A new species of Chirita (Gesneriaceae) from Guangxi, China

An early-flowering plant of Chirita Buchanan-Hamilton ex D. Don found in South China is here recognized as a new species. Most Chinese species in this genus bloom in spring, summer, or autumn; only C. atropurpurea W. T. Wang blooms in winter (February) (Wang et al., 1998). The new species was first collected and photographed by Long Guang-Ri in January 1992 in the karst region of Longan County of northern Guangxi. When he returned to this locality in February 1993 for further exploration, he found that the habitat had been entirely destroyed due to human activities. Unfortunately, this plant has not yet been rediscovered in the type locality or in adjacent regions (Long Guang-Ri, pers. comm., 1993, 1994, 1995).