Taxonomic revision of Thai Gnetum (Gnetaceae), including two new species

Authors

  • Kesanee Kuaphu Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
  • Somran Suddee The Forest Herbarium (BKF), Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, 61 Phahonyothin Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok 10900, Thailand
  • Trevor Hodkinson Botany, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, D2, Ireland
  • Ruamporn Kongjan WBP Walailak Botanic Park, Walailak University, 222 Thaiburi, Thasala District, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand
  • Chalermpol Suwanphakdee Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok 10900, Thailand

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.20531/tfb.2026.54.1.04

Keywords:

Flora of Thailand, Gymnosperms, Gnetales, Lectotypes, Tropical plants

Abstract

A comprehensive taxonomic revision of Gnetum (Gnetaceae) in Thailand is presented based on morphological characters. Eleven taxa are recognised (ten species and two varieties) including two newly described species, Gnetum khaoluangense and G. megaspermum, both endemic to Thailand. An update of morphological characters, taxon descriptions (including illustrations of the two new species), diagnostic characters, and an identification key to all Thai taxa, are provided. Lectotypification is provided for six taxa: G. cuspidatum, G. gnemon var. tenerum, G. leptostachyum, G. macrostachyum, G. microcarpum and G. tenuifolium.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Bachman, S. & Moat, J. (2012). GeoCAT – An open source tool for rapid Red List assessments. BGjournal 9(1): 11–13.

Blume, C.L. (1849). Rumphia, sive, Commentationes botanicae imprimis de plantis Indiae Orientalis. Vol. 4. Lugduni-Batavorum, Leiden.

Gifford, E.M. & Foster, A.S. (1989). Morphology and evolution of vascular plants, 3rd ed. W.H.Freeman and Company, New York.

Hooker, J.D. (1888). Gnetum L. In: J.D. Hooker (ed.), The Flora of British India 5: 641–643. L.Reeve & Co., London.

Hou, C., Humphreys, A.M., Thureborn, O. & Rydin, C. (2015). New insights into the evolutionary history of Gnetum (Gnetales). Taxon 64: 239–253. https://doi.org/10.12705/642.12

Hou, C., Wikström, N., Strijk, J.S. & Rydin, C. (2016). Resolving phylogenetic relationships and species delimitations in closely related gymnosperms using high-throughput NGS, Sanger sequencing and morphology. Plant Systematics and Evolution 302: 1345–1365. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-016-1335-1

Hufford, L.D. (1996). The morphology and evolution of male reproductive structures of Gnetales. International Journal of Plant Sciences 157(6): S95–S112.

IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee (2024). Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 16. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Committee. Downloadable from http://www.iucnredlist.org/ documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf. (accessed 13 October 2025).

Jörgensen, A. & Rydin, C. (2015). Reproductive morphology in the Gnetum cuspidatum group (Gnetales) and its implications for pollination biology in the Gnetales. Plant Ecology and Evolution 148: 387–396. https://doi.org/10.5091/plecevo.2015.1142

Judd, W.S., Campbell, C.S. Kellogg, E.A. Stevens, P.F. & Donoghue, M.J. (2008). Plant Systematics: A Phylogenetics Approach, 3rd ed. Sinauer Associates, Sunderland.

Khuraijam, K.S., Mazumdar, J. & Singh, R. (2020). A synopsis of the genus Gnetum (Gnetaceae) in India. Annales Botacini Fennici 57: 131–137. https://doi.org/10.5735/085.057.0118

Kubitzki, K. (1990). Gnetaceae. In: K. Kubitzki (ed.), The families and genera of vascular plants vol. 1: 100–107. Springer, Berlin.

Linnaeus, C. (1767). Mantissa Plantarum. Laurentii Salvii, Holmiae. Markgraf, F. (1930). Monographie der Gattung Gnetum. Bulletin du Jardin b otanique du Buitenzorg 10: 407–511.

Linnaeus, C. (1951). Gnetaceae. In: C.G.G.J. van Steenis (eds.), Flora Malesiana Ser. 1, 4: 336–347. Noordhoff-Kolff, Djakarta.

Mathews, S. & Kramer, E.M. (2012). The evolution of reproductive structures in seed plants: a reexamination based on insights from developmental genetics. New Phytologist 194: 910–923. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2012.04091.x

Phengklai, C. (1973). Studies in Flora of Thailand: Gnetaceae. Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department, Bangkok, 7: 21–38.

Phengklai, C. (1975). Gnetaceae. In: T. Smitinand & K. Larsen (eds), Flora of Thailand 2: 204−210. Applied Scientific Research Corporation of Thailand, Bangkok.

POWO (2025). Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Available from: https://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/ (accessed 13 October 2025).

Price, R. (1996). Systematics of the Gnetales: A review of morphological and molecular evidence. International Journal of Plant Sciences 157: S40–S49.

Ran, J.H., Shen, T.T., Wang, M.M., & Wang, X.Q. (2018). Phylogenomics resolves the deep phylogeny of seed plants and indicates partial convergent or homoplastic evolution between Gnetales and angiosperms. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological sciences 285:20181012. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2018.1012

Ridley, H.N. (1911). The Flora of Lower Siam. Journal of the Straits Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society 59: 15–234.

Rydin, C. & Korall, P. (2009). Evolutionary relationships in Gnetum (Gnetales) based on rbcL, matK, trnL–trnF, and psbA–trnH sequence data. Systematic Botany 34: 8–17.

Stevenson, D.W. & Zanoni, T.A. (1991). The typification of Gnetum gnemon L. Taxon 40: 625–626.

Stull, G.W., Qu, X.J., Parins-Fukuchi, C., Yang, Y.Y., Yang, J.B., Yang, Z.Y., Hu, Y., Ma, H., Soltis, P.S., Soltis, D.E., Li, D.Z., Smith, S.A. & Yi, T.S. (2021). Gene duplications and phylogenomic conflict underlie major pulses of phenotypic evolution in gymnosperms. Nature plants 7(8): 1015–1025. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-00964-4

Downloads

Published

2026-03-24

How to Cite

Kuaphu, K., Suddee, S., Hodkinson, T. ., Kongjan, R., & Suwanphakdee, C. (2026). Taxonomic revision of Thai Gnetum (Gnetaceae), including two new species. Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany), 54(1), 23–40. https://doi.org/10.20531/tfb.2026.54.1.04

Issue

Section

Articles