A new species of Rhododendron (Ericaceae) from Jiangxi of China based on morphological and molecular evidences

REN-LIN LIU; ZHONG-BING TANG; LIAN-MING GAO

doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.356.4.2

Issue: Vol. 356 No. 4: 18 June 2018

Type: Article

Published: 2018-06-18

DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.356.4.2

Page range: 267–275

Abstract views: 29

PDF downloaded: 1

**A new species of Rhododendron (Ericaceae) from Jiangxi of China based on morphological and molecular evidences**

REN-LIN LIU⁺⁻
ZHONG-BING TANG⁺⁻
LIAN-MING GAO⁺⁻

Life Science and Environment Engineering college, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi China

Gannan Normal UniveaLife Science and Environment Engineering college, Gannan Normal University, Ganzhou 341000, Jiangxi Chinarsity

Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650201, Yunnan, P. R . China

China DNA barcoding Morphological analysis New species Rhododendron Eudicots

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Abstract

Rhododendron microcarpum R.L. Liu & L.M. Gao sp. nov. is described as a new species which is confined to Jiangxi, China. It has been discovered only in Yingpan Mountain located in the junction area of Nanling Mountains and Luoxiao Mountains. Morphologically, R. microcarpum is significantly distinguishable from closely related species R. ovatum by elliptic leaves with small size of 2.56 (± 0.11) × 1.25 (± 0.04) cm, pink-white corolla, short calyx with 0.23 (±0.003) cm in length, and small flower and fruit. ITS Neighbor-joining (NJ) tree indicates that R. microcarpum represents a distinct species and is genetically closest to R. ovatum. Evidences from morphological, ecological and molecular data supported R. microcarpum as a new species of R. subgenus Azaleastrum Planch..