A revised generic key to the Capparaceae of Thailand with a description of Neothorelia laotica Gagnep.

KONGKANDA CHAYAMARIT** ABSTRACT. A revised generic key to the Capparaceae of Thailand is presented. Changes to the Flora of Thailand key were necessitated by the discovery of Neothorelia laotica in south-western Thailand. A description of this taxon is also presented. In January 2004, as part of a joint Harvard-BKF project to study the plant diversity and biogeography of peninsular Thailand, an unusual species of Capparaceae was collected in Kui Buri National Park, Prachuap Khiri Khan province (Middleton et al. 2471 (A, BKF)). This specimen unquestionably belonged to the Capparaceae sensu lato but could not be identified to genus using the Flora of Thailand treatment to the family (Chayamarit, 1991). Specifically, no species of Capparaceae in the Thai flora was known to be a woody climber with trifoliate leaves and six petals. Subsequent study proved this taxon to be Neothorelia laotica Gagnep., a rare species originally described from Luang Prabang, Laos (Gagnepain, 1908a). The first mention in the literature of this species in Thailand was made by Maxwell (1994) with regard to a collection he made in Kanchanaburi province. The only other known collection of this species in Thailan