Alseodaphnopsis hokouensis (H. W. Li) H. W. Li & J. Li

Li, Lang, Zou, Dian-Yang, Mao, Ya-Meng & Li, Jie, 2024, Alseodaphnopsis maguanensis is conspecific with A. hokouensis (Lauraceae) based on morphological and molecular evidence, PhytoKeys 242, pp. 281-291 : 281-291

Alseodaphnopsis hokouensis (H. W. Li) H. W. Li & J. Li

Alseodaphne hokouensis H. W. Li, Act Phytotax. Sin. 17 (2): 71. 1979. Basionym. Type: CHINA. Yunnan Province: Hekou County, 10 May 1953, K. H. Tsai 1039 (holotype: KUN [ KUN 0047456!]; isotype: KUN [ KUN 0108581!]).

= Alseodaphnopsis maguanensis L. Li & J. Li, PhytoKeys 138: 27–39. 2020 . syn. nov. Type: CHINA. Yunnan Province: Maguan County, 14 May 2016, Lang Li et al. GLQ 26 (holotype: HITBC!).

Revised description.

Trees evergreen, up to 20 m tall. Branchlets terete, 3–6 mm in diameter, greyish, striate, glabrous, with lenticels and leaf scars. Terminal buds subglobose, ca. 2 mm in diameter; bud scales broadly ovate, acute at apex, glabrous. Leaves clustered at apex of branchlet, alternate or subverticillate; petiole robust, 2–3 mm thick, 1.5–3 cm long, concave-convex; leaf blade green adaxially, glaucous abaxially when young, but green or pale green when mature, oblong-obovate or oblong-oblanceolate, sometimes elliptic to oblong, 10.5–32 × 3.5–9 cm, subleathery to leathery, glabrous on both surfaces, mid-rib elevated abaxially, impressed adaxially, lateral veins 8–13 pairs, slightly elevated on both surfaces, oblique, evanescent and interconnected near leaf margin, transverse veins and veinlets densely reticulate, conspicuous on both surfaces when dry, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, apex shortly acuminate, sometimes abruptly shortly acuminate. Panicles subterminal, clustered at apex of branchlet, 10.5–20 cm, many-flowered; peduncle branched at middle or above, peduncle and rachis glabrous; bracts and bracteoles linear, ca. 1.5 mm, acute, ciliate, caducous. Pedicels slender, 3–8 mm, slightly dilated on top, glabrous. Flowers small, ca. 2.5 mm. Perianth tube short; perianth lobes 6, broadly ovate, slightly acute, glabrous outside, pubescent inside, subequal, outer ones ca. 2 × 1.5 mm, inner ones ca. 2.5 × 2 mm, deciduous. Fertile stamens 9, minute, 1.5–2 mm in 1 st and 2 nd whorls, 1.7–2.2 mm in 3 rd whorl; filaments villous, 0.7–1 mm in 1 st and 2 nd whorls, 1–1.2 mm in 3 rd whorl, those of 3 rd whorl each with 2 shortly stalked orbicular-cordate glands at base, others glandless; anthers of 1 st and 2 nd whorls ovate, almost as long as filaments, with introrse cells, those of 3 rd whorl elliptic, slightly shorter than filaments, with extrorse cells. Staminodes conspicuous, ca. 1.5 mm, sagittate, stalked. Ovary ovoid, 1.2–1.5 mm, glabrous, attenuate into a 0.5–0.8 mm long style; stigma discoid, inconspicuous. Infructescence subterminal, 10–18 cm, robust, glabrous, with one or two well-developed fruits. Fruit oblate, 4–5 × 5–6 cm, immature fruit green, brown when mature, fruit stalk robust, 3–4 mm in diameter, apex dilated, 5–10 mm in diameter, sometimes nearly cylindrical, fleshy and warty when fresh.

Phenology.

Flowering from May to June and fruiting from July to September.

Distribution and habitat.

Hekou County and Maguan County, Yunnan Province, China. Tropical limestone forests in valleys, usually near streams, at an elevation of 150– 850 m.

Conservation status.

Currently, Alseodaphnopsis hokouensis is known from Hekou Country and Maguan Country (Yunnan Province, China) with four populations (Fig. 1 ). Two populations found in Maguan Country are all located in Gulinqing Provincial Nature Reserve, each with about 20 mature individuals (Fig. 4 ). The other two populations found in Hekou Country, each with about 10 mature individuals, are not located in any nature reserve and those individuals mostly occur on the roadsides or in strongly-disturbed forests near the villages (Fig. 4 ). No individual was found at the type locality, Masike, Nanxi Town, Hekou County. According to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria version 15.1 (July 2022), the conservation status of Alseodaphnopsis hokouensis is re-evaluated as Critically Endangered ( CR, C 2 a (i )).

Additional specimens examined.

China. Yunnan Province: Hekou County, 17 June 2020, Lang Li et al. 2020064 ( HITBC) ; 18 June 2020, Lang Li et al. 2020071 & 2020072 ( HITBC) ; 25 August 2020, Lang Li and Guan-long Cao, 2020135 , 2020136 , 2020137 & 2020138 ( HITBC) . 13 May 2022, Lang Li and Dian-yang Zou, 2022027 ( HITBC) . Maguan County, 19 June 2020, Lang Li et al. 2020082 , 2020083 & 2020086 ( HITBC) ; 20 June 2020, Lang Li et al. 2020091 , 2020092 , 2020093 , 2020094 , 2020095 & 2020096 ( HITBC) ; 24 August 2020, Lang Li and Guan-long Cao, 2020127 & 2020128 ( HITBC) ; 2 August 2022, Lang Li et al. 2022034 , 2022035 & 2022036 ( HITBC) .

Figures

Figure 1. The recorded localities of Alseodaphnopsis hokouensis and A. maguanensis in SE Yunnan, SW China.

Figure 4. Different habitats of Alseodaphnopsis hokouensis A in the forest of the Nature Reserve B on the roadside C in the strongly disturbed forest near the village.