A new orchid species, Hemipiliaavisoides, is described from Songpan County and Maoxian County, Sichuan Province, China. Morphologically, H.avisoides is most similar to H.hui, but can be distinguished by the combination of its involute middle lip lobe that is smaller than the lateral lobes, floral bracts that are 5 mm long and are always shorter than the ovary, a leaf that is appressed to the substrate and is adaxially green with white lines along 7-9 principal veins and the subterranean stem with a solitary sheath at its base. The floral morphology of H.avisoides is presented by utilising in vivo micro-CT scanning and 3D visualisation.
Keywords: Arid valley; Minjiang River Valley; Orchidinae; taxonomy.
Xue-Man Wang, Ying Tang, Pei-Hao Peng, Hua Peng.