五边形山茶 Camellia pentagonalema Orel & CurryCamellia pentagonalema

Camellia pentagonalema Orel & Curry Section: Piquetia, Camellia: Work in Progress,139 (2019), TYPE: Vietnam. Lam Dong Province: unnamed tributary, the head waters of Dong Nai River,17/01/2004, G. Orel, A. S.Curry, G. Richards & G.Wilkes, Orel & Curry VN17-1-04 (Holotype, NSW)

C. pentagonalema possesses relatively large leaves, 30.0-32.0 (-34.0) cm long; pedicel 2.8-3.0 (-3.5) cm long; 5 sepals in 2 whorls (2 + 3); petaloids 3, glabrous, yellowish-green; petals 8, rather uniform, light to mid-yellow, inner surfaces glabrous, outer surfaces finely but sparsely hairy, concave, obovate to orbicular, with translucent margins, arranged in 4 whorls, (2+2+2+2); outer filaments proximally joined for 5.0 mm, inner filaments free to the base; styles 5, free to the base, intertwined in a tight spiral formation, 1.3-1.5 cm long; ovary superior, unevenly cylindric, densely tomentose, 5.0 mm long, 6.0-7.0 mm diam.

Phenology. The new species was collected in full flower in mid-January, which appears to be the main flowering period for this species.

Distribution and habitat. C. pentagonalema Orel & Curry is known from the type location which is situated in the Lam Dong Province, in Southern Viet Nam. Here the new species forms part of the low under-storey vegetation of the wet, sub-tropical rainforest. It tolerates poor, damp soils and low light conditions. The species’ precise provenance details are withheld for conservation reasons.

IUCN Red List category. Several adult trees were located in the area around the type locality. No detailed, wider search was undertaken. Given this situation, we consider the IUCN category of Data Deficient (DD) to be appropriate (IUCN 2018).

Etymology. The specific epithet refers to the flower morphology of this new Camellia species, namely to the pentagonal, well-defined five-cornered shape of mature flowers 

Vietnam. Lam Dong Province

五边形山茶 Camellia pentagonalema Orel & Curry 组：匹克茶组Piquetia。《山茶：工作进展》139 (2019)。越南林同省大叻台地无名山: unnamed tributary, the headwaters of Dong Nai River, 17/01/2004, G. Orel, A. S.Curry, G. Richards & G. Wilkes, Orel & Curry VN 17-1-04 (主模式, NSW)

越南林同省大叻