Lilium brownii F.E. Brown ex Miellez

Gao, Yun-Dong & Gao, Xin-Fen, 2014, Taxonomic notes on Chinese Lilium L. (Liliaceae) with proposal of three nomenclatural revisions, Phytotaxa 172 (2), pp. 101-108 : 102-103

Lilium brownii F.E. Brown ex Miellez in Spae (1845: 437)

Type:— CHINA, Hubei, Qiayuangu Shan near Xiang-yang , July 1904, Silvestri 199 ( FI!) .

= Lilium wenshanense Peng & Li (1990: 33) syn. nov. Type: — CHINA, Yunnan, Kunming, Heilongtan , via material cultivated in Kunming Botanic Garden , 30 Jun 1989, Peng 89-1 (holotype, KUN!).

Description:—Bulb scales articulate or not (the rest of the description follows Liang & Tamura 2000).

Lilium wenshanense was segregated from L. formosanum Wallace (1891: 442) based on the former having segmented bulb scales (Peng & Li 1990). According to the authors, L. wenshanense is endemic to south Yunnan (southwest China). Based on the holotype specimen of Lilium wenshanense housed at KUN (Peng 89-1!), the species resembles L. brownii . This seems reasonable because L. brownii has a wide range in China and a sympatric distribution with L. wenshanense while L. formosanum is endemic to Taiwan ( Liang & Tamura 2000; Gao et al. 2013a).

The main reason to question the species rank of L. wenshanense is the key feature used to erect it. The articulated bulb scales described in L. wenshanense can be found in many natural populations of L. brownii in China, including within some populations that exhibit both articulated and non-articulated bulbs ( Fig. 1 ). Thus, the bulb scale feature cannot be used to distinguish L. wenshanense from L. brownii . Moreover, molecular phylogenetic analyses of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ( Gao et al. 2012, 2013a, b) also suggest that there is no boundary between L. brownii and L. wenshanense . Based on molecular phylogeny and continuous variation of the bulb scale characteristic, we propose that only one taxon should be recognized.

Another reason to question the status of L. wenshanense is the source of type specimen. Only the holotype specimen exists, and it was prepared from an accession of unknown origin in cultivation at Kunming Botanical Garden. Thus, the native habitat of L. wenshanense remains unknown, and the original authors did not investigate individuals other than the type. Concerns over the type specimen may further support our assertions that L. wenshanense is not deserving a recognition as a distinct species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Bulbs of Lilium brownii from different populations showing variable segmentation of the scales. A-B, Materials representing populations from Nanchuan, Chongqing (Gao G2010001, SZ) showing segmented (A) and unsegmented (B) scales, respectively; C, Jiangyou, Sichuan (WJ10051401, SZ); D, Lushui, Yunnan (Gao G2009002, SZ).