斯范山茶 Camellia sphamii Q.C.Truong & V.S.LeCamellia sphamii

Camellia sphamii Q.C.Truong & V.S.Le. First published in Dalat Univ. J. Sci. 12(3): 11 (2022).

The specimen was first discovered by Truong Quang Cuong, Le Van Son, and Luong Van Dung in 2021 in Hamasin village, Dran town, Don Duong district, Lam Dong province. In 2022, the group of authors Truong Quang Cuong, Le Van Huong, Le Van Son, Le Quang Minh, Hoang Gia and Luu Hong Truong published in the Dalat University Journal of Science with the scientific name Camellia sphamii, the Vietnamese name is Tra Pham S, bearing the name of Mr. Pham S, who has made many contributions to the formation of the Langbiang Biosphere Reserve.

Type Vietnam, Lam Dong province, Don Duong district, D’ran town, Hamasin village, evergreen broadleaf forests, elevation 1,300–1,500 m, 28 Jan. 2021, Truong Quang Cuong, Le Van Son, Luong Van Dung, DL212801 (holotype DLU; isotype DLU, VTN).

Description Shrub 2 m to 8 m high, evergreen, young branches purple, glabrous, shiny, flexuous; mature branches light brown, with longitudinally fissured bark; Leaves pendulous, glabrous, narrowly lanceolate, cordate at base, attenuate at apex, with shallowly toothed, undulate margin; young leaves purple, shiny; mature leaves coriaceous, shiny on both sides, adaxially light green, abaxially pale green, 40–55 cm long, 8.5–10 cm wide, midrib prominent on both sides; secondary venation brochidodromous, with 16–20 pairs of arched veins, adaxially slightly raised, abaxially prominent; tertiary venation adaxially distinct, abaxially indistinct; leaf petioles purple and straight when young, light green and falcate when mature, partially obstructed by leaf lamina on adaxial side, adaxially channeled, glabrous, 1.7–2 cm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, thick, angle of attachment variable, between 30° and 90°. Flowers pedunculate, solitary, or 2(–3) clustered, borne on a short bracteate shoot in the axils of old leaves, nodding. Flower buds ovate, ferruginous; open flowers evenly circular, ca. 5 cm in diameter; pedicels stout, brownish-green or brown, shiny or crackled and corky, 1.2 2.2 mm long, 2 mm wide at the proximal end, glabrous. Bracteoles 2–3, broad, triangular, appressed to and scattered along the pedicel, hairy on the outer surface, ca. 2 mm long, 1 mm wide, distinctly differentiated from sepals, persistent. Sepals 5, ovate, 6–12 mm long, 10–19 mm wide, concave, coriaceous, finely hairy on the outer surface, with translucent margin, centrally green, marginally light yellow, persistent. Petals 6–7, finely hairy on the outer surface, with translucent margin, concave, 14–16 mm long, 16 18 mm wide; the outer whorl distinct with 3 petals, petals centrally green, distally light yellow; the middle and inner whorls of 2 petals each, petals yellow, with revolute margins. Androecium: filaments ca. 260, 5–6 whorls, light yellow, 13–18 mm long, basally united to each other for 3 mm, inner filaments basally sparsely hairy, the outer filaments glabrous, basally united to the petals for 3–5 mm, anthers yellow, 2 mm long, 1 mm wide, with two longitudinal striations, dorsifixed. Gynoecium 4–5 locular, 2 ovules per locule, ovary superior, ovoidal, ca. 5 mm long, 3–4 mm in diameter, tomentose; styles 4–5, free, 9–10 mm long, basally densely hairy. Mature fruits capsular, corky, 5.5–6.5 cm in diameter, 3.5–4 cm deep, with persistent sepals, dehiscing distally into 4–5 parts, pubescent; columella stout, 2–2.3 cm long; pericarp 7 8 mm thick. Seeds semi-globose, 1.2–1.6 cm thick, 1.9–2.3 cm long, dark brownish purple, glabrous.

Phenology C. sphamii flowers from December to February of the following year and fruits from July to October.

Distribution and ecology C. sphamii is recorded in only a single population in an evergreen broadleaf forest near the border of Lam Dong and Ninh Thuan provinces in Hamasin village, D’ran town, Don Duong district, Lam Dong province, Vietnam. 

Conservation status C. sphamii has only been recorded as a single population with fewer than 200 mature individuals in ca. 2 ha. In this area, there are many illegal logging operations and encroachments on forest land for agricultural activities. Therefore, the species can be assessed as critically endangered (CR) according to the IUCN categories and criteria (IUCN, 2019).

Etymology The specific epithet of this species honors Dr. S. Pham, Vice Chairman of Lam Dong Province People's Committee, Head of Langbiang Biosphere Reserve Management Board, and the founder of Langbiang Biosphere Reserve. Dr. S. Pham has been highly active in conservation activities in this area.

Lam Dong and Ninh Thuan provinces in Hamasin village, D’ran town, Don Duong district, Lam Dong province, Vietnam. 

斯范山茶 Camellia sphamii Q.C.Truong & V.S.Le

该标本由 Truong Quang Cuong、Le Van Son 和 Luong Van Dung 于 2021 年在林同省同阳县 Dran 镇 Hamasin 村首次发现。2022 年，Truong Quang Cuong、Le Van Huong、Le Van Son、Le Quang Minh、Hoang Gia 和 Luu Hong Truong 在《大叻大学科学杂志》（Dalat University Journal of Science）上发表了学名为 Camellia sphamii 的文章，越南语名称为 Tra Pham s，以为 Langbiang 生物圈保护区的形成做出许多贡献的 Pham S 先生的名字命名。

越南林同省和宁顺省，位于林同省同阳县德仁镇哈马辛村。