Discovery of Sauropus racemosus (Phyllanthaceae) from China with supplementary description

Abstract

Based field works, specimen collections and lots of literatures reading, we found a newly recorded species of Phyllanthaceae from China——Sauropus racemosus Beille. It differs from other species of Sauropus in having glabrous young branches, glabrous leaves, racemoses 3 to 5 clustered on the lower part of the old stem branchlets. In this paper, a detailed description, color photographs and geographical distribution of S. racemosus are given. In addition, we consider S. racemosus as ‘Endangered’ (EN) based on the IUCN categories and criteria. The discovery of S. racemosus enriched the diversity of plant species in the Sino-Vietnanese border area. It reflects that the Sino-Vietnanese border area are biodiversity hotspots in the world and key areas for biodiversity conservation. It also shows that the plant investigation in this area is not enough, and further investigation and research are needed.

Keywords

• phyllanthaceae
• new record
• flora of china
• guangxi
• plant resources