Paris L. is a small genus distributed in evergreen broad-leaved forests in some mountainous areas from the North to the Central highlands of Vietnam. In traditional medicine, rhizomes of Paris are valuable, being used to treat many diseases. Due to over-exploitation as well as habitat loss, populations of some Paris species are seriously declining. Paris polyphylla Sm. has been listed in the Vietnam Red data book as endangered (EN A1c,d, 2007). However, Paris has not been well-studied in Vietnam. Thus, the aims of this study were to define morphological characteristics and update the distributions and status of Paris in Vietnam for conservation. As a result, a dichotomous key for identification, distributions and conservation status of 8 species and 2 varieties of the Paris in Vietnam are reported.
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