Lilium taliense Franchet (1893: 319)

Gao, Yun-Dong & Gao, Xin-Fen, 2014, Taxonomic notes on Chinese Lilium L. (Liliaceae) with proposal of three nomenclatural revisions, Phytotaxa 172 (2), pp. 101-108 : 103

Lilium taliense Franchet (1893: 319)

Type:— CHINA, Yunnan, between Hokin (Heqin) and Tali ( Dali ), 24 Jul 1883, J. M . Delavay s.n. (syntype P00730930 P!); [China] Yunnan, Hokin (Heqin), Kou-toui , on rocky slope, 17 Jul 1889, J. M . Delavay s.n. (syntype P00730931 , P!) .

= Lilium jinfushanense Peng & Wang (1986: 225) syn. nov. Type:— CHINA, Yunnan, Kunming, Heilongtan , via material cultivated in Kunming Botanic Garden , 3 Aug 1984, Peng 84-23 (holotype, KUN!).

Description:—All tepals white or sometimes inner tepals adaxially yellow (the rest of the description follows Liang & Tamura 2000).

Distribution and habitat: —Forests, grassy slopes; 2000–3600 m (based on annotated specimens). Sichuan, Yunnan, Chongqing, Guizhou.

Lilium jinfushanense was described and typified from cultivated material at Kunming Botanical Garden (Peng 84-23!) derived from bulbs originally collected on Jinfo Mountain (Chongqing and Guizhou provinces). Based on the published material, L. jinfushanense differs from L. taliense Franchet (1892: 319) by having more purple spots at the throat of flower and yellowish tepals. However, we have observed purple spots and yellowish flowers in natural populations of L. taliense , which occurs in northwestern Yunnan ( Fig. 2A, B ). Thus, the spots and tepal color appear insufficient to justify the species status of L. jinfushanense . We more rigorously compared L. jinfushanense to L. taliense by visiting the L. jinfushanense type locality at Jinfo Mountain. There, we observed three populations of L. taliense with inner tepals having yellowish coloring on their adaxial surfaces ( Fig. 2C ) and, thus, bearing striking resemblance to L. jinfushanense . We also noticed that the cultivated type specimen of L. jinfushanense exhibits narrower leaves compared to the native populations. We speculate that the observed variation in leaf size may be indicative of unpredictable phenotypic expression under cultivation. The available morphological data appear insufficient for considering L. jinfushanense as a distinct species. Moreover, molecular phylogenetic analyses have resolved the yellow-tepal taxon from the type locality within L. taliense ( Gao et al. 2012, 2013a), and this supports our proposed treatment. A more broadly circumscribed L. taliense , including L. jinfushanense , has yellow and white inner tepal morphs and a wider geographic range in Yunnan, Sichuan, and Guizhou.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Flowers of Lilium taliense Franchet from NW Yunnan showng continuous morphological variations in tepal spots andcolor i.e., white to yellow). Materials representing populations from A, Wengshui, Yunnan (Kham Expedition 10-56, PE) showing variability of spot tepal spots; B, Gezan, Yunnan (Kham Expedition 10-10, PE) showing variability of tepal color on a single individual; C, Jinfo Mountain, the type locality of L. jinfushanense exhibiting yellow inner tepals.