Research Article |
Corresponding author: Chun-Lin Long ( long@mail.kib.ac.cn ) Academic editor: Alan Paton
© 2021 Zhuo Cheng, Qiong Fang, Fei Wang, Chun-Lin Long.
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:
Cheng Z, Fang Q, Wang F, Long C-L (2021) Utricularia lihengiae (Lentibulariaceae), a new species from Northwest Yunnan, China. PhytoKeys 177: 17-24. https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.177.63346
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Utricularia lihengiae, a new species from the Dulongjiang region of northwest Yunnan, China, is here described and illustrated. The new species belongs to the section Oligocista and is similar to U. bifida L. and U. scandens Benj., from which it can be easily distinguished by the dark purple stripe on the corolla. The new species also differs in its shorter inflorescence and the shape of the calyx lobes.
Bladderwort, insectivorous plant, taxonomy, Yunnan Province
Lentibulariaceae is a monophyletic family composed of three carnivorous genera: Utricularia
In his monograph,
Utricularia is the largest carnivorous plant genus and also one of the most widely distributed. The genus is known to occur on every continent except for Antarctica (
Currently, 25 species of Utricularia have been reported in China. Most of them are mainly distributed in the provinces to the south of the Yangtze River. With 13 species, Yunnan has the highest diversity of Utricularia in China (
In August 2019, the authors visited Dulongjiang in Northwest Yunnan, an isolated area of the Eastern Himalayas, to conduct a survey on traditionally used plants and biodiversity associated traditional knowledge (Figure
This study was based on field observations and detailed examinations of herbarium specimens. Herbarium specimens collected from northwest Yunnan were deposited at the Herbarium, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (
U. lihengiae is similar to U. bifida L. (1753: 18), but differs by the inflorescences 2–4 cm long (vs. mostly 10–20 cm long in U. bifida), calyx upper and lower with apex acuminate (vs. calyx upper lobe, apex obtuse, calyx lower lobe, apex rounded or very shortly bifid in U. bifida), 3–5 dark purple stripes on the upper corolla lip, 3 dark purple stripes on lower corolla lip (vs. absent in the upper and lower corolla lip in U. bifida); U. lihengiae is similar to U. scandens Benj. (1847: 309), but differs by the smaller inflorescence 2–4 cm long (vs. mostly 15–35 cm long in U. scandens), peduncle of U. lihengiae is erect (vs. peduncle usually twining in U. scandens), calyx lower lobe with apex acuminate (vs. calyx lower lobe with apex rounded or very shortly bifid in U. scandens), upper calyx lobe of U. lihengiae is shorter than upper corolla lip (vs. upper calyx lobe longer than upper corolla lip in U. scandens), 3–5 dark purple stripes on the upper corolla lip, 3 dark purple stripes on lower corolla lip (vs. absent in the upper and lower corolla lip in U. scandens).
China, Yunnan Province, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Dulongjiang Township, 2844 m a.s.l., 27°50'36"N, 98°27'48"E, 3 September, 2019, Chun Lin Long & Zhuo Cheng DXH066, (holotype:
Morphological comparison among Utricularia lihengiae, U. bifida, and U. scandens.
Character | U. lihengiae | U. bifida | U. scandens |
---|---|---|---|
Inflorescence | erect, 2–4 cm long | erect, mostly 10–20 cm long | erect or twining, mostly 15–35 cm long |
Peduncle | peduncle erect | peduncle usually erect | peduncle usually twining |
Calyx upper lobe | apex acuminate | apex obtuse | apex acuminate |
Calyx lower lobe | apex acuminate | apex rounded or very shortly bifid | apex shortly and acutely bifid |
Calyx upper lobe and upper corolla lip | upper calyx lobe shorter than upper | upper calyx lobe shorter than upper | upper calyx lobe longer than upper |
corolla lip | corolla lip | corolla lip | |
Upper corolla lip | 3–5 dark purple stripes | stripes absent, upper lip slightly constricted below the middle | stripes absent, upper lip constricted below the middle |
Lower corolla lip | 3 dark purple stripes | stripes absent, the base with a prominent rounded swelling | stripes absent, the base distinctly swollen, with 2 or 4 rounded, longitudinal ridges, the apex rounded or obscurely 2–3 crenate |
Small annual herbs. Rhizoids few, capillary, 0.5 cm to 2 cm long, 0.15–0.3 mm thick, with numerous short papillose branches. Stolons few, capillary, branched, up to 4 cm long, ca. 0.2 mm thick, the internodes mostly 2–4 mm long. Leaves few, from the stolon nodes, petiolate, the lamina narrowly linear, with apex rounded or subacute, 1–nerved, 0.5–1 mm wide, total length up to 1.5 cm. Traps rather few on the stolon internodes and leaves, globose, shortly stalked, 0.5–1 mm long, the mouth basal with 2 simple, subulate, reflexed, dorsal appendages and with a ± distinct rounded swelling on the ventral side of the mouth or on the adjacent distal part of the stalk. Inflorescence erect, solitary, simple or rarely sparsely branched, 2–4 cm long; peduncle terete, glabrous, 0.2–0.4 mm thick. Scales few, similar to the bracts. Bracts basifixed, ovate, with apex obtuse to acute, 1–2 mm long, 1–5 nerved. Bracteoles subulate, with apex acute, much shorter than the bract. Flowers 1–2, the raceme axis elongate; pedicels spreading at anthesis, decurved in fruit, capillary, broadly winged, 2–6 mm long. Calyx lobes slightly unequal, broadly ovate, 1–3 mm long, the upper lobe with apex obtuse to acute, the lower lobe slightly smaller with apex obtuse to acute. Corolla yellow, 3–7 mm long; upper lip slightly constricted below the middle, the superior part oblong or oblong–obovate, with apex rounded, bearing 3–5 dark purple stripes on the upper corolla lip, radial, the inferior part broadly ovate–deltoid; lower lip limb galeate, approximately circular, the base with a prominent rounded swelling, the apical margin rounded; palate margin ciliate; 3 dark purple stripes on the lower corolla lip, parallel; spur subulate, with apex acute, curved, about as long as and widely diverging from the lower lip. Filaments straight, 1 mm long, the anther thecae distinct. Ovary ovoid, dorsiventrally compressed; style distinct; stigma lower lip semicircular, the upper lip very short or ± obsolete. Capsule broadly ellipsoid, dorsiventrally compressed, 2.5–3 mm long, the wall uniformly membranous, dehiscing by dorsal and ventral longitudinal slits. Seeds obliquely obovoid, the major end with apex subtruncate, 0.4–0.5 mm long, the testa cells elongate with anticlinal boundaries much raised and longitudinally striate, somewhat sinuate, the periclinal walls tabular, conspicuously longitudinally striate.
The only known locality of this taxon is in Dulongjiang Township, Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Northwest Yunnan, China. The site is located in an open area in a primeval forest dominated by Fagaceae, Magnoliaceae and Ericaceae. The observed population is very small, with fewer than 80 plants growing in the moss amongst damp grass on the roadside, accompanied by the moss Polytrichum commune
Flowering and fruiting occurs from August to November.
Named in honor of Prof. Li Heng, a Chinese botanist who has made significant contributions to the knowledge of the flora of Dulongjiang region.
This species has not been recorded or described so far, and there is only one known site in Dulongjiang region, which is relatively unknown to botanists. In addition, Utricularia lihengiae is very small and has a short flowering period, making it easily overlooked. This species satisfies the IUCN 3.1 Red List CR (Critically Endangered) Criteria B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(i,ii,iii) (
The new species belongs to Utricularia section Oligocista due to the following characters: traps globose, the mouth basal with 2 simple subulate dorsal appendages and leaves linear to obovate (
China, Yunnan Province, Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture, Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, Dulongjiang Township, 2844 m a.s.l., 27°50'36"N, 98°27'48"E, 3 September 2019, Chun Lin Long & Zhuo Cheng DXH066, Chun Lin Long & Zhuo Cheng DXH067, Chun Lin Long & Zhuo Cheng DXH068, Chun Lin Long & Zhuo Cheng DXH069, Chun Lin Long & Zhuo Cheng DXH070 (
CHINA. Guangdong: Renhua County, 16 November 1973, C.J. Huang & Y.T. Zhang 077 (PE); Deqing County, 5 August 1958, Y.G. Liu 01303 (PE), 2 August 1930, J.L. Zuo 22497 (IBK), 6 July 1958, X.G. Li 202078 (IBK). Guangxi: Yongning District, 6 July 1984, Z.Y. Li 10984 (PE); Lingui County, 5 September 1997, G.Z. Li 16229 (PE), 11 October 1958, Y.K Li 402165 (IBK), 19 October 1948, S.G. Li 200104 (IBK). Yunnan, 2 June 1939, M.K. Li 1698 (WUK). Jiangxi, 19 September 1963, J.S. Yue et al. 3983 (IBSC), 26 June 1932, Y. Jiang 9967 (IBSC).
1 | Corolla yellow | 2 |
– | Corolla violet, mauve, lilac, or white | 4 |
2 | Peduncle erect; pedicel strongly recurved in fruit; upper calyx lobe shorter than upper corolla lip, apex obtuse | 3 |
– | Peduncle twining to erect; pedicel erect in fruit; upper calyx lobe longer than upper corolla lip, apex shortly acuminate | U. scandens |
3 | Dark purple stripes in upper corolla lip and lower corolla lip | U. bifida |
– | Stripes absent in upper corolla lip and lower corolla lip | U. lihengiae |
4 | Peduncle twining; pedicel strongly deflexed in fruit | U. foveolata |
– | Peduncle erect; pedicel erect to spreading in fruit | 5 |
5 | Fruiting pedicel as long as or shorter than fruiting calyx; calyx lobes suborbicular in fruit; seeds globose, with isodiametric reticulations; leaf blade 2.5–4.5 cm × 1.5–6 mm | U. uliginosa |
– | Fruiting pedicel much longer than fruiting calyx; calyx lobes ovate in fruit; seeds ovoid to ellipsoid, with elongate reticulations; leaf blade 0.4–2 cm × 0.8–3 mm | U. graminifolia |
We are very grateful to the Dulong (Drung) people of Dulongjiang Township, Yunnan, who guided us to the habitats of Utricularia and continued to send us information in different seasons. Many thanks go to Prof. Zhenyu Li, a respected taxonomist and expert of Lentibulariaceae from the Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, for his confirmation of this new species. We also thank Prof. Guangwan Hu from Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Jun Yang from the Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences for their helpful suggestions. This work was supported by grants from the Biodiversity Survey and Assessment Project of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China (2019HJ2096001006), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31761143001, 31870316), Key Laboratory of Ethnomedicine (Minzu University of China) of Ministry of Education of China (KLEM-ZZ201904 & KLEM-ZZ201906), and Jiansheng Fresh Herb Medicine R & D Foundation (JSYY-20190101-043).