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Impatiens bullatisepala (Balsaminaceae), a new species from Guizhou, China

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  • Wuhan Botanical Garden, the Chinese Academy of Sciences

Abstract and Figures

Impatiens bullatisepala (Balsaminaceae), a new species supported by morphological and phylogenetic evidence from Fanjing Mountain, Guizhou province in China, is described here. It is morphologically similar to I. davidii but can be distinguished by its dorsally ridged lateral sepals with sunk reticulate veins and bullate projections on abaxial surface, 2–2.5 cm deep saccate lower sepal with ca. 0.8 cm long narrowly triangular tip at the mouth, and broadly ovate dorsal petal. Phylogenetic analyses of a combined dataset of nuclear ITS and plastid atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer DNA sequences furtherly confirmed its novelty.
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Phytotaxa 500 (3): 217–224
https://www.mapress.com/j/pt/
Copyright © 2021 Magnolia Press Article PHYTOTAXA
ISSN 1179-3155 (print edition)
ISSN 1179-3163 (online edition)
Accepted by Prabhukumar K.M.: 28 Apr. 2021; published: 13 May 2021
https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.500.3.5
217
Impatiens bullatisepala (Balsaminaceae), a new species from Guizhou, China
SHUAI PENG1,2,3,4,5, YI-YAN CONG1,6*, JING TIAN2,3,7, CAI-FEI ZHANG2,3,8, GUANG-WAN HU2,3,9* & QING-
FENG WANG2,3,10
1 College of Life Sciences, Hunan Normal University, Changsha 410081, China
2 CAS Key Laboratory of Plant Germplasm Enhancement and Specialty Agriculture, Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
3 Sino-Africa Joint Research Center, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430074, China
4 University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
5
pengshuai183@163.com; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8064-920X
6
908158033@qq.com; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8900-1111
7
tianjing@wbgcas.cn; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6716-7513
8
zhangcf@wbgcas.cn; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2818-5751
9
guangwanhu@wbgcas.cn; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7728-7976
10
qfwang@wbgcas.cn; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9143-8849
*Corresponding Authors
Abstract
Impatiens bullatisepala (Balsaminaceae), a new species supported by morphological and phylogenetic evidence from Fanjing
Mountain, Guizhou province in China, is described here. It is morphologically similar to I. davidii but can be distinguished
by its dorsally ridged lateral sepals with sunk reticulate veins and bullate projections on abaxial surface, 2–2.5 cm deep
saccate lower sepal with ca. 0.8 cm long narrowly triangular tip at the mouth, and broadly ovate dorsal petal. Phylogenetic
analyses of a combined dataset of nuclear ITS and plastid atpB-rbcL intergenic spacer DNA sequences furtherly confirmed
its novelty.
Keywords: Impatiens davidii, new taxon, taxonomy
Introduction
The genus Impatiens Linnaeus (1753: 937) (Balsaminaceae) consist of more than 1000 species is one of the most
species-rich genera in angiosperms and mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical Africa and Eurasia (Grey-Wilson
1980, Yuan et al. 2004, Yu et al. 2016). Yu et al. (2016) divided this genus into two subgenera: I. subgen. Impatiens
S.X. Yu & Wei Wang (2016: 191) and I. subgen. Clavicarpa S. X. Yu ex S. X. Yu & Wei Wang (2016:191) based on
molecular and morphological evidence. I. subgen. Impatiens is further divided into seven sections, of them I. sect.
Impatiens is characterized by its 1- or 2-flowered racemose inflorescences, linear or cylindrical capsule, and ellipsoid
seed. In recent years, a lot of new species have been described (Kuang et al. 2014, Cai et al. 2015, Tan et al. 2015,
Ding et al. 2016, 2017, Gan et al. 2016, Guo et al. 2016, Wang et al. 2016) on account of extensive field investigation
and careful study of the botanist. This has brought the number of Impatiens species in China to more than 280 (Chen
et al. 2007, Du et al. 2020).
In October 2006, during a field trip on Fanjing Mountain in Guizhou province, one of the authors (G.-W. Hu)
came across an interesting Impatiens along the side of a creek under evergreen broad-leaved forests. Its lateral sepals
with sunk reticulate veins and bullate projections on the abaxial surface made it quite different from other Impatiens
species. The primary studies could not give this species a correct scientific name. To correctly identify it, another
field survey was carried out at the same place and its neighboring areas in September 2018. Then, we collected some
specimens for further research. After consulting relevant literature (Chen et al. 2001, 2007, Xiong et al. 2009, Yu et al.
2012) and new taxa described in recent years, we found that Xiong & Yang (2009) identified it as I. dicentra Franchet
ex Hook. f. (1908: 268) in the book named Illustrated Handbook of Common Herbaceous Seed Plants in Fanjing
PENG ET AL.
218 Phytotaxa 500 (3) © 2021 Magnolia Press
Mountain National Nature Reserve. However, we found it was morphologically different to I. dicentra, notably in the
lateral sepals. I. dicentra owns the lateral sepals with coarsely dentate margin, flat and smooth abaxial surface, while
this particular species owns the lateral sepals with entire margins and sunk reticulate veins and bullate projections
on abaxial surface. After comparing the specimens in PE, KUN, HIB, and HNNU and studying in morphology and
molecular phylogenetics, we concluded that it is a new species in the Impatiens sect. Impatiens and describe it here as
I. bullatisepala sp. nov.
TABLE 1. GenBank accession numbers for samples in the phylogenetic analysis.
Species ITS atpB-rbcL
Impatiens piufanensis KP776094
Impatiens imbecilla AY348796 DQ147851
Impatiens lateristachys KP776078 KP776030
Impatiens faberi AY348778 DQ147841
Impatiens forrestii AY348784 DQ147847
Impatiens oxyanthera AY348814 DQ147865
Impatiens microstachys KP776085
Impatiens neglecta KP776087 KP776038
Impatiens pterosepala KP776097 KP776046
Impatiens macrovexilla KP776082 KP776034
Impatiens leptocaulon KP776080 KP776032
Impatiens capensis AY348759 DQ147823
Impatiens noli-tangere KP776088 KP776039
Impatiens tortisepala KP776106 KP776054
Impatiens fissicornis AY348782 DQ147844
Impatiens lecomtei AY348802 DQ147855
Impatiens platychlaena AY348818 DQ147867
Impatiens soulieana AY348833 DQ147880
Impatiens barbata AY348750 DQ147818
Impatiens corchorifolia AY348767 DQ147831
Impatiens chiulungensis KP776066 KP776016
Impatiens delavayi AY348773 DQ147836
Impatiens nubigena KP776089 KP776040
Impatiens poculifer AY348820 DQ147870
Impatiens chekiangensis KP776064 KP776014
Impatiens platysepala KP776095 KP776044
Impatiens textorii AY348841
Impatiens tienmushanica KP776105 KP776053
Hydrocera triflora AY348853 DQ147895
A NEW SPECIES OF IMPATIENS BULLATISEPALA Phytotaxa 500 (3) © 2021 Magnolia Press 219
FIGURE 1. Impatiens bullatisepala A. Plant in nature habit; B. Flower bud; C. Flower lateral view; D. Flower front view; E. Different
parts of a flower; F. Fruit. Scale bars: B–F = 1 cm. Photographed by Shuai Peng.
PENG ET AL.
220 Phytotaxa 500 (3) © 2021 Magnolia Press
Materials and methods
Morphologic description and comparison
The morphological description of the new species was based on the examination of fresh material in the field and
herbarium specimens. Comparisons with other species were referenced to herbarium specimens kept in KIB, HNNU,
HIB, and PE, photographs, and literature (Grey-Wilson 1980, Chen et al. 2001, Chen et al. 2007, Yu et al. 2012).
Phylogenetic analyses
To speculate the phylogenetic status of the new species, one nuclear gene region: ITS (Yuan et al. 2004), and one
plastid sequence: atpB-rbcL (Janssens et al. 2006) were used in the phylogenetic analysis. We used three individuals
of the new species (voucher specimens: PS-0052-a, PS-0052-b & PS-0052-c) and six individuals from two populations
of Impatiens davidii Franchet (1886: 65) (voucher specimens: HGW-001138, HGW-001140, HGW-001142, PS-0051-a,
PS-0051-b & PS-0051-c) for phylogenetic analyses. Voucher specimens were deposited in the herbarium of Wuhan
Botanical Garden, CAS (HIB). Genomic DNA of new species was extracted from silica gel dried leaves with Mag-
MK Plant Genomic DNA Extraction Kits (Sangon Biotech, Shanghai). PCR products were sequenced by TSINGKE
Biological Technology.
The sequences of 28 taxa in Impatiens sect. Impatiens and the outgroup taxon were acquired from GenBank
(Assession numbers provided in Table 1). Phylogenetic reconstruction was performed using Bayesian inference (BI).
MEGA v.7.0 (Kumar et al. 2016) was used to align nuclear and plastid sequences, then manually integrate. MrModeltest
v.2.3 (Nylander 2004) was used to determine the best models of sequence evolution for a combined dataset using the
Akaike Information Criterion (ITS + atpB-rbcL: GTR + I + G). Bayesian majority rule consensus trees of datasets
were constructed by MrBayes v.3.2.6 (Ronquist et al. 2012). The dataset was run for 10,000,000 generations, starting
from different random trees and sampled every 100 generations. The initial 25% of sampled trees were discarded as
burn-in.
Taxonomy
Impatiens bullatisepala G.W. Hu, Y.Y. Cong & Q.F. Wang sp. nov. (Figures 1, 2: A–D)
Diagnosis:—The new species is morphologically similar to Impatiens davidii, but can be distinguished with the latter by its lateral sepals
suborbicular, 1–1.5 cm in diameter, midrib ridged dorsally, lateral veins reticulate and sunk on the abaxial surface with bullate
projections among veins; dorsal petal broadly ovate, 1–1.5 × 1.5–2 cm, dorsally with a green narrow arcuate cristate crest.
Type:—CHINA. Guizhou province, Jiangkou County, Fanjing Mountain, under evergreen broad-leaved forest, 27°53′44.21″N,
108°43′16.4″E, elevation 1027 m, 15 September 2018, Shuai Peng PS-0052 (holotype: HIB!; Isotype: HIB!, HNNU!)
Herbs annual, to 100 cm tall. Stem erect or procumbent in lower part, succulent, branched, glabrous, lower nodes
swollen with many fibrous roots. Leaves alternate, petiolate; petiole 0.5–2 cm long; lamina elliptic to elliptic-lanceolate,
6–10 × 3–4.5 cm, margin coarsely crenate, teeth mucronulate, base obtuse to cuneate, with 3–4 pairs of glands, apex
caudate-acuminate; glabrous; lateral veins 5–7 pairs. Inflorescences in upper leaf axils, 1-flowered; peduncle 1.8–2.8
cm long. Pedicel with 2 bracts above middle; bracts alternate, glabrous, upper one ovate, ca. 6 × ca. 4 mm, lower one
subulate, ca. 2–3 mm long. Flower yellow, 4–5.5 cm long. Lateral sepals 2, sub-orbicular, 1–1.5 cm in diameter, apex
mucronulate, margin entire, yellowish-green, glabrous, midrib ridged dorsally, lateral veins reticulate and sunk on
abaxial surface with bullate projections among veins, ; lower sepal deeply saccate, 2–2.5 cm deep, yellow with 6–7
orange red striations, glabrous; apex gradually narrowed into an abruptly incurved spur, spur 2-lobed, 1–1.3 cm long;
mouth 1.5–1.9 cm wide, oblique with ca. 0.8 cm long narrowly triangular tip. Dorsal petal broadly ovate, 1–1.5 × 1.5–2
cm, apex emarginate and mucronulate, dorsally with a green narrow arcuate cristate crest at midvein; lateral united
petals 2-lobed, 2.4–3.2 cm long, basal lobe ovate to elliptic, 5–7 × 3–5 mm, small, upper part with purple-red patches,
apex abruptly narrowed into a purple-red filiform appendage, appendage up to 1 cm long; distal lobe dolabriform,
1.8–2.3 × 0.9–1.4 cm, yellow with red spots at base, inner margin curled with small auricle, apex with a short yellow
filiform appendage. Stamens up to 4 mm long, filaments linear, slightly swollen above; anthers ovoid-orbicular, apex
obtuse. Ovary erect, fusiform. Capsule linear, 2.8–3.5 cm long. Seed unknown.
A NEW SPECIES OF IMPATIENS BULLATISEPALA Phytotaxa 500 (3) © 2021 Magnolia Press 221
FIGURE 2. Impatiens bullatisepala AD: A. Flower bud; B. Flower lateral view; C. Flower front view; D. Different parts of a flower.
Impatiens davidii EK: E & I. Flower bud; F & J. Flower lateral view; G. Flower front view; H & K. Different parts of a flower. Scale
bars: A–K = 1 cm. A–D & I–K: photographed by Shuai Peng, E–H: photographed by Guang-Wan Hu (A–D from S. Peng PS-0052 in HIB,
E–H from G.-W. Hu & S. Peng HGW-001138 in HIB, I–K from S. Peng PS-0051 in HIB).
Distribution and ecology:Impatiens bullatisepala is currently known only from the type locality in Fanjing
Mountain, Guizhou Province, China. It grows under the moist evergreen broad-leaved forests along the side of a
creek.
Etymology:—The specific epithet bullatisepalarefers to the lateral sepals with bullate projections netted in
sunk reticulate veins on abaxial surface. The Chinese name is “泡萼凤仙花”.
Phenology:—The new species was observed flowering from September to October, fruiting from October to
November.
Phylogenetic position:—Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of the combined ITS and atpB-rbcL datasets proved its
position within the Impatiens sect. Impatiens and closely related to I. davidii in the phylogenetic tree (Figure 3).
Voucher specimens of Impatiens davidii:—China. Hunan: Yongshun County, Xiaoxi National Natural Reserve,
28°48′N, 110°11′E, elevation 650 m, 15 August 2018, S. Peng PS-0051 (HIB); Jiangxi: Jiujiang City, Lushan Mountain,
Guling Township, 29°34′N, 115°58′E, elevation 1050 m, 11 October 2018, G.W. Hu & S. Peng HGW-001138, G.W. Hu
& S. Peng HGW-001140, G.W. Hu & S. Peng HGW-001142 (HIB).
PENG ET AL.
222 Phytotaxa 500 (3) © 2021 Magnolia Press
FIGURE 3. Bayesian phylogenetic tree base on a combined dataset of nuclear ITS and plastid atpB-rbcL DNA sequences, in which
Impatiens bullatisepala is showing in red, and Bayesian posterior probabilities are indicated for each branch. (I. davidi1 from HGW-
001138, I. davidii2 from HGW-001140, I. davidii3 from HGW-001142, I. davidii4–6 from PS-0051, all specimens deposited in HIB)
Discussion
In Impatiens sect. Impatiens, a group of closest relatives similar to I. davidii including I. fissicornis Maximowicz
(1889: 87), I. platychlaena Hook. f. (1908: 270), I. lecomtei Hook. f. (1908: 271) and I. dicentra. They are showing a
high similarity in having 1- or 2-flowered raceme inflorescence with yellow flowers, saccate lower sepal with several
striations, short incurved spur, and the lateral united petal with a long filamentous appendage, but mainly differ in
the shape of lateral sepals, dorsal petal, and spur (Chen 2001). Based on morphological characteristics, we found that
there are continuous variations within this group. Therefore, this poses challenges to the classification of species in
this group. Moreover, the evidence from the combinations of morphology and molecules in this particular group may
be more convincing for taxonomy to species. More detailed comparisons among the new species and its close relatives
in I. sect. Impatiens present in Table 2.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge the National Wild Plant Germplasm Resource Center for all kinds of support. This research was
supported by the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. 151853KYSB20190027)
and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 31970211).
A NEW SPECIES OF IMPATIENS BULLATISEPALA Phytotaxa 500 (3) © 2021 Magnolia Press 223
TABLE 2. Comparison of floral morphological characters of Impatiens bullatisepala to I. davidii and other closely related
Impatiens spp.
Characters I. bullatisepala I. davidii I. fissicornis I. platychlaena I. lecomtei
Leaves
elliptic to elliptic-
lanceolate, 6–10 ×
3–4.5 cm
elliptic, 5–10 × 3–4
cm
ovate-oblong or
ovate-lanceolate,
4–7 × 2–3 cm
ovate-oblong, ovate,
or ovate-lanceolate,
6–15 × 3–4.5 cm
ovate or ovate-
lanceolate, or
oblong-ovate, 10–15
× 2.5-3 cm
Flower yellow yellowish yellow or orange-
yellow
bicolored: purple and
yellow pink
Lateral sepal
Sub-orbicular,
dorsal ridged
and vesicular
protuberances,
margin entire
broadly ovate,
dorsal 9-veined
subovate-orbicular,
dorsal
orbicular, dorsal
many veined, mid-
vein not thickened
orbicular dorsal
mid-vein carinate,
7-veined
Lower sepal deeply saccate saccate saccate deeply saccate broadly funnelform
Spur incurved hooked hooked incurved incurved
Dorsal petal
broadly ovate,
dorsally with a
narrow arcuate
cristate crest at
mid-vein
sub-orbicular,
abaxial mid-vein
cristate
sub-orbicular,
abaxial mid-vein
broadly thickened,
cristate
orbicular,
mucronulate, abaxial
mid-vein thickened,
broadly cristate
orbicular, abaxial
mid-vein thickened,
broadly cristate,
crista entire
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... The Flora of China lists 227 species, of which 187 are endemic [14]. According to Du et al. [15], a total of 69 new taxa of Impatiens have been described in China between 2000 and 2019, and 13 new taxa [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28] and three new records [28][29][30] have been published in the last two years, bringing the total species reported for China to nearly 290. ...
... Specimens were collected, preserved, and deposited in the Herbarium of Wuhan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences (HIB) for further identification. We then dissected the flower and carefully reviewed related literature [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]36,37] and herbaria specimens in a bid to ascertain the identity of the collected species. However, we were unable to match the new plants with any described species based on morphology. ...
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Impatiens longshanensis (The LSID for the name Impatiens longshanensis is: 77219154-1) sp. nov. and I. lihengiana (The LSID for the name I. lihengiana is: 77219153-1) sp. nov., from Hunan, China, are described and illustrated here. The molecular phylogenetic study suggests that I. longshanensis and I. lihengiana should be placed in the I. sect. Impatiens. A detailed description, diagnostic characters between the two new species and allied species, pollen and seed morphology, and color photographs are provided. In addition, based on wide sampling, we found that the longifilamenta group, an endemic group to China, whose members have basal lobes of lateral united petals with long filamentous hairs, shows significant morphological variability. In this paper, we discuss the taxonomic significance of morphological characteristics within this group. Based on a literature review and observation of living materials in the field, an updated identification key for this group is also proposed.
... In April 2022, we revisited Longli County for a further field investigation to record the morphological characters of the species. After a thorough morphological study, detailed literature review (Hooker 1908a, 1908b, Xiong 1990, 1996, Chen et al. 2007, Yu 2012, Luo & Deng 2015, Kuang 2015, Liang et al. 2020, Peng et al. 2021 and specimen examination, we conclude that this species is Impatiens sigmoidea (Hooker 1908a: 267), which was described more than one hundred years ago, but has never been collected again since then. ...
Article
Impatiens sigmoidea was described in 1908 by the eminent British plant taxonomist J. D. Hooker based on specimens collected by the French missionaries E. M. Bodinier et al. from Guizhou, China. However, there has been no other records since then. After years of concern, we rediscovered I. sigmoidea in one of its type localities, Gao-po Town, in 2018. A revised description, colour photographs and a provisional IUCN Red List assessment of this species are provided, along with discussions of its geographical distribution, ecology and morphological comparison with I. lasiophyton. The lectotype of I. sigmoidea is also designated here. The rediscovery provides an essential basis for enriching the botanical resources of the genus Impatiens.
... More than 160 species have been reported from Yunnan (Wu 2006;Li et al. 2013;Song et al. 2021bSong et al. , 2021cYuan et al. 2022;Qian et al. 2020). Recently, new species of Impatiens are being reported from China continually (Xia et al. 2019;Zou et al. 2020;Wang et al. 2020;Liao et al. 2021;Peng et al. 2021aPeng et al. , 2021bRen et al. 2022;Yuan et al. 2022;Wang et al. 2022). ...
Article
Impatiens longyangensis and I. yaojiapingensis, two new species from Gaoligong Mountains, Yunnan, China, are described here. The former species is morphologically similar to I. shangjiangensis, but differs by its shorter petioles and peduncle, ovate bract, shortly saccate lower sepal with a longer spur and suborbicular dorsal petal. The latter is similar to I. sterilis, and differs by its pubescent leaf, petiole with one to three pairs of clavate glands, persistent bract, lower sepal with a straight spur and suborbicular dorsal petal. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ITS and plastid atpB-rbcL sequences shows that the two new species belong to I. sect. Racemosae.
... In September 2020 and August 2021, we revisited Xiaojiucaiping Mountain for a further field investigation to record morphological characters of the species. After careful examination of the relevant specimens and literature (Xiong and Luo 1989;Chen 2001;Chen et al. 2007;Yu 2012;Kuang et al. 2014;Kuang 2015;Luo and Deng 2015;Peng et al. 2021a), the authors decided that the species was hitherto undescribed and close to I. xanthocephala W.W. Sm. Hence, it is described here as a new species with a detailed description and illustrations. ...
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Impatiens liupanshuiensis (Balsamianceae), belonging to I. subgen. Impatiens, is recognised as a new species from Guizhou, China and it is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to I. xanthocephala W.W. Sm. in its yellow flowers, extremely small basal lobes on lateral united petals, broadly-dolabriform distal lobes and funnelform lower sepal. However, it is distinctive in the number of lateral sepals, teeth on the margin of lateral sepals, the recurvature of the dorsal petal, the number of lateral veins, the shape and size of the lamina and the type of lamina margin. A detailed description of the new species and colour photographs are provided. Its geographical distribution and morphology are also compared to similar species.
... In recent years, a few new species have also been found in the northern temperate regions of Europe, Russia and China, as well as North America (Liao et al. 2021). Currently, there are more than 349 species of Impatiens in China (Yuan et al., in press) which are distributed mainly in the southwest and northwest mountainous regions, especially in southwest Provinces (including Guizhou, Yunnan, Sichuan) (Chen 2001;Chen et al. 2007;Cai et al. 2015;Kuang 2015;Tan et al. 2015;Ding et al. 2016Ding et al. , 2017Xia et al. 2019;Gu et al. 2021;Liao et al. 2021;Peng et al. 2021b;Song et al. 2021a, b, c) and 61 species of Impatiens have been reported in Guizhou Province (Xiong and Yang 2009;Cong 2010;Kuang et al. 2014;Luo and Deng 2015;Peng et al. 2021a;Yu et al. 2021;Yuan et al. in press). ...
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Impatiens bijieensis X.X. Bai & L.Y. Ren, sp. nov. from northwest Guizhou Province, China, is described and illustrated. This new species is distributed discontinuously in Jiulongshan, Dafang County and Dajiucaiping, Hezhang County, both of which are in the Wumeng Mountain area, a karst plateau landform. The new species is morphologically similar to I. pterosepala Hook.f., I. lasiophyton Hook.f. and I. leptocaulon Hook.f. in height and flower shape and it especially resembles I. lasiophyton in pilosity. However, it differs in its deep purplish-red flower, 2-lobed lower sepal apex and cylindrical capsule. A detailed description, colour photographs and a provisional IUCN Red List assessment are provided along with discussions of its geographical distribution, ecology and morphological relationships with other similar species.
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This paper describes and illustrates the morphological traits of Impatiens zhaojueensis Q. Luo (Balsaminaceae), a new species from the Sichuan Province of southwestern China. Using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), the micromorphological characteristics of its pollen grains and seeds are also described. The new species is closely related to Impatiens baishaensis, but it has larger flowers, obround dorsal petals, somewhat clawed lateral united petals, obround or obround‐dolabriform distal lobes and the ornamentation on the pollen grains has wider meshes.
Article
Impatiens sikaiensis Q. Luo & Y. Yuan, a new species of the genus Impatiens from Zhaojue County, Sichuan, China, is described in detail with its morphological characteristics, photographs and physical drawings. The species resembles Impatiens uniflora morphologically but can be distinguished from the latter by its yellow flowers; ovate bracts with long‐cuspidate apex, 5–9 mm long; lateral sepals 6–12 mm long; dorsal petals with a narrowly cristate swelling at abaxial mid‐vein, and a rough tip at the apex. The micro‐morphological features and surface patterning of the pollen grains and seeds of the new species were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). This revealed that the pollen grains of the new species typically have 5 angles and 5 germ furrows, which has not before been reported in the species of Impatiens commonly found in China.
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Impatiens piufanensis var. villosa, a new variety of Balsaminaceae from Hubei and Hunan, China, is described and illustrated here. Morphologically, it can be distinguished from the nominate variety by its stem, leaves, lateral sepals, lower sepal and the midvein of upper petal covered by dense white villus and puberulent peduncles and pedicels. The phylogenetic analysis based on ITS sequence also supports its treatment as a new variety of I. piufanensis.
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Impatiens bijieensis X.X. Bai & L.Y. Ren, a new species from Northwest Guizhou, China, is here described and illustrated. This new species is distributed discontiguously in Jiulongshan of Dafang County and Dajiucaiping of Hezhang County, both of which belong to Wumeng mountains area, a karst plateau landform. It is morphologically similar to I. lasiophyton J.D. Hooker and I. leptocaulon J.D. Hooker in height, leaf blade shape and flower form, especially resembles I. lasiophyton in pilose plant. However, it differs in its deep purplish-red to rose-red flower, 2-lobed lower sepal apex and cylindrical capsule. A detailed description, color photographs, and a provisional IUCN red list assessment are provided, and its geographical distribution, ecology, and morphological relationship with relevant similar species are discussed.
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From 2000 to 2019, 11,895 new names or new additions to the Chinese vascular flora were proposed by 4226 individuals (4086 articles and 140 books), as documented in the Chinese Plant Names Index (CPNI). During those 20 years, 4407 new taxa of vascular plants were described from China, including 7 new families, 132 new genera, 3543 new species, 68 new subspecies, 497 new varieties and 160 new forms. Additionally, 3562 new combinations and names at new rank and 306 new replacement names were also proposed. Among these various new names were 150 invalid names and 108 illegitimate names, including some that have not been resolved. Six hundred and forty three vascular plants were reported as new to China, while 2349 names were reduced to synonyms of 1406 taxa. The data show that the Chinese flora increased in size at the rate of about 200 taxa annually during those years. Despite the increased attention given to biodiversity in recent years, the evidence indicates that a large number of species in China have yet to be discovered. Further basic investigation of the Chinese flora is needed. Additionally, in the past two decades only 8.5% of the newly published species have been based on molecular evidence, but in the past five years such data have increased significantly, reaching about 20%. Molecular data will undoubtedly become increasingly significant in the discovery of new species in the coming years. Yunnan, Guangxi, Sichuan, Xizang and Taiwan were important sources of new discoveries, with more than 3300 new taxa and records from these five provinces. By area, Taiwan and Hainan, two islands in southern China, have the highest density of newly discovered species. Regional plant surveys are still needed, especially in areas in the southwest and on the southern islands.
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We present the latest version of the Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis (MEGA) software, which contains many sophisticated methods and tools for phylogenomics and phylomedicine. In this major upgrade, MEGA has been optimized for use on 64-bit computing systems for analyzing bigger datasets. Researchers can now explore and analyze tens of thousands of sequences in MEGA. The new version also provides an advanced wizard for building timetrees and includes a new functionality to automatically predict gene duplication events in gene family trees. The 64-bit MEGA is made available in two interfaces: graphical and command line. The graphical user interface (GUI) is a native Microsoft Windows application that can also be used on Mac OSX. The command line MEGA is available as native applications for Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX. They are intended for use in high-throughput and scripted analysis. Both versions are available from www.megasoftware.net free of charge.
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We describe Impatiens wawuensis B. Ding & S. X. Yu, a new species from Mt. Wawu, Sichuan Province, China. The new species is superficially similar to I. oxyanthera in having an inflorescence consisting of two pink flowers with a reddish vein. Differences include smaller leaves and flowers, lower sepals with shorter and slightly incurved spur, lower petal of lateral united petals with an elongate linear auricle inserted into the spur, and a fusiform capsule that is sparsely verrucous. We also present for the new species its seed micromorphology and palynological features under Scanning Electron Microscopy.
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Impatiens guiqingensis S. X. Yu (Balsaminaceae), a new species from Gansu Province, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is superficially similar to I. dicentra in having 1-2 flowered racemose inflorescences, lateral sepals with dentate margin, top of lower and upper petals of lateral united petals with bristle appendages, but differs from the latter by yellow flower, lower sepal without spur and dorsal petal with unapparent crest. Moreover, the occurrence of the new species is also different from the related one.
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A new species of the genus Impatiens is described from Hubei province, China. Although it shares some features with I. dicentra, such as single-flowered peduncles and a filamentous bristle terminating the upper of the lateral united petals, it possesses distinct traits such as shorter plant height, rhombic to sub-rhombic leaves, lateral sepals entire, and lower sepals navicular without a spur. We believe that this is a new addition to the speciose Impatiens genus, and propose the name Impatiens shennongensis Q. Wang & H.P. Deng. We also describe the new species in this paper in terms of SEM-based seed and pollen micromorphology.
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The species-rich genus Impatiens is mainly distributed throughout much of tropical Africa, India, southwest Asia, southern China and Japan. There are more than 270 species recorded in China, most of which are restricted to the southwest. An unknown species of Impatiens was collected from Yunnan, southwest China. Impatiens pandurata Y. H. Tan & S. X. Yu, a new species of Balsaminaceae from Jinping County and Malipo County, Yunnan, China is similar to I. apalophylla and I. clavigera in having racemose inflorescences, 4 lateral sepals, hammer-shaped capsules and ellipsoid seeds, but differs in having leaves with oblanceolate blades aggregated at the top of the stem, 3–5-flowered racemes, a yellow lower sepal without reddish patches, yellowish flowers, and a dorsal petal with stalks at the base. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of sequences from both nuclear ribosomal and plastid genes confirm that this new species is distinct from morphologically similar species previously recorded. With the support of careful morphological studies and phylogenetic analysis, I. pandurata is a species new to science.
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Impatiens L. is one of the largest angiosperm genera, containing over 1000 species, and is notorious for its taxonomic difficulty. Here, we present, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the genus to date based on a total evidence approach. Forty-six morphological characters, mainly obtained from our own investigations, are combined with sequence data from three genetic regions, including nuclear ribosomal ITS and plastid atpB-rbcL and trnL-F. We include 150 Impatiens species representing all clades recovered by previous phylogenetic analyses as well as three outgroups. Maximum-parsimony and Bayesian inference methods were used to infer phylogenetic relationships. Our analyses concur with previous studies, but in most cases provide stronger support. Impatiens splits into two major clades. For the first time, we report that species with three-colpate pollen and four carpels form a monophyletic group (clade I). Within clade II, seven well-supported subclades are recognized. Within this phylogenetic framework, character evolution is reconstructed, and diagnostic morphological characters for different clades and subclades are identified and discussed. Based on both morphological and molecular evidence, a new classification outline is presented, in which Impatiens is divided into two subgenera, subgen. Clavicarpa and subgen. Impatiens; the latter is further subdivided into seven sections.
Article
Impatiens baishaensis B. Ding & H. P. Deng is a new species from Wawu Shan and Dafengding, Sichuan Province, China. The new species is superficially similar to I. oxyanthera in having 2-flowered racemose inflorescences and pink flowers with reddish veins, but differs from the latter by having smaller flowers, abaxial midveins of lateral sepals and dorsal petals puberulent, dorsal petal spotted with purple-red, and lower sepals navicular. Seed micromorphology and palynological features observed with scanning electron microscopy are also presented.
Article
Impatiens baokangensis Q.L. Gan & X.W. Li, sp. nova (Balsaminaceae) is described from Baokang County, Hubei, China. It is similar to I. compta, but differs from it by distinct cristae on the abaxial surface of the dorsal petal (versus long rostrum at apex of dorsal petal), lower sepal that is concave at base (versus lower sepal protruding at base), and lower petal of lateral united petals being clawed (versus not clawed). Impatiens baokangensis is also somewhat similar to I. nasuta, and the distinguishing features include an abaxial midvein on dorsal petals with semi-circular cristae in I. baokangensis versus an arcuate, long rostrum in I. nasuta, wider upper petal of lateral united petals in I. nasuta, and longer capsules in I. baokangensis. Over 10 000 scattered individuals of I. baokangensis were found in a roadside ditch and at forest margins at the type locality.
Article
Impatiens xanthinoides (Balsaminaceae) sp. nov. from Yunnan Province, China is described and illustrated. This species is similar to I. xanthina and I. fugongensis in plant height, golden-yellow flowers, lateral sepals 2, stamen 5 with obtuse apex, and 5-carpellate ovary. However, it differs with that two species in the lower sepal obconic with red striae, dorsal petal glabrous, the lateral united petals stipitate with fan-shaped, apex acute lower lobes, and fusiform capsule. The detailed morphological characters, diagnostic comparisons, habitat and micromorphology of seeds and pollen grains under scanning electron microscope (SEM) are presented. According to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, I. xanthinoides is assessed as Critically Endangered (CR B1a; B1b(ii)) because of its limited distribution rang and decline of mature individuals.