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Bulbophyllum obtusangulum Z.H. Tsi has long been treated as a synonymy of B. lepidum (Blume) J.J. Sm., which is broadly distributed in Southeast Asia. In this paper, based on a re-evaluation of morphological characters and critical study of herbarium specimens and protologue, B. obtusangulum is proposed as a heterotypic synonym of B. tseanum (S.Y. Hu & Barretto) Z.H. Tsi, which was previously regarded as endemic to Hong Kong.

Bulbophyllum gedangense (Orchidaceae), a new species from Tibet, China, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to B. psychoon and B. levinei, but differs from them by having longer scapes, smaller flowers, sepals subequal in length, ovate dorsal sepal with obtuse apex, obliquely triangular-ovate lateral sepals with acute apex, ovate petals with entire margins and rounded apex.

A new species, Bulbophyllum lingii (Orchidaceae: Epidedroideae: Malaxideae) from Hainan, China, is described and illustrated. Detailed morphological comparisons indicate that B. lingii is similar to B. catenarium, but differs in having oblong petals, lip margins from base of side-lobes to lip tip recurved, adaxial surface of top part glabrous, stigma with a rather distinct basal callus, foot with about 1/3 free part. The conservation status of B. lingii is assessed and taxonomic notes are provided.

A new orchid species, Dendrobium yongjiaense, from Zhejiang, China, is described and illustrated here. Detailed morphological study indicates that D. yongjiaense is similar to D. monticola and D. strongylanthum, but it differs in the shape and size of leaf, flower size, and a mid-lobe of the lip with densly distinct crystalline papillae and wrinkled 3–5 crest lines in middle. Molecular phylogeny analyses based on the nrITS and plastid DNA (matK and trnL-F) reveal that D. yongjiaense is a member of sect. Stachyobium, and genetically similar to D. monticola.

A new species, Liparis mai (Malaxidinae, Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae), from Guangxi, China, is illustrated and described based on morphological and molecular analyses. This new species is similar to L. nervosa but differs by the older pseudobulb often bearing bulbil, larger revolute lateral sepals, obovate-elliptic lip and caniniform callus. Molecular analyses of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (matK) DNA support L. mai as a distinct species, which forms an independent lineage sister to L. nervosa and its allies.

We have described and illustrated a new species, Bulbophyllum linzhiense (Malaxideae, Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae), from Tibet Autonomous Region in southwest China. The size and overall floral morphology of the new species are similar to those of B. rubrolabellum, a species endemic to Taiwan island on the southeast coast of China, but is different by apart pseudobulbs, lower flowers, ovate-lanceolate bracts, longer pedicel and ovary, yellow-green flower, and lanceolate lateral sepals. A cladistic analysis based on the nuclear (ITS) and plastid (matK, trnL-F, and atpI-atpH) DNA sequences supported the new species is sister to B. rubrolabellum.

Following a historical outline, the methods and results of a taxonomic revision of Liparis in Thailand are presented. Applying the traditional methods and techniques of morphology-based botanical revision work, the revision mainly relied on examination of dried and liquid-preserved specimens from 13 herbaria. However, the herbarium studies were supplemented with observations of live plants made during 24 field trips to five of the seven floristic regions of Thailand. The taxonomic value of selected morphological characters is assessed, and ecological aspects are surveyed together with occurrence patterns in Thailand and the overall geographic affinities of the Liparis species represented in the Thai flora. Thirty-seven species are accepted, whereas reports of L. distans and L. kwangtungensis from Thailand are treated as dubious. One new species, L. buddhawongii, is described as new, based on material from Doi Ang Khang in Chiang Mai province. Full taxonomic accounts are provided for the genus and species, including a dichotomous key to the species. Whereas the synonymies are intended to be complete, all morphological descriptions have been prepared exclusively from Thai material. The accepted names L. balansae and L. resupinata are lectotypified, whereas a neotype is designated for L. ferruginea; L. downii and L. melanoglossa are proposed as new taxonomic (heterotypic) synonyms. All accepted species are illustrated by line drawings, and references are provided to additional good illustrations in the literature.

A previously unrecognized species represented by six spirit samples in the collection of the late Gunnar Seidenfaden, pioneering Danish explorer of the Thai orchid flora, is newly described. It is evident that Seidenfaden was perplexed by the material, as three different species names can be observed on the labels (often accompanied by question marks or indications such as “probably”): D. fimbriatum, D. gibsonii and D. chryseum. In our view, the new species has the strongest morphological resemblance to D. fimbriatum, but it differs in characters of the stems, leaves, lateral sepals, petals and labellum. We describe the new species as D. perplexum, the epithet referring to the previously perplexing properties of the material. So far, D. perplexum is only known from NE Thailand, but as the confirmed Thai localities are close to the Laotian border, future finds in Laos might be expected.

Liparis popaensis, a new species of Orchidaceae, is described from Popa Mountain National Park, central Myanmar. Liparis popaensis is morphologically similar to L. odorata but it differs from the latter by having oblong-lanceolate dorsal sepal, column with two triangular wings and lip with a pair of subconical and basally adjoining calli at its base. Identification key and colour photographs are provided. A preliminary conservation assessment according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria is given for the new species.

Bulbophyllum yarlungzangboense, a new species of Orchidaceae from Tibet, China is described and illustrated, it is morphologically similar to B. gamblei and B. shweliense, but can be easy distinguished from the later by petals ovate-oblong, stelidis triangular, base of column foot with V-shape cushion. The new species is tentatively assigned to sect. Desmosanthes based on morphological characters.

Oberonia orbicularis (Orchidaceae, Malaxideae) has been treated as the synonym of O. pachyrachis, O. obcordata and O. maxima, respectively. Our critical examination of protologues and type materials of these four names demonstrates that they are morphologically distinct from each other. We therefore reinstate the independent specific status of O. orbicularis. A detail description of this species was also provided.

Dendrobium libingtaoi is described from southeastern Yunnan, China, based on morphological and DNA evidence. In the morphological analysis, D. libingtaoi is similar to D. draconis but differs in having ovate-elliptical petals, a lip with a light red blotch in the middle, oblong-lanceolate lateral sepals, and a nearly round midlobe. Nuclear and plastid DNA analyses indicate that D. libingtaoi is a member of D. section Formosae.

We have described and illustrated a new species, Bulbophyllum yunxiaoense (Malaxideae, Epidendroideae, Orchidaceae), from Fujian Province in southeast China. The size and overall floral morphology of the new species are similar to those of Bulbophyllum pingtungense, a species endemic to Taiwan Island on the southeast coast of China and its closest relative according to a cladistic analysis of nuclear (ITS) and plastid (matK, trnL-F, and atpI-atpH) DNA sequences. However, B. yunxiaoense is distinguishable from B. pingtungense by flower colour, shorter scape, and longer lateral sepal.

Oberonia aureolabris sp. nov. from western Java is described, having been studied using light and scanning electron microscopy. It is distinguished by a panduriform inflated disc, relatively short and widely separated epichile lobes on the lip, more or less equal length of the floral bracts over the entire floriferous portion of the inflorescence and orange colour.

A new species, Dendrobium bannaense, is described from Yunnan, China, based on the molecular and morphological evidence. It belongs to section Dendrobium according to analysis of combined nrITS and plastid datasets (matK, rbcL, trnH-psbA, and trnL intron). Morphological analysis reveals that D. bannaense is similar to D. parishii, but differs in having a white lip with purplish stripes and without a deep purple blotch on either side; the disk is with 3 longitudinal ridges, extending from base to upper-middle part, and lower-middle part is thickened and swell as callus shape at the joint of lip and claw.

A new orchid species, Liparis meihuashanensis, from Fujian, China is described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular analyses. Detailed morphological comparisons indicate that L. meihuashanensis is similar to L. auriculata and L. pauliana, but it can be distinguished from them by the shorter inflorescence, triangular floral bract, and a lip with a truncate-emarginate and mucronate apex and 2 small subconical calli on contracted base. Molecular analyses based on nuclear ITS and plastid matK DNA sequence data support the L. meihuashanensis as a distinct species.

Based on examinations of herbarium specimens, reviews of pertinent literature, and observations on living plants, the Chinese species previously placed in the genus Hippeophyllum are revisited. H. sinicum and Oberonia pumilum var. rotundum are reduced to synonymies of O. insularis. Nomenclature problems of the names Hippeophyllum pumilum and Oberonia pumila are also discussed.

Oberonia bopannae is described as a new species from Arunachal Pradesh, India and is compared with its allied species, Oberonia gammiei and Oberonia mucronata. Detailed analysis of DNA barcodes, based on ITS and matK, distinguished newly described species from its allied species and also from other species of Oberonia, sequences of which are available on GenBank.

The orchid flora of Myanmar is highly diverse but as yet poorly known in the continental Asia, which is largely a result of periods of past instability and political isolation of the country. Also the remoteness of many orchid-rich areas and the difficulties of investigation in rugged terrain have also played a role (Ormerod & Kumar, 2003; Kurzweil & Lwin, 2014). According to recent estimates about 800 orchid species are distributed in Myanmar (Kurzweil & Lwin, 2014), which were probably underestimated. Many new distribution records and new species have been published in the last few years (Ormerod, 2002, 2006, 2012; Ormerod & Kumar, 2003, 2008; Ormerod & Wood, 2010; Nyunt, 2006; Kurzweil et al., 2010; Kurzweil & Lwin, 2012a,b; Tanaka et al. 2011).

Oberonia meegaskumburae is described and illustrated from Adam’s Peak (Samanala) Nature Reserve, Sri Lanka and differentiated from its close ally, O. weragamaensis on the basis of larger flowers (3 mm long) in former against smaller (2 mm) in latter; longer floral bracts (1.9 mm) in former against shorter (1 mm) in latter; equal size (> 0.2 mm) of lobules of mid-lobe in former against shorter mid-lobule (< 0.1 mm) in latter; slender, terete and club-shaped tip of lateral lobe curved to face each other in former against sub-triangular, parallel and inflated in latter. Key to all species of genus Oberonia found in Sri Lanka is provided.

In 2010, the second author found a possible new species of Bulbophyllum in Mae Hong Son Province, northern Thailand. Three years later, Pitak Panyachan (Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden) found the same species on a fallen tree some six km from the first locality. Living plants were collected and brought back to QSBG in Chiang Mai for further investigation. A year later, the plants flowered and proved to be a species of Bulbophyllum new to science.

Bulbophyllum yingjiangense (Epidendroideae; Malaxideae), a new species from western Yunnan, China, is illustrated and described here based on morphological and phylogenetic evidence. The new species is phylogenetically close to B. rothschildianum, and they are also similar in floral morphology. The new species differs in its yellowish green flowers without stripes, pseudobulbs with obvious ridges, lateral sepals glabrous with short tails and leaf with white waxy powder on its adaxial surface.

We conducted morphological and molecular analyses to describe a new species of orchid, Dendrobium zhenghuoense , which was observed in northern Fujian Province, China. Detailed morphological comparisons between the newly discovered orchid and other members of Dendrobium indicate that D. zhenghuoense is similar to D. luoi , but it can be distinguished by its shorter peduncle, longer lip, pedicel & ovary, as well as the size of its mentum. Molecular analyses based on the ITS of the nuclear ribosomal and plastid DNA ( rbcL , matK-trnK , trnH-psbA and trnL-F ) support the claims that D. zhenghuoense is a new species in sect. Dendrobium and is genetically similar to D. luoi and D. leptocladum .

Bulbophyllum Petit-Thouars (1822) is one of the largest orchid genera with about 2200 taxa, widely distributed in the tropics (Vermeulen 2014). The main centres of diversity are Asia-Pacific (1700 species), Madagascar (200 species) and New Guinea (600 species). Based on evidence from morphological and molecular data, Vermeulen (2014) recommended a wider circumscription of Bulbophyllum.

Bulbophyllum Thouars (1822: tab. 3) is among the largest genera of Orchidaceae, comprising about 2200 species widely distributed in tropical Africa, Asia and America (Pridgeon et al. 2014). There are several centres of species diversity, including Madagscar (200 species), New Guinea (600 species), and continental Asia (400 species). There are about 120 species in China, out of which 45 species (Tsi 1999, Li 2003, Chen & Vermeulen 2009). During fieldwork in northern Yunnan, a new species of Bulbophyllum described below was found.

Crepidium commelinifolium (Zollinger & Moritzi in Zollinger 1844: 402) Szlachetko (1995: 125) belongs to sect. Commelinodes (Schlechter 1911: 124) Szlachetko (1995: 123), subsect. Commelinodes (Margońska & Szlachetko, 2010: 4) and occurs mainly in Java but also in Borneo (Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia), at elevations ranging from 200–2,000 m above sea level. This terrestrial orchid species forms colonies that are sometimes dense and cover relatively large areas, but it always occurs in shaded to deeply shaded locations that are moist or wet. Owing to its occurrence at a wide range of altitudes and on various substrates etc., it came as no surprise that this species shows variation. For years, I have observed plants of this species produce leaves of two kinds. In most plants, including the type-specimens, the leaves are almost cordate to ovate, shortly attenuate, acute, with a cordate base and simple, entire margins. A second group of plants, however, possesses oblong-ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves with undulate margins. I have never observed populations of both groups occurring at the same location. Nevertheless, both groups are well represented in herbarium collections, both as dried, pressed specimens and as liquid–preserved material.

Regrettably, two names in Vermeulen et al. (2014) were not validly published because the basionym references were omitted or incorrectly given (Melbourne Code, 2012: Art. 41.5). In addition, we overlooked Saccoglossum maculatum, which needs a new name in Bulbophyllum. We thank Irina Belyaeva (K) and Anton Sieder (WU) for bringing these omissions to our attention.