Thismia abei (Akasawa) Hatusima

Firstly described by Akasawa (1950) as Glaziocharis abei, transferred to Thismia abei through Hatusima (1976). The first specimen was found by Mr. Chikaichi Abe (Natrual History Society Tokushima) in 1943 at Mount Tairyujisan, Naka County, Awa Province/Japan, but was only briefly sketched and incompletely described in a local Journal (Awa-no-Shizen = Nature of Awa Province, Vol. 1, No. 1) in 1948. The specimen got lost during the World War II. In 1950 Mr. Isamu Shinohara discovered several specimen of this plant near Sawatani Village, Japan. This collection is the basis of Akasawa's (1950) description. More populations were reported by Shin (1974, as Glaziocharis abei) and Matsumoto and Yamada (1994), who marked them on a map of Japan (northernmost location ca. 35°N).
The close relationship to Thismia caudata (Syn. Glaziocharis macahensis) from the state of Rio de Janeiro/Brazil is remarkable and a further example for the strange disjunctions present in this genus (see Thismia americana). Shin (1974) even mention both species (as Glaziocharis abei and G. macahensis) for Kyushu (southern island of Japan), which is difficult to believe.