Miliusa species

Shi, Zhiyuan & Hou, Xueliang, 2024, Miliusa longicarpa (Annonaceae): a new species from Yunnan, China, Phytotaxa 666 (3), pp. 209-215 : 214

Key to Miliusa species in China

A dichotomous key was compiled based on the literature of Miliusa species in China ( Hooker & Thomson 1855, Hou 2003, Li & Gilbert 2011, Xue & Tan 2016, Ding et al. 2023).

1. Monocarps ellipsoid, approximately 2: 1 in length-to-width ratio; fruiting pedicels 7.8–12 cm long; seeds globose to obovoid ellipsoid; leaf base rounded and equal sided, blade apex acuminate (-caudate) ................................................. Miliusa longicarpa

– Monocarps globose to ovoid, approximately 1: 1 in length-to-width ratio; fruiting pedicels 1–7.5 cm long .................................. 2.

2. Inner petals completely open, 4.0 × 4.0 mm; sepals 0.5 × 1.0 mm; monocarps 1–5; leaf base oblique ............................................. ........................................................................................................................... Miliusa glochidoides Handel-Mazzetti (1933: 185)

– Inner petals tightly appressed from the base to the mid poin, 9–25 × 5–15 mm; sepals 1.5–7.0 × 1.0–3.0 mm; monocarps 6–35; leaf base oblique or not ........................................................................................................................................................................... 3.

3. Outer perianth is twice as long as the sepals; monocarp ca. 20 mm in diameter; petiole ca. 2 mm long ........................................... ............................................................................................................... Miliusa horsfieldii (Bennett) Baillon in Pierre (1881: t. 38)

– Outer perianth is equal as long as the sepals, monocarp 7–15 mm diam.; petiole 2–8 mm long .................................................... 4.

4. Flowers 2–6, in leaf-opposed cymes or on short and few-leaved branches; petiole 5–8 mm long, glabrous; leaf blade 6.5–10 cm wide ......................................................................................................................... Miliusa thorelii Finet & Gagnepain (1907: 89)

– Flowers 1–3 in leaf-opposed cymes or on short and few-leaved branches; petiole 2–6 mm long, glabrous to densely pubescent; leaf blade 2–7 cm wide ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5.

5. Pedicel 3.5–7.5 cm long, flowers 1, in leaf-opposed cymes ............................... Miliusa balansae Finet & Gagnepain (1906: 149)

– Pedicel 0.7–2 cm long, flowers 1–3, in leaf-opposed cymes or on short and few-leaved branches ............................................... 6.

6. Sepals ovate to ovate-triangular, 1.5–2.0 × 1.0– 1.5 mm; leaf blade base cuneate, secondary veins 9–18 on each side of midvein .. ........................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7

– Sepals ovate to ovate-triangular, 4.0–7.0 × 1.0– 1.5 mm; leaf blade base orbicular to broadly cuneate, secondary veins 6–10 on each side of midvein ................................................................................................................................................................................. 8

7. Pedicel 10–13 mm long; monocarps 12–16 mm long; leaves elliptical, secondary veins 9–13 on each side of midvein .................. .............................................................................................. Miliusa chantaburiana Damthongdee & Chaowasku (2018: 293-301)

– Pedicel 20–30 mm long; monocarps ca. 9 mm long; leaves oblong-lanceolate, secondary veins 14–18 on each side of midvein .... ..................................................................................................................................................... Miliusa cuneata Craib (1912: 145)

8. Pedicel 10–14 mm long; inner petals ca. 9 × 5 mm .......................... Miliusa tenuistipitata W.T.Wang in Wu & Wang (1957: 200)

– Pedicel 7–25 mm long; inner petals 13–15 × 8–11 mm ...................................................................................................................... ................................................................................ Miliusa dioeca (Roxb.) Chaowasku & Kessler in Chaowasku (2013: 101-105)