Salix floccosa Burkill (1899: 529)

He, Li, Liao, Shuai & Zhang, Zhixiang, 2015, Nomenclature and taxonomy of Salix floccosa, S. opsimantha and S. austrotibetica, Phytotaxa 201 (2), pp. 158-164 : 159-160

Salix floccosa Burkill (1899: 529) ( Fig. 1A–B )

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan: Maeulchan, 3500 m, 9 July 1889, Delavay 4678 (lectotype, designated here: P-00761020!, isolectotype P!, ♀, digital image examined).

Remaining syntypes: Delavay 2200 (P!, ♀, digital image examined), Delavay 3105 (P!, ♀, digital image examined), Delavay 4323 (K!; P!, digital image examined; ♂ & ♀), belong to S. opsimantha .

Heterotypic synonyms:— Salix dolia var. lineariloba N. Chao (1985: 4) , S. eriostachya var. lineariloba (N. Chao) G.H. Zhu (1998: 464) . Type: CHINA. Sichuan: Jiulong County, Wuxuhai, 3900 m, 25 June 1985, N. Chao & J. T. Peng 3788 (syntypes SCFI ×2!, ♀).— S. spodiophylla Handel-Mazzetti (1929: 77) . Type: CHINA. Sichuan: Muli, 4000–4300m, 30 July 1915, Handel-Mazzetti 7309 (A!, WU!, ♀, digital image examined). And Yunnan: Lijiang, 3048–3200 m, June 1906, Forrest 2318 (P!, ♂, digital image examined); ibidem, 3600–3700 m, June 1910, Forrest 5833 ( IBSC!, PE- 00742906!, ♀; PE- 00742970!, ♂ & ♀; P!, ♀, digital image examined); ibidem, 3600–3700 m, May 1913, Forrest 10121 (E!, ♂), June 1913, Forrest 10256 (E!, ♀); ibidem, 1922, Rock 3593 (S [fragm.]!, ♂ only, digital image examined, the sheet include a photo of F. T. Wang 21253, type of S. wangii ); in montibus ditionis Dschungdien, August 1914, Handel-Mazzetti 4532 ( WU!, sterile, digital image examined); Yungning, 3600–3700 m, June 1922, Forrest 21263 (E-00690704!, P!, ♀, digital image examined). Rock 3372 (not seen), Ward 617 (not seen). — S. spodiophylla f. liocarpa K.S. Hao ex C.F. Fang & A.K. Skvortsov (1998: 469) . nom. illeg., S. spodiophylla var. liocarpa (K.S. Hao ex C.F. Fang & A.K. Skvortsov) G.H. Zhu (1998: 466) . nom. illeg. Type: CHINA. Yunnan: Yungning, 3600–3700 m, June 1922, Forrest 21263 (holotype E-00690704!, isotype P!, ♀, digital image examined).

Shrubs, 1– 3 m. Branchlets brownish red or purplish red, stout, with many nodes and short internodes, shiny. Petiole (0.5–) 0.79–1.31 cm; leaf blade obovate-elliptic or oblanceolate, rarely obovate, 4–9 (–11.46) × 1–2.9 (–3.57) cm, leathery, abaxially woolly, glabrescent, adaxially glabrous or with sparse, filamentous hairs, base cuneate, margin entire, apex acute or obtuse; veins raised abaxially; fallen leaves of previous year rust colored. Catkins as leaves emerge, peduncle 0.5–1.5 cm, with 2 or 3 leaflets caducous usually; male catkin cylindric, 2–3 × 0.6–1.26 cm; female catkin 3.5–4.5 × ca. 0.8 cm, to 8.6 cm in fruit; floral bract obovate or obovate-oblong, 2.1–4.34 mm, abaxially long white villous, adaxially glabrous or villous proximally, apex rounded-truncate or retuse. Male flower: abaxial gland 0.21–0.51 mm, adaxial gland ovate-oblong, 0.46–0.95 mm; stamens 2; filaments distinct, 3.4–6.41 mm, base pilose to all over pilose; anthers yellow, oblong. Female flower: adaxial gland 0.5–0.8 mm, ovate or narrowly ovate, abaxial gland sometimes present; ovary ovoid-conical, 1.9–3.1 mm; glabrous or pilose, sessile; styles 1.22–2.59 (–3) mm, distinct about half their length; stigmas 0.25–0.65 mm, 2-cleft. Capsules broadly ovoid, ca. 4 mm, subglabrous or glabrous.

Phenology:—Flowering late April to early July, and fruiting in July and August.

Habitat:—Mountain slopes, thickets; 2500–4600 m.

Distribution:—Southwestern Sichuan, eastern Xizang and northwestern Yunnan.

Etymology:—The specific epithet ‘ floccosa ’ refers to the woolly leaves, hairs matted.

Note:—Burkill (1899) described Salix floccosa based on four collections of Delavay from the Yunnan Province of China. Our examinations indicated that these original materials belong to two completely different taxa. By comparing the herbarium specimens belonging to the original material (Delavay 2200, 3105, 4323 & 4678) of S. floccosa with all recognized taxa of the genus Salix previously described from the Pan-Himalayas, we concluded that Delavay 4678 match the description of S. spodiophylla , and Delavay 2200, 3105 & 4323 match the description of S. opsimantha . The specific epithet ‘ floccosa ’ refers to Delavay 4678 ’s woolly (floccose) leaves, which match Burkill’s intention “subtus pilis longis junior sericea matura floccosa…” (Burkill 1899). Hence, under Article 9.14 of the ICN ( McNeill et al. 2012), we designated Delavay 4678 as the lectotype of S. floccosa , and treated S. spodiophylla as a synonym of S. floccosa .

Our herbarium and literature research revealed that most of the specimens labeled as S. floccosa in HWNP, KUN, PE and WUK are actually S. austrotibetica . Obviously, identification of S. floccosa ( Wang & Fang 1984, Fang et al. 1999) with S. austrotibetica has proven to be a mistake. S. floccosa differs from S. austrotibetica by its leathery leaves, entire margin, short peduncle, and typically 2 or 3 caudal leaflets. It is a well-defined species, but the importance of ovary hairiness is not clear. We have examined more than 50 non-duplicate samples of S. floccosa from the Pan-Himalayas. Our conclusion is that S. floccosa has glabrous or pilose ovary.

According to Fang & Skvortsov (1998), the glabrous ovary in S. spodiophylla f. liocarpa differ from typical form. The characteristic fit within the normal variation expected in S. spodiophylla ( S. floccosa ). Furthermore, the holotype of S. spodiophylla f. liocarpa held in E, which is a duplicate of Forrest 21263 (syntype of S. spodiophylla ). Therefore, S. spodiophylla f. liocarpa and homotypic S. spodiophylla var. liocarpa are illegitimate names.

Chao (1985) described S. dolia var. lineariloba based on N. Chao & J.T. Peng 3788. After examining the collection, we conclude that the specimens fit S. floccosa . Therefore, S. dolia var. lineariloba and homotypic Salix eriostachya var. lineariloba are recognized as S. floccosa .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Type specimens of S. floccosa, S. spodiophylla, S. opsimantha and S. austrotibetica. A. lectotype of S. floccosa (Delavay 4678, P-00761020); B. type of S. spodiophylla (Forrest 5833, PE-00742970), leaf blade abaxially (b1); C. syntype of S. opsimantha (Wilson 2139, A); D. holotype of S. austrotibetica (T.P.Yi 77221, SCFI), female flowers (d1).