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| Camellia wumingensis S.Ye Liang & C.R.Fu ex Hai L.Chen, in Chen, Wei, Tang et Liu, 2023. |
Abstract
Camellia wumingensis, a neglected species known only from limestone areas of Guangxi, China, is formally described and illustrated here. It is morphologically similar to C. flavida var. patens in having current-year branchlets purplish red, petiole adaxially grooved, flowers axillary or terminal, ovary glabrous, capsule oblate, and seeds brown, but is readily distinguished by the leaf texture and size, number of secondary veins, flower size, flower bud shape and size, number of petals, degree of fusion of the outer filaments, and pericarp thickness. Other related species C. flavida and C. pinguoensis var. terminalis are also compared with C. wumingensis in the paper, and the differences between them are obvious. In addition to a diagnosis and detailed description, information on the geographical distribution, images of morphological characters and pollen grains, and a provisional conservation status assessment are provided for this species.
Keyword: Camellia flavida, Camellia pingguoensis var. terminalis, limestone areas, morphology, palynology, taxonomy
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| Morphological comparison of Camellia wumingensis (A–G) and C. flavida var. patens (H–N). A, H: Leaves with angle between midvein and secondary veins indicated. B, C, I, J: Flower buds; D, K: Stamens; E, L: Petals. F, M: Capsule. G, N: Seeds. Scale bar =1 cm. |
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| Camellia wumingensis S.Ye Liang & C.R.Fu ex Hai L.Chen. A, B, D, E: Flowering branches. C: Face view of flower. F: Back view of flower. G: Androecium. H: Habit. I: Front and back view of sepals. J: Front and back view of petals. K: Gynoecium. Scale bar =1 cm. |
Camellia wumingensis S.Ye Liang & C.R.Fu ex Hai L.Chen, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: Camellia wumingensis is morphologically similar to C. flavida var. patens in having petiole adaxially grooved, flowers axillary or terminal, ovary glabrous, capsule oblate, and seeds brown, but differs by its leaves thinly leathery, 7–11 × 2.5–5 cm (vs. leathery to thick leathery, 7.5–17 × 3–6.2 cm), secondary veins 5– 8, the angle of the midvein and secondary veins relatively narrow, 35°–45° (vs. 7–9, 60°–75°), flower bud ovate to long-ovate, 10–11 × 7–8 mm (vs. globose, 1.4–1.5 cm in diam.), androecium ca. 150 stamens (vs. ca. 250), outer filaments basally connate only 3–5 mm long (vs. 8–10 mm long), and petals 7–9 (vs. 10–14).
Etymology: The species epithet is derived from the name of the type locality Wuming District, Nanning City, Guangxi, China. Sheng Ye firstly provided the name ‘Camellia wumingensis S. Y. Liang & C. R. Fu’ on the herbarium label in the 1980s. At present, this name is still widely used in many fields, though it was invalidly published. Hence we propose to retain original epithet.
Vernacular name: 武鸣金花茶 (wǔ míng jīn huā chá) in Chinese.
Hai-Ling Chen, Su-Juan Wei, Shao-Qing Tang and Yan Liu. 2023. Camellia wumingensis (Theaceae), A neglected Species from Guangxi, China. Taiwania. 68(4); 472-479. taiwania.ntu.edu.tw/abstract/1966
