taxonID	type	description	language	source
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	diagnosis	Diagnosis: — It resembles C. pseudoamplisepala D. Wang, but it differs from the latter in the outer petals being broadly rounded and obtuse to emarginate at apex, sepals that are 0.8 – 1.4 × 0.6 – 0.8 mm, and capsules that are narrowly to broadly obovoid. It is also similar to C. amplisepala Z. Y. Su & Lidén and C. austroshaanxiensis D. Wang, but differs from both by the absence of crest on the outer petals, and also by having lower petal that is broadly saccate at center and with a distinct pouch at base, and much smaller sepals.	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	materials_examined	Type: — CHINA. Gansu: Longnan City (originally called Wudu), Kangxian County, Lianghe Town, Qinghe Forest Nature Reserve, deciduous forest margins, 33 ° 14 ′ N, 105 ° 49 ′ E, elev. ca. 1564 m, 15 April 2018 (fl, fr), D. Wang et al. 180033 - 1 (holotype CCNU), 180033 - 2 (isotype PE).	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	description	Description: — Biennial herb, 30 – 50 cm tall, glabrous. Taproot slender, with fibrous roots and residual petiolar bases. Stems suberect to erect, few to many from base, leafy and branched. Radical leaves several; petiole 10 – 12 cm long, with membranous vaginae at base; blade triangular, 7 – 10 × 9 – 12 cm, biternate. Cauline leaves 2 or 3, scattered; lower petioles 4 – 6 cm, upper ones 2 – 3 cm, with membranous vaginae or auricles at base; blade triangular, 6 – 7 × 9 – 10 cm, biternate; primary leaflets petiolate; ultimate leaflets cuneate at base, deeply dentate with sharp teeth or lobate into linear to oblong-obtuse mucronate teeth. Raceme 6 – 12 - flowered, dense in flower, lax in fruit. Lowermost bract similar to upper leaves but smaller, 4.0 – 6.5 cm long including petiole 1.5 – 2.5 cm, with auricles at base, upper ones progressively much smaller, rhombic to oblanceolate, 6 – 10 mm long. Lower pedicels 2 – 3 cm, upper ones 1.0 – 1.5 cm, straight. Flowers pale lavender, pinkish red to amaranth or white. Sepals small, white, laciniate-dentate, 0.8 – 1.4 × 0.6 – 0.8 mm. Outer petals broadly rounded, apex obtuse to emarginate, with small mucro, sometimes slightly dentate, without crest; upper petal strongly upcurved, 27 – 28 mm (measured along curve); spur upcurved, tapering to an obtuse apex, slightly bent downward at apex, 16 – 17 mm; nectary ca. 1 / 4 as long as spur; lower petal 12 – 13 mm, broadly saccate at center and with a distinct pouch at base; inner petals 9 – 10 mm, dark tipped at the inner side, with claw nearly as long as limb; crest of inner petals pale, overtopping apex. Stigma compressed, deeply cleft with 8 distinct simple marginal papillae; geminate papillae lateral (clearly submarginal) and on basal lobes. Capsule narrowly to broadly obovoid, 5.5 – 15. 0 × 4 – 6 mm, (2 –) 5 – 8 - seeded, forming a sharp angle to erect-spreading pedicel, explosively dehiscent; style ca. 3 mm. Seeds in 2 rows, black, 1.6 – 2 × 1.7 – 1.9 × 1 – 1.2 mm (length × width × thickness), smooth; caruncle small, narrow, adhering to seed.	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	biology_ecology	Phenology: — Flowering from late March to May and fruiting from mid-April to June.	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	distribution	Distribution and habitat: — Corydalis kangxianensis is currently known from Kangxian County, Gansu province, located on the southern slope of the western Qinling Mountains (traditionally spelled Tsinling Mountains) in central China (Fig. 6). It grows at altitudes of 1 290 – 1 500 m a. s. l., typically found along forest margins and understories, as well as along forest trails and streamsides. The understory vegetation is often dominated by species such as Corydalis pseudoincisa C. Y. Wu, Z. Y. Su & Lidén, C. temulifolia Franch., Cardamine sp. (Brassicaceae), Kerria japonica (L.) DC. (Rosaceae) and Rubus xanthocarpus Bureau & Franch. (Rosaceae).	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	etymology	Etymology: — The specific epithet “ kangxianensis ” is derived from Kangxian County, the type locality where this new species was discovered. Accordingly, the Chinese name “ Dz 县 = 堇 ” (kangxian zi jin) is proposed.	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	conservation	Conservation status: — Plants of this new species are common in the collection sites, with populations consisting of hundreds of thousands of individuals. This suggests that the species has a stable or abundant distribution. The locality where the species occurs is within priority-protected areas of the Forest Nature Reserve in the western Qinling Mountains. These protected areas likely mitigate the impacts of human activities, such as habitat destruction or exploitation. The species faces minimal threats from human activities and is not currently at risk of significant threats to its survival. Additionally, C. kangxianensis is unlikely to be adversely affected by climate change in the near future, likely due to the forest’s natural ability to buffer against climatic fluctuations. Overall, Corydalis kangxianensis does not meet any of the criteria for categories such as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), Vulnerable (VU), Near Threatened (NT), or conservation dependent. Instead, it can be classified as LC (Least Concern) under the IUCN Red List criteria (IUCN, 2012, 2024).	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	discussion	Discussion: — A combination of specimen review, photographic documentation, and phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast genomes confirms that Corydalis kangxianensis is indeed a unique species, distinct from its closest relatives. The species clearly belongs to Corydalis section Incisae in Fedde (1926: 181) sensu Zhang et al. (2008). Morphologically, Corydalis kangxianensis is most similar to C. pseudoamplisepala D. Wang in Wang et al. (2017), a species occurring in northwestern Hubei, China, but it is readily distinguishable from the latter by its outer petals that are broadly rounded (vs. ovate) and obtuse to emarginate (vs. subacute) at apex, sepals that are 0.8 – 1.4 × 0.6 – 0.8 mm (vs. 1.5 – 2.0 × 1.0 – 1.5 mm), and capsules that are narrowly to broadly obovoid (vs. broadly obovoid) (Table 1, also refer to Figures 1 – 3 herein and, also, Figures 1 – 2 that attributed to C. pseudoamplisepala in Wang et al. (2017 )). It is also similar to both C. amplisepala Z. Y. Su & Lidén in Lidén & Su (2007: 488), a species occurring in northeastern Sichuan (Guangyuan City) and southern Shaanxi (Hanzhong City), and C. austroshaanxiensis D. Wang in Wang et al. (2021), a species occurring in southern Shaanxi, but it is quite clearly distinct from the latter two species by the absence of crest on the outer petals (vs. with crest), and lower petal that is broadly saccate at center and with a distinct pouch at base (vs. almost straight or shallowly saccate and with an additional small pouch at base), and by having much smaller sepals (0.8 – 1.4 × 0.6 – 0.8 mm vs. 5 – 7 × 4 – 6 mm in C. amplisepala and 3 – 4 × ca. 3 mm in C. austroshaanxiensis) (Table 1; also refer to Figure 4 attributed to C. amplisepala in Wang et al. (2017) and, Figures 1 – 2 that attributed to C. austroshaanxiensis in Wang et al. (2021 )). In terms of growth habit, as well as racemes flowering and fruiting, C. kangxianensis resembles the three related species mentioned above. Geographically, these four morphologically similar species are all restricted to the Qinling-Daba mountain range. Our molecular phylogenetic analyses provided robust evidence that C. kangxianensis is indeed a distinct evolutionary lineage, thereby solidifying its status as a unique species. The topology of the phylogenetic tree (Fig. 5) further indicates that C. kangxianensis is most closely related to four other species: C. amplisepala, C. austroshaanxiensis, C. pseudoamplisepala, and C. hemsleyana. Together, these five species form a distinct evolutionary group. The morphology of C. kangxianensis is compared with its related species in Table 1. Corydalis kangxianensis and related species can also be distinguished by the following key.	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
03A2267FA72EFF9CF0CFF9DCC536F789.taxon	materials_examined	Additional specimens examined (paratypes) — CHINA. Gansu: Longnan City, Kangxian County, approximately same location as type, elev. ca. 1297 m, 26 April 2013 (fl, fr), D. Wang et al. 1304126 (CCNU), elev. ca. 1314 m, 17 May 2016 (fl, fr), D. Wang et al. 160171 (CCNU), elev. ca. 1501 m, 23 April 2019 (fl, fr), D. Wang et al. 190012 (CCNU), 15 April 2023 (fl, fr), photo taken by X. J. Liu (PPBC id: 13615013, http: // ppbc. iplant. cn / tu / 13615013). Kangxian County, Nianba Xiang, Xiaohe Cun, elev. ca. 1310 m, 27 April 2013 (fl, fr), D. Wang et al. 1304134 (CCNU); Yuanjiagou Cun, elev. ca. 1350 m, 27 April 2013 (fl, fr), D. Wang et al. 1304135 (CCNU).	en	Wang, Dong, Xu, Xiaodong, Chen, Yu, Dai, Quanhua, Wang, Liang (2025): Corydalis kangxianensis (Papaveraceae), a new species from the western Qinling Mountains, southern Gansu, China. Phytotaxa 726 (3): 165-175, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4, URL: https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.726.3.4
