Vaccinium viscifolium King & Gamble in J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 74(1): 63. 1906.

Ye, Xue-He, Wang, Qing-Long, Huang, Ming-Zhong & Tong, Yi-Hua, 2022, Novelties on the genus Vaccinium (Ericaceae) from Hainan, China: a new species and a new record for the country, PhytoKeys 202, pp. 121-132 : 121

Vaccinium viscifolium King & Gamble in J. Asiat. Soc. Bengal, Pt. 2, Nat. Hist. 74(1): 63. 1906.

Figs 6 , 7

Type.

Malaysia, Perak, Scortechini 405 (lectotype CAL, not seen, designated by Sleumer in 1961: 84; isolectotypes BM000996430, image!, K, not seen, P00647874, image!)

Description.

Evergreen terrestrial shrubs or trees, up to 6 m tall; young twigs pubescent, glabrescent. Petioles flat, 0.5-1.2 cm long, pubescent; blades elliptic, oblanceolate, obovate or oblong-obovate, 4.8-11.1 × 1.3-3.4 cm, coriaceous, stipitate-glandular on both sides, pinnipalmate, midvein prominent abaxially, flat or slightly sunken adaxially, secondary veins 3-6 pairs, in vivo visible adaxially, flat or slightly raised, inconspicuous abaxially, in sicco inconspicuous on both sides, apex obtuse or rounded, margin entire, slightly revolute, with 1-3 pairs of glands at the basal part, base attenuate, extended. Perennating buds monomorphic. Inflorescence axillary, racemose, with 11-18 flowers; rachis 3.8-5 cm long, sparsely stipitate-glandular; bract caducous, 1, inserted at the base of pedicel, ovate or lanceolate, 9-16 × 3-6.5 mm, glabrous, margin entire, involute; bracteoles oppositely inserted at the base of pedicel, 2, linear, 1.5-2.5 × ca. 0.5 mm, glabrous on both sides, margin entire, ciliate; pedicel articulated between pedicel and calyx, 3-5.5 mm long, glabrous. Hypanthium cupuliform, 2-2.5 × 2.5-3 mm, glabrous; lobes triangular to broadly triangular, 1-2.5 × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous on both sides, margin ciliate. Corolla pinkish to white, cylindric-urceolate, 8-10 × 4-5 mm, glabrous on both sides; lobes reflexed or slightly spreading, small, ovate or triangular, 1.5-2 × 1.5-2 mm, glabrous abaxially, papillate adaxially; stamens 10, dimorphic, 6-7 mm long, filaments swollen at base, 3-3.5 mm long, densely pilose, anthers without dorsal spurs, 3-3.5 mm long, thecae 1-1.5 mm long, papillate, tubules 1.5-2.5 mm long, 1.5-2 times as long as anther thecae, apex poricidal, pores ca. 0.5 mm long, antesepalous anthers with 1 tooth at apex of anther tubules, antepetalous anthers with 2 teeth at apex of anther tubules, teeth ca. 0.5 mm long; ovary inferior, pseudo-10-locular, disk disciform, 10 ridged, glabrous, style cylindrical, 0.8-0.9 cm long, glabrous, stigma truncate. Young fruits glaucous, subglobose, persistent calyx lobes incurved, nearly covering disk.

Vernacular name.

槲寄生叶越橘 (Chinese pinyin: hú jì shēng yè yuè jú).

Distribution and habitat.

Vaccinium viscifolium is distributed in China (Hainan, Fig. 4 ), Southern Indochina to Peninsular Malaysia. So far, Hainan is the northernmost distribution locality of this species. It grows on open limestone of mountainsides or mountain ridges in montane forests at an elevation of ca. 750 m in Hainan.

Taxonomic notes.

Vaccinium viscifolium has two varieties, viz. the nominate variety and V. viscifolium var. bicalcaratum Sleumer. The latter differs from the former by having leaves with a shortly (ca. 1 cm) and obtusely attenuate (vs. obtuse or rounded) apex and anthers with (vs. without) 2 distinct dorsal spurs ( Sleumer 1967). The plants from Hainan should belong to the nominate variety, as they have leaves with an obtuse or rounded apex and anthers without dorsal spurs.

Vaccinium viscifolium was initially assigned to sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium Schltr. by Sleumer (1941). However, when compiling Flora Malesiana, he reassigned it to sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Bracteata , which was recognized with an extremely broad sense to include 163 species consisting of members from several sections, such as sect. Bracteata s.s., sect. Bracteata Nesococcus H. F. Copel., and sect. Bracteata Nesococcus Euepigynium (Sleumer, 1967). Stevens (1969) pointed out that the leaves of the species of sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium with an entire margin and plinerved venation were very different from those of sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Bracteata , which have a serrate margin and pinnate venation. Vander Kloet and Dickinson (2009) also treated sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium and sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Bracteata as two distinct sections. Moreover, the marginal or basal glands often occur to sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium , and are absent in the species of sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Bracteata s.s. without exception. Thus, we do not adopt Sleumer’s broad sense of sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Bracteata (Sleumer, 1967), and prefer to agree with the assignment of V. viscifolium to sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium Sleumer (1941). Whereas sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium is only found in Malesiana and Indochina formerly, Vaccinium viscifolium is the first species of sect. Vaccinium viscifolium Euepigynium reported from China.

Additional specimens examined.

Vaccinium viscifolium : China. Hainan: Ledong County, the ridge of Mazui Mountain , 18.61°N, 109.38°E, 750 m a.s.l., 23 March 2020, Yi-Hua Tong, Xue-He Ye & Ming-Zhong Huang YXH-29 (IBSC) .

A key to the species of Vaccinium from Hainan Province is provided below.

Figures

Figure 4. The distribution of Vaccinium pseudopubicalyx and V. viscifolium in Hainan Island (China).

Figure 6. Vaccinium viscifolium A habitat B habit C flowering branch D fruiting branch. Photos by Y. H. Tong.

Figure 7. Vaccinium viscifolium A flowering branch B leaves C floral bract, adaxial (left) and abaxial (right) view D bracteoles, adaxial (left) and abaxial (right) view E calyx lobe, adaxial (left) and abaxial (right) view F flower G opened corolla, adaxial (up) and abaxial (below) view H hypanthium, disk and style with front two calyx lobes removed I stamens, lateral (left), abaxial (middle) and adaxial (right) view J ovary, apical (left) and transverse (right) view. Scale bars: 5 cm (A, B); 1 cm (C, F, G, H); 5 mm (I); 2 mm (D, E, J). Photos by X. H. Ye.