Skip to main content

Leye willow (Carrierea leyensis) found in limestone area of Guangxi, China, resembles Carrierea dunniana

Leye willow (Carrierea leyensis.) found in limestone area of Guangxi, China, resembles Carrierea dunniana

NEWS - Leye willow (Carrierea leyensis Z.C.Lu & W.B.Xu, sp. nov.) of the Salicaceae found in the limestone area of Guangxi, China, resembles C. dunniana H.Lév, but is evergreen, with shorter petioles and serrated or glabrous when old. The leaf blade is elliptical with a wedge-shaped base; the inflorescence is shorter and the capsule is smaller.

Carrierea Franchet (1896) is a small genus in the Salicaceae distributed from southern China to northern Vietnam. Four species have been published in Carrierea previously, but C. rehderiana Sleumer as a synonym of C. calycina Franch. (1896) and C. vieillardii Gagnep. as a synonym of Itoa orientalis Hemsl.

Zhao-Cen Lu and Wei-Bin Xu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guilin conducted an investigation from July 2023 to May 2024 and discovered the unusual plant. After careful examination of the morphological characters of the specimen, they confirmed that the specimen is a species new to science.

C. leyensis is a tree or small tree, monoecious, evergreen, 5–12 m tall; bark gray-brown; branchlets grayish, with white lenticels and leaf marks, tomentose, glabrous when old; winter buds conical, scales hairy; stipules absent.

Petiole 3–8 mm long, tomentose to glabrous when old; leaf blade greenish abaxially, deep green adaxially, glabrous, elliptic, (2.8–)4–9.5(–12.5) × 1.7–4.6 cm, leathery or thinly leathery, both surfaces glabrous or abaxially sparsely appressed-villous along midveins.

Weakly 3-veined at base, lateral veins 5–8 pairs, veins distinct on both sides, midvein raised below, base cuneate, margin remotely serrate, with spheroidal to torus-shaped glands at the tips of the teeth (salicoid teeth), apex acuminate to long acuminate.

Terminal or axillary inflorescence, 2–11-flowered, rarely single flower axillary, 1.8–4.5 cm long including flowers, tomentose, pistillate flowers in terminal part of inflorescence, staminate ones in lower part; bracts ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.35 cm long, papery, both surfaces sparsely to densely tomentose.

Pedicels 0.5–2.5 cm long, 2-bracteolate near middle; bracteoles similar to bracts, opposite, narrowly oblong, 3–7 mm long, papery, both surfaces sparsely to densely tomentose. Sepals (2 or 3 rare) 4–5, valvate, ovate-deltoid to oblong, 3.5–8 × 2–3 mm, papery, both sides tomentose, apex acute.

Petals absent. Staminate flowers: smaller than pistillate flowers, stamens with filaments unequal in length, 2–3 mm long, glabrous; anthers ca. 0.5mm long.

Pistillate flowers: staminodes like stamens but much reduced; ovary superior, elliptic, densely tomentose, 0.6–1 cm long; placentas 3 or 4; styles 3 or 4, 0.5–1 mm long, connate at least at base to form a column, sparsely tomentose like the ovary; stigmas reflexed, drying black, flattened, triangular, 2–3 mm long, irregularly lobed, glabrous.

Capsule fusiform, slightly curved, 1.7–2.7 cm long, 5–9 mm in diam., tomentose, valves splitting from both apex and base; fruiting pedicel stout, 1–2.8 cm long; seeds compressed, including wing 9–12 mm long; sterile seeds smaller.

C. leyensis differs from C. dunniana in being evergreen; petioles shorter, only 3–8 mm long, and tomentose or glabrous when old; leaf blades elliptical with a wedge-shaped base; inflorescence shorter; flowers smaller; and capsules smaller.

The specific epithet ‘leyensis’ refers to the locality where the new species was collected. Flowers April to May (spring) and fruits July to October (summer to autumn). The specimen was collected from Leye County, Baise City, Guangxi, China. It grows sporadically in forests on limestone slopes at elevations of 1100–1350 m.

Related species include Handeliodendron bodinieri (H.Lév.) Rehder, Pistacia chinensis Bunge, Pittosporum tonkinense Gagnep., Machilus cavaleriei H.Lév., Triadica rotundifolia (Hemsl.) Esser, Jasminum lanceolaria Roxb., Eriobotrya seguinii (H.Lév.) Cardot ex Guillaumin, Carex brunnea Thunb., Ophiorrhiza and Carpinus.

Original research

Lu Z-C, Liu Z-R, Mo M-L, Chang S-L, Xu W-B (2024). Carrierea leyensis, a new species of Salicaceae from limestone areas of Guangxi, China. PhytoKeys 248: 305-313, DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.248.129824

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Pink jewel dragonfly (Heliocypha fenestrata)

Pink jewel dragonfly ( Heliocypha fenestrata ) is an animal species in Chlorocyphidae, a dragonfly 40-45mm long, slender, predominantly black with bright pink and blue, flies swiftly, large eyes, very long wings, lives near fresh flowing water and waterways. H. fenestrata has a black body with an upper back decorated with three plots of squares in pink and a similar plot on the nape of the top. The sides to the bottom are decorated with plots in light blue. A pair of large, round and black eyes. The tail is long and segmented, cylindrical, predominantly black with several plots of light blue color at the base of the sides, the tip ends with two small tails and curves inward. The legs are jointed and are all black. The wings have a span of up to 80 mm, contain many pulse lines, elliptical tips, are dark and transparent, when exposed to sunlight they give off pink or green or blue or white reflections. Pink jewel dragonfly lives near freshwater ecosystems that flow and low light inten...
Read more

Screw tree (Helicteres isora)

Screw tree ( Helicteres isora ) is a species of plant in the Malvaceae family. It is a shrub or small tree, up to 8 meters tall. It has gray bark and alternate leaves, up to 22 cm long and 17 cm wide, oval in shape, with serrated edges and hairs. The flowers are red or white and reach a total length of 5.5 cm. The fruit is green when unripe, brown or gray when dry, twisted, spiral-shaped, and pointed at the tip. The seeds are black or brown, shiny, and diagonal, triangular, or rectangular. TAXON Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Tracheophyta Subphylum: Angiospermae Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Malvales Family: Malvaceae Subfamily: Helicteroideae Tribe: Helictereae Genus: Helicteres Pluk. ex L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) Species: Helicteres isora L. in Sp. Pl.: 963 (1753) HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS Helicteres baruensis var. ovata DC. in Prodr. 1: 476 (1824) Helicteres chrysocalyx Miq. ex Mast. in J.D.Hooker, Fl. Brit. India 1: 365 (1874) Helicteres corylifolia Buch.-Ham. ex Dillwyn in Rev. Hortus Malab....
Read more

Glombang (Lentinus squarrosulus)

Glombang ( Lentinus squarrosulus ) is a species of fungi in Polyporaceae, umbrella-shaped, strong pole, round, chewy and fleshy stamp, white with gray spots forming rings, scaly, growing on wood in tropical regions, fast growth of mycelia used for food and nutraceuticals. L. squarrosulus has a 1.5-10 cm long cap, the surface is convex inward until compressed with a slightly bumpy, jagged margin, initially white to brown at maturity. The bottom surface of the cap has gills, crowded, narrow, white to yellow with rough edges. Stems 20-60x4-10 mm, running to the center, pointing downward, upright or crooked, hairy to scaly, partially creamy veils leaving a ring or light zone towards the top of the stem which may disappear in age or the veil may remain intact and cover the gills. Pileus is thin, tough, fibrous and white. Spores are cylindrical, smooth, nonamiloid, 6-9,52.5x-3.5 μm and white in color. It grows singly but is more common in groups on fallen tree trunks, especially coconut...
Read more