A new species Euonymus saxatilis M.T.An, Jian Qiu & Xu Wu, sp. nov . (Celastraceae) from Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China, is described and illustrated based on morphological characteristics and molecular evidence. Morphologically, the species is most similar to E. dielsianus , but differs in the following characters: leaves obovate or obcordate, inflorescence 1–3-flowered, peduncle 2–4.5 cm, style distinct. Phylogenetic analyses based on ITS and trnL-F sequences strongly support the status of E. saxatilis as a distinct new species within the genus Euonymus (BS = 100%), which is resolved as sister to E. dielsianus with strong bootstrap support (BS = 98%).
A new species, Ormosia viridiflora C.Y. Zou & Yan Liu, from Guangxi, China, is described and illustrated. It differs from its congeners by the following combination of characters: shrubby habit; 5–11 leaflets with caudate apices; glabrous adaxial and subglabrous abaxial leaflet surfaces; tubular calyx; pods with leathery valves and inconspicuous transverse septa; pseudo-peltate standard petal (with basal auricles sheathing the claw apex); and five stamens. Palynological and leaf epidermal features are also documented. A preliminary IUCN assessment of Critically Endangered (CR) is proposed.
Two new species of miniature Telipogon (Orchidaceae: Oncidiinae) from eastern Ecuador, Telipogon marietalamae and T. puyensis , are described and illustrated. Phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear nrITS and plastid matK markers placed these two new taxa in distinct phylogenetic clades. Morphologically, the new species are distinguished from closely related taxa by unique combinations of floral characters. Telipogon marietalamae is characterized by its 1-veined ligulate-lanceolate petals, a velvety, basally swollen lip, and dense tufts of stellate column setae with few apical tips, whereas T. puyensis is characterized by a facultatively branched inflorescence and column setae that are hispid from near the middle to the apex. The new species inhabit disturbed or secondary forests and are restricted to the Amazonian piedmont and Andean foothills of Ecuador. Furthermore, T. reventadorensis is treated here as a heterotypic synonym of T. hystrix , based on studies of field populations, and a taxonomic key for all known Ecuadorian miniature Telipogon is generated. These findings highlight the underestimated diversity of miniature Telipogon in the Andean–Amazonian region of Ecuador.
Scutellaria chenhedongensis X.W.Yi, Y.F.Chen & Q.Fan, a new species from Chenhedong Provincial Nature Reserve, Conghua District, Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China, is described and illustrated. Phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear ribosomal ITS and ETS sequences resolve the three sampled individuals of the new species as a strongly supported monophyletic clade (UFBoot = 100, PP = 1.00). This clade is recovered as sister to a clade comprising S. calcarata and S. jishouensis , although this sister relationship receives weak support (UFBoot = 46, PP = 0.56). Morphologically, the new species can be clearly distinguished from these taxa by the following combination of characters: a perennial subshrubby habit with a woody stem base, reaching 40–100 cm in height; lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate leaves with conspicuously bullate venation and the abaxial surface densely covered with yellow sessile glandular dots; the co-occurrence of stipitate glandular hairs and yellow sessile glandular dots on multiple vegetative and floral organs; and a strongly geniculate corolla base lacking any saccate or spur-like projection. Morphological and molecular evidence together support its recognition as a species new to science. In accordance with IUCN Red List criteria, S. chenhedongensis is provisionally assessed as Vulnerable (VU D1+D2).
Two new species of Salvia zayuensis and S. toxantha (Lamiaceae), from Southwest China, are described. Salvia zayuensis is similar to S. cyclostegia but is distinguished by its larger cauline leaves (18.2–24.0 cm), densely hoary appressed trichomes on young rachises and abaxial leaf and bract surfaces, and peach-shaped juvenile inflorescences maturing into 40 cm long. Its corolla is bicolored (purplish-brown upper lip, yellow lower lip) with the anther connective 0.15 cm shorter in arc length. Salvia toxantha resembles S. smithii in leaf shape, inflorescence structure, bract and bracteole morphology, and corolla color, yet it is characterized by the absence of lemon scent, longer pedicels and calyxes, a slender, bow-shaped corolla, and purple-brown spots on the middle lobe of lower lip. Additionally, its anther connective is ca. 0.4 cm shorter than that in S. smithii . Phylogenetic analysis of chloroplast genome places both new species within the subclade Eurysphace of subg. Glutinaria .
