Ceropegia is a genus of the dogbane family (Apocynaceae), comprising approximately 200 species native to Africa, Southeast Asia, and Australia. To date, 24 species of Ceropegia have been documented in China.

In a study published in Taiwania, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences discovered a new species and named it Ceropegia polytricha, referring to its densely hairy stems, leaves, peduncles, corolla lobes, and interstaminal corona lobes.

Researchers collected an unknown Ceropegia species during botanical explorations in the Luzhi River valley, Yunnan Province, China. After a comprehensive literature review and detailed morphological examination, they confirmed it as a species new to science.

Ceropegia polytricha is a perennial twining herb. It bears tubular, curved flowers measuring 4.7-5.2 cm in length. The corolla is yellowish-green with reddish-brown stripes, and the throat features a conspicuous ring of trichomes. The narrowly triangular lobes, reaching up to 2.7 cm in length, are densely pilose on the inner surface and fuse at the tips.

Ceropegia polytricha is morphologically similar to Ceropegia dolichophylla and Ceropegia sinoerecta, but can be easily distinguished from them by having densely pilose stems, twining habit, broadly lanceolate leaves, and longer corolla lobes.

This new species is currently known only from Zhela Village, Luzhi Town, Yimen County, Yunnan, where it twines around branches in dense thickets. Local agricultural activities including crop cultivation and livestock grazing are contributing to habitat degradation. Therefore, researchers assessed its conservation status as critically endangered based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria.

“Ceropegia polytricha needs immediate conservation attention. Further surveys and habitat protection measures are urgently needed to safeguard it,” said SHEN Jianyong from XTBG, one author of this study.

Ceropegia polytricha (Image by MA Xingda)