www.nordicjbotany.org NORDIC JOURNAL OF BOTANY Nordic Journal of Botany 1 –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– © 2020 Nordic Society Oikos. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Subject Editor: John Parnell Editor-in-Chief: Torbjörn Tyler Accepted 10 August 2020 2020: e02877 doi: 10.1111/njb.02877 Published 1 October 2020 Tis paper continues the publication of newly obtained results from a continuing taxo- nomic investigation of the genus Aspidistra in Laos and Vietnam. It includes illustrated diagnoses of two new species, A. melanaster Aver., K.S. Nguyen & Tillich, A. obliqua K.S. Nguyen & Aver., two new varieties, A. semiaperta Aver. & Tillich var. globulifera Aver., K.S. Nguyen & Tillich, A. lutea Tillich var. luteo-rubra K.S. Nguyen, Aver. & Tillich, and notes on two species, A. austroyunnanensis G.W. Hu, Lei Cai & Q.F. Wang and A. hekouensis H. Li, C.L. Long & Bogner newly recorded in the fora of Vietnam. Color illustrations, new or updated data on morphology, ecology, phenology, tentative relationships, distribution and conservation status are provided for all the mentioned taxa. Keywords: Indochina, new taxa, plant diversity, plant taxonomy Introduction Te genus Aspidistra Ker-Gawler (1822, p. 628) is presently one of the most fast-grow- ing taxonomic groups of fowering plants. Available data indicate eastern Indochina as the largest center of species diversity of this genus. Te most recent results of investiga- tions in this area have been summarized in a series of recent publications (Averyanov and Tillich 2016, 2017, Averyanov et al. 2016, 2017, 2018a, b, 2019a, b, Vislobokov 2015, 2016, Vislobokov et al. 2016, 2017, Nguyen et al. 2017, 2019, Nuraliev et al. 2017, Tillich et al. 2017, Tillich and Averyanov 2018). Meanwhile, the diversity of the genus is still far from well known and understood. Te data reported in this paper were obtained during feldwork and garden observations in 2018–2020. Te studied her- barium specimens are presently housed in the herbaria HN and LE. Aspidistra fowers are always feshy, and their structures are generally largely distorted in the process of pressing and drying herbarium specimens. Terefore, observations of fowers were mostly made on living plants. To supplement these fresh observations, fowers were also preserved in 50–60% ethanol for subsequent studies. Measurements of foral parts for description were made on both living and liquid preserved material. Detailed analytical photos of New taxa and new records in Aspidistra (Convallariaceae s.s.) of Laos and Vietnam Leonid V. Averyanov, Khang Sinh Nguyen, Hoang Thanh Son, H.-J. Tillich, Bleddyn Wynn-Jones and Tatiana V. Maisak L. V. Averyanov (http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8031-2925) ✉ (av_leonid@mail.ru) and T. V. Maisak, Komarov Botanical Inst. of the Russian Academy of Science, St Petersburg, Russia. – K. S. Nguyen, Inst. of Ecology and Biological Resources, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Cau Giay, Hanoi, Vietnam. – H. T. Son, Silviculture Research Inst., Vietnamese Academy of Forest Sciences, Bac Tu Liem, Hanoi, Vietnam. – H.-J. Tillich, Ludwig- Maximilians-Univ., Inst. of Systematic Botany, Munich, Germany. – B. Wynn-Jones, Bangor Univ., College of Natural Sciences, Gwynedd, UK. Research