ovate, 8–11 mm long vs. linear, 4–8 mm long), the shape and size of the calyx lobes (triangular, 0.8–1.0 mm long, glabrous, with glands between the lobes vs. linear, ca 1.4 mm long, glabrescent or ciliate, without glands) and the nature of the flowers (distylous vs. monostylous).</p><p>Description.</p><p>Herbs, creeping to ascending, to 20 cm tall, with most internodes prostrate, rooting at most nodes; stem densely pubescent with short brown unicellular trichomes, ca. 0.3 mm. Leaves in subequal to unequal pairs; blade drying papery to membranous, broadly elliptic or ovate, 1.5–4.5 × 1.5–3.0 cm, adaxially dark green and sparsely scabridulous, abaxially yellowish-green and sparsely pubescent along veins, obtuse at apex, broadly cuneate to rounded at base, margins entire, secondary veins 5–7 pairs. Petiole 0.6–2.2 cm long, pubescent. Stipules broadly ovate-triangular, folded backwards, glabrous, ca. 1 mm long, with stipitate glands at base inside, acuminate to 2 - lobed. Inflorescence terminal, usually 1–2 - flowered; peduncle 3–5 mm long, puberulent; bracts well developed, enclosing buds and at least partially flowers, persistent, ovate, 8–11 × 6–8 mm, pinnately veined, glabrous, except margins sparsely ciliolate. Flowers distylous, subsessile or pedicellate; pedicels 2–3 mm long. Hypanthium puberulent, 1.5–2.0 × 2.0– 3.5 mm, 5 - edged; calyx ± glabrous; lobes 5, triangular, 0.8–1.0 × 0.6–1.0 mm, with glands between the bases of the lobes. Corolla funnelform, pale pink or white, drying pink, glabrous outside, but sparsely puberulent on narrow longitudinal wings; tube 16–18 mm long, glabrous outside; lobes oblong-ovate, 8–12 × 6–8 mm, puberulent inside, dorsally narrowly winged, apex acute. Stamens 5; filaments short, glabrous; anthers linear, 2–3 mm long. Stigma bilobed; style glabrous; ovary 2 - celled. Longistylous flower: inside with a ring of white hairs at the middle of the corolla tube and puberulent from the middle up to the throat; stamens included, positioned near the middle of the corolla tube; filaments ca. 0.8 mm long; style 16–18 mm; stigma exserted from corolla tube, lobes ovate-elliptic, ca. 3 mm long. Brevistylous flowers: sparsely pubescent at the middle of the corolla tube; stamens partly exserted, filaments ca. 3 mm long, inserted somewhat below the corolla throat; style 6–8 mm long, stigma reaching the middle of the corolla tube; stigma lobes lanceolate-elliptic, 3–4 mm long. Capsules mitriform, 6–8 × 5–6 mm, puberulent.</p><p>Geographical distribution.</p><p>Ophiorrhiza bibracteata is found in Longlin County in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, northwest China (Fig. 4).</p><p>Ecology.</p><p>Ophiorrhiza bibracteata was discovered in moist places under subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest at an elevation of 1715 m.</p><p>Phenology.</p><p>Flowering in February. Fruiting in March.</p><p>Additional material examined.</p><p>China • Guangxi: Longlin County, Jinzhongshan Town, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=104.95&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=24.6" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 104.95/lat 24.6)">Dazhai Village</a>, 24°36'N, 104°57'E, in forest, elev. 1722 m, 15 November 2025, sterile, You Nong NY 2025111501 (GXMI!) . China • Guangxi: Longlin County, Jinzhongshan Town, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=104.95&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=24.6" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 104.95/lat 24.6)">Dazhai Village</a>, 24°36'N, 104°57'E, in forest, elev. 1722 m, 18 March 2025, fruiting, You Nong NY 2026031801 (GXMI!) .</p><p>IUCN Red List category.</p><p>Data available for the new species are still insufficient to assess its conservation status. According to the IUCN Criteria (IUCN 2022), it is considered Data Deficient (DD) until more information becomes available. Further collection and monitoring are necessary to allow more conclusive estimates about the rarity and vulnerability of the species.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific epithet is derived from the Latin, bibracteata, meaning “ two bracts ” and referring to the two persistent ovate bracts of the new species.</p><p>Chinese name.</p><p>金钟山蛇根草 (jīn zhōng shān shé gēn căo).</p><p>Notes.</p><p>Ophiorrhiza bibracteata is similar to O. nanlingensis L. Wu &amp; Q. R. Liu, but it differs in the shape and size of its bracts (ovate, 8–11 × 6–8 mm vs. subulate, 0.5–2.0 mm long), the nature of the flowers (distylous vs. monostylous); and the glabrous style (vs. sparsely pubescent at the middle).</p><p>Ophiorrhiza bibracteata resembles O. grandibracteolata F. C. How ex H. S. Lo in possessing broad ovate bracts, but it differs in the following characters: stems creeping to ascending, to 20 cm tall, rooting at most nodes (vs. ascending above, to 70 cm tall, most nodes not rooting); secondary veins 5–7 pairs (vs. 7–10 pairs); corolla pale pink or white, drying pink, tube 16–20 mm long; lobes oblong-ovate, 8–12 mm long (vs. corolla white or reddened, drying purplish-red; tube 22–25 mm; lobes subovate, ca. 5 mm long) and its looser inflorescence pattern (1 - or 2 - flowered vs. 5 - to many flowered or rarely 1 - flowered).</p><p>The main differences between the new species and the three other Ophiorrhiza species are summarised in Table 1.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F4831F5482005842BDCBD9435E61EFCC	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Nong, You;Wei, Gui-Yuan;Wei, Hai-Yong;Long, Lie;Liu, Zhi-Rong;Feng, Bin;Qin, Ting	Nong, You, Wei, Gui-Yuan, Wei, Hai-Yong, Long, Lie, Liu, Zhi-Rong, Feng, Bin, Qin, Ting (2026): Ophiorrhiza bibracteata (Rubiaceae), a new species from Guangxi, China. PhytoKeys 275: 151-161, DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.275.189773
