﻿Viciamingyueshanensis (Fabeae, Papilionoideae, Fabaceae), a new species from western Jiangxi, China

﻿Abstract Viciamingyueshanensis, a new species from the Mingyue Mountain Region of western Jiangxi, China, is described and illustrated. It is a perennial climbing liana that always links to riparian woods. A morphological comparison indicated that the new species is closely similar to Viciataipaica K. T. Fu and Viciadichroantha Diels; however, it differs from the other two species by several salient characters, such as plant indumentum, stipule shape, corolla colour, bractlet shape and calyx shape. Photographs, a preliminary conservation assessment, table of morphological characters and distribution map comparing this new species to two morphologically-similar species are also provided.

Turland 2010). Over many years, due to its high biological yield and high content of the crude protein within a short growth period, Vicia is considered with potential value as forage and it is extensively planted globally (Maršalkienė 2016).
During field surveys carried out in May 2019, a population of a perennial Vicia species was discovered in the Mingyue Mountain Region (Jiangxi Province, China). Detailed comparisons showed that the specimens and living plant materials were different from the type of specimens and protologues of some related known Vicia species. Moreover, the shapes of its leaf and rhizomes were most similar to those of Vicia taipaica K. T. Fu and Vicia dichroantha Diels. The three species are perennial herbs with branched stems that climb by means of tendrils on the ends of their paripinnate leaves. However, the new species can easily be distinguished from the latter two by several morphological characters (Table 1).
On the basis of careful investigations of herbarium specimens and living material and after the observation and cultivation in two years, the new species Vicia mingyueshanensis is described in this paper. The genus Vicia is divided into two large subgenera, subgen. Cracca and subgen. Vicia. Due to the perennial herbaceous and climbing habit of the new species, as well as the presence of tendrils, it belongs to subgen. Cracca.

Materials and methods
This study was mainly based on field surveys, the detailed examinations of herbarium specimens and literature. Herbarium specimens were examined in PE, KUN Diagnosis. Sepal lobes and bractlets, completely glabrous. Most similar to Vicia taipaica, but differs from it by its hastate or lanceolate stipules and subulate bractlets (stipules semi-ovate or lanceolate and bractlets absent in Vicia taipaica). Similar to Vicia dichroantha as well, but differs from it by the light yellow or dull orange colour of the corolla and subulate bractlet (yellow, dark yellow or dull orange corolla, marked purple at apex of standard and braclets, absent in Vicia dichroantha). The new species is restricted to western Jiangxi Province (Figs 1, 2, Table 1).
Etymology. The species epithet is derived from the name of the mountain range (Mingyueshan) where the species had been discovered. Preliminary conservation assessment. Vicia mingyueshanensis is currently only known from a small population in a habitat that is subject to logging and disturbance, thus, it is very rare and distributed in a few patches. On the basis of our field observa-tions, this species is represented by no more than 200 large and mature individuals, along a road where bamboo was being cut. Due to its rarity and a low number of individuals, Vicia mingyueshanensis is considered to be Critically Endangered (CR, B1), according to the IUCN (2019).