Three New Species of Elatostema (Urticaceae) from Guangxi
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TERMS OF USE This pdf is provided by Magnolia Press for private/research use. Commercial sale or deposition in a public library or website is prohibited. Phytotaxa 147 (1): 1–12 (2013) ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition) www.mapress.com/phytotaxa/ Article PHYTOTAXA Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Press ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.147.1.1 Additions to the Flora of China: three new species of Elatostema (Urticaceae) from Guangxi YI-GANG WEI1, A.K. MONRO2,4* & WEN-TSAI WANG3 1Guangxi Institute of Botany, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN-541006 Guilin, China 2Herbarium, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, TW9 3AB, United Kingdom. E-mail: [email protected] 3State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, CN-100093 Beijing, China 4Life Sciences Department, The Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, United Kingdom. * Author for correspondence Abstract Three new species are described and illustrated and their conservation status assessed: Elatostema laevicaule W.T. Wang, A.K. Monro & Y.G. Wei, E. androstachyum W.T. Wang, A.K. Monro & Y.G. Wei and E. heterocladum W.T. Wang, A.K. Monro & Y.G. Wei. All are rare endemic species from Guangxi Province, China, and are only known only from their type localities. E. laevicaule is most similar to E. filipes and is assessed as Vulnerable (VU), E. androstachyum is most similar to E. parvum and is assessed as Vulnerable (VU); E. heterocladum is most similar to both E. androstachyum and E. luxiense and is assessed as Vulnerable (VU). Introduction Elatostema J.R. Forster & G. Forster (1775: 53; Urticaceae) consists of understory herbs and subshrubs that occur in the deep shade of forests, stream sides, gorges and caves. Elatostema occurs throughout tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia, Australia, and Oceania but is notably absent from the Neotropics. In Southeast Asia the genus is most diverse on limestone karst (Yahara 1984, Lahav–Ginott & Cronk 1993, Wang & Chen 1995, Qi et al. 2003). Elatostema appears to be of little economic use although several species are used in combination with other plants in traditional folk medicine in Southeast Asia and the Pacific (Bourdy & Walter 1992, Nandwani et al. 2008, He et al. 1991). Elatostema forms part of a complex of genera which includes Elatostematoides Robinson (1911: 497), Pellionia Gaudichaud in Freycinet (1830: 494) and Procris Commerson ex Jussieu in Jussieu (1789: 403) whose generic limits are difficult to define. Of these, Elatostema is the oldest name (Forster 1775). Elatostematoides has not been widely recognized or used since its description by Robinson (1911) and is widely treated as Elatostema (Friis 1989). There is however little consensus as to the delimitation of Elatostema, Pellionia and Procris. Disagreement has centred on the use and interpretation of two main suites of characters, inflorescence branching morphology and staminate flower perianth morphology. The recent incorporation of DNA sequence data from the plastid genome (Hadiah et al. 2003, Wu et al. 2013.) has done little to resolve generic delimitation. To date, 1121 species names of the Elatostema complex of genera (Elatostema, Elatostematoides, Pellionia and Procris) have been published (IPNI 2013) and current published species estimates range from 250 (Chew 1989) to 400 species (Yahara 1984). Assuming levels of synonymy of only 10% as for Pilea (Monro 2004), a genus with similar habit and habitat, the species number could be ca 1000. Within China 210 species are reported and of these 64 have been described subsequent to the Flora of China treatment of 2003 (Duan & Lin 2010, Lin & Duan 2008, Lin et al. 2011, Wang 2003, 2006, 2010a, Accepted by Libing Zhang: 27 Sept. 2013; published: 20 Nov. 2013 1 TERMS OF USE This pdf is provided by Magnolia Press for private/research use. Commercial sale or deposition in a public library or website is prohibited. 2010b, 2011, 2012, Wang & Wei 2007, 2008, Wei & Wang 2009a, 2009b, 2011a, 2011b, lWei. 2011, et a 2012, Wu et al. 2011a, 2011b, 2012, Yang et al. 2011). As part of botanical surveys of Guangxi conducted by the authors in recent years three hitherto undescribed species have been collected. These are described and illustrated here. These species are described from single collections. Describing species based on a single or only two collections is problematic and ill- advised as there is no estimate of variation within the species and so the risk of recognising too many species is increased. This is compounded in Floras such as China’s where there is a tradition of describing species from single collections as the most closely related species may also only be known from a single collection. Despite the above we have decided to describe the species in this manuscript as we feel confident based on morphological species concepts that this material represents distinct species. In addition we feel that given China’s fast changing landscape and the fragility of many of the localities that to describe the species now affords the best hope for their documentation and subsequent conservation. Materials and methods Herbarium specimens were compared with the collections at K, IBK, PE and BM. A morphological species concept is used that was developed as part of previous taxonomic research (Wei et al. 2011). Material was examined under a Changfang XTL-240 binocular microscope and Planapo lens at ×14 to ×90 magnification and ca 130 observations made for each taxon. Conservation Assessments were undertaken using IUCN criteria (IUCN 2001). Species localities were plotted on Google Earth and the nature of the vegetation cover, urbanization and road proximity surrounding sites, combined with observations in the field were used as indicators of plausible future threats. Given the restricted distributions and populations of these species Criteria D was applied in all cases. Although for many assessments criteria D1, the number of mature individuals observed would have sufficed we decided that given the naturally restricted size of a cave or gorge dwelling population that criteria D1 should only be applied in combination with criteria D2, which includes the qualification of plausible threat. Criteria D2, ‘Restricted area of occupancy or number of locations with a plausible future threat that could drive the taxon to Critically Endangered or Extinct in a very short time’ (IUCN 2001). Elatostema laevicaule W.T. Wang, A.K. Monro & Y.G. Wei, sp. nov. (Fig. 1A–C) Most similar to Elatostema filipes from which it can be distinguished by the length and shape of the stipules, the number and shape of the bracts subtending the staminate receptacle and the shape of the staminate bracteoles. Type:—CHINA. Guangxi: Napo county, Laohutiao nature reserve, limestone hills growing under small trees and shrubs, N 23°05′51″ E 105°48′39″, 1100 m, 10 March 2009, Y.G. Wei g043, (holotype PE!, isotype IBK!). Figure 2A–C Perennial herb, terrestrial, dioecious? Not tuber forming. Stems ca 280 x ca 3 mm, erect, branched, green when fresh, furfuraceous, glabrous, sulcate, cystoliths sparsely scattered, bacilliform, 0.2–0.3 mm, internodes 7–18 mm. Stipules 2 at each node, caducous, 3.5–5 × 0.1–0.2 mm, subulate, glabrous. Leaves distichous, alternate, terminal pair of leaves subopposite, subsequent leaves subequal, short petiolate or sessile, petioles 0.8–2.0 mm, glabrous; laminae 80–90 × 20–28 mm, length: width ratio 1:3.2–4.0, asymmetrically narrow obovate to oblong, chartaceous, 3-plinerved, the lateral nerves 2–6, borne 45–60° to the midrib; upper surface drying yellow-green, glabrous, cystoliths randomly scattered, conspicuous or inconspicuous, bacilliform, 0.2– 0.3(–0.4) mm; lower surface drying yellow green, glabrous, cystoliths randomly scattered, randomly scattered, bacilliform, 0.2–0.3(–0.4) mm; base asymmetrical, obliquely cuneate; margin serrate, the teeth spaced 6–8 mm apart; apex long acuminate or cuspidate, entire. Staminate and pistillate inflorescences borne on separate stems? Pistillate inflorescences not seen. Staminate inflorescences solitary, axillary, 5–10 mm in diameter, bearing 28–35 flowers in a pedunculate receptacle; peduncle 18–35 x 0.8–1.0 mm, glabrous, apparently ebracteate; receptacle 3–5 mm × 2–2.5 mm, oblong, undivided or deeply two-lobed, glabrous, 2 • Phytotaxa 147 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press WEI ET AL. TERMS OF USE This pdf is provided by Magnolia Press for private/research use. Commercial sale or deposition in a public library or website is prohibited. FIGURE 1, A–C. Elatostema laevicaule W.T. Wang Y.G. Wei & A.K. Monro: A, Habit with leaves, stipules and staminate inflorescences visible; B, Staminate inflorescence with marginal receptacle bracts and flowers; C, Major and minor bracteoles. D, Stipule. (A–B Illustration by Ying-Bao Sun from the holotype; C Illustration by Wen-Hong Lin from isotype; D Illustration by Fang Wen from isotype). THREE NEW SPECIES OF ELATOSTEMA FROM GUANGXI Phytotaxa 147 (1) © 2013 Magnolia Press • 3 TERMS OF USE This pdf is provided by Magnolia Press for private/research use. Commercial sale or deposition in a public library or website is prohibited. green above, green below, subtended by marginal bracts, the bracts unequal, major bracts 2, borne opposite each other, at two sides of the receptacle, ca 4 × 1.5 mm, linear–triangular, subapically 1-corniculate; minor bracts 6–13, digitate, 1.8–2.2 × 2.4–4 mm, narrowly triangular, linear–triangular or triangular. Staminate flowers ca. 2.5 × 2 mm immediately prior to anthesis ellipsoid, pedicellate, bracteolate; pedicel 1.5–2.2 mm, glabrous; bracteoles 2 per flower, unequal, major bracteole linear, ca. 3 × 1.2 mm, minor bracteole linear, ca. 1.0 × 0.8 mm, membranous, glabrous; tepals 4, ca. 2 × 1.5 mm, subapical appendage ca. 1 mm, corniculate, green, glabrous.