Delphinium pseudoscabriflorum Q. Yuan & Q. E. Yang 2023, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Yuan, Qiong
name: Yang, Qin-Er
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Ranunculales
Ranunculaceae
Delphinium
Delphinium pseudoscabriflorum

description: Delphinium pseudoscabriflorum Q. Yuan & Q.E. Yang, sp. nov. Figs. 1C, D, 2, 4–7, 17.
Type:— CHINA. Xizang: Cona, ca. 1 km south of Lemen Xiang, alt. ca. 2500 m, forest margin, 20 August 2019, Long Wang, Xin-Qiang Guo & You-pai Zeng WL3157 (holotype IBSC, isotypes IBSC, KUN, PE). Figs. 5, 6.
= Delphinium scabriflorum auct. non Don (1821: 412): Munz (1968), p.p., excl. R.E. Cooper 4114; Grierson (1984).
= Delphinium umbrosum var. drepanocentrum (Brühl ex Huth 1895: 419) Wang & Warnock in Wang et al. (1995: 384); Wang (2020: 147), p.p., quoad Qinghai - Xizang Suppl. Exped. 751642, Qinghai - Xizang Suppl. Exped. 751720 [see Yuan & Yang (2022)].
= Delphinium conaense auct. non Wang in Wang & Li (1987: 34): Wang (2020: 165), p.p., quoad PE Xizang Exped. PE6212 [see Yuan & Yang (2023)].
Description:—Perennial herbs. Rootstock thickened, woody. Stems 0.5–1.2 m or more tall, more or less spreading puberulent throughout or at least above, scattered-leafy; leaves pentagonal, the blades of the lower 5–15 cm broad, open-cordate, 5-fid to near the base or 0.5 cm above, the segments cuneate below, stiff-pubescent on both sides, but especially on nerves beneath, the segments incised-lobed then coarsely toothed. the lobules oblong-ovate, 2–5 mm or more wide; petioles more or less spreading puberulent, 10–20 cm long, scarcely vaginate at base; upper leaves gradually reduced. Inflorescence often amply paniculate, central raceme open, 8–12-flowered, with fewer-flowered branches from below; rachis densely more or less spreading puberulent, some of the hairs glandular; lower bracts foliose, divided, to 3 cm long, the upper simple, entire, linear to lanceolate, 1–2 cm long; pedicels arched-spreading, 1–5 cm long, densely more or less spreading puberulent, some of the hairs glandular; bracteoles linear to lanceolate, ca. 1 cm long, abaxially stiff-puberulent, closely appressed to the flower. Flowers blue to rich blue-violet; sepals densely stiff-puberulent, the upper sepal round-ovate, ca. 1.5 cm long, ca. 1 cm broad, subscute, the spur ca. 1.8 cm long, ca. 5 mm broad at base, lateral sepals oblong-obovate, ca. 1.8 cm long, ca. 5 mm broad, subacute, lower sepals asymmetrically obovate, ca. 1.8 cm long, ca. 5 mm broad, subacute; petals blue, the laminae oblique, ca. 8 mm long, ca. 3 mm wide, glabrous, bidentate, the spur ca. 1.5 cm long; staminodes oblong, ca. 1 cm long, 3.5 mm broad, bifid into 2 unequal lanceolate-oblong lobes, white ciliate, the claw ca. 6 mm long, white bearded; stamens ca. 8 mm long; anthers elongate, 1.5 mm long; carpels 3, ventrally puberulent, more densely so on styles. Follicles ventrally puberulent.
Distribution and habitat:— Delphinium pseudoscabriflorum is distributed in Bhutan and the closely adjacent Cona county in southern Xizang, China (Fig. 13). It grows in forests or at forest margins at altitudes of 2400–2600 m above sea level.
Phenology:—Flowering from July to September; fruiting from September to October.
Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— BHUTAN. B.J. Gould 724 (E), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 3342 (BM, 2 sheets); Lhuentse, R.E. Cooper 4223 (BM, E), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 21303 (BM); Wangdue Phodrang, F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 219 (BM, E), S.B. Lyon 3480 (BM); Without precise locality, J.C. White s.n. (E).
CHINA. Xizang: Cona, Anonymous 75-1841 (PE00580621, PE00580622, PE00580623), FLPH Tibet Exped. 12-0849 (PE01966670, PE01966671), PE Xizang Exped. 6212 (PE02347446, PE02347447), PE Xizang Exped. 6282 (PE02309341, PE02309342, PE02309399, PE02309400), Qinghai - Xizang Suppl. Exped. 75-1642 (HNWP, KUN0685490, KUN0685491, PE00500068, PE00500070), Qinghai - Xizang Suppl. Exped. 75-1720 (HNWP, KUN0685488, KUN0685489, PE00500067), Qinghai-Xizang Veg. Exped. 2471 (PE00048368), Z. Zhou et al. ZJW-3923 (KUN1274266).
Notes:— Delphinium pseudoscabriflorum is similar to D. ludlowii Munz (1968: 105) in habit and position of bracteoles on the pedicel, but differs by having leaves 5-fid to near the base or about 0.5 cm above (vs. 5-fid to about 1 cm from the base), pedicels densely more or less spreading puberulent (vs. appressed strigulose), bracteoles linear to lanceolate (vs. subspathulate), sepaline spurs slightly curved downward (vs. slightly curved upward), and follicles ventrally puberulent (vs. glabrous). Our new species is also somewhat similar to D. scabriflorum in habit, but differs by having leaves 3-fid to near the base or about 0.5 cm above (vs. moderately 5-lobed), pedicels more or less spreading puberulent (vs. appressed strigulose), bracteoles closely appressed to the flower (vs. below middle of the pedicel), sepaline spurs slightly curved downward (vs. straight), and follicles ventrally puberulent (vs. glabrous).
Munz (1968) described Delphinium ludlowii on the basis of eight collections from Bhutan. These include R.E. Cooper 4322 (BM; Fig. 14A), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 368 (BM, E; the BM sheet shown in Figure 14B), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 470 (BM, E; Fig. 14C, D), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 894 (BM, E; Fig. 15), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 1008 (BM; Fig. 16A), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 16972 (BM; Fig. 16B), F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 19485 (BM; Fig. 16C), and F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 20978 (BM; Fig. 16D), with the BM sheet of the collection F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 894 designated as holotype (Fig. 15A). In the protologue, the author stated that this species seemed close to D. altissimum, but had more evenly toothed leaves, bracteoles nearer the flower, and sepals more minutely pubescent. Since its description, D. ludlowii has been recognized by Hara (1979), Grierson (1984), Rau (1993), and Press et al. (2000), with its geographical range extended to include Nepal and India (Sikkim). However, we have been unable to see any material of D. ludlowii from Nepal and Sikkim.
From the type material, Delphinium ludlowii is characterized by having stems up to 1 m tall, pubescent with deflexed hairs (minutely strigulose) especially above, leaves 5-fid to about 1 cm from base, inflorescence mostly a lax 6–12-flowered raceme, inflorescence axis and pedicels densely pubescent with deflexed hairs (minutely strigulose), bracteoles linear-spathulate and closely appressed to sepals (subtending the flower), sepaline spurs slightly curved upward, and glabrous follicles. It is noteworthy that the degree of leaf division is somewhat variable in this species. In the holotype and isotype the leaves are divided to about 1 cm from the base (Fig. 15), but in three paratypes the leaves are often more deeply divided to less than 1 cm from base (Fig. 16B–D).
Of the collections cited as Delphinium scabriflorum by Munz (1968), only R.E. Cooper 4114 (BM, E; Fig. 1A, B) belongs to this species. The remaining collections should belong to our new species D. pseudoscabriflorum. Two specimens from Bhutan, F. Ludlow & G. Sherriff 21303 (BM; Fig. 17A) and S.B. Lyon 3480 (BM; Fig. 17B), were identified as D. ludlowii on the determination slips but not cited under this species by Munz (1968). From their degree of leaf division, shape of bracteoles and their position on the pedicel, and shape of sepaline spurs, both can also be readily referred to our new species D. pseudoscabriflorum.
description: Published as part of Yuan, Qiong & Yang, Qin-Er, 2023, Taxonomic studies on the genus Delphinium (Ranunculaceae) from China (XXVI): Notes on D. altissimum and D. scabriflorum, with description of a new species, D. pseudoscabriflorum, pp. 21-39 in Phytotaxa 630 (1) on pages 29-36, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.630.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/10361853