New tree species found in Vientiane capital

The botany scientific journal Phytotaxa has announced that a new species of Gluta (Anacardiaceae) has been described and illustrated: Gluta laosensis Tagane & Kameda. It was discovered during a botanical exploration in a mixed deciduous forest in Vientiane Capital and named after researchers Shuichiro Tagane and Chika Kameda. After a careful examination using taxonomic literature and dried specimens of the herbaria as well as digital specimen images, it was confirmed that this plant represents a distinctive taxonomic entity and therefore forms a new species. This species is the fourth one of Gluta known in Laos. 

From all the other species in the Anacardiaceae section it differs in the smaller stalks, that are less than 4 millimetre long. Additionally, the leaves are teardrop shaped and long or long and oval, and the leaf bases are rounded to slightly heart-shaped. Also, there are 18–24 pairs of secondary veins in the leafs. Lastly, G. laosensis grows well in mixed deciduous forest and secondary semi-evergreen forest while other species prefer to live at edge of rivers. It is distributed in Vientiane Capital, so far only known in the Sangthong District. 

Information source: Phytotaxa.