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| Primula undulifolia G. Hao, C.M. Hu & Y. Xu, in Xu, Yu, Hu et Hao, 2016. |
Abstract
A new species of Primulaceae, Primula undulifolia, is described from the hilly area of Hunan province in south-central China. Its morphology and distributional range suggest that it is allied to P. kwangtungensis, both adapted to subtropical climate, having contiguous distribution and similar habitat, growing on shady and moist cliffs. Petioles, scapes and pedicels of them are densely covered with rusty multicellular hairs, but the new species can be easily distinguished by its smaller flowers and narrowly oblong leaves with undulate margins. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on four DNA markers (ITS, matK, trnL-F and rps16) confirmed the new species as an independent lineage and constitutes a main clade together with P. kwangtungensis, P. kweichouensis, P. wangii and P. hunanensis of Primula sect. Carolinella.
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| Fig 2. Primula undulifolia sp. nov. (A) Plant; (B) Short-styled Flower; (C) Long-styled Flower; (D) Calyx. Drawn by Yunxiao LIU, from the holotype. |
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| Fig 3. Primula undulifolia sp. nov. (A) Habit in Flowering; (B) Type Locality; (C) Calyx; (D) Pin and Thrum Flowers; (E) Leaf. Photographed by Yuan XU. |
Primula undulifolia G. Hao, C.M. Hu & Y. Xu, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: At first sight the new species seems to be some variants of P. obconica Hance, but the calyptrate capsule clearly shows that its true affinity is with the species of section Carolinella, and the most closely related species is P. kwangtungensis, but the new species can be easily distinguished from P. kwangtungensis by its smaller flowers and narrowly oblong leaves with undulate margins.
Etymology The species epithet “undulifolia” refers to the leaf margin of the new species with wavy and shallow undulations.
Yuan Xu, Xun-Lin Yu, Chi-Ming Hu and Gang Hao. 2016. Morphological and Molecular Phylogenetic Data Reveal A New Species of Primula (Primulaceae) from Hunan, China. PLoS ONE. 11(8): e0161172. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161172
