Amana yunmengensis P. Li, M.Z. Wang & Z.Y. Wang, 2023

Wang, Meizhen, Wang, Ziyi, Zhang, Shenglu, Wu, Jing & Li, Pan, 2023, Amana yunmengensis (Liliaceae), a new species from the Yunmeng Lakes region, China, Phytotaxa 629 (1), pp. 13-34 : 18-20

Amana yunmengensis P. Li, M.Z. Wang & Z.Y. Wang , sp. nov. (云DǠÊỀdz). ( Fig. 2 )

Type:— CHINA. Hubei Province: Jingzhou City, Jianli County, Yanglinji (ǕḢOi), in deciduous broadleaf forest, 29°35'56.31"N, 113°15'20.12"E, 12 m, 13 Feb 2022, Li et al. WMZ1707 (holotype: HZU; isotypes: HZU, PE, KUN, CSH, WH, ZM) .

Amana yunmengensis resembles A. edulis in possessing densely villous-woolly bulb tunics, linear and long leaves and white flowers, but differs by having three verticillate linear bracts (vs. two opposite narrowly lanceolate), a white midvein (vs. green), solitary flower (vs. 1–5) and purple anthers (vs. yellow).

Perennial herbs with ovoid bulbs, 1.1–1.9 cm in diameter, tunics yellowish brown, densely villous-woolly inside. Stems 2.3–5.5 cm tall, glabrous, simple. Leaves usually two, opposite, green, midvein white, linear, glabrous; the lower leaf 28.2–46.1 × 0.8–1.5 cm, the upper 18.6–41.0 × 0.6–1.0 cm. Scape 8.2–15.5 cm tall, glabrous. Bracts usually three, verticillate, linear, green, 2.4–3.5 × 0.1 cm. Pedicels 0.8–3.7 cm. Flowers solitary, funnel-shaped; tepals six, white, with a green or yellowish green basal blotch inside and purple-red streaks outside; outer tepals lanceolate, acute, 1.7–3.3 × 0.4–0.75 cm, inner tepals narrow elliptic, acute, 1.5–3.1 × 0.5–0.9 cm. Stamens six, two-whorled, the inner three slightly longer than the outer; filaments yellowish green, 3–10 mm long, proximally dilated, gradually attenuate towards apex, glabrous; anthers purple, 0.4–1 cm long. Oval ovaries, yellowish green, constricted below the style, 0.4–0.6 cm long, styles 0.4–0.6 cm long. Capsule subglobose, triquetrous, 1.2–2.1cm in diameter, apex long beaked, 0.3–0.7 cm long.

Distribution and habitat:— Thus far, found only in Jingzhou City, Hubei Province, in moist deciduous broadleaf forests on the mountain slopes at elevation of 10 m.

Phenology:— Flowering January–February, fruiting March–April.

Etymology:— Named for the Yunmeng Lakes, which is the general name for the ancient lakes on the Jianghan Plain, Hubei Province.

Conservation Status:— We suspect that A. yunmengensis could be categorised as near threatened (NT) according to IUCN criteria ( IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2022). It is found at two sites in Jingzhou City in Hubei Province with hundreds of individuals at each site.

Additional specimens examined:— CHINA. Hubei Province: Jingzhou City, Honghu City, Luoshan Town ( DZ 山 ª), 8 m, 29°40′11.3″N, 113°19′30.1″E, 13 Feb 2022 (fl.), Li et al. WMZ1709 ( HZU) ; ibidem, 8 m, 27 Mar 2022 (fr.), Wang WMZ1744 ( HZU) ; Jingzhou City, Jianli County, Mt. Yanglin ( Ǖ Ḣ 山), 10 m, 29°35′56.3″N, 113°15′20.1″E, 27 Mar 2022 (fr.), Wang WMZ1745 ( HZU) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Amana yunmengensis. A. Habitat. B. Individual. C. Population. D. Whole plant. E. Front view of flower. F. Side view of flower. G. Floral dissection. H. Bulb. I. Leaves. J. Fruits. Scale bar = 1 cm. Photographs by Shenglu Zhang and Ziyan Wang.