Perpustakaan Digital ITB

A description of 16 species is presented in this study, accompanied by illustrations of each species. Five species were not seen, and for five others, it was not possible to obtain either descriptions or specimens. The distributional area of the genus Aletris covers Kashmir, Tibet, the Himalayas, Nepal, Sikkim, Bhutan, East Bengal, China (about 11 provinces), Korea, Japan, Ryukyu Islands, Formosa (Taiwan), the Philippines, British North Borneo and Sumatra. The majority are found in the Himalayas and China (mainly in Szechwan and Yunnan); the most widely distributed species seems to be Aletris spicata (Thunb.) Franch. originally described from Japan. Aletris japonica Lamb. is reduced to synonymy with Aletris spicata (Thunb.) Franch., and Aletris sumatrana Masamune and Meta-aletris sumatrana (Masamune) Masamune are reduced to synonymy with Aletris foliolosa Stapf. The new genus Meta-aletris Masamune is synonymous with Aletris for the two species found in Sumatra and Borneo, and the older genus Metanarthecium is considered to be sufficiently indistinct from Aletris on the basis of cytology, embryology and morphology to justify its separation from Aletris.