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| Prunus sunhangii D. G. Zhang & T. Deng
in Zhang, Jiang, Yusupov, et al., 2019.
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Abstract
A new species of Rosaceae from Central China, Prunus sunhangii D. G. Zhang & T. Deng, sp. nov., is described and illustrated. The new species is placed in Prunus subgenus Cerasus by flower and fruit characteristics. It is most similar to Prunus cerasoides, but differs by having longitudinally 2-lobed apical petals, an acuminate leaf apex, 17–25 stamens, white petals, dark black drupes, brown hypanthium, and different phenology. The phylogenetic placement of this species was assessed based on morphological and molecular data. Molecular analysis (cpDNA + ITS) corroborated its placement in subgenus Cerasus, specifically Prunus section Serrula.
Keywords: Phylogenetic analyses, Taxonomy, Cerasus, Section Serrula
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| Fig. 2. Illustration of Prunus sunhangii D. G. Zhang & T. Deng sp. nov. (A) Fruiting shoot; (B) Leaf, showing abaxial indumentums; (C) Flower, showing with pistil and stamens; (D–E) Fruit, showing with pedicel. |
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| Fig. 1. Living images of Prunus sunhangii D. G. Zhang & T. Deng sp. nov. (A) Habitat; (B) Stem; (C) Leaf, showing abaxial indumentums; (D) Inflorescence; (E–F) Opening white flower: front and back side; (G) Ripe fruit.
Scale bars: 1 cm in C, D, E, F, G.
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Prunus sunhangii D. G. Zhang & T. Deng, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: P. sunhangii is easily differentiated from P. cerasoides by its apically longitudinally 2-lobed petals and other features: white flowers, black drupe, stamens number (17–25), brown hypanthium and with phenology.
Distribution and habitat — P. sunhangii is restricted to the Wuling Mountains in South China, which is a center of the Metasequoia Flora (Chen et al., 2017). Plants were growing on limestone soil, scattered along a slope adjoining the valley at 300–600 m in Hunan province and at 1000–1200 m in Hubei province (Fig. 4).
Etymology – The epithet of the new species refers to the chinese botanist Prof. Hang Sun, who made a significant contribution to our knowledge of the flora of China.
Vernacular name - Chinese mandarin: Sūn Háng Yīng (孙航樱).
Xiaoshuang Zhang, Zhilin Jiang, Ziyoviddin Yusupov, Menghua Zhang, Daigui Zhang, Komiljon Tojibaev, Ying Meng and Tao Deng. 2019. Prunus sunhangii: A New Species of Prunus from central China. Plant Diversity. 41(1); 19-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2019.01.003
