Gagea huochengensis Levichev, 2011

Levichev Jens Peterson Doerte Harpke Martin Schnittler, Angela Peterson Igor G., 2011, New insights into the phylogeny and taxonomy of Chinese species of Gagea (Liliaceae) - speciation through hybridization, Organisms Diversity & Evolution (New York, N. Y.) 11 (5), pp. 387-407 : 394-395

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s13127-011-0059-x
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038C924D-9D5E-FFE5-FF32-FBE3FAE316B4
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Gagea huochengensis Levichev
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Gagea huochengensis Levichev View in CoL sp. nov. [Sect. Gagea ]

Diagnosis A G. brevistolonifera Levichev , G. ancestralis Levichev , G. xiphoidea Levichev bulbillo sessili solitario, a G. praemixta Vved. et G. angelae Levichev et Schnittler stolonibus nullis, a G. turkestanica Pascher bulbillo vegetativo rugoso-foveolato (nec levi), a G. fedtschenkoana inflorescentia candelabriformi differt.

Type China, Xinjiang, eastern Tian-Shan, Boro-Choro range, Huocheng , 2,100 m, 17.04.1975, n9801 ( PE00152371 ) .

Paratypes China, Xinjiang, Tian-Shan, Bogda-Shan, Heaven Lake ( Tianchi Lake ), 43°53′38″N, 88°06′59″E, 1,980 m, leg. Schnittler, A GoogleMaps . and J. Peterson , 200922 ( HAL108465 About HAL , HAL108466 About HAL ) ; China, Xinjiang, eastern Tian-Shan, Sarmin- Ula range, Chabu-Chaer , 2,100 m, Huong, 21.04.1975, n9826 ( PE00035649 ) .

Plants solitary or in small groups, up to 7–10(− 13) cm tall, glabrous. Bulbs oblique drop-shaped, 6–8 mm in diameter in flowering plants, tunic pale brown (claycoloured), thin and coriaceous. Generative plants without bulbils; in juvenile plants and rarely in early generative stages a single vegetative bulbil per year develops. Peduncle 0.5–3.5 cm tall, in section quadrangular, 0.3– 0.8 mm in diameter, with a channel in young flowering plants that develop a bulbil, but lacking this channel in older flowering plants without bulbils. Basal leaf single, linear, exceeding the inflorescence by one-third, 2–3 mm wide, cross-section angular, with a rather strong keel. Leaves of the inflorescence 4–7, nearly opposite to each other, the floral leaf (the second basal leaf) concaulescent with the peduncle, slightly exceeding the inflorescence, 9– 13 mm long and 2–5 mm wide, narrowly lanceolate, gradually tapering into a long tip, the upper part arching over, nearly glabrous, sometimes with sparsely ciliate hairs. Inflorescence with (3 −)5–9 flowers, short branched, candelabrum-like, with pedicels of different length. Perianth leaves narrowly lanceolate, on the ends acuminate and hooded, 1–2 cm long and 1.5–2.5 mm wide, inside yellow, outside greenish, external whorl slightly larger than the internal whorl, the latter with yellow margins at the outer side. Ovary oblong, sessile. Anthers yellow, oblong, 3– 3.5 mm long, rounded after dehiscence and 1.5 mm long. Capsule barely reaching more than half of perianth length, obovate, sessile. Seeds terete ( Fig. 3).

Similar species Differing from G. brevistolonifera Levichev , G. ancestralis Levichev , and G. xiphoidea Levichev by a single sessile bulbil; from G. praemixta Vved. and G. angelae Levichev et Schnittler by the absence of stolons; from G. turkestanica Pascher (with smooth bulbils) by the wrinkled to alveolate bulbils; from G. fedtschenkoana Pascher and G. angelae by the candelabrous inflorescence.

The plant inhabits open, sunny areas and slopes with gravelly and deep soils near or above the timberline.

Molecular results

ITS data

The length of the ITS regions (ITS1+ 5.8S +ITS2) ranged between 613 and 623 bp (640 bp in Tulipa cretica ). The final alignment was 655 bp in length, including 270 variable positions, of which 200 were parsimony informative ( Table 2). In the ITS tree (Fig. 4) based on 110 ingroup taxa five major clades were resolved (clades A–E, 0.90– 1.00 pp), all separated (1.00 pp) from the early branching G. serotina and G. graeca . All representatives of Sect. Minimae (1.00 pp) grouped together (clade A), but G. confusa was found in a separate sub-clade (A-2; 1.00 pp). Within sub-clade A-1 (0.92 pp) all 16 G. nigra samples (from Urumqi and Heaven Lake) clustered together, separated from the other representatives of the section: G. minima , G. filiformis , G. davlianidzeae , G. granulosa , but morphic informative sites of ITS

(ITS1+ 5.5S +ITS2), At 103 and cpDNA (trn L- trn F IGS+ psb A-

trn H-IGS) sequences samples of the latter two taxa assumed different positions within sub-clade A-1. However, all branches of this sub-clade have weak support (0.52–0.75 pp). All G. liotardii samples grouped together (1.00 pp, sub-clade B- 1 in Fig. 4). Sub-clade B-2 (1.00 pp) included G. ova and G. stipitata (Sect. Stipitatae) . Sub-clade C-2 (1.00 pp) aggregates all our samples of Sect. Bulbiferae , well separated from sub-clade C-1 which consists of species of Sects. Graminifoliae, Platyspermum and Incrustatae. Within the section Bulbiferae all G. bulbifera (samples 1A, 1 C from Xinjiang, 2 from Russia, and 3, 4 from Iran) clustered together (0.89 pp). The three G. rufidula accessions from Xinjiang clustered somewhat separate from G. rufidula (4) from Kyrgyzstan. Within the major clade D (1.00 pp) corresponding to Sect. Gagea all samples of G. angelae , G. huochengensis , G. cf. xiphoidea (Xinjiang), G. xiphoidea , as well as G. ancestralis , were identical. Within clade E (uniting representatives of Sect. Plecostigma , 1.00 pp), G. pauciflora . was found as the nearest relative of the newly described G. jensii (samples from two populations; 1.00 pp, sub-clade E- 1 in Fig. 4).

cpDNA data

The length of trn L- trn F IGS (including T. cretica as outgroup taxon) was 171–214 bp, the psb A- trn H IGS sequences ranged between 171 and 219 bp (360 bp in T. cretica ). The final alignment (combined cpDNA data: psb A- trn H IGS+ trn L- trn F-IGS) included 633 bp with 50 variable nucleotide positions, of which 29 were parsimony informative ( Table 2). In the combined cpDNA tree based on 107 sequences six major clades (A–F, Fig. 5) with pp values between 0.83 and 1.00 pp were recognized. Clade A (0.99 pp) united representatives of Sect. Minimae; here all G. nigra fall into a polytomy. Gagea granulosa was found together with the latter species or with G. davlianidzeae . Gagea filiformis , G. davlianidzeae , G. confusa and G. minima were separated from G. nigra . Representatives of the Sect. Stipitatae ( G. ova , G. stipitata ) formed clade B (0.88 pp). The G. liotardii samples clustered (1.00 pp) in clade C (0.83 pp). Within clade D (1.00 pp) samples for Sect. Bulbiferae ( G. bulbifera and G. rufidula ) are in sub-clade D-2 (0.79 pp) whereas sub-clade D-1 (1.00 pp) comprises species of Sects. Graminifoliae, Platyspermum and Incrustatae. In clade E (1.00 pp), representatives of Sect. Plecostigma , G. jensii and G. pauciflora formed a sub-clade (0.99 pp). Within the major basal clade F (0.91 pp) of Sect. Gagea , samples of G. angelae , G. xiphoidea , G. cf. xiphoidea , G. huochengensis and G. ancestralis grouped together in sub-clade F-2 (0.56 pp; see also cpDNA haplotype network, Fig. 8 View Fig ); G. capusii and G. terraccianoana were also assigned to this sub-clade.