麦安山茶 Camellia maianhii Curry, VD Luong & ND DoCamellia maianhii

Camellia maianhii Curry, VD Luong & ND Do, sp. nov. Type: Vietnam, Nghe An Province: Quy Chau District, Chau Hoi Commune, Xon Village, 200 m elevation., January 2016, Mai The Anh Mai The Anh, DL160103 (holotype (DLU00008050), isotype DLU!) . Additional specimens examined (Paratypes) Nghe An Province: Quy Chau District, Chau Hanh, Chau Thang Communes, 250 m elevation, June 2021, Mai The Anh, DL210601, DL211201(DLU!)

The specimen was first discovered by Mai The Anh in 2016 in Quy Chau, Nghe An. In 2023, the authors Nguyen Trung Thanh, Luong Van Dung, Do Ngoc Dai, Kim so Yoong, Anthony S. Curry published in the Journal of Botany Research with the scientific name Camellia maianhii. The Vietnamese name is Tra mai anh, after the name of the first person to discover the specimen.

Description Shrubs, 3-5m tall; twigs white pubescent, purple. Leaves petiolate, oblong-ovate, 13-20 × 4-6 cm, thickly coriaceous, dark green, shiny, glabrous above, paler green, pubescent below, margins shallow serrate; leaf apices acuminate; leaf bases obtuse to nearly round; midribs protruding both sides, lateral veins sunken above, protruding below, 14-19 pairs of veins; petiole falcate, slightly curved, round, 0.7-1.2 cm long, pubescent. Flowers pedicellate, solitary, terminal, nodding, 5.5-6.5 cm in diameter; pedicels 0.9-1.3 cm long, stout, thickened upwards, purple; bracteoles 3(-4), broadly deltate, 4-7 mm long, 2.5-5 mm wide, purple, outer faces pubescent, ciliate, persistent. Sepals 5-6(-7), persistent, sub-orbicularor subglobose, 0.5-1.2 × 0.9-1.5 cm, purple, outer surfaces pubescent, margins membranous and ciliate. Petals 14-15, subglobose to broadly obovate, red, 1.8-5.5 × 2-3.3 cm, both sides tomentose, innermost petals basally united with outermost filaments for 1.5-1.6 cm. Androecium 260-300 stamens in 5-6 whorls, filaments 2.5-3.5 cm long, yellow, pubescent at the base, outer filaments basally united for 2-2.2 cm; anthers 2-2.5 × 1.5-2 mm, light yellow. Gynoecium 3-4-locular, ovaries ovate, ribbed, 6-7 × 4-5 mm, tomentose; styles 3-4, free to the base, 2.2-2.4 cm long, tomentose. Capsules subglobose, 4.8-5.3 high × 6.2-7.1 cm wide, furfuraceous, sparsely pubescent, dehiscing distally into 3-4 parts, pericarps thin, 9-11 mm thick, 1-3 seeds per locule; columellae stout, 2.8-3.2 cm long. Seeds cuneate or semi-globose, 2.1-2.9 × 0.6-0.8 cm, reddish brown, hirsute. 

 Distribution and Ecology Camellia maianhii is only known from the type-locality near Xon village, Chau Hoi Commune, Quy Chau District, Nghe An Province. This species grows on moist fertile and sandy soils derived from sandstone parent material on hill slopes and along a stream in secondary evergreen broad-leaved or mixed wood-bamboo forests, elevations of 200-800 m. 

 Etymology The specific epithet refers to the name of the discoverer of this species, Mr. Mai The Anh. Vernacular name (Vietnamese language) Chèmaianh (Chè = tea; maianh = the name of the discoverer of this species). 

Phenology This species flowers from November to January, and fruits from June to September. 

Conservation Status Camellia maianhii is only known from two populations in the Quy Chau District, Nghe An Province namely, the type locality near Xon Village, Chau Hoi Commune and the second in Chau Hanh Commune. The area of occupancy is less than 10 km2 and the total population is fewer than 200 mature individuals. Due to the limited known area of occupancy and small population size we consider the IUCN category of Critically Endangered (CR B2ab (iii,v)) to be appropriate for this species 

该标本由 Mai The Anh 于 2016 年在义安 Quy Chau 首次发现。2023 年，作者 Nguyen Trung Thanh、Luong Van Dung、Do Ngoc Dai、Kim so Yoong、Anthony S. Curry 在《植物学研究杂志》上发表了学名为 Camellia maianhii 的论文。越南语名称为 Tra mai anh，取自第一个发现该标本的人的名字。