Goodyera afzelii Schlechter (1918: 327)

Liu, Yan Wen, Zhou, Xiao Xu, Schuiteman, André, Kumar, Pankaj, Hermans, Johan, Chung, Shih Wen & Tian, Huai Zhen, 2019, Taxonomic notes on Goodyera (Goodyerinae, Cranichideae, Orchidoideae, Orchidaceae) in China and an addition to orchid flora of Vietnam, Phytotaxa 395 (1), pp. 27-34 : 32

Goodyera afzelii Schlechter (1918: 327) .

Type: — MADAGASCAR. Andevorante, Moramanga, 18 October 1912, Afzelius K. s.n. (holotype S -S-G-6932, photo!).

Additional specimens examined:— MADAGASCAR. Andabe (Spirit material K- 63507!); VIETNAM. 1500 m, February 2006, Williams P. s.n. (Spirit material K- 74610!), see notes below .

Distribution: — Mozambique (Chimanimani Mt.), N. & E. Madagascar.

Notes: — Goodyera afzelii is here reported for the first time from Vietnam. The spirit collection K- 74610 had been misidentified as G. fumata , which can be easily distinguished from G. afzelii on the basis of the much bigger leaves and many pubescent flowers. Until now, G. afzelii was only known from Madagascar and Mozambique, hence, this new record reveals a remarkable geographic disjunction. Only a few orchid species are shared between Vietnam and Madagascar, e.g., Liparis cespitosa (Lam.) Lindl. (1825: 882) and Bulbophyllum longiflorum Thouars (1822: 98) , but these do not have such a disjunct distribution. Perhaps G. afzelii was formerly similarly distributed, but has become extinct in the intervening areas, or may yet be discovered there. We did not find significant differences between specimens from Madagascar and the one from Vietnam, but a comparison of fresh material would be desirable.