Aspidistra pingfaensis S.Z.He & Q.W.Sun, 2014

Sun, Qing-Wen, Xu, Wen-Fen & He, Shun-Zhi, 2014, A New Species of Aspidistra (Asparagaceae) from Guizhou, China, Phytotaxa 178 (1), pp. 33-37 : 33

Aspidistra pingfaensis S.Z.He & Q.W.Sun sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 , 2 )

Type: — China, Guizhou province, Guiding Country, Pingfa Township , under the shrub beside the valley, elevation ca. 780 m, 3 October. 2008, S . Z . He et al. 081003 (holotype, HGCM!) .

Herbs perennial, rhizome creeping, subterete, 5−8 mm thick, covered with scales. Roots elongate. Leaf sheaths 3−5, purple-red, 5−12 cm, enclosing the base of leaves, fibrous when withered. Leaves solitary, 1.3−2.5 cm apart, leaf blade linear, 45−65 × 2−2.8 cm, apex gradually acuminate, base gradually narrowed into petiole, middle and upper margin sparsely thin denticulate, leaf blade slightly spotted with yellow-white; Petiole 8−26 cm. Peduncle 1.5−3.5 cm, bracts 3−4, broadly ovate, purple-red, 7−9 × 6−7 mm. Flower solitary, erect; Perigone campanulate, 1.5−1.7 cm tall and 1.2−1.6 cm across, 8-lobed, perigone tube 1.1−1.3 cm in length, 1.2−1.6 cm in diameter, yellowish-white outside, deep purple inside except the white base, lobes narrow triangular, 4−6 mm long and ca. 2 mm wide at base, purple inside and outside, somewhat outcurved; Stamens 8, inserted at ca. 4 mm above base of tube, filament ca. 0.8 mm in length, horizontally protruding, anthers oblong, ca. 1.6 × 1 mm, facing the ovary; Pistil 7−8 mm in length, ovary and style light yellow, ovary coniform and swelled obviously, diameter 4−5 mm, style gradually widened to stigma, stigma peltate, purple-red, ca. 8−9 mm in diameter, 8−lobed at margin, the center slightly concave with 4 whitish radiate bifurcating lines; pollen spherical, with verrucose ornamentation on the surface. Berry is subspherical, 1−1.4 cm high, 0.8−1.2 cm in diameter, with small spines. Flowering phase: October to November; Fruiting phase: September to October next year.

Distribution and Habitat: —The species grows under shrubs on valley slopes, at the height of 780− 790 m. Distributed in Pingfa Township, Guiding Country, Guizhou province, China.

Additional specimen examined (paratype): — Pingfa Township , Guiding Country, Guizhou Province, China, 3 October. 2008, S . Z . He et al. 081002 ( HGCM!) .

Taxonomic relationships: —The new species is similar to Aspidistra fasciaria Li (1999: 484) , Aspidistra ebianensis Lang & Zhu (1999: 492) , Aspidistra leyeensis Wan & Huang (1987: 219) . The major differences among these species, which are illustrated in Table 1, lie in the hairiness of the perigone tube, the location of stamens insertion, the shape of the ovary, and the upper surface characters of the stigma.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Aspidistra pingfaensis sp. nov. (A) Plant habit; (B) Flower; (C) Longitudinal profile of a flower; (D) Pistil lateral view; (E) Stigma apical view; (F) Fruit. Drawn by Qing-Wen Sun, based on Shun-Zhi He 081003 (holotype HGCM!).

FIGURE 2. Aspidistra pingfaensis sp. nov. (A) Habitat; (B) Habit (plant); (C) Plant (cultivation); (D) Flower; (E) Longitudinal profile of a flower (showing stamen); (F) Longitudinal profile of a flower (showing pistil); (G) Pistil lateral view; (H) Stigma apical view; (I) Stigma dorsal view; (J) Flower bud; (K) Fruit; (L−M) Pollen; (N) Pollen surface ornamentation.