Brassaiopsis bodinieri, Wen & Lowry Ii, 2006

Wen, Jun & Lowry Ii, Porter P., 2006, New species and new combinations in Brassaiopsis (Araliaceae) from Vietnam and southwestern China, Adansonia (3) 28 (1), pp. 181-190 : 182-185

Brassaiopsis bodinieri

(H.Lév.) J.Wen & Lowry, comb. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Acanthopanax bodinieri H.Lév. , Bulletin de l’Académie internationale de Géographie botanique 24: 143 (1914). — Type: China, Guizhou Prov., environs de Gan-Pin, 24.X.1897, fl., E. Bodinier & L. Martin 1928 (holo-, E [scanned image seen]; iso-, P [2 sheets]!).

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL EXAMINED. — China. Guizhou Prov., San Chouen, 1914, fr., M. Cavalier s.n. ( P, 2 sheets). — Na-kan , Cheng-feng , ravine, flowers white, 18.X.1930, fl., Y. Tsiang 4717 ( PE). — Tuhshan , 500 m, dense forested ravine, 7.IX.1930, bud, Y. Tsiang 6916 ( PE, 2 sheets) .

Yunnan Prov., Jin-ping , 2220 m, 7.II.1958, fr., J .- Z . He 5 ( PE). — Maguan Xian, Miechang Xiang , on the trail from Xingzhai to Qinqiwan , 1700 m, 17.VII.2001, old infructescence, J . Wen 5584 ( F). — Pingbian Xian, Shiban , Lao-jian Shan , 1900 m, 12.X.1954, fl., G . M . Hong 4930 ( KUN, PE). — Pingbian Xian, Yuping Zhen , on the way from Pin Bian to Shuiweicheng along Jianshan Road , near the km marker 9.5, disturbed area, 1925 m, 22°55’23.5”N, 103°41’44.5”E, 18.XI.2004, fr., J . Wen et al. 8433 ( F, KUN, MO, VCU). — Pingbian Xian, Daweishan , Dajianshan , 22°54’41.3”N, 103°41’51.0”E, 2080 m, 18.XI.2004, y.fr., J . Wen et al. 8437 ( F, KUN, MO, VCU). — Pingbian Xian, Daweishan , Shuiweicheng , 22°54’46.1”N, 103°41’53.8”E, 1943 m, 18.XI.2004, y.fr., J . Wen et al. 8444 ( F, KUN, MO, VCU). — Pingbian, Shibanxiang , Adakou , Laojianshan , 1900 m, 12.X.1954, fl., K . M . Feng 4930 ( PE). — Si-chour-hsien, Faa-doou , 1500 m, mixed forests, 19.IX.1947, bud, K . M . Feng 11907 ( KUN, PE). — Mar-li-po, Chung-dzia , 1800- 2100 m, open thickets, 2.XI.1947, fl., K . M . Feng 12683 ( KUN, PE). — Si-chou, Far-doe , 1300 m, in woods, 3.XII.1939, fl., C .- W . Wang 85239 ( KUN, PE). — Wenshan Xian , 1700 m, 14.II.1933, y.fr., H . T . Tsai 51809 ( KUN, PE). — Wenshan Xian, Xiaojie Xiang , Yaodian , Laojunshan , near Erhegou , 2000 m, 26.VII.2001, old infructescence, J . Wen 5645 ( F) .

Vietnam. Lao Cai Prov., Chapa, IX.1932, buds, fl., Pételot 4567 ( P, 2 sheets). — Between Trinh Thuong and Mouong, 9. I .1931, fr., M. E . Poilane 18802 ( P). — Sa Pa, Oquiho , 2000 m, 22°21’03.4”N, 103°46’35.7”E, 26.XII.2001, fr., J . Wen 6018 ( F, HN). — Sa Pa, Ban Khoang Village, on the way from Oquiho to Ban Khoang , 1650 m, 22°23’13.9”N, 103°47’16.2”E, 27.XII.2001, fr., J . Wen 6023 ( F, HN, MO) .

DESCRIPTION

Shrub to small tree, andromonoecious or hermaphroditic, reaching to 5 m tall, stem with numerous stiff, partially flattened light orange-brown prickles to c. 10 mm long, and also with dense, straight brown trichomes. Leaves simple, (7-)9-11-lobed, the sinuses reaching 2/3 to 4/5 to the base, stipules adnate in lower portion to the petiole, free portions narrowly triangular to linear, (3-) 5-11 mm long, c. 1 mm wide at base, leaf blade c. 18-26 cm long, (18-) 25-40 cm wide, glabrous or with sparse short setae above, minutely light brown stellate beneath, nearly ferrugineous on the veins, rarely glabrescent, papyraceous to membranaceous, lobes elliptic to narrowly obovate, (7-) 9-22 cm long, 2.5-7.5 cm wide, primary veins equal in number to lobes, secondary and tertiary venation visible on both surfaces, slightly raised, base truncate to cordate, margin serrulate, the teeth narrowly triangular, c. 0.75-1.25(-2) mm long, the tip often curved, apex acuminate; petiole (8-) 15-35 cm long, with small scattered prickles, especially just below the blade, occasionally unarmed. Inflorescence a terminal panicle, erect, primary axis stout, 10-25 cm long at anthesis, 0.5-1.5 cm in diam., densely covered with light brown to orange prickles to 6 mm long and with stiff, straight to wavy setose trichomes to 2.5 mm long, secondary axes 6-15, (5-) 8-25 cm long at anthesis, ascending before anthesis, the umbellules (particularly the lateral ones) appearing head-like, with a terminal umbel of bisexual flowers and 0-3(-4) lateral umbels of staminate (or sometimes apparently bisexual) flowers, prickles and indument similar to primary axes but shorter, terminal umbel 4-5.5 cm in diam., with c. (60-)75-90 flowers, peduncles of lateral umbels 0.5-3 cm long, lateral umbels c. 3.5-4 cm in diam., with nearly as many flowers, bracts caducous well before anthesis, triangular-ovate, adaxially concave and sheathing the young axes and umbels prior to elongation, densely short stellate but lacking prickles and setose indument, those subtending the secondary axes c. 2.5 cm long, 1.2-1.5 cm wide, those subtending the lateral umbels to c. 1.5 cm long, 0.8-1 cm wide, pedicels inarticulate, finely brown to ferrugineous stellate, glabrescent, those of the bisexual flowers (8-) 10-18 mm long at anthesis, not expanding in fruit, those of the staminate flowers c. 8-12 mm long, bracteoles subtending the pedicels linearlanceolate, 5-14 mm long, caducous in mature fruit. Sepals 5, narrowly triangular, 0.25-0.5mm long, 0.1-0.4 mm wide, caducous; petals 5, narrowly ovate-triangular, 3-4.5 mm long, 1.75-2.2 mm wide, glabrous, somewhat smaller in staminate flowers; stamens 5, filaments 3-4.5 mm long, anthers oblong, c. 1.5-2 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide; ovary 2-locular, ellipsoid, green at anthesis, styles connate, c. 1.5-2.5 mm long at anthesis, stigma minutely capitate, stylopodium disc hemispherical, dark purple at anthesis. Fruits ellipsoid, 9-12 mm long, 5-8 mm in diam.

REMARKS

Material of this species has long been attributed either to Brassaiopsis hispida Seem. , a native of western China and northeastern India, or more often to B. ciliata from southwestern China and northern Vietnam. Most recent authors, starting with Li (1942), have placed Léveillé’s name in synonymy under the latter (see also Hoo & Tseng 1978; Feng & Li 1979; Shang 1985; Hô 2000; Frodin & Govaerts 2004), in keeping with a general tendency to adopt most of Li’s species concepts in regional floristic treatments. Li (1942) was not, however, able to examine numerous types from major European herbaria for his revision of Chinese Araliaceae , completed during the second World War, which regrettably led to a number of misinterpretations.

Over the last several years the first author of the present paper became aware of the heterogeneity of B. ciliata , as broadly defined by Li (1942), Hoo & Tseng (1978) and subsequent authors. Recognition of this problem was based primarily on field observations made during 2001 in southeastern Yunnan Province, China (cf. Wen 5584 from Maguan Xian and Wen 5645 from Wenshan Xian) and on Mt. Omei in Sichuan Province (Wen 5012 and 5019). Mitchell & Wen (2005) pointed out problems with the delimitation of B. ciliata used by Hoo & Tseng (1978), as revealed by phylogenetic analyses using ITS and 5 S sequence data, which placed material assigned to this species in two separate groups each comprising a pair of samples (Wen 5584 and 5645, and Wen 5012 and 5019, respectively).

While conducting field work in Yunnan Province with several colleagues in 2004, we collected material of two clearly distinct entities on Daweishan, both of which had fully developed inflorescences. However, we were unable to key our specimens to different taxa using the available floristic treatments for China and Vietnam. It was not until several months later, while working in the Paris herbarium, that we realized one of the recently collected entities (Wen et al. 8433, 8437 and 8444) corresponded perfectly to the type material of Acanthopanax bodinieri , and matched two of the first author’s earlier collections (Wen 5584 and 5645). Examination of photographs of type material of B. ciliata confirmed that the other collection from Yunnan (Wen et al. 8453, Pingbian Xian, Yuping Zhen, Dishui, Dafengzhi, 23°00’32.4”N, 103°37’50.5”E, 1115 m), as well as two earlier gatherings from Sichuan (Wen 5012 and 5019), clearly belong to that species.

Brassaiopsis bodinieri can easily be distinguished from B. ciliata by its dense, erect, terminal inflorescence, which is covered both by bristly and setose indument, and has a stout primary axis 10-25 cm long (vs. a prickly, pendant and lax inflorescence borne laterally on the stem in B. ciliata , with a primary axis (30-) 75-150 cm long). Brassaiopsis bodinieri differs from B. hispida by its sparsely prickly or unarmed petioles (vs. densely prickly in B. hispida ), ciliate-serrulate leaf margin (vs. spinose-serrulate), and papery to membranaceous (vs. subcoriaceous) leaf texture. Also, the leaf margin has 4-6 teeth per centimeter in B. bodinieri (vs. 2-3 in B. hispida ). With the exclusion of material now assigned to B. bodinieri , B. ciliata occurs in northern Vietnam, and Yunnan, Guangxi and Sichuan provinces in China.

DISTRIBUTION

Southwestern and south-central Guizhou and southern Yunnan provinces in China, and Lao Cai Province in northern Vietnam; 500-2220 m.

PHENOLOGY

Flowering from October to December, fruiting in December to February.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Brassaiopsis bodinieri (H.Lév.) J.Wen & Lowry: A, leaf and erect terminal inflorescence; B, stem showing the base of petiole with stipule; C, young fruit with purple stylopodium; D, mature fruit; E, umbel with linear-lanceolate bracteoles; F, close-up of the upper portion of peduncle showing the setose pubescence; G, close-up of the leaf portion between two sinuses showing ciliate margin. A-C, E, F, Wen et al. 8444; D, Wen 6023. Scale bars: A, E, 5 cm; B, 1 cm; C, G, 3 mm; D, F, 5 mm.