Aspidistra austroyunnanensis G.W.Hu, Lei Cai & Q.F.Wang, 2018

Cai, Lei, Peng, Shuai, Tian, Jing, Dao, Zhi-Ling, Wei, Neng, Hu, Guang-Wan & Wang, Qing-Feng, 2018, Aspidistra austroyunnanensis (Asparagaceae), a new species from southern Yunnan, China, Phytotaxa 356 (3), pp. 233-237 : 233-236

Aspidistra austroyunnanensis G.W.Hu, Lei Cai & Q.F.Wang , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 & 2 )

Aspidistra austroyunnanensis is similar to A. tonkinensis , but differs in having conspicuous midvein and secondary veins on lamina, longer (4.5–8 cm) peduncle, urceolate perigone tube, 2–3 mm thick fleshy perigone wall, only 4–6- mm-long broadly triangular-ovate perigone lobes, protuberant and flat connective, discoid stigma.

Type:— CHINA. Yunnan Province: Maguan County, Gulinqing Township, Bojia Village, Shenjiatian, under evergreen forest, 22°44′16″N, 103°59′31″E, elev. 790 m a.s.l., 21 November 2017, L. Cai & P. Zhang CL-054 (holotype: HIB!, isotypes: HIB!, KIB!)

Perennial evergreen herb, 40−80 cm tall. Rhizome creeping, subterete, 6−15 mm in diameter, with internodes 5−25 mm long. Leaf sheaths 4−5, brown, 2−13 cm long. Foliage leaf solitary on each node of rhizome, 2−3 terminal ones very close to each other and forming a tuft, distinctly divided into petiole and lamina; petiole stiffly erect, adaxially sulcate, 20−50 cm long; lamina light green, sometimes with whitish spots, oblong-elliptical to widely lanceolate, 15−25 × 5−7 cm, midvein and secondary veins conspicuous, protruding abaxially and sunken adaxially, apex acuminate, base cuneate. Flowers arising from the nodes of apical part of rhizome. Peduncle 4.5−8 cm long, light green with purple dots, bracts 4−5, pale green, sometimes purplish, ovate, apex obtuse, 2 or 3 at the base of flower. Flower solitary at the top of peduncle. Perigone urceolate, 2−2.5 cm long, the widest part at base ca. 2 cm in diameter, perigone mouth ca. 15 mm in diameter; perigone tube 18−22 mm in length, fleshy, 2−3 mm thick, outside white, with vertical grooves, inside purple-red except white at bottom; perigone lobes 6, adaxially white, sometimes virescent, broadly ovate-triangular, 4–6 mm long, 10−13 mm broad at base, extended to incurved, apex rounded or obtuse, each with two or three inconspicuous keels. Stamens 6, inserted at the basal fourth of perigone tube, posited lower than stigma; filament 2–3 mm long, white; connective conspicuously protuberant, flat, elliptical, ca. 2 mm high, 1.5 mm broad; anthers oblong-elliptical, incurved. Pistil mushroom-shaped, 12–15 mm long, stigma discoid, suborbicular, upper surface slightly convex, white, lower surface white with red-purple spots, margin 3-lobed, lobe apex emarginate or concave, sometimes with red-purple spots. Fruit globose, with soft spines.

Distribution and ecology:— Aspidistra austroyunnanensis is currently known only from the type locality in Maguan County, southeast Yunnan, China. It grows on shaded slopes consisted of karst landform under the evergreen broad-leaved forests.

Etymology:—The specific epithet “ austroyunnanensis ” refers to the type locality in southern Yunnan. The Chinese name is “ ạfflệüffiǻ ” (Diān Nán Zhī Zhū Bào Dàn).

Phenology:—The new species was observed in flowering and with immature fruits in November.

Taxonomic relationships:— Aspidistra austroyunnanensis is similar to A. tonkinensis (Gagnepain 1934: 190) F.T.Wang & K.Y.Lang in Lang (1978: 77) and A. fungilliformis Wan (1984: 165) . They all have large perigone tube and mushroom-shaped stigma, petiolate leaf and similar shape of the lamina. Aspidistra austroyunnanensis is similar to A. tokinensis also in perigone colour and vertical grooves on the outside of perigone tube. The major differences among these three Aspidistra species are in the length of peduncle, the colour and shape of perigone, the number and shape of perigone lobes, the shape of stamens, the shape and colour of stigma. At first, we regarded Aspidistra formosa Aver. & Tillich in Averyanov et al. (2017: 48) as the most similar species of this new plant. Aspidistra formosa was originally described as a subspecies of A. fungilliformis Y.Wan and published in 2008 ( Tillich & Averyanov 2008). In 2017, Averyanov & Tillich promoted it to species rank and provided a figure with detailed photos of the plants from Vietnam (Averyanov & Tillich 2017). Cooperated with a Chinese botanist (C. R. Lin), they merged it into A. tonkinensis and treated A. formosa as a synonym of A. tonkinensis ( Tillich et al. 2017) . Nevertheless, the figure that was provided by Averyanov & Tillich (2017: 49) showed clear details of flower structure of A. tonkinesis (= A. formosa ) even better than its type specimens. With the aid of this figure, we compared our collections with A. tonkinesis (= A. formosa ) and found differences easily. As a result, we were encouraged to describe our collections as a new species which was related to A. tonkinesis .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aspidistra austroyunnanensis. (A) habit; (B) flower; (C) longitudinal section of a flower (showing stamens and pistil); (D) longitudinal section of a flower (showing stigma and stamens); (E) pistil; (F) stigma from apical view; (G) stigma from abaxial view; (H) stamen from frontal view; (I) stamen from lateral view. Scale bars: A = 10 cm, B–D = 1 cm, E–G = 5 mm, H–I = 1 mm. Drawn by Nan Jia.

FIGURE 2. Aspidistra austroyunnanensis. (A–B) plant in nature habit; (C) rhizome; (D–H) flower; (I) longitudinal section of a flower (showing stamens and pistil); (J) longitudinal section of a flower (showing stigma and stamens); (K) stamen from lateral view; (L) stamen from frontal view; (M) stigma from abaxial view; (N) stigma from apical view. Scale bars: A, B = 10 cm, C–J, M–N = 1 cm, K–L = 1 mm.