Ailuroglossum (Boraginaceae, Cynoglosseae), a New Genus Endemic to Southern China, and a New Species Karel Sutor´y Moravian Museum, Department of Botany, Hviezdoslavova 29a, 629 00 Brno, Czech Republic. [email protected] ABSTRACT. A new genus, Ailuroglossum Sutor´y any recognized segregate genera of Cynoglossum. (Boraginaceae), endemic to Sichuan and Yunnan prov- Therefore, a new genus, Ailuroglossum Sutor´y, is pro- inces of southern China, is described. It includes two posed below. Ailuroglossum is distinguished by having species: A. triste (Diels) Sutor´y, formerly recognized a rhizome rather than a taproot; a flat gynobase with a as Cynoglossum triste Diels, and the newly described narrowly conical style; large puberulous, trapeziform A. breviglochidiatum Sutor´y. The genus is distin- throat scales (fornices); nutlets with glochids primarily guished from Cynoglossum L. by a combination of confined to the abaxial side, without a disk and lentic- characters, including a rhizome rather than a taproot, ular to slightly depressed in lateral view; and perpro- an almost flat gynobase, narrowly conical style, and late, tricolporate, hourglass-shaped pollen grains in discoid stigma, nutlets with perfect separation, without which the three colpori and alternating pori are con- ventral attachment, and hourglass-shaped tricolporate nected with a transverse groove in the equatorial plane. pollen grains. The new species, A. breviglochidiatum, Some of these characters are merely rare in Cynoglos- is distinguished by its more slender rhizomes with longer sum, while others are otherwise unknown, and their internodes, differently shaped leaves, and smaller nutlets combination is unique within this group of genera. with a denser indument of shorter glochids. Further discussion is provided later for individual Key words: Boraginaceae, China, Cynoglosseae, characters as appropriate. Cynoglossum, endemism, new combination, Sichuan, In the Boraginaceae, a rhizome instead of a taproot Yunnan. can be found in the Chinese genera Brachybotrys Maxim. ex Oliv., Mertensia Roth, Myosotis L., Trigonotis The problematics of the generic concept in the largest Steven, and Sinojohnstonia H. H. Hu, the only endemic and taxonomically and morphologically most complex Chinese genus of Cynoglosseae. In descriptions of this tribe of Boraginaceae, Cynoglosseae, and the position of tribe not much attention has been given to this character, the genus Cynoglossum L. in it are discussed in recent but it is certainly not common. Brand (1921) mentions it works by Hilger et al. (2015), Weigend et al. (2013), and only for Omphalodes moupinensis Franch. ([ Sinojohn- Chac´on et al. (2016). The phylogenies are unresolved. stonia moupinensis (Franch.) W. T. Wang ex Z. Y. Zhang) They support either a broad concept of Cynoglossum, and O. verna Moench. In Solenanthus it is mentioned by including other genera such as Adelocaryum Brand, Popov (1953) for S. hirsutus Regel ([ Cynoglossum Kuschakewiczia Regel & M. Smirn., Lindelofia Lehm., regelii Greuter & Stier), by Riedl (1972) for S. micranthus Mattiastrum (Boiss.) Brand, Paracaryum (A. DC.) Riedl (5 Cynoglossum indecorum Greuter & Stier), and Boiss., Rindera Pall., Solenanthus Ledeb., and Trache- by Czukavina (1984) for S. albiflorus Czukav. & Meling. lanthus Kunze, or the acceptance of a larger number of Under Cynoglossum it is mentioned only for C. hedber- genera. There are still many taxa that have not yet been giorum Riedl (Riedl, 1985), but the generic placement of studied, and the construction of the exact limits of this species is doubtful (Hilger et al., 2015). groups is not at all satisfying. However, it is evident Ailuroglossum has nutlets with glochids dispersed that Cynoglossum as traditionally defined is not mono- primarily on the abaxial side, while the adaxial side and phyletic. In the current author’s opinion, a classification the area around the cicatrice are glabrous (Fig. 1A–D). of Cynoglosseae recognizing a larger number of small, There is no indication of a disk as is often seen in better-defined genera is preferable. Cynoglossum, in which glochids are borne on both sides Eighteen species of Cynoglossum have been recog- (abaxial and adaxial) running up close to the cicatrice. nized in China (Zhu et al., 1995). Recent study of C. The nutlets of Ailuroglossum are lenticular in lateral triste Diels, as well as a similar, previously unrecognized view (A. triste (Diels) Sutor´y, similar to the Mexican species, revealed characters that are inconsistent with genus Oncaglossum Sutor´y) or only slightly depressed placement in Cynoglossum. Likewise, none of the char- (A. breviglochidiatum Sutor´y, similar to the American genera acteristics of these species are consistent with those of Adelinia J. I. Cohen and Andersonglossum J. I. Cohen). VERSION OF RECORD FIRST PUBLISHED ONLINE ON 21 JUNE 2019 AHEAD OF SUMMER 2019 ISSUE. doi: 10.3417/2019317 NOVON 27: 131–136. 132 Novon Figure 1. A, B. Ailuroglossum breviglochidiatum Sutor´y (PE01336928), nutlets. —A. Abaxial view. —B. Adaxial view. C, D. Ailuroglossum triste (Diels) Sutor´y (KUN0307130), nutlets. —C. Abaxial view. —D. Adaxial view. —E. Ailuroglossum breviglochidiatum (PE01336904), detail of corolla. —F. Ailuroglossum breviglochidiatum, pollen grains. Scale bar 5 25 mm (PE01133053). Nutlets in Cynoglossum are flattened, their upper part which 15 species from Asia, tropical Africa, and the more or less planar. The nutlets of Ailuroglossum are western Americas were accommodated (Brand, 1921). perfectly separated (not connected to the style by an Riedl (1962), in his recognition of that group at the apical connection or “awn” as in all species of Cyn- subgeneric level (Cynoglossum subg. Eleutherostylum oglossum s. str.). Perfect separation is mentioned as (Brand) Riedl), listed 13 species. This character has typical of Cynoglossum sect. Eleutherostylum Brand, in implications for the character of the style. Volume 27, Number 2 Sutory ´ 133 2019 Ailuroglossum (Boraginaceae) Endemic to Southern China Ailuroglossum has a flat gynobase (not conical or America. Adelinia, Andersonglossum,andOncaglossum, pyramidal as in Cynoglossum), with a narrowly conical at that time partially not yet with these names, were style, not quadrangular in cross section, and a discoid already mentioned in Weigend et al. (2013) as being (not capitate) stigma. different and not fitting even in the broadly circumscribed Throat scales (fornices) in the corolla tube of Ailur- concept of the genus Cynoglossum. In the latest contri- oglossum are large (1.5 mm high and 1 mm wide), bution by Chac´on et al. (2016), North American taxa of trapeziform, and conspicuously puberulous (Fig. 1E). “Cynoglossum” are included in the morphologically het- Riedl (1962) placed the species of Cynoglossum with erogeneous subtribe Amsinckiinae Brand in tribe Cyn- this character in Cynoglossum subg. Papilligera Riedl. oglosseae. Due to distinct morphological differences, the All these species, in total five, occur in China and Central creation of a new subtribe could be considered. This Asia. The similar North American genera Adelinia, action would be supported by the position of North Andersonglossum,andOncaglossum have glabrous American genera on phylogenetic trees published by scales. The rich variability of scales in Cynoglosseae is Cohen (2015), Chac´on et al. (2016), and Otero et al. well described in Brand (1921). (2019). However, a proposal to do so would require more Pollen grains of Ailuroglossum are hourglass-shaped, phylogenetic results. The relationship of the discussed perprolate, and tricolporate (three compound apertures, material from China must be affirmed by molecular data. colpori, alternating with three simple apertures, pori). The recognition of the new genus Ailuroglossum is Colpori and pori in the equatorial plane are connected supported not only by its unique and conspicuous with a transverse groove; a polar pseudoaperture is morphological characters, but also by its isolated geo- present in one species and missing in the other (Fig. graphical position and occurrence in an area (China, 1F). Similar apertures in the polar region are known Sichuan and Yunnan provinces) with a high degree within the Boraginaceae, but only from the Amsinck- of endemism (Huang et al., 2011) in the core part of iinae (former Eritrichieae), namely in Cryptantha inter- the Hengduan Mountain ranges, one of the world’s media (A. Gray) Greene (Hargrove & Simpson, 2003), biodiversity hotspots (Boufford & Dijk, 2000). The in species of Hackelia Opiz (Gentry & Carr, 1976), in distribution of these morphologically similar genera Rochelieae, and finally in Oncaglossum (Sutor´y, 2010). represents another example of the biogeographic dis- For Cynoglossum triste the pollen morphology was first junction between eastern Asia and North America reported by Liu et al. (2001). Liu et al. studied pollen on (Graham, 1972; Wen, 1999). Otero et al. (2019) provide acetolyzed material, a different method that likely influ- particular data on this topic for the Cynoglossoideae in enced their measurements, which were slightly different their study. The emergence of this disjunction in this from mine, and measured with an SEM (10.7 3 8.3 mm subfamily is supposed to have happened in the Oligo- vs. 10.0–11.0 3 6.5 mm, respectively). According to cene. North America was the first direction in the spread Sahay (1979), Liu et al. (2001), and my personal of this group from the “central and north east Palearctic” observations, a similar type of grain