Nanocnide japonica Blume

Aoki, Satoshi, Li, Pan, Matsuo, Ayumi, Suyama, Yoshihisa & Ito, Motomi, 2023, Molecular phylogeny and taxonomy of the genus Nanocnide (Urticaceae) with particular attention to the Ryukyu Islands endemic N. lobata, Phytotaxa 607 (1), pp. 23-40 : 35

1. Nanocnide japonica Blume , Mus. Bot. 2: 155. 1856.

Type: — Illustration on Mus. Bot. 2: Tab. XVII (top frame of plate; holotype- digital image!) .

= N. dichotoma S.S. Chien, Contr. Biol. Lab. Chin. Assoc. Advancem. Sci., Sect. Bot. 9(2): 142, f. 16. 1934. Type :— Mainland China. Nanking Shir-er-tung, under cliff, 13 Apr. 1928, R. C. Ching 5144 (holotype, NAS 00297816 digital image!).

Notes on naming and type:—The name of the genus Nanocnide Blume and its contemporarily published species, Nanocnide japonica are in the protologue accompanied by a single description for both of the genus and species (a “description generic-specifica”, which is permitted by Art. 38.5 of the Code ( Turland et al. 2018: 38) to validate the name of a new genus and its single new species. There is an illustration of N. japonica , but no holotype, as defined in the Glossary of the Code is designated and the only original material associated with the protologue is the illustration.

Description:—Perennial herb, up to 30 cm tall. Stems glabrous or covered with appressed hairs, erect before flowering, with hibernating stolons creeping on ground after flowering.Leaves opposite when young, becoming alternate when adult, petiolate; blades flabellate at lower nodes, deltate at higher nodes, up to ca. 4.5 cm long, pubescent or rarely urent triggering slight pain from stinging hairs on adaxial surface, pubescent or glabrous on abaxial surface, apex acute to rounded, base obtuse to truncate, rarely cordate, margin dentate, with 11–16 teeth on edge of largest leaf; petioles pubescent or glabrous, up to 2 cm long, grooved on adaxial surface. Stipules opposite, lanceolate to broadly ovate, ca. 0.1 cm long, persistent. Flowers diclinous. Staminate inflorescence determinate, umbel or dichasium; peduncles elongate above the highest leaves, up to 3.5 cm long; bracts and bractlets normally present, but sometimes absent, membranous, lanceolate, ca. 0.1 cm long. Male flowers perianths strigose, lobes 5, elliptic, margin entire, apex acute, closed and forming turbinate buds when immature, open when mature, upper surface often reddish purple, otherwise green, ca. 0.3 cm in diameter when closed; stamens 5, filaments light yellow, translucent, anthers white; pistillode pentagonal, circularly hollow at center. Pistillate inflorescence determinate umbel, solitary; peduncles glabrous or pilose, almost absent when young, elongate up to 0.4 cm long when mature, blown to swing off fruit. Female flowers: pedicels very short; perianth lobes 4, margin entire, having a spike on apex, unequal in size: two longer ones lance-ovate, cymbiform and two shorter ones lanceolate; ovary asymmetric, laterally compressed, style shorter than 0.5 mm; stigma pilose, white when fresh, brown when dried. Staminate flowers develop in spring, pistillate flowers develop after staminate ones. Achenes flat, ovate, ca. 1.5 mm long, pale yellow, spotted white, covered with tick gel when watered for the first time.

Distribution:—Warm temperate to subtropical regions in East Asia: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Mainland China.

Habitat:—Forest edges or gaps in forests. Considering information from old specimens in Japan and Taiwan, the species was previously common near to villages about one century ago, but currently it is rare around villages.

Representative specimens examined:— Japan. Aichi: Mt. Ishimaki, Toyohashi , 6 Apr. 2018, S. Aoki 647 ( TI) . Mainland China. Zhejiang: Chekiang , 20 Apr. 1934, S. Chen 2857 ( TI) . South Korea. South Chungcheong: Taean, Baekhwasan , 4 May 1913, T. Nakai s.n ( TI) . Taiwan. New-Taipei: Bali , 23 Feb. 2018, S. Aoki 604 ( TI) .