Vincetoxicum is a genus of plants in the Apocynaceae family. It is distributed in Asia, especially in mountainous areas, and most of the known species occur in China and Japan. The extended Vincetoxicum includes about 150 species. In recent years, new species of Vincetoxicum have been reported continuously. 

During a plant resource survey in Gongshan County, Yunnan Province in 2022, researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden and the Wuhan Botanical Garden of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a special vine plant of the genus Vincetoxicum. After consulting the relevant literature and analyzing the morphological characteristics, they finally confirmed that the species is new to botanical science. 

The new species was named Vincetoxicum gongshanense to refer to the type locality of Gongshan County, Yunnan, China. Related results were published in Taiwania.  

Vincetoxicum gongshanense is a liana up to two meters tall. It is morphologically similar to V. silvestre, V. kerrii and V. biondioides by the vine habit and linear lanceolate leaves, but can be distinguished by the leathery leaves, five basal veins, ovate-triangular sepals, yellow corolla, lanceolate corolla lobes, broad triangular corona and reniform pollinia. 

At present, Vincetoxicum gongshanense has been found only at the type locality with more than ten individuals, which are relatively rare, growing at the forest edge at an altitude of about 1,560 meters, climbing on trees. The researchers classified the conservation status of the new species as data deficient, according to guidelines of the International Union for Conservation of Nature standard Red List Categories and Criteria. 

"The continuous discovery of new species indicates that more field surveys are needed to fully understand the exact number of Vincetoxicum species," said SHEN Jianyong of XTBG.  

Vincetoxicum gongshanense (Image by SHEN Jianyong)

Vincetoxicum gongshanense (Image by SHEN Jianyong)