Weizhia pentaphylla G. Y. Li, Z. H. Chen, K. W. Jiang & B. Pan
Creators: name: Jiang, Kai-Wen
name: Chen, Yue
name: Li, Hua-Dong
name: Ma, Dan-Dan
name: Pan, Bo
name: Song, Zhu-Qiu
name: Wan, Kai-Yuan
name: Chen, Zheng-Hai
name: Li, Gen-You
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Fabales
Fabaceae
Weizhia
Weizhia pentaphylla

description: Weizhia pentaphylla G. Y. Li, Z. H. Chen, K. W. Jiang & B. Pan bis, gen. & sp. nov.
(Figs. 3 and 4). Iẽk r yuè dòu téng l
Type: CHINA. Zhejiang: Shengzhou, Shantouding, on the S slope, under the forest, moist place, alt. ca. 60 m, 3 October 2021 (fl. with young fruits), Y. Chen ZY08 (holotype: NPH001335!; isotype: NPH001336!).
Generic-specific description: —Perennial twining climbers, herbaceous, wholly pubescent with spreading hairs except for the corolla and pod, ca. 1.5 m long, the overground part deciduous in winter. Roots woody, thick. Stems slender. Leaves pinnate, leaflets (3–)5(–7); stipules lanceolate, 2–2.5 mm, basifixed, persistent or caducous; petiole 3–7 cm; rachis between two pairs of lateral leaflets 2–4 cm, that of terminal leaflet 0.5–1.5 cm; stipels awl-shaped, 1–2 mm, persistent; petiolules blackish-brown, 1–2 mm; leaflets thinly chartaceous, terminal leaflet 2.5–5.6 × 1.4–5.3 cm, rhomboid-ovate to ovate, acuminate to acute at apex, broadly cuneate, rounded to truncate at base, mid-vein and lateral veins slightly prominent on the adaxial surface, lateral veins 4–5 pairs; lateral leaflets slightly oblique, 1.4–5.3 × 1.1–4.5 cm. Pseudoraceme axillary, 0.4–10 cm, occasionally branched at base, slightly to strongly nodose with 2–5 flowers per node; bract 1, awl-shaped, minute, borne at base of pedicels. Pedicels 2–4 mm, 5–6 mm when fruiting; bracteoles 2, resembling bracts, borne at base of calyx. Calyx shortly tubular, 5-lobed, purple, ca. 6 mm, the lowest lobe longest, broadly triangular, ca. 1.3 × 1.1 mm, lateral lobes broadly deltoid, ca. 1 × 1.3 mm, the upper two 0.6 × 2.1 mm, slightly connate, emarginate at apex. Corolla grayish-green initially, turns white with violet petal-tips when mature; standard sub-elliptic, blade ca. 27 × 13 mm, with a basal claw ca. 3.5 mm, and two auricles at the connecting point of the blade and the claw; wing petals sub-oblong, blade ca. 10 × 3.5 mm, basal claw ca. 4 mm, the side opposite the claw with a spur ca. 1 mm long; keel petals slightly falcate, blade ca. 10 × 4.5 mm, basal claw ca. 5 mm, auricle minute, ca. 0.5 mm. Stamens 10; filaments ca. 15 mm, the free part upcurved, glabrous; anther uniform, basifixed. Pistil ca. 14 mm; ovary slender, light green, ca. 9 mm; style upcurved, white, ca. 5 mm; stigma capitate. Pods linear-oblong, sometimes slightly curved, 3.6–7.7 cm, compressed, sparsely hairy when young, glabrescent, slightly turgid between the seeds, valves turn greyish-brown when mature, twisted along both sutures when dehiscent. Seeds ellipsoid, ca. 7 × 4 mm, black with light yellow-brown speckles, smooth, slightly glossy.
Additional specimens examined (paratypes):— CHINA. Zhejiang: Shengzhou, Shengzhou Development Committee, Qianyuan Village, 2 October 2020, G. Y. Li, H. D. Li & Z. H. Chen SZ20100201 (ZM). Forest Park of Mt. Chenghuangshan, under the forest, roadside, alt. 60 m, 23 June 2021, Z. H. Chen, L. Chen, G. K. Chen & G. Y. Li SZ21062301 (ZM). ibid., under the sparse forest, near the walking trails, alt. 58 m, 12 October 2021, G. Y. Li, Z. H. Chen & D. D. Ma SZ21101201 (ZM). ibid., alt. 60 m, 12 October 2021, G. Y. Li, Z. H. Chen & D. D. Ma SZ21101202 (ZM). ibid., on the S slope, under the forest, moist place, alt. ca. 60 m, 21 August 2021, K. W. Jiang, Y. Chen & H. D. Li ZY01 (NPH).
Distribution: — Weizhia pentaphylla is currently only known from its type locality in Shengzhou City, Zhejiang Province, E China (Fig. 5).
Habitat: — Weizhia pentaphylla grows in shady and moist slopes under forest at an elevation from 60 to 100 m above sea level.
Phenology: —Flowering usually in October, fruiting from October to November.
Etymology: —The generic name, Weizhia, is in honor of Prof. Zhi Wei (1929–), a Chinese taxonomist at Zhejiang Museum of Natural History (ZM), who made outstanding contributions to the taxonomy of Chinese legumes. The epithet pentaphylla refers to the usually 5-foliolate pinnate leaves of the new species.
The Chinese name of Weizhia pentaphylla is proposed here as Iẽk: I refers to the name of an ancient State (IOi, Yue Guo) in Zhejiang Province; ẽ means pea in Chinese; k means vines or lianas, referring to the climbing habit of the species.
Conservation status: —In the type locality of Weizhia pentaphylla, only two populations with less than 20 individuals were discovered by the current authors, in which one population is located close to a residential area and is frequently disturbed by human activity. According to IUCN Standards and Petitions Subcommittee (2022), here we considered this species as Critically Endangered (CR-D). Conservation work for this species is urgently needed. The ex situ conservation efforts are currently underway at Ningbo Botanical Garden and Jiyang College of Zhejiang A & F University.
description: Published as part of Jiang, Kai-Wen, Chen, Yue, Li, Hua-Dong, Ma, Dan-Dan, Pan, Bo, Song, Zhu-Qiu, Wan, Kai-Yuan, Chen, Zheng-Hai & Li, Gen-You, 2023, Weizhia (Fabaceae: Phaseoleae), a new endemic genus from East China supported by morphological and molecular evidence, pp. 235-248 in Phytotaxa 603 (3) on pages 240-243, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.603.3.3, http://zenodo.org/record/8166679