Vaccinium glaucophyllum C. Y. Wu & R. C. Fang
Creators: name: Ye, Xue-He
name: Tong, Yi-Hua
name: Yang, Cheng-Hua
name: Dai, Xiao-Yong
name: Xia, Nian-He
name: Zhou, Hou- Gao
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2021
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Ericales
Ericaceae
Vaccinium
Vaccinium glaucophyllum

description: Vaccinium glaucophyllum C.Y. Wu & R.C. Fang in Fang & Wu (1987: 381) (Fig. 1)
Type: China, Guizhou, Anlong County, Longshan Gongshe [Longshan Town], Shihuaping, in montane forests, 1800 m, 14 June 1960, T.S. Chang & Y.T. Chang 4493 (holotype KUN-1208891!, isotype PE-01909587!).
Supplementary description of floral morphology: Floral perennating buds much larger than vegetative buds. Inflorescences pseudoterminal or axillary on the upper branches, racemose, 3–5 cm long, with 15–25 flowers, rachis angulate, glabrous. Bracts broadly ovate, reddish, caducous, 7–9 × 6–8 mm, glabrous, margin ciliate; bracteoles linear, caducous, 3.5–4 mm long, glabrous, inserted at the base of pedicel. Pedicels 2–3 mm long, glabrous, articulated between pedicel and calyx. Calyx tubes glabrous, ca 1.5 mm long, lobes triangular or wide triangular, ca. 1.5 mm long. Corollas firstly white-green, turning to purplish red or light red, urceolate, 4–5 mm long, ca. 4.5 mm in diam., glabrous outside, pilose inside, especially on the upper half; corolla lobes short, ca. 1 mm long, reflexed. Stamens shorter than corolla, ca. 4 mm long, filaments pilose, ca. 1.5 mm long; anthers ca. 3 mm long, with 2 spurs, tubules 1.5–2 mm long. Disk smooth. Ovary inferior, 5-locular or pseudo-10-locular, style 4.5–5 mm long, glabrous; stigma punctate.
Phenology: This species flowers in April and fruits in May–August.
Distribution and habitat: This species is endemic to Longtou Mountain, which lies in southwest of Guizhou Province of China (Fig. 2). It grows on the rocks in limestone montane dwarf forests at elevations of 1,700 –1,880 m.
Conservation status: Only one individual of Vaccinium glaucophyllum has been seen by the authors. Because no population assessment of this species in the field has been made, it is best classified as ‘Data Deficient’ (DD) (IUCN 2019). The risk of being threatened seems to be low because this species is not economically valuable and the area is protected by Longtou Mountain Nature Reserve.
Similar species: Vaccinium glaucophyllum is similar to V. podocarpoideum Fang & Pan (1981: 101) in having an evergreen habit, dense leathery leaves with 2 basal glands and racemose inflorescences, but differs from the latter by oblongelliptic or elliptic (vs. linear-oblanceolate or linear-lanceolate) leaf blades that are 1.8–2.5 × 0.5–0.9 cm (vs. 2.5–3.2 × 0.35–0.5(–0.8) cm), glaucous (vs. not glaucous) adaxial leaf surfaces, and shorter calyx lobes (0.6–1 mm vs. 1.5–2 mm) with acute (vs. acuminate) apices (Wu & Fang 1987).
Sectional placement: Vaccinium glaucophyllum was assigned to V. sect. Galeopetalum (Smith 1912: 101) Sleumer (1936: 115) by Fang (1991). However, Stevens (1969) regarded this section defined by Sleumer as a residual taxon which accommodated a group of taxa of uncertain affinity. Later studies revealed that two distinct inflorescence types occur in sect. Galeopetalum: the type of the section, V. dialypetalum Smith (1912: 99) and its allies have an indeterminate inflorescence (the inflorescence axis develops after bud break) whilst other species have a determinate inflorescence (the complete inflorescence axis develops within a series of bud scales forming a massive flower bud) (Vander Kloet & Dickinson 2005). The former is restrictedly distributed in Peninsular Malaysia and northern Sumatra (Vander Kloet 2002), while those plants with a determinate inflorescence are widespread in the Himalayas from Nepal to Indochina and South China (Vander Kloet & Dickinson 2009). Hence, Vander Kloet & Dickinson (2005) erected a new section, i.e. V. sect. Calcicous Kloet in Vander Kloet & Dickinson (2005: 451) to accommodate those species with a determinate inflorescence, which is characterized by an evergreen habit, dimorphic perennating buds (i.e., floral perennating buds are at least twice the size of vegetative prerenating buds), racemose inflorescences with large caducous bracts, pseudo-10-loculed ovary with 2-5 seeds per locule and soft seed testa. Vaccinium glaucophyllum was not treated by Vander Kloet & Dickinson (2005), perhaps due to the lack of inflorescence information at that time. Based on our flowering material, it is found that V. glaucophyllum fits well within the circumscription of V. sect. Calcicous except that the texture of seed testa is unknown yet. Thus, Vaccinium glaucophyllum should be assigned to V. sect. Calcicous.
Additional specimens examined: China. Guizhou: Anlong county, Longshan Gongshe [Longshan Town], Shihuaping, 1800 m, 14 June 1960, T.S. Chang & Y.T. Chang 4458 (IBSC); Zhenfeng County, Longtou mountain, 1880 m, 9 April 2019, X.Y. Dai Zhenfeng 19040904 (IBSC, GF).
description: Published as part of Ye, Xue-He, Tong, Yi-Hua, Yang, Cheng-Hua, Dai, Xiao-Yong, Xia, Nian-He & Zhou, Hou- Gao, 2021, Taxonomic notes on Vaccinium glaucophyllum (Ericaceae): supplementary description of floral morphology and sectional reassignment (Ericaceae), pp. 291-294 in Phytotaxa 478 (2) on pages 291-294, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.478.2.12, http://zenodo.org/record/5413140