Rohdea wangiana H. Z. Feng & Z. Qiang Lu, 2021

Feng, Hui Zhe, Lu, Zhi Qiang, Han, Qingxiang & Shen, Henglun, 2021, Rohdea wangiana (Asparagaceae), a new species from southwestern Sichuan, China, Phytotaxa 523 (3), pp. 247-253 : 248

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/phytotaxa.523.3.5
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5591448
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038F0664-FFD8-634E-FF02-E81AFE3EE474
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Rohdea wangiana H. Z. Feng & Z. Qiang Lu
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Rohdea wangiana H. Z. Feng & Z. Qiang Lu View in CoL , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 )

Diagnosis: The new species resembles R. pachynema , but differs based on absence of slender stolons, the leaf blade with serrate margin, one bract per flower, peduncle ebracteate, with protuberance between two filaments and the positions of filaments and stigma in the perianth tube.

Type:— CHINA. Sichuan, Xichang , alt. 3250 m, 12 April 2021, H. Z . Feng & Z. Q . Lu 1327 (holotype, HITBC!) .

Chamaephytic herb. Rhizome cylindrical, up to 3.5 cm ca. in diameter, without slender stolons. Roots fibrous, to 3 mm in diameter. Leaves up to 15, sword-shaped, acute at apex, coriaceous, margin sparsely serrulate, 25–40 cm long, 2–3 cm broad. Peduncle 2–5 cm long, ebracteate. Spike oblong, densely many-flowered, 3–5 cm long, 1.5– 2 cm in diameter, without marked terminal tuft of sterile bracts. One bract per flower, lanceolate, usually obtuse at apex, exceeding flower, up to 10–15 mm long. Perianth campanulate, succulence, 5–10 mm across; 5 (6)-lobes; lobes broadly ovate, some lobes with dorsal angular protuberance 3–5 mm long, subacute to obtuse at apex, inflexed above, sometimes 3-lobed, or denticulate, imbricate below, 3–5 mm long, 3–8 mm broad; tube 3–5 mm long. Anthers orbicular-elliptic, ovate or broadly ovate, 1–1.3 mm long; filaments are inserted to the base of the perianth segments, free part incurved, deltoid or broadly dilated toward base, often slightly connate basally with adjacent ones, fleshy, with one small protuberance between two filaments, 2 mm long. Pistil 2.5–3 mm long; stigma trisected, lower than anthers; style columnar, 1–1.5 mm long; ovary slightly depressed globose, 1–1.5 mm long.

Etymology:—The specific epithet is in honor of Professor Fa Tsuan Wang (1899-1985, PE), a pioneer in study of Liliflorae in China.

Distribution:—This new species is currently known only from Xichang, Liangshan, Sichuan, China.

Taxonomic relationships:—Comparison with known species of Rohdea indicates that R. wangiana is similar to R. pachynema by lack of marked terminal tuft of sterile bracts and filaments (free part) deltoid or prominently dilated below. However, R. wangiana differs from R. pachynema by serrate (vs. entire) margin of leaf blade ( Fig. 3A, C View FIGURE 3 ), ebracteate peduncle ( Fig. 3A View FIGURE 3 ), one bract per flower ( Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ), obvious angular protuberance at some perianth lobes ( Fig. 1E, F, H View FIGURE 1 , Fig. 2G, H View FIGURE 2 ), and small protuberance between filaments ( Fig. 1G View FIGURE 1 ). According to Tanaka (2010), R. pachynema has slender subterranean stolons, whereas stolons are absent in R. wangiana under both wild and cultivated conditions. In R. pachynema , filaments are inserted slightly below the base of perianth segments, but inserted to the base of the perianth segments in R. wangiana . According to Tanaka (2010) and Wang & Tang (1949), the stigma and stamens are in the same plane in R. pachynema , but the stigma obviously lower than stamens in R. wangiana ( Fig. 1F View FIGURE 1 ). Hence, this new species differs from R. pachynema based on multiple lines of evidence from phenological isolation and phenotypic divergence.