Pyrus foliolosa var. ambigua, Cardot, 1914

Chen, Xin, 2018, Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on Sorbus foliolosa and related taxa (Rosaceae), Phytotaxa 382 (3), pp. 297-300 : 298

Pyrus foliolosa var. ambigua

Pyrus foliolosa var. ambigua was published by Cardot (1914: 353). Three collections from Yunnan, Delavay s.n. (1884), Delavay 187 (1884) and Delavay s.n. (1889) were cited in the protologue. None of them was indicated as holotype, therefore all are syntypes according to Art. 9.6 ( Turland et al. 2018). One sheet of Delavay s.n. (1889) and seven sheets of Delavay 187 were traced, but none of Delavay s.n (1884) was found. Further examination revealed that Delavay s.n. (1889) is a fruiting gathering and Delavay 187 consists of both flowering and fruiting gatherings collected at different localities. Three sheets of Delavay 187, P-02143297, P-02143298 and GH-00040995, are fruiting specimens belong to one gathering collected at “Ki-chan, pres Tali” in September. Four sheets of Delavay 187, P-02143299, P-02143300, P-02143301 and P-02143302, are flowering specimens belong to another gathering collected at “Koua-la-po, pres de Hokin” in May. P-02143299, a flowering specimen bearing the most abundant collecting information and with conspicuous stipules described in the protologue, is here designated as the lectotype, and other three specimens of the same gathering are regarded as isolectotypes.

Pyrus foliolosa var. ambigua was treated as a synonym of S. foliolosa by Lu & Spongberg (2003), but it can be easily distinguished from the latter by the much longer leaflets, broadly ovate to suborbicular stipules, brown to brownish white hairs on leaves and inflorescence. I prefer to maintain it as a different variety, and a new combination, S. foliolosa var. ambigua , is thus proposed here.