Henckelia xinpingensis Y.H.Tan & Bin Yang, 2019

Yang, Bin, Ding, Hong-Bo, Fu, Kai-Cong, Yuan, Yi-Kai, Yang, Han-Yu, Li, Jian-Wu, Zhang, Li-Xia & Tan, Yun-Hong, 2019, Four new species of Gesneriaceae from Yunnan, Southwest China, PhytoKeys 130, pp. 183-203 : 183

4. Henckelia xinpingensis Y.H.Tan & Bin Yang sp. nov. Figures 7 , 8 , 9 (A1-A4)

Diagnosis.

Henckelia xinpingensis is similar to H. pumila in having elliptic leaf blades sometimes with purple spots abaxially, appearing brown-green adaxially, and funnel form corolla, but differs in having intensive yellow (vs. white to purple) corollas, stigma undivided or slightly 2-lobed (vs. conspicuous 2-lobed), calyx from base to below the middle (vs. 5-lobed from below to above middle); leaf blade symmetrical, base rounded to cordate (vs. asymmetrical, base oblique) and producing slender stolons.

Type.

CHINA. Yunnan Province: Xinping county, Yubaiding, 24°09.32'N, 102°07.71'E, a.s.l. 1500 m, 17 Aug. 2018, Y.H. Tan, B. Yang, H.B. Ding & X.D. Zeng Y0130 (holotype: HITBC!).

Description.

Annual herbs, usually producing slender stolons from stem base, leaf axils or occasionally bract axils, stolons 10-25 cm, pubescent. Stems erect, 5-25 cm, pubescent to sparsely pilose. Leaves 4-6, opposite, widely spaced nodes; petiole 0.5-3.5 cm; blade symmetrical, ovate-elliptic to elliptic, 2-15 × 1.2-8.0 cm, herbaceous, puberulous to sparsely pilose, eglandular, abaxially sometimes with purple spots, adaxially appearing brown-green, base rounded to cordate, margin repand to entire, apex acute or obtuse; lateral veins 5-9 on each side of midrib, conspicuous. Cymes 1-4-flowered; Peduncle 0.5-3.5 cm, sparsely pilose; Bracts 2, free, linear to lanceolate, 3-6 mm long. Pedicel 2.5-5.0 cm, sparsely pilose. Calyx 1.2-1.7 cm, narrowly bell-shaped, divided into 5 lobes from base to below the middle; tube 3.5-4 mm; lobes subequal, lanceolate, 12-14 × 2-3 mm, outside sparsely pilose, inside glabrous, margin entire, apex subulate-attenuate. Corolla intensive yellow with two yellow-orange stripes on the abaxial lip, 3.7-4.2 cm long, outside sparsely glandular pilose, inside glabrous; tube narrowly funnelform, 3.4-3.8 × 0.9-1.2 cm; adaxial lip 1.9-2.3 × 0.8-1.0 cm, 2-lobed, abaxial lip 2.5-3.0 × 0.9-1.2 cm, 3-lobed, all lobes semi-orbicular, with rounded apex. Stamens 2, 1.3-1.5 cm long, adnate to the corolla tube below middle; filaments 1.1-1.3 cm long, sparsely puberulent to glabrous, bending in the middle, with knee; anthers fused by entire adaxial surfaces, ca. 3.5 mm, glabrous, dediscence; Staminodes 3, 2.5-6.0 mm. Pistil 2.5-2.8 cm, sparsely puberulent to puberulous, with short glandular hairs near apex; ovary 2.2-2.5cm; style 3-6 mm long, sparsely glandular puberulent. Stigma flabellate, 2-3 mm, undivided or slightly 2-lobed. Capsule sub-erect, 5-10 cm, loculicidal dehiscence.

Etymology.

The new species is named after its type locality Xinping County.

Vernacular name.

Chinese mandarin: Xin Ping Chun Zhu Ju Tai (新平唇柱苣苔).

Phenology.

Flowering in August and fruiting from August to September.

Distribution and habitat.

This species is only known from Xinping county, but is relatively common there growing in moist areas near stream sides and roadsides under the subtropical broad leaf forests.

Additional specimens examined

(paratypes). CHINA. Yunnan Province: Xinping, Dapingzhang, 102°04.435'E, 24°04.672'N, a.s.l. 580 m, 16 Aug. 2018, Y.H. Tan, B. Yang Y0115 (HITBC!); Ibid., 16 Aug. 2018, Y.H. Tan & B. Yang Y0118 (HITBC!).

Conservation status.

According to our field observations, more than ten populations have been observed around an area of 20 hectares and each population of the new species has more than 100 individuals. The species is therefore assigned a preliminary status of Least Concern (LC) according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria ( IUCN 2012).

Note.

Henckelia xinpingensis has elliptic leaf blades with a pilose indumentum similar to H. pumila . A comparative list of diagnostic characters of the new species and H. pumila is given in Table 4 .

Figures

Figure 7. Henckelia xinpingensis Y. H. Tan & Bin Yang, sp. nov. A, B, D Habit C habit (showing stolons) E flower in side view F flower in front view G dissected flower. Photographed by B. Yang.

Figure 8. Henckelia xinpingensis Y. H. Tan & Bin Yang, sp. nov. A Habit B calyx lobes C corolla (Dissected) D pedicel with pistil. Drawn by Zheng-meng Yang.

Figure 9. Henckelia xinpingensis Y. H. Tan & Bin Yang, sp. nov. (A-D) A, B Habit C flower (side view) D flower (front view); Henckelia pumila (D. Don) A. Dietr. (E-H) E, F habit G, H flower (front view). Photographed by H. B. Ding.