Saturday, January 7, 2023

[Botany • 2023] Pueraria omeiensis (Fabaceae: Phaseoleae) • A New Species from Southwest China

 

 Pueraria omeiensis F.T. Wang & Tang ex B. Pan bis, W.B. Yu & R.T. Corlett, 

in Pan, Yao, Corlett & Yu, 2023.
   峨眉葛  || taiwania.NTU.edu.tw/abstract/1904  

Abstract
Pueraria omeiensis (Fabaceae, Phaseoleae) is a new species described and validly published in this study. Morphologically, it resembles Pueraria bouffordii, P. montana, and P. xyzhuii, but it differs in having densely lenticellate stems and round to suborbicular terminal leaflets. The molecular phylogeny also supported it as a distinct species. This climber occurs in montane forests of Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan, and it is here evaluated as Least Concern (LC) according to IUCN criteria.

Keyword: Leguminosae, Phaseoleae, Pueraria bouffordii, Pueraria montana, Pueraria xyzhuii, Pueraria edulis

Illustration of Pueraria omeiensis F.T. Wang & Tang ex B. Pan bis, W.B. Yu & R.T. Corlett.
 A: Flower. B: Stipule. C: Stipels. D: Hirsute branch with dense lenticels. E: Flowering branch. F: Seed. G: Densely hirsute fruit. H: Cross section of branch, showing lateral compressed stem. I: Infructescence. J: Calyx and bracteoles. K: Standard. L: Wings. M: Keels. N: Pistil. O: Stamens.
Illustrated by Bo Pan based on materials from type locality.

Morphology of Pueraria omeiensis F.T. Wang & Tang ex B. Pan bis, W.B. Yu & R.T. Corlett.
 A: Habitat. B: Flowers. C: Inflorescence. D: Abaxial surface of leaf. E: Infructescence. F: Lenticellate branch. G: Flower dissection (a: Calyx & bracteoles; b: Standard; c: Wings; d: Keels; e: Pistil & stamens). H: Fruits (a & b), seeds (c), & cross sections of branches (d).
(Photos: A by JinChao Yang, B by Si-Rong Yi, C by Ce-Hong Li, D–H by Bo Pan)

Pueraria omeiensis F.T. Wang & Tang ex B. Pan bis, W.B. Yu & R.T. Corlett, sp. nov.
 峨眉葛 

 Type: CHINA. Sichuan: Mt. Emei, Linggongli, on roadside bushes, 1300 m, 9 September 2020, Bo Pan 3818 (holotype: HITBC!).
 Pueraria omeiensis F.T. Wang & Tang, 1955 
In: Flora Illustralis Plantarum Primarum Sinicarum, Leguminosae, pp: 679–680. 
a name not validly published contrary to Article 39.1 (Turland et al., 2018).

 Diagnosis: Pueraria omeiensis is morphologically similar to P. montana, but it can be distinguished by the round (vs. ovate) terminal leaflet, densely lenticellate (vs. not lenticellate) branches, and calyx lobes nearly equal in length (vs. the lowest lobe the longest). P. omeiensis also resembles P. bouffordii but differs by the bluish purple corolla (vs. white or pink), and unlobed leaflet (vs. shallowly lobed).

Distribution and habitat: P. omeiensis is widely distributed in Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, and Yunnan, SW China (Fig. 4). It climbs on the montane forests or thickets at an elevation of 300–2200 m.

Etymology: The epithet refers to Mt. Emei, the type locality, where this plant is common. This name was widely adopted in Southwest China, because locals collect the tubers for medicine (Huang, 2017; Sang and Min, 2000; Sang et al., 2002), though previously it was not validly published. Here we adopt this name rather than giving a new name for convenience. The Chinese name is the translation of the scientific name.  


Bo Pan, Xin Yao, Richard T. Corlett and Wen-Bin Yu. 2023. Pueraria omeiensis (Fabaceae), A New Species from Southwest China. Taiwania. 68(1): 31‒38. DOI: 10.6165/tai.2023.68.31


ที่