Peliosanthes yangchunensis F.Z. Feng & W.B Liao

Feng, Hui-Zhe, Wu, Rang-Min, Zeng, Qiu-Gen, Fan, Qiang & Liao, Wen-Bo, 2024, Peliosanthes yangchunensis (Asparagaceae), a new species from Guangdong, China, Phytotaxa 650 (3), pp. 262-268 : 263-266

Peliosanthes yangchunensis F.Z. Feng & W.B Liao , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Diagnose:—Most similar to P. macrostegia , but differs mainly by its flowers smaller, star-like and with strongly revolute, spreading and narrowly oblong tepals, style conical, ovary hexagonal in cross section, and fruit ovoid-globose.

Type: — China, Guangdong, Yangjiang City, Yangcun County, Chunwan Town , Matang (BDz), 21 September 2023, F. M. Gao 230901 (Holotype, SYS!) ; Yangchun, Lipingshan ( NJ 屏山), 16 November 1935, fruit, C. Wang 38791 (paratype! PE00290221 & IBK00139129 , photos) .

Description: —Terrestrial perennial herb with short, erect to ascending, sometimes branching rhizome, ca. 1–3 cm long, with many thick fleshy roots. Stems erect, often clustering by 1–3 (5) on common rhizome, abbreviate. Leaves erect, often curved, petiolate; petiole rigid, straight or curved, 10–16 cm long; leaf blade elliptic, 10–13 cm long, 4–5 cm wide, glabrous, more or less thin, coriaceous, glossy, brightly green on both sides, shortly attenuate and acute at apex, often irregularly finely undulate along margin, secondary transverse veinlets distinct, at acute angle near margin and almost perpendicular in median part of leaf blade to 6–8 prominent longitudinal veins. Inflorescence, erect, terete raceme, 8–12 (14) cm long; peduncle and rachis light greenish–violet to dark violet, straight or slightly curved, 2.5–5.0 (7.0) cm long, 1.5–2.0 mm in diam., with 3–4 (5) herbaceous, narrowly triangular, attenuate, light green sterile bracts, ca. 4 mm long, ca. 2.0 mm wide at base. Flowers bisexual, bracts 2 at base of each pedicel, greenish–violet, herbaceous, ovate to triangular, concave, attenuate; outer bracts ca. 3.0 mm long, ca. 2.0 mm wide, shorter than pedicel, often with strongly recurved margin at base; inner bracts usually twice smaller. Flowers solitary in bracteal axil, broadly open, 6–7 mm across; base of flower hemispheric, ca. 3 mm across, 2.5–3 mm long, jointed with articulation, terete, almost horizontal, pedicel ca. 7 mm long, 1 mm in diam. Perianth greenish yellow or pale purple, thick, fleshy, with membranous margin. Perianth segments narrowly elliptic or narrowly triangular, revolute apex obtuse. Corona white, often with purple bands, spherical, 3–4 mm across, indistinctly hexagonal to almost circular, apical ca. 1.5 mm in diam. Anthers 6, introrse, oblong, about ca. 0.5 mm long, sessile. Ovary half-inferior, free apical part shortly conical, ca. 0.7 mm tall, 0.6–0.8 mm across. The cross section of the base of the ovary is hexagonal, with six sides concave. The free upper part of ovary with 6 broad notched lobes, unilocular, with basal placentation, separated into 3 chambers by 3 longitudinal parietal folds touching each other at center, each chamber adaxially open, containing (3) 4 (5) ovules; style conspicuous, ca. 0.6 mm long; stigma 3-lobed, 0.3–0.4 mm across, with small, oblanceolate papillose lobes. Seeds ovoid to narrowly ovoid, about 1.3–1.5 cm long, glossy blue.

Etymology: —The specific epithet refers to the county of species distribution. The Chinese name is given as "D ÞṂŦø"; Yáng Chūn Qiú Zǐ Cǎo (Chinese Pin-Yin transliteration).

Ecology: —Primary and secondary dry evergreen broad-leaved forests on eroded marble-like crystalline limestone at elevations 150–250 m a.s.l. Flowers in September–October. Locally common (LR).

Distribution: —South China, Guangdong Province, Yangjiang City, Yangchun County, Chunwan (ÞDz) Town & Heshui (合水) Town. The plant is common on the limestone peaks surrounding both towns. Endemic.

Notes: — Peliosanthes yangchunensis appears closely related to P. macrostegia ( Averyanov et al. 2016, Tanaka 2018) in having a hemispheric corona, but differs mainly by its flowers smaller, ca. 7 mm in diameter (vs. ca. 12 mm in diameter) star-like flowers with strongly revolute, spreading and narrowly oblong tepals (vs. campanulate, not revolute, not widely opening, and broadly ovate); corona thicker ca. 0.7 mm (vs. ca. 1.8 mm), style conical (vs. cylindrical), ovary hexagonal in cross section (vs. round triangular), fruit ovoid-globose (vs. ellipsoidal). The most important difference is that the two species have different flowering periods, with the former blooming from September to October and the latter from March to April. The new species also appears close to P. yunnanensis Wang & Tang (1978: 254 , see Peng & Zhang (2016) for the correct authorship) distributed in southern China (Chen & Tamura 2000) and northern Vietnam (Nguyen et al. 2017), which also having a hemispheric corona and internally with subacute or angulate ribs but is distinguished chiefly by shorter anthers (0.6–8 vs. 2 mm long), and the pistil with a hexagonal ovary (vs. distinctly 6-lobed). It may also look somewhat similar to P. crassicoronata K.S. Nguyen, Averyanov & N. Tanaka (2020: 41) in having a hemispheric corona and the pistil with a hexagonal ovary but differs principally in its flower greenish yellow or pale purple (vs. purple to dark violet), star-like flowers with spreading and strongly revolute, narrowly oblong tepals (vs. crateriform, not revolute, broadly ovate), style conspicuous, ca. 0.6 mm long (vs. short, stigma sessile). Actually, this new species is also similar to P. kenhillii Averyanov, N. Tanaka & K.S. Nguyen (2016: 30) in having star-like flowers with strongly revolute, spreading tepals and whitish corona with sparse radial purplish stripes. However, P. yangchunensis differs distinctly from P. kenhillii mainly by the corona spherical (vs. corona flat topped), flowering in September to October (vs. November to December).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Peliosanthes yangchunensis. A. Habit; B & D. Inflorescence; C. Inflorescence & fruits; E & F. Flower, front view; G & H. Flower, views from side; I, J, K & L. Flower, longitudinally sectioned; L. Corona with three anthers; N. Corona, viewed from below; O. Basal portion of flower, with corona cross-sectioned; P. Basal portion of flower except corona and pistil; Q. Basal portion of flower, corona and ovary cross-sectioned; R. Flower, views from side and with corona removed. The the left photo in D and F were taken by Mr. Meng De Chang, and others photos, correction and design by H. Z. Feng.