Chrysosplenium ramosissimum Y.I.Kim & Y.D.Kim, 2018

Kim, Yong-In, Cho, Seong-Hyun, Lee, Jung-Hoon, Kang, Dae-Hyun, Jin Hee Park, & Kim, Young-Dong, 2018, Chrysosplenium ramosissimum Y. I. Kim & Y. D. Kim (Saxifragaceae), a new species from Korea, PhytoKeys 111, pp. 1-10 : 3-6

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.111.27182

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/670D0C54-9C41-DBA0-7D33-41A787B9D565

treatment provided by

PhytoKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Chrysosplenium ramosissimum Y.I.Kim & Y.D.Kim
status

sp. nov.

Chrysosplenium ramosissimum Y.I.Kim & Y.D.Kim sp. nov. Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 , 3A1, A2 View Figure 3 , 4A 가지털괭이눈 (Ga-ji-teol-gwaeng-i-nun) View Figure 4

Diagnosis.

Chrysosplenium ramosissimum is most similar to the sympatric species C. valdepilosum , but the former is readily distinguishable by the presence of yellowish-green (vs. bright yellow) bracteal leaves during flowering, highly branched and elongated sterile branches after fruiting (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ), shiny silvery dots on sterile branch leaves and larger tubercles on the seed coat (Fig. 3 View Figure 3 ).

Type.

SOUTH KOREA. Gangwon-do: along a stream near a hiking trail to Guksa Seonghwangsa (temple), Mt. Seonjaryeong, Hoenggye-ri, Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, 37°41'25.80"N, 128°45'27.22"E, elev. 872 m, 24 Apr. 2015, KYI-2015001 (holotype HHU; isotypes HHU, KB).

Perennial herbs.

Small, tender, hermaphroditic. Roots fibrous. Flowering stem erect, 2-6 cm long, pilose, light green or reddish to purple, with 2-5 sterile branches arising from base; sterile branches creeping after fruiting, elongated over 30 cm, 2 or more times branched at axils, densely pilose. Leaves opposite, basal and cauline, simple, estipulate, petiolate. Basal leaves 1 or 2 pairs, withered before flowering. Leaves on flowering stem, 1 pair, attached at 1/2 or below of the stem; petioles 1-5 mm, pilose; blade 2-5 × 2-8 mm, flabelliform, apex subtruncate to rounded, base attenuate, margins obscurely undulate to crenate or distinctly obtusely dentate (3-6 teeth), translucent white or brown ciliate, both surfaces glabrous. Leaves on sterile branches with long internode (to 8 cm at fruiting); petioles 2-12 mm, pilose; blade to 2 × 2.5 cm, suborbicular or widely ovate (upper ones), flabellate (lower ones), apex rounded, base cuneate, margins crenate with 5-10 flat obscure teeth on each side, translucent white or brown ciliate, upper surface glabrous, densely silvery dotted, pale green, lower surface pilose on veins, greenish-grey. Inflorescence 4- to 9-flowered cyme, surrounded by leaf-like bracts; pedicels ca. 1 mm, sparsely pilose. Bracteal leaves yellowish-green during flowering, turning to light green or green after fruiting; petioles 1-3 mm, pilose; blades 2-6 × 2-10 mm, obdeltoid, upper surface glabrous, densely silvery dotted, lower surface glabrous, greenish-grey, margins obscurely undulate to crenate or distinctly obtusely dentate, 2-5 teeth, translucent white or brown ciliate, obtuse to subtruncate at apex, base narrowly cuneate to cuneate. Flowers tetramerous; sepals 4, free, petaloid, 1 pair overlapping the other in bud, erect, yellow, widely ovate to widely subelliptic, ca. 2.5-3 × ca. 2 mm, glabrous, 3-veined, persistent, apex obtuse to truncate, slightly recurved; petals absent; stamens 8, in 2 section, ca. 1.3 mm, shorter than sepal; filaments filiform, 0.8-0.9 mm long; anthers yellow, 2-locular, 0.45-0.5 mm long, longitudinally dehiscent; pistil 2-carpellate, semi-inferior, ovary 1-locular, ovules at 2 parietal placentae, styles 2, free, ca. 1 mm long, stigma round, disc absent. Fruit capsule, pale green, glabrous, ca. 5.5 mm long, 2-lobed (horn shaped), lobes dehiscent along adaxial suture, slightly unequal; seeds numerous, dark brown, ellipsoid, with a carina on one side, thick-walled, 0.8-1.0 × 0.65-0.75 mm, with hemispheroidal tubercles, tubercles ca. 15 μm in diameter, seed surface covered with minute deciduous papillae.

Distribution.

Chrysosplenium ramosissimum is only known to exist on Mt. Seonjaryeong in Gangwon-do, Korea, at an elevation of 630-910 m. To date, only one population of approximately 2,000 individuals has been discovered, near a small creek. In the absence of additional data, we presently score it as Data Deficient (DD), according to the IUCN Red List criteria ( IUCN 2001).

Ecology.

Chrysosplenium ramosissimum occurs in deciduous forests of mountain valleys, where it grows in humid and semi-shaded areas near small creeks along with Quercus mongolica Fisch. ex Ledeb., Fraxinus rhynchophylla Hance and Acer buergerianum Miq. The flowering period of this species is late March to early May and the fruiting period is late May to early July.

Etymology.

The specific epithet of the new species refers to the highly branched sterile branches after fruiting.

Additional specimens examined (paratype).

SOUTH KOREA. Gangwon-do: Mt. Seonjaryeong, Hoenggye-ri, Daegwallyeong-myeon, Pyeongchang-gun, 37°41'25.80"N 128°45'27.22"E, elev. 872 m, 24 Apr. 2015, KYI-2015002 (HHU), KYI-2015003 (HHU), KYI-2015004 (HHU), KYI-2015005 (HHU), KYI-2015006 (HHU); 37°41'33.65"N 128°45'25.26"E, elev. 872 m, 16 Apr. 2016, KYI-2016001 (HHU), KYI-2016002 (HHU), KYI-2016003 (HHU), KYI-2016004 (HHU), KYI-2016005 (HHU), KYI- 2016006 (HHU).

Key to taxa of Chrysosplenium section Pilosa modified from Hara (1957)