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| Oreocharis oriolus J. Hu & F. Wen in Hu, Zhang, He, Yu, Jiang, Liu et Wen, 2023. |
Abstract
Oreocharis oriolus, a new species of Gesneriaceae in a sclerophyllous oak community from Yunnan, Southwest China, is described and illustrated. Morphologically, it resembles both O. forrestii and O. georgei, while it is distinct in combined characters of wrinkled leaves, peduncle and pedicel covered with whitish and egladular villous hairs, bract lanceolate and nearly glabrescent adaxially, and staminode absent. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) and chloroplast DNA fragment (trnL-F) of 61 congeneric species also supported O. oriolus as a new species while it was nested with O. delavayi. It was currently assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ (CR) regarding to its small-sized population and narrow distribution following the IUCN categories and criteria.
Keywords: endemic species, Flora of China, Gesneriaceae, Oreocharis forrestii, Oreocharis georgei phylogeny, taxonomy
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| Oreocharis oriolus J. Hu & F. Wen (a) Habitat; (b) A subpopulation; (c) Cyme and indumentum of peduncle; (d) Infructescence of previous year; (e and f) Habit; (g-1) Adaxial leaf surface; (g-2) Abaxial leaf surface; (h-1) Side view of cyme; (h-2) Front view of cyme; (i-1) Side view of flower; (i-2, i-3, i-4) Flowers at different opening stages; (j-1) Side view of ovary; (j-2) Front view of ovary; (k) Opened corolla, showing stamens and staminodes; (l-1) Front view of corolla; (l-2) Side view of corolla; (m-1) Abaxial surface of calyx; (m-2) Inner surface of calyx. |
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| Oreocharis oriolus J. Hu & F. Wen (a) Habit; (b) Abaxial leaf; (c) Cyme; (d) Calyx; (e) Fertile stamens (left four) and a staminode (right). Drawn by Yu-Jie Chen. |
Oreocharis oriolus J. Hu & F. Wen, sp. nov.
Diagnosis: It is morphologically similar to Oreocharis forrestii, but it can be distinguished from the latter in bracts lanceolate (vs. linear to linear-lanceolate) and adaxial surface glabrescent to nearly glabrous (vs. sparsely rust-brown villous or pubescent), pedicel sparsely brownish pubescent (vs. villous and glandular-pubescent), calyx lobes glabrescent to nearly glabrous on abaxial surfaces (vs. sparsely pubescent and glandular-puberulent), anthers ovate-triangle to nearly triangle (vs. broadly oblong).
Etymology: The brightly yellow flowers of this new species reminisced about the lively birds oriole (Oriolus oriolus), and the epithet is here used as a noun in apposition. Its Chinese name, Huáng Lí Mǎ Líng Jù Taí (黄鹂马铃苣苔), is also taken this envision.
Jun Hu, Jun-Yi Zhang, Hai He, Ding-Xiang Yu, Hong Jiang, Qing Liu and Fang Wen. 2023. Oreocharis oriolus, A New Species of Gesneriaceae in a sclerophyllous Oak Community from Yunnan, Southwest China. Ecology and Evolution. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10174
