Research Article |
Corresponding author: Jian-Wen Shao ( shaojw@ahnu.edu.cn ) Academic editor: Lorenzo Peruzzi
© 2021 Si-Yu Zhang, Ying Huang, Pei Zhang, Ke-Run Zhu, Yong-Bing Chen, Jian-Wen Shao.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Zhang S-Y, Huang Y, Zhang P, Zhu K-R, Chen Y-B, Shao J-W (2021) Lycoris wulingensis, a dwarf new species of Amaryllidaceae from Hunan, China. PhytoKeys 177: 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.177.62741
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Lycoris wulingensis S.Y. Zhang, a new species from Hunan Province (central South China), is described and illustrated. This new species is a fertile diploid plant and its karyotype is 2n = 22. It is most similar to L. × haywardii in morphology, but the latter is a hybrid species and distributed in East China and the plant is much larger. Amongst the original species, L. wulingensis is similar to L. radiata, but differs from it in its flowers being rose-red (vs. red) and stamens and tepals are nearly the same length (vs. stamens significantly longer than tepals).
Amaryllidaceae, China, Lycoris wulingensis, morphology, taxonomy
Lycoris Herb. (Amaryllidaceae) is a genus distributed only in Asia, including about 24 species, 19 of which are distributed in China, which is the distribution centre of this genus (
Although there were 43 taxa names of Lycoris in the International Plant Name Index (IPNI, https://www.ipni.org/),
During the long-term investigation and collection of Chinese Lycoris plant resources over many years, we accidentally discovered this dwarf unique Lycoris in the Wuling Mountains area (Hunan Province) in 2016. After four years of observation and cultivation, we confirm that it is a new species and it is described here.
To observe and compare morphology characters, about 270 bulbs from nine populations (Table
Code | Locations | Altitude | |
---|---|---|---|
L. wulingensis | |||
A1 | Matouxi Village, Yongding District, Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province | 276 m | |
A2 | Xiejiapu Village, Shimen County, Changde City, Hunan Province | 75 m | |
A3 | Fawang Village, Taoyuan County, Changde City, Hunan Province | 52 m | |
L. × haywardii | |||
B1 | Heyi Village, Beilun District, Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province | 30 m | |
B2 | Shanjuan Village, Yixing City, Wuxi City, Jiangsu Province | 59 m | |
B3 | Shanhu Village, Linhai City, Zhejiang Province | 18 m | |
L. radiata | |||
C1 | Luogongpo Village, Wulingyuan District, Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province | 286 m | |
C2 | Luojiarong Village, Taoyuan County, Changde City, Hunan Province | 52 m | |
C3 | Shanbanqiao Village, Linli County, Changde City, Hunan Province | 92 m |
China. Hunan, Zhangjiajie County, Wangjiaping Town, Matouxi Village, 29°0'54.7"N, 110°48'3.7"E, under broad-leaved forest, beside the water ditch, 276 m a.s.l., 22 August 2020, S.Y. Zhang, ZSY202008001 (holotype: ANUB; isotypes: PE, KUN).
Most similar to L. × haywardii, but differs from it by smaller plant and flower sizes (Figs
Comparison the morphology and distribution of Lycoris wulingensis and its related species.
Characters | L. wulingensis | L. × haywardii | L. radiata |
---|---|---|---|
Leaf | 15–27 cm long, 3–5 (mean = 4.0) mm broad | 40–55 cm long, 8–12 mm broad | 25–45 cm long, 5–10 mm broad |
Bulb | 2–3 cm in diameter | 3.5–5.5 cm in diameter | 3–4.5 cm in diameter |
Scape | 25–30 cm tall, 4–6 mm in diameter | 40–50 cm tall, 8–12 mm in diameter | 35–40 cm tall, 6–9 mm in diameter |
Flower | Flower rose-red, tepals 2.5–2.8 cm long, apex slightly reversed and slightly undulate, stamen 3–3.5 cm long. | Flower rose-red, tepals 4.5–6 cm long, apex slightly reversed and slightly undulate, stamen 6–8 cm long. | Flower red, tepals 3–3.5 cm long, strongly reversed and undulate, stamen 6–8 cm long. |
Distribution | North-western Hunan (China) | Southeast Anhui, Southern Jiangsu, Eastern Zhejiang (China) | Southeast Asia; Southwest, South and East China; Japan; South Korea |
Perennial herb. Bulbs nearly spherical, 2–3 cm in diameter, covered brown epidermis, with fine lines on the epidermis. Leaves ligulate, often 4–7, blunt apex, appearing in mid-September, 15–27 cm long, 3–5 mm wide; upper surface dark green, mid-vein distinctly pale; bottom surface light green with a raised mid-rib. Inflorescence scapose, 25–30 cm high, green or reddish-brown; 2 spathe bracts, lanceolate, 2–2.5 cm long, 5–7 mm wide, semi-closed to wrap the bud; 3–7 flowers per umbels, pedicels 1.5–2 cm long, diameter 1.5–2 mm; flowers rose-red; perianth lobes oblanceolate, 2.5–2.8 cm long, about 5 mm wide, apex slightly reversed and undulate; floral tubes light red, about 3 mm long. Filaments 3–3.5 cm long, rose-red, slightly longer than tepals, anther yellow, 2–3 mm long; pistil length 4–4.5 cm, middle and lower part diameter 0.8 mm, rose-red, apex diameter about 0.4 mm, dark-red. Ovary 4 mm in diameter, spherical and green. Capsules three-lobed, green or pale when mature; seeds black, spherical, 5–7 mm in diameter.
Lycoris wulingensis is distributed in the east of Wuling Mountains and its surrounding areas, such as Cili, Linli, Li, Taoyuan and Yongding Counties (Fig.
Lycoris wulingensis is partial to grow on the edge of forest roads, farmland or riverside beaches, usually under deciduous trees (such as Alangium chinense and Pterocarya stenoptera) and accompanied by Pinellia ternata, Commelina communis, Arthraxon hispidus and Ophiopogon bodinieri etc. The surrounding residents sometimes cultivate it as an ornamental plant.
武陵石蒜 [wǔ líng shí suàn].
The specific epithet comes from its distribution area of the Wuling Mountains, which is an important biodiversity hotspot in South Central China.
2n = 22 (Fig.
This species can reproduce asexually by duplication of bulbs (1.5–2 times per year) and can also sexually reproduce through seeds.
Compared with other species in the Lycoris, the distribution range of Lycoris wulingensis is relatively narrow. Based on preliminary investigation, we found only four large populations and some sporadic distribution points. However, considering the lack of in-depth investigation and also considering that some populations may occur in other similar habitats, we classified its conservation status as Data Deficient (DD), according to the IUCN Red List Criteria (
After four years of cultivation and observation, we found that the plant size of Lycoris wulingensis was consistently small (Figs
Comparison and variation of leaf width and length, bulb diameter and tepal length (flower size) of L. wulingensis (A1–A3), L. × haywardii (B1–B3) and L. radiata (C1–C3). In the boxplot, the horizontal line shows the median, the bottom and top of the box show the first and third quartiles. Boxplot marked with different letters differ significantly (post hoc test, P < 0.05).
Initially, we speculated that L. wulingensis was a haploid type of L. radiata and its dwarfism characters were possibly induced by the loss of half of its chromosomes. However, its chromosome number is 2n = 22 (Fig.
We are grateful to Yang Hu and Meng-han Wei for their assistance in sampling. This work was supported by China’s National Basic Science and Technology Program (2019FY101810).