Hemiboea pterocaulis comb. & stat. nov. (Gesneriaceae), a new species segregated from H. subcapitata C. B. Clarke
2 October 2017
Huang, Jie; Xiang, Xiaoguo; Lu, Yongbin; Pan, Bo; Zhang, QiangHemiboea subcapitata C. B. Clarke is a widespread and morphologically varied species including three varieties, H. subcapitata var. subcapitata C. B. Clarke, H. subcapitata C.B. Clarke var. guangdongensis (Z. Y. Li) Z. Y. Li and H. subcapitata C. B. Clarke var. pterocaulis Z. Y. Li. However, previous description and our recent extensive observations indicated that H. subcapitata var. pterocaulis can be readily distinguished from the rest of H. subcapitata (i.e. H. subcapitata var. subcapitata and H. subcapitata var. guangdongensis) by some distinct morphological characters and the nonoverlapping phenological periods. Further, the present phylogenetic analyses using the nuclear ITS and plastid trnL-F DNA sequences also revealed that the sampled individuals identified as H. subcapitata var. pterocaulis grouped together and were clearly separated from other H. subcapitata. Based on these observations, we elevate the variety to the status of species, Hemiboea pterocaulis (Z. Y. Li) J. Huang, X. G. Xiang & Q. Zhang, comb. & stat. nov.