Thismia gardneriana Hook.f. ex Thwaites (1864:325)
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Synonym/s: Tribrachys gardneriana Champ. ex Thwaites in Enum. Pl. Zeyl.: 325 (1864), pro syn.
Conservation Status
Globally Rediscovered (Wijesundara et al., 2020:157)
Although historically known only from Sri Lanka (Thwaites, 1864; Wijesundara et al., 2020; POWO, 2024), where it has been reported as an endemic species recently rediscovered (Wijesundara et al., 2020:157), the species has recently been reported from Thailand and Cambodia (Kin et al., 2026). The Thailand records include a specimen collected on 8 July 1992 (Ibid.), which presumably predates the undated global rediscovery reported by Wijesundara et al. (2020:157), and therefore the reporting of that rediscovery may have been erroneous.
Distribution & Habitat
Cambodia, Sri Lanka & Thailand
Although historically known only from Sri Lanka (Thwaites, 1864; Wijesundara et al., 2020; POWO, 2024), the species has more recently been reported from Thailand and Cambodia (Kin et al., 2026).
Anatomy & Morphology
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Thwaites, G. H. K. (1864). Burmanniaceae. In: Thwaites, G. H. K. and Hooker, J. D. (eds.). Enumeratio plantarum Zeylaniae. London: Dulao. 325 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.574
Other references:
Govaerts, R. (2004). World Checklist of Monocotyledons Database in ACCESS: 1-54382. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Govaerts, R., Wilkin, P. and Saunders, R. M. K. (2007). World Checklist of Dioscoreales. Yams and their allies: 1-65. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
IUCN Sri Lanka and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. (2007). The 2007 Red List of Threatened Fauna and Flora of Sri Lanka. Colombo, Sri Lanka. xiii + 148 pp.
Kin, Savin, Nakkaew, Alisa and Chantanaorrapint, Sahut. (2026). Notes on the genus Thismia (Thismiaceae) in Cambodia. Thai Forest Bulletin (Botany) 54(2),: 76-83. https://doi.org/10.20531/tfb.2026.54.2.08
MOE (Ministry of Environment). (2012). The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. viii + 476 pp.
POWO. (2024). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 9 July 2024]
Wijesundara, Siril, Ranasinghe, Subhani, Jayasinghe, Himesh, Gunawardena, Nadeeka, Fonseka, Gayani and Wijesooriya, Shivanthi. (2020). Angiosperms in Sri Lanka: Present status of Angiosperms in Sri Lanka, pp. 1-168. In: The National Red List 2020 - Conservation Status of the Flora of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka: Biodiversity Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and the National Herbarium, Department of National Botanic Gardens. xviii + 254 pp.