乌蒙杓兰及其近亲种

 In addition to describing a new species, Cypripedium wumengense, as wellas a new variety, C. bardolphianum var. zhongdianense,  nomenclatural and taxonomicnotes are made on its allies and the division to which they belong.  They are ltrge]yfound in the Hengduan Mountains in southwestern China, characterized by the absenceof bract, havirg lip more or less covered with small wart-like outgrowths, and that asthe capsule matures the scape becomes much elongated.  Six species of this group havehitherto been reported, of which, however, C. ebracteatum and C. nutans are regardedhere as conspecific with C. fargesii and C. bardolphianum respectively. Thus, includingthe new taxa described here, it composes five species and one variety: C. bardolphianumW. W. Sm. et Farrer (var. bardolphianum and var. zhongdianense S. C. Chen), C. mic-ranthum Franch., C. fargesii Franch., C. margaritaceum Franch. and C. wumengenseS. C. Chen.  They are all grouped here into the same section, Sect.  Trigonopedium(Franch.) Pfitz., the oldest legitimate name of this group in the rank of section.     

暖地杓兰——与碗兰属有密切关系的新种

Cypripedium subtropicum S.  C. Chen et K. Y. Lang is a phytogeography-cally significant new species with its habit, inflorescence and column very similar tothose of Selenipedilum of tropical America.  It is found in Mêdog of southeastern Xi-zang, China.  Its slender leafy stem bears at the summit a many-flowered raceme, am-ounting to 1.5 m in height. Although its ovary is unilocular—this is the reason whywe place it in Cypripedium, the column characters resemble those of Selenipedilum. Forexample, the staminode is rather small and its long stalk is very similar in texture andcolor to the filament of the fertile stamens. Obviously, it is a primitive new species re-lated to Selenipedilum based on the similarities mentioned above.      In the subfamily Cypripedioideae, as generally recognized, Selenipedilum is  themost primitive genus, from which or whose allies Cypripedium is derived.  Of phyto-geographical significance is the fact that Selenipedilum occurs in Central America andnorthern South America, while a cypripedium akin to it is discontinuously distributedin subtropical Asia.  This suggests that Selenipedilum or Selenipedilum-like  form beonce continually distributed in North America and eastern Asia when the climate therewas warmer, as it is in the subtropics today.  The floristic relationship between CentralAmerica and subtropical Asia appears to be closer than expected, as shown by the dis-tribution patterns of Tropidia, Erythrodes, etc.  Based on the occurrence of all six sec-tions and particularly the most primitive form in eastern Asia, Cypripedium seems tobe of Asian, rather than Central American, origin.  Selenipedilum possesses some veryprimitive characters, such as trilocular ovary, vanilla-scented fruit, seed with sclerotictesta, simple column and more or less suffrutescent habit.  The latter is considered byDahlgren & Clifford (1982) to be one of ancestral characters of monocotyledons, whichis now very rare not only in Orchidaceae but also in all monocotyledons.  It is indeednecessary to make further investigations on Selenipedilum and also the new species pub-lished here, as well as a detailed comparison between them.     

麻栗坡兜兰——兜兰属与杓兰属的一个中间类型，兼论兜兰属的地理起源问题

Paphiopedilum malipoense S. C. Chen et Tsi is a very interesting new species with its flower similar to that of Cypripedium, especially section Cypripedium.  It belongsto subgenus Brachypetalum, the most primitive group of Paphiopedilum, but differs fromits allied species in hgniva elliptic-lanceolate sepal with cuspidately acuminate apex, rathernarrow petals and horizontal lip, which are of common occurrence in many cypripediums, butvery rare in paphiopedilums.  Apparently, this is an intermediate form, or a link, betweenPaphiopedilum and Cypripedium, but it does not seem to arise from hybridization betweenthem, because no Cypripedium has been found wherever Paphiopedilum occurs.      The new species is distributed in southeastern Yunnan of China. In this area, as wellas in river valleys of western Yunnan or the Hengduan Mountains, there have been fourspecies of the same genus reported before. As we know, the Hengduan Mountains and theiradjacent areas are rich in Cypripedium.  The differentiation of the genus there is remarka-ble.  All five sections it contains occur there and three of them are quite distinctive.  Forexample, the general appearance of the section Bracleosa is dissimilar to that of any othercypripediums, but closely resembles that of Listera.  It appears that the difference betweensect.  Bracteosa of Cypripedium and sect.  Brachypetalum of Paphiopedilum is not neces-sarily wider than that between sect. Bracteosa and sect. Cypripedium of the same genus.Apparently, it is reasonable to consider Paphiopedilum to be an evolutional branch of Cy-pripedium extending into tropical area, with its primitive group (subgenus Brachypetalum)still remaining in its northern fringe area.  This primitive subgenus has eight species, dis-tributed from western Yunnan to the Malay Peninsula.  Five of them, including the inter-mediate and primitive form published here, are found in the hilly land of southeastern Yun-nan and the river valleys of western Yunnan.  All these facts suggest its area of origin: theriver valleys of the Hengduan Mountains and the lower hilly land contiguous to the southof them.     

西藏虾脊兰属一新种

Calanthe tangmaiensis K. Y. Lang & Y. Tateishi (Orchidaceae) isdescribed as new from Xizang, China.     

兰科舌唇兰属的一新亚属

笔者曾在1994年发表的“兰科植物区系中一些有意义属的地理分布格局的研究”一文中介绍了此新亚属——显柱舌唇兰亚属的分布格局及其与舌唇兰亚属的区别。现将它正式发表。此新亚属含12种,其中1种为新组合种。     

中国兰科植物一新种——云南巾唇兰

对中国兰科植物新种云南巾唇兰Pennilabium yunnanense S.C.Chen&Y.B.Luo作了描述和绘图。该新种与P.acuminatum（Ridley）Holttum较为接近,区别点在于具较小的花朵,直径仅3cm;花瓣白色且上面有深紫色斑点,以及唇瓣侧裂片顶端有流苏。     

To serve and promote science development via innovation

CAS should stick to the principle of rendering service to, and giving impetus for, the development of China＇s science enterprise by making S＆T innovations, said CAS President LU Yongxiang. The CAS president made the remarks in a recent talk to communicate the gist of the winter session of the Party＇s Leading-member Group at CAS, which was held from 7 to 11 January in Beijing.     

Tracing the origin and early radiation of birds——Paleornithologist ZHOU Zhonghe

With great care, Dr. ZHOU Zhonghe takes out a package wrapped by cotton tissue from a drawer and says: "This is the gem of our collections: the fossil of a bird that lived 125 million years ago!" Then, pointing at a tiny mound, he explains: "Look, this is the claw and that is the head. It was in the egg shell and ready to hatch ... The species fell into a family of waterside inhabitants."     

Molecular motor assembly of a biomimetic system

Active biological molecules and functional structures can be fabricated into a bio-mimetic system by using molecular assembly method. Such materials can be used for the drug delivery, disease diagnosis and therapy, and new nanodevice construction.     

Flagship project on cryopheric changes launched at CAS

With the support of the National Basic Research Program （dubbed “973” Program）, a research project entitled the “dynamic process of China＇s cryosphere, and the mechanism behind its impact on climate, hydrology and ecology” has recently been launched at the CAS Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute （CAREERI） in Lanzhou, capital of northwest China＇s Gansu Province, marking the inception of a systematic and allround exploration of the subject.