Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden (QSBG), in collaboration with Pha Tad Ke Botanical Garden (PTK), has launched the botanical expeditions in Luang Prabang and Sayaboury, Lao PDR. This project started in 2014. Three expeditions were conducted mostly in Muang Phiang and Muang Botene in Sayaboury, Muang Nan and adjacent area in Luang Prabang. The explored vegetation types were dry evergreen forest, mixed deciduous forest, sandstone scrub forest and limestone forest. For the result, one new species, Curcuma peramoena Souvann. & Maknoi (Zingiberaceae), was described from Muang Phiang. Centranthera siamensis T.Yamaz., which was previously known as endemic to Thailand, was found as a new record for Laos PDR on sandstone scrub forest in Muang Botene. Some other species endemic to Thailand were expected to be found in Laos PDR also, such as Agapetes saxicola Craib ex Kerr, Amorphophallus atrorubens Hett. & Sizemore, Cornukaempferia aurantiflora Mood & K.larsen, Livistona speciosa Kurz and Wallichia siamensis Becc. According to “A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Laos PDR” (Newman et al., 2007), some species found in these expeditions were not in the list, including Acalypha kerrii Craib, Actephila javanica Miq., Agapetes megacarpa W.W.Sm., Aristolochia kerrii Craib, Asplenium humbertii Tardieu, Asplenium thunbergii Kunze, Clitoria macrophylla Wall. ex Benth., Costus tonkinensis Gagnep., Curcuma amada Roxb., Curcuma stenochila Gagnep., Dendrophthoe lanosa (Korth.) Danser, Equisetum diffusum D.Don, Hedychium pauciflorum S.Q.Tong, Jasminum ceroides, Jasminum coarctatum Roxb., Jasminum pierreanum Gagnep., Monolophus bracteatus (K.Larsen & S.S.Larsen) Veldkamp & Mood , Oryza minuta J.Presl, Peperomia tetraphylla Hook. & Arn., Pollia siamensis (Craib) Faden ex D.Y.Hong, Pyrrosia nummulariifolia (Sw) Ching and Thladiantha hookeri C.B.Clarke. In summary, four species of spore-bearing plant and 19 species of flowering plant were added to the list. These additional species increase plant diversity in Laos PDR and expected more species for the next expeditions.
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