No.20  JING GUO, BO PAN, JING LIU, WEI-BIN XU & KUO-FANG CHUANG

Three new species of Primulina (Gesneriaceae) from limestone karsts of China based on morphological and molecular evidence

Botanical Studies  (2015) 56：34—46.

ABSTRACT

Background:With more than 160 described species, Primulina is one of the most characteristic plant groups of the Sino‑Vietnamese limestone flora. In our continous botanical inventory of the limestone flora of South China, we collected three new Primulina species not identifiable to known species.

Results:Molecular phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ITS and chloroplast trnL‑F and trnH‑psbA sequences strongly support the placement the three new species in Primulina. In addition to morphological differences, DNA sequences of all these three new species show substantial divergencies, sustaining the recognition of these three new species.

Fig. 1  The best ML phylogram based on the combined molecular data set. ML bootstrap support >50 % and Bayesian posterior probability >0.80 are indicated on and below the branches, respectively. The three new species are highlighted in bold

Fig. 2  Primulina maculata W.B. Xu & J. Guo. a Habit; b corolla opened showing stamens and staminodes; c pistil and calyx (drawn by W. H. Lin from the holotype)

Fig. 3  Primulina maculata W.B. Xu & J. Guo. a Habitat; b habit; c flower face view; d flower side view; e bracts; f pistil and opened corolla; g stamens and staminodes

Fig. 4  Distribution of Primulina maculata (triangle), Primulina pengii (circle), Primulina yangshanensis (star) in Guangdong Province, China

Fig. 5  Primulina pengii W.B. Xu & K.F. Chung. a Habit; b bract; c corolla opened showing stamens and staminodes; d pistil and calyx (drawn by W. H. Lin from the holotype)

Fig. 6  Primulina pengii W.B. Xu & K.F. Chung. a Habitat; b habit; c cyme and flower face view; d flower side view; e bracts; f pistil and opened corolla; g stamens

Fig. 7  Primulina yangshanensis W.B. Xu & B. Pan. a Habit; b corolla opened showing stamens and staminodes; c pistil and calyx (drawn by W. H. Lin from the holotype)

Fig. 8  Primulina yangshanensis W.B. Xu & B. Pan. a Habitat; b habit; c flower face view; d flower side view; e opened corolla; f pistil and calyx