Lilium brunneum T. Wang & Y. D. Gao 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Wang, Ting
name: Shen, Xiuying
name: Wang, De
name: Zhao, Ying
name: Qu, Xiaomei
name: Gao, Yundong
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Liliales
Liliaceae
Lilium
Lilium brunneum

description: Lilium brunneum T. Wang & Y. D. Gao sp. nov.
Figs 2, 3, 4, 5 and Table 1
Type.
China • Yunnan: Fugong county, Gaoligongshan Range [高黎贡山] (on the border with Myanmar); near Zhiziluo [知子罗], Biluoxueshan Range [碧罗雪山], 3500–3800 m. 10 July 2023, Y. D. Gao GYD 1524 (holotype CDBI 0299797) (Fig. 5 A), 11 July 2023, GYD 1530 (paratype CDBI 0299796).
Diagnosis.
Lilium brunneum shares morphological similarities with L. georgei, L. souliei, and L. saccatum but exhibits distinct differences that set it apart. Compared to L. georgei, L. brunneum is characterised by its shorter stature and smaller flowers. In contrast to L. souliei, it possesses shorter pedicels, and its filaments are closely appressed to the ovary. When compared to L. saccatum, L. brunneum is distinguished by its unique petal coloration, which ranges from brown to light brown with a greenish-yellow base. (Table 1, Fig. 2).
Description.
Perennial herbs with narrowly ovoid bulbs, 1.4–1.7 cm in diam.; scales white, outermost partially purplish-red, lanceolate. 1.5–3 cm × 6–10 mm. Stem erect, 16–28 cm. Leaves 6–12, scattered, narrowly elliptic, lanceolate, margin sometimes sparsely papillose. Flower solitary, nodding, campanulate. Tepals brown to light brown, usually paler towards base, unspotted, basally gibbous, greenish yellow; outer elliptic, 1.8–2.6 × 0.5–1.1 cm, apex shortly pointed; inner 0.6–1.2 cm wide; nectaries greenish yellow, not papillose. Stamens converging, adnate to the ovary; filaments to 1.0 cm, glabrous, green; anthers dorsifixed at approximately the middle, purple-brown, 4–7 mm. Ovary cylindrical, 7–11 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, green; style shorter than ovary, 5–7 mm; stigma swollen. Capsule subglobose, 1.5–2 cm in diam.
Phenology.
Flowering from June to July; fruiting from August to October.
Habitat and distribution.
On open stony alpine meadows and edges of bushes. 3500–3800 m. NW Yunnan (Fugong [福贡]) and bordering Myanmar (Kachin).
Etymology.
The epithet and Chinese name adopted here both denote the perianth colour of light brown resembling that of caramel.
Conservation status and IUCN preliminary assessment.
Through extensive field surveys, we identified two populations of L. brunneum located in the Gaoligongshan Range (on the border with Myanmar) and near Zhiziluo in the Biluoxueshan Range. The area of occupancy (AOO) was estimated to be approximately 32 km 2. Although each population contains more than 300 individuals, the number of mature individuals is fewer than 200. L. brunneum grows above the snowline at altitudes exceeding 3500 m. However, ongoing global climate warming may result in a reduction of its habitat area. Based on the criteria of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN 2024), we recommend classifying L. brunneum as an endangered species (EN, B 2 ab (ii + iii), C 2 a (i)).
description: Published as part of Wang, Ting, Shen, Xiuying, Wang, De, Zhao, Ying, Qu, Xiaomei & Gao, Yundong, 2025, Lilium brunneum (Liliaceae): a newly discovered species in north-western Yunnan, China, pp. 201-219 in PhytoKeys 254 on pages 201-219, DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.254.147769