The genus Polygonatum, commonly known as Solomon’s seal, is the largest genus in the tribe Polygonateae within the asparagus family, Asparagaceae, comprising roughly 70 species distributed across the temperate Northern Hemisphere. About 50 of those species occur in east Asia, from the Himalayas through China to Japan, with the main diversification centered in southwest China and northeast Asia. At least 37 species and one variety have been used as traditional medicine and functional food, with the rhizome being the most commonly used plant part. In the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, the dry rhizome of P. odoratum is known as Yuzhu, while the dry rhizomes of P. sibiricum, P. kingianum, and P. cyrtonema are known collectively as Huangjing. Despite this commercial and cultural importance, the classification of the genus has long been controversial, complicated by high morphological variation and wide overlaps in geographic distribution that make species identification notoriously difficult.

Conventional cytogenetic work stretching back to the middle of the last century had already revealed something unusual about Polygonatum chromosomes: significant variation in basic chromosome number among species, dysploid variation within species, and a peculiar bimodality in the karyotypes of most populations studied, meaning the chromosome sets consist of a few pairs of conspicuously large chromosomes alongside several pairs of conspicuously small ones. More than 50 species have been conventionally karyotyped, but these analyses could provide only limited information on species identification and karyotype evolution because they lacked effective chromosomal markers. The only previous molecular cytogenetic report in the genus was a 2001 study that detected 45S ribosomal DNA in just two species. Until now, no comprehensive FISH-based chromosome characterization of Polygonatum had ever been attempted.

The research team, led by cytogeneticists at the Agricultural Environment and Ecology Institute of the Hunan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, analyzed nine populations representing four species: P. cyrtonema, P. kingianum, P. odoratum, and P. sibiricum. Plants were collected from different regions of China and cultivated in Huangjing germplasm gardens. The researchers prepared chromosome spreads from young root tips using an enzymatic digestion protocol with cellulase and pectolyase, then applied dual-color FISH with synthetic oligonucleotide probes targeting the 5S and 45S ribosomal DNA genes. The 5S probes were labeled with 6-carboxyl fluorescein, producing green signals, while the 45S probes were labeled with 6-carboxyl-tetramethyl rhodamine, producing red signals. After overnight hybridization at 37 degrees Celsius and careful washing, the chromosomes were counterstained with DAPI and visualized under a fluorescence microscope equipped with a high-resolution CCD camera.

The results were striking. The four populations of P. cyrtonema displayed three different chromosome numbers: 2n = 18, 2n = 22, and 2n = 26, with the last of these reported for the first time in the species. Both populations of P. kingianum shared the same number, 2n = 30, while the two populations of P. odoratum differed, with one at 2n = 20 and the other at 2n = 22. The single population of P. sibiricum showed 2n = 24. In terms of basic chromosome numbers, the team detected x = 9, 11, and 13 for P. cyrtonema, x = 15 for P. kingianum, x = 10 and 11 for P. odoratum, and x = 12 for P. sibiricum. The total length of the haploid chromosome complement ranged from 72.23 micrometers in one P. cyrtonema population to 93.40 micrometers in one P. kingianum population, showing both inter- and intra-specific variation. All chromosomes were classified as metacentric, submetacentric, or subtelocentric, and all nine karyotypes fell into moderate asymmetry categories on the Stebbins classification system.

The FISH mapping of ribosomal DNA sites revealed a remarkably consistent pattern across most populations. Seven of the nine populations carried a single locus of 5S rDNA and two loci of 45S rDNA, suggesting that this configuration represents the ancestral state for the genus. The two exceptions added complexity: one population of P. cyrtonema carried an additional 5S locus on a large chromosome pair, and one population of P. odoratum showed what the researchers described as one and a half 5S loci, with only one member of a chromosome pair displaying the signal. Similarly, two populations, one of P. cyrtonema and one of P. kingianem, carried three 45S loci instead of the typical two. The team suggested that these extra loci probably originated from chromosomal rearrangements or from the action of transposable elements that accumulate in the proximity of rDNA loci. Almost all 45S loci generated visible secondary constrictions, the pinched regions on chromosomes where the nucleolus organizer activity is concentrated.

Perhaps the most intriguing finding concerns the mechanism of dysploidy, the change in chromosome number without a change in ploidy level. The genus displays two levels of dysploid variation: interspecific variation in basic chromosome number ranging from x = 8 to x = 16, and intraspecific dysploid variation within more than fourteen species. By analyzing the frequency of each basic chromosome number across all reported populations, the team inferred that the most frequently occurring number in each species should represent the original character. For P. cyrtonema, x = 11 occurs most frequently, accounting for about 61 percent of reports, while for P. odoratum, x = 10 accounts for 75 percent. For P. sibiricum, x = 12 accounts for nearly 86 percent. The new detection of x = 13 in P. cyrtonema further demonstrates what the researchers call continuous dysploidy within that species. Crucially, the team found that the intraspecific dysploid changes were not classic Robertsonian transformations, the simple chromosomal fissions or fusions that produce one-to-one changes in chromosome number. Instead, they observed a one-to-two or two-to-one relationship between changes in the numbers of large and small chromosomes, accompanied by changes in relative lengths and arm ratios, and even the loss of karyotype bimodality in some populations. The researchers concluded that complex chromosomal rearrangements, probably including centromere fission or fusion, unequal translocations, and pericentric inversions, have driven the continuous dysploid variation within these species.

The karyological relationships among the four species, revealed by comparing rDNA patterns and by a principal coordinate analysis based on six quantitative karyological parameters, turned out to be basically consistent with the phylogenetic relationships established by molecular sequence studies. The PCoA scatter plot divided the nine populations into two groups along the first coordinate axis, which captured nearly 58 percent of the original data variation. When only populations carrying the inferred original basic chromosome numbers were considered, P. cyrtonema and P. odoratum clustered closely together, P. sibiricum was placed nearby in the same major group, and P. kingianum occupied a distinctly isolated position in the other group. This arrangement mirrors the three-section classification of the genus proposed in 2014, which placed P. cyrtonema and P. odoratum in section Polygonatum, P. sibiricum as the sole species of section Sibirica, and P. kingianum in section Verticillata. The rDNA pattern comparison told the same story: the conserved 5S locus in P. cyrtonema, P. odoratum, and P. sibiricum sits in the interstitial or distal regions of the long arms of a pair of small chromosomes, while in P. kingianum it sits in the proximal regions of the short arms of a pair of large subtelocentric chromosomes, marking that species as the most distantly related of the four.

The study also raises a fundamental evolutionary question that remains unresolved: whether the interspecific dysploidy in Polygonatum proceeds primarily in an ascending or descending direction. Morphological evidence has generally been interpreted to suggest that species with alternate leaf arrangement are relatively primitive and those with whorled leaves are relatively evolved, which would imply ascending dysploidy as the main evolutionary mode. Bayesian analyses of chloroplast genome sequences supported alternate leaf arrangement as the ancestral state. However, a recent comparative analysis of chloroplast genomes suggested that the whorled leaf might actually be the ancestral condition, which would flip the direction of chromosome number evolution. The perennial and clonal nature of Polygonatum species, the researchers note, makes geographically diverse populations prone to preserving large-scale chromosomal rearrangements, and it is precisely this abundant rearrangement and the resulting dysploid variation that produces the high morphological variation within widely distributed species such as P. cyrtonema and P. odoratum. For a genus whose rhizomes have been harvested for millennia as medicine, the chromosomes are now telling a story of restless genomic change that may ultimately explain why these plants have diversified so successfully across Asia, Europe, and North America.

Subject of Research: Molecular cytogenetic characterization of 9 populations of four species in the genus Polygonatum (Asparagaceae)

Article Title: Molecular cytogenetic characterization of 9 populations of four species in the genus Polygonatum ( Asparagaceae )

Article References: Wei, Y.-F., Jiang, X.-H., Song, R., & She, C.-W. (2024). Molecular cytogenetic characterization of 9 populations of four species in the genus Polygonatum (Asparagaceae). Comparative Cytogenetics, 18, 73-95. https://doi.org/10.3897/compcytogen.18.122399

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/compcytogen.18.122399

Keywords: Molecular, cytogenetic, characterization, populations, four, species, genus, Polygonatum, Asparagaceae, scientific research

The genus Polygonatum, commonly known as Solomon’s seal, is the most species-rich genus within its tribe, Polygonateae, with a distribution spanning the northern temperate, northern subtropical, and frigid zones of the Northern Hemisphere. More than 80 species have been recognized worldwide, and over 40 of them are endemic to China, making the country a key hub for the genus’ distribution and genetic diversification. The greatest concentration of species diversity stretches from the Himalayas to northern East Asia. Within Traditional Chinese Medicine, the dried rhizomes of select Polygonatum species, marketed as Polygonati Odorati Rhizoma, serve a dual role as both medicine and food, valued for properties described as nourishing yin, moistening dryness, and promoting fluid production. More than 20 additional species are used medicinally in regional practices, underscoring the considerable economic and therapeutic weight carried by the genus.

Species delineation in Polygonatum has traditionally rested on morphological characteristics such as leaf arrangement, filament morphology, flower size, shape and color, and rhizome structure. But these traits can overlap deceptively among close relatives. With the advancement of molecular biological techniques, chloroplast genome sequencing has emerged as a powerful tool for taxonomic identification and phylogenetic analysis in the genus, providing robust evidence for resolving the boundaries of closely related species. The new study combines both approaches, pairing detailed comparative morphology with complete chloroplast genome sequencing and phylogenetic reconstruction to test whether a suspicious plant from southeastern China truly belongs to the widespread species Polygonatum odoratum, or stands apart as something new.

The trail began during field surveys of wild Polygonatum germplasm resources conducted in southeastern China, encompassing Anhui, Hubei, and Zhejiang provinces. The researchers collected plant specimens that were initially identified as P. odoratum because of their similar rhizome morphology. However, detailed observations revealed notable differences in aboveground traits: a plant height ranging from 40 to 62 centimeters, oblong leaf blades, and yellowish-green campanulate-cylindrical flowers with a distinctive constriction at the mid-section. To confirm the taxonomic status of this plant, the team conducted comprehensive comparative morphological studies, chloroplast genome sequencing, and phylogenetic analyses. The cumulative evidence demonstrated that the taxon represents a previously unrecognized species, now formally described as Polygonatum kiangnanense sp. nov.

Between 2022 and 2025, the putative new species was sampled from five wild populations across the three provinces during key developmental stages, including growth initiation, flowering, and fruiting. Five individuals were transplanted to the Botanical Garden of West Anhui University for long-term monitoring of morphological traits and phenological patterns. For comparison, P. odoratum individuals were collected from Tonghua in Jilin Province and cultivated under identical environmental conditions. Voucher specimens of all sampled individuals were deposited in the Herbarium of Anhui University of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Chloroplast DNA sequences of the new species were generated through sequencing, while sequences of other Polygonatum species, including P. odoratum and P. infundiflorum, along with outgroup taxa from the closely allied genus Heteropolygonatum, were retrieved from the NCBI database.

The genomic workflow followed established pipelines. Genomic DNA was extracted from silica-gel-dried leaves using a commercial plant kit, and whole-genome sequencing was carried out on the BGISEQ-500 platform. Raw sequencing reads were filtered with the software fastp, and the chloroplast genome was assembled with SPAdes version 3.10.0. Genome annotation was performed using GeSeq and BLASTx, and the plastid genome map was generated with OGDRAW. The complete chloroplast genome sequences of P. kiangnanense, carrying GenBank accession numbers PX404796 and PX404797, and a newly sequenced P. odoratum from Tonghua, accession PX404798, have been deposited in GenBank. Comparative analyses of the chloroplast genomes of P. kiangnanense, P. odoratum, P. falcatum, P. langyaense, and P. infundiflorum were performed using Geneious software.

The results reveal a genome with a story to tell. The complete chloroplast genome of P. kiangnanense ranges from 154,571 to 154,593 base pairs in length, exhibiting the typical quadripartite structure characteristic of most angiosperms, consisting of a large single-copy region, a small single-copy region, and two inverted repeat regions. The genome contains a total of 133 genes, including 87 protein-coding genes, 8 rRNA genes, and 38 tRNA genes, consistent with the gene content observed in other Polygonatum species. Comparative analysis indicates that the chloroplast genome of P. kiangnanense is shorter than that of P. odoratum, which measures 155,310 base pairs, with the differences localized primarily to the large and small single-copy regions. The GC content of the new species ranges from 37.7 to 37.8 percent, closely mirroring its congeners.

Phylogenetic analyses based on complete chloroplast genomes, using both Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference methods, reveal that all individuals of P. kiangnanense form a well-supported monophyletic clade, with bootstrap support of 100 percent and a Bayesian posterior probability of 100 percent. The dataset comprised chloroplast genome sequences of two individuals of the new species, 48 Polygonatum species represented by 67 individuals retrieved from NCBI, and two outgroup species, Heteropolygonatum alternicirrhosum and Heteropolygonatum ogisui, which are frequently employed as reliable outgroups in Polygonatum systematics. Maximum Likelihood analysis was performed using FastTree version 2.1.10 under the GTR plus GAMMA substitution model, with node support evaluated through 1,000 site-likelihood re-samplings and the Shimodaira-Hasegawa test. Bayesian Inference was conducted using MrBayes v3.2.7 with the GTR+F+I+G4 model selected via ModelFinder, and Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling was run for 100,000 generations.

Perhaps the most intriguing finding concerns the true P. odoratum. Although numerous P. odoratum chloroplast genomes are available in GenBank, preliminary phylogenetic analysis indicated that these sequences are polyphyletic, meaning they do not all descend from a single common ancestor as currently labeled. Most sequences clustering with P. kiangnanense appear to be misidentified specimens from southern China, whereas genuine P. odoratum from Northeast China forms a well-supported monophyletic clade clearly separated from the new species. The researchers therefore newly sampled and sequenced P. odoratum from Tonghua in Jilin Province to ensure robust phylogenetic inference. Interestingly, P. kiangnanense did not cluster with P. odoratum at all, but instead showed a relatively greater phylogenetic distance from it, forming a sister relationship with the clade containing P. falcatum, P. langyaense, P. infundiflorum, and P. grandicaule with strong statistical support.

Morphologically, the new species bears its closest affinity to P. odoratum, yet can be clearly differentiated by a suite of distinct traits. It has a terete rhizome measuring 9 to 14 millimeters in thickness, an angled stem, oblong leaf blades measuring 8.0 to 13.0 by 3.5 to 5.0 centimeters, and racemose inflorescences typically bearing one to two, occasionally three, pendulous flowers, compared with three to seven or even up to fourteen in P. odoratum. The flowers are yellowish-green, campanulate-cylindrical, and constricted at the mid-section, with perianth lobes 6 to 8 millimeters in length, accounting for half of the total flower length, whereas P. odoratum has lobes of only about 3 millimeters. The filaments are adnate to the lower two-thirds of the perianth, measuring 12 to 14 millimeters, smooth, and without apical saccate protrusions. The berries are black, 6 to 8 millimeters in diameter, containing two to four seeds, compared with seven to nine in P. odoratum. These traits far exceed the natural morphological variation range of P. odoratum, supporting the recognition of the taxon as a previously undescribed species.

The new species differs from its other close relative, the Korean endemic P. infundiflorum, in having an angled rather than terete stem, oblong rather than lanceolate leaves, campanulate-cylindrical rather than funnel-shaped flowers, and a distribution in southeastern China rather than Korea. The specific epithet kiangnanense refers to the Jiangnan region, south of the Yangtze River, where the species was originally discovered and where most of its populations occur. The Chinese name is jiang nan yu zhu. The species flowers from March to April and fruits from April to October, growing mainly under deciduous broad-leaved forests and bamboo forests at elevations of 200 to 1,300 meters, with a notable concentration south of the Yangtze River and scattered distribution in the Dabie Mountains.

The discovery carries implications beyond taxonomy. The researchers carefully checked specimen records in the Chinese Virtual Herbarium and found that, in addition to the collected specimens from Anhui, Hubei, and Zhejiang, some specimens deposited in recent years and previously identified as P. odoratum actually represent P. kiangnanense. These specimens are documented from Anhui, Zhejiang, Hubei, and Hunan provinces, providing reliable evidence for predicting the potential distribution of the new species. Accordingly, P. kiangnanense is considered to be naturally distributed mainly within these four provinces of southeastern China, concentrated in the Yangtze River Basin. The finding suggests that herbarium collections, often treated as static records, can conceal unrecognized diversity waiting to be uncovered with modern tools.

For a genus so deeply woven into medicine, agriculture, and culture, the recognition of P. kiangnanense is more than an academic exercise. Accurate species boundaries underpin conservation planning, germplasm management, and the sustainable use of medicinal plants. If specimens of the new species have been routinely mislabeled as P. odoratum, then the ecological ranges, population sizes, and harvest pressures attributed to the familiar species may need recalibration. The study also adds a newly identified P. odoratum chloroplast genome from northeastern China to GenBank, helping to untangle the polyphyletic mess that has clouded the species’ genomic record. As chloroplast genome sequencing becomes routine, botanists may find that more of China’s Solomon’s seals, long assumed to be well catalogued, still hold surprises of their own.

Subject of Research: Polygonatum kiangnanense (Asparagaceae), a new species from southeastern China

Article Title: Polygonatum kiangnanense ( Asparagaceae ), a new species from southeastern China

Article References: Xu, T., Song, X.-W., Wang, W., Li, W.-T., Han, B.-X., & Yi, S.-Y. (2026). Polygonatum kiangnanense (Asparagaceae), a new species from southeastern China. PhytoKeys, 277, 227-240. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.277.198454

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.277.198454

Keywords: Polygonatum, kiangnanense, Asparagaceae, species, southeastern, China, scientific research

The find came about during a floristic exploration conducted in May 2025, when researchers Arundhuti Singha and Sharmistha Singha of the Uluberia Botanical Institute Herbarium encountered a small cluster of unfamiliar individuals growing on a moist, shaded forest floor at an elevation of 2,185 meters above sea level. At first glance the plants suggested Ophiopogon clarkei, a species already known from the Indian Himalaya. But field notes, careful dissection under a stereo microscope, and comparison against the original species description and authenticated herbarium material told a different story. The leaf margins were finely retroserrulate, the flowering stalks were short, the ovary globose, and the roots non-tuberous, a combination of characters that pointed unambiguously to O. japonicus rather than any of its Indian relatives.

Confirming the identity required navigating one of the more tangled corners of monocot taxonomy. The genus Ophiopogon, placed in the asparagus family Asparagaceae, comprises roughly 85 species distributed across tropical and temperate Asia. Its history of classification is a case study in how botanical families have been reshuffled by successive generations of evidence. Because of their lily-like flowers, these plants were originally housed in the sprawling family Liliaceae. Anatomical and pollen studies later moved them into Convallariaceae, and only molecular phylogenetic analyses, drawing on plastid and nuclear DNA sequences, finally settled them within Asparagaceae. Even today the genus is easily confused with its closest ally, Liriope, a lookalike group that shares the clumping, grass-like habit. The two can be separated by a suite of technical characters: Ophiopogon typically bears underground rhizomes, monosulcate pollen grains, and berry-like fruits of five to eight millimeters, whereas Liriope forms clumps with tuberous roots, pollen with trichotomocolpate or trichotomosulcate apertures, and slightly smaller fruits.

Before this discovery, seven species of Ophiopogon were recognized from India: O. clarkei, O. dracaenoides, O. griffithii, O. intermedius, O. micranthus, O. reptans, and the Garhwal endemic O. sar-garhwalensis. Ophiopogon japonicus was not among them, despite being one of the most widely cultivated and economically significant members of the genus. Native to East Asia, the species ranges naturally across Nepal, China, Japan, and Korea. In China it grows abundantly in the provinces of Zhejiang, Sichuan, Hubei, and Fujian, occupying moist, shaded forest understories, hillsides, and stream banks at elevations from 200 to 2,800 meters. In Japan and Korea it is a component of temperate forest ecosystems. Beyond its native range it is planted extensively across Asia as an ornamental groundcover and as a medicinal crop, which makes its absence from the documented Indian flora all the more striking.

There is, in fact, a historical footnote that makes the new record less a surprise than a long-delayed confirmation. The earliest authenticated Indian specimen of O. japonicus traces back to a collection made by R. Blinkworth in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, catalogued in the historic Wallich Catalogue assembled in the early nineteenth century. That specimen, held at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, demonstrates that the species has been present on Indian soil for perhaps two centuries. Yet it never entered the Indian flora, the regional floras of Uttarakhand, or the annotated checklists of the Indian Himalayan region. The authors of the new study suggest a simple explanation: the plant’s grass-like appearance and low-growing habit in shaded understories make it easy to overlook, and its resemblance to native Ophiopogon species invites misidentification.

The taxonomic case for the new record rests on a detailed morphological account supported by field photographs, microscopic images, and a line illustration. The Arunachal plants are herbaceous geophytes with short subterranean rhizomatous stems and adventitious, non-tuberous roots. Their linear, deep green leaves, twenty to twenty-five centimeters long and less than half a centimeter wide, are tufted at the base with parallel venation and retroserrulate margins. The inflorescence is a raceme borne on a five-to-seven-centimeter scape that is shorter than the leaves, carrying ten to fifteen solitary or occasionally paired, bisexual, actinomorphic flowers. Each flower is trimerous and hypogynous, with six petaloid tepals in two whorls, six stamens with introrse, basifixed, sagittate anthers, and a tricarpellary, syncarpous gynoecium with a semi-inferior, trilocular ovary showing axile placentation. Pollen grains prepared by the acetolysis method proved monosulcate, reticulate, subprolate to prolate, and twenty-five to thirty-five micrometers in the equatorial region, exactly the profile expected for the genus and a key discriminator from Liriope.

To guard against future confusion, the team provided a comparative table and an identification key separating O. japonicus from its closest allies, including O. clarkei, O. bodinieri, and O. intermedius. The key hinges on characters visible even in the field: O. japonicus alone combines retroserrulate leaf margins with the absence of stolons, a short scape of five to seven centimeters, and a globose ovary, while O. clarkei bears stolons, longer scapes exceeding ten centimeters, and inflorescences of only two to five flowers. A voucher specimen has been deposited in the Wildlife Institute of India Herbarium under accession number WII006411, and geographic coordinates recorded with GPS were used to generate a distribution map with QGIS software. Flowering in the Arunachal population extends from May to August, with fruiting from September to November.

The discovery is more than a line added to a checklist. Ophiopogon japonicus is a plant of enormous ethnobotanical weight. In traditional Chinese medicine its tuberous roots, known as mai dong, have been used for centuries as a rejuvenating tonic, and modern pharmacological research has reported a wide spectrum of activities, including antioxidant, immunomodulatory, cardioprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, anti-aging, and anti-hyperglycemic effects. The rhizomes are extensively harvested, and the species is cultivated at industrial scale in parts of China. Whether the newly documented Himalayan population carries the same phytochemical profile is unknown, but the authors argue that the species’ ecological significance and medicinal potential justify further field investigations and long-term monitoring of its populations in the region.

There is also a conservation dimension that the researchers flag clearly. The Arunachal plants were found growing along a roadside, a habitat exposed to road construction, frequent landslides, and general disturbance, pressures that are intensifying across the Himalayan frontier. A species prized for its rhizomes could face additional harvesting pressure if its occurrence becomes widely known. At the same time, the record underscores how much remains undocumented in Northeast India. The Eastern Himalaya is a recognized global biodiversity hotspot, yet its remote forested valleys continue to yield taxa new to science and, as in this case, species new to national floras. The team recommends sustained botanical exploration of these areas, which may harbor additional rare or previously unrecorded plants hiding in plain sight beneath the forest canopy.

For now, the humble lilyturf of Chinese medicine gardens has a new entry in the annals of Indian botany, and a two-century-old specimen from Kumaon finally has a living, flowering counterpart in the Eastern Himalaya. The finding is a reminder that even in an era of satellite mapping and DNA barcoding, the foundation of biodiversity knowledge remains the patient field survey: walking a forest margin, noticing a tuft of grass-like leaves that looks slightly wrong, and taking the trouble to count the tepals, section the ovary, and check the pollen. In this instance, that patience rewrote the distribution map of one of Asia’s most familiar medicinal plants.

Subject of Research: First confirmed record of the medicinal plant Ophiopogon japonicus in India, from Arunachal Pradesh in the Eastern Himalaya

Article Title: Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker Gawl. (Asparagaceae), a new record for India

Article References: Naskar, A. K., Santra, T., Singha, A., Singha, S., Hoque, A., & Kumar, A. (2026). Ophiopogon japonicus (Thunb.) Ker Gawl. (Asparagaceae), a new record for India. Discover Plants, 3(1), Article 381. https://doi.org/10.1007/s44372-026-00854-z

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s44372-026-00854-z

Keywords: Ophiopogon japonicus, Asparagaceae, Arunachal Pradesh, Eastern Himalaya, new record, plant taxonomy, traditional Chinese medicine, biodiversity, West Kameng, floristics, morpho-taxonomy, conservation