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Issue: Vol. 766 No. 2: 9 Jul. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-07-09
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.766.2.5
Page range: 169-178
Abstract views: 49
PDF downloaded: 3

Morphological and molecular evidence for a new species of Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae) from southwestern China

State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; China; College of Life Sciences; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences; Beijing 100049; China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; China
Department of Genetics; University of Leicester; Leicester LE1 7RH; UK
Northwest Institute of Plateau Biology & Institute of Sanjiangyuan National Park; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Xining 810008; China
State Key Laboratory of Phytochemistry and Natural Medicines; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; China; Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia; Kunming Institute of Botany; Chinese Academy of Sciences; Kunming 650201; China
Eudicots Molecular phylogeny Saxifraga paniana Saxifraga subsect. Hirculoideae taxonomy

Abstract

Saxifraga is the largest genus within Saxifragaceae, and China represents one of its major centers of species diversity. In this study, we describe and illustrate a new species, S. paniana, from the Cangshan-Erhai National Natural Reserve in Yunnan, southwestern China. Morphological characters and molecular phylogenetic analysis place it within S. sect. Ciliatae subsect. Hirculoideae. Morphologically, it most closely resembles S. peplidifolia, but differs in leaf, pedicel, and sepal indumentum. Phylogenetic analyses based on complete plastome data indicate that it is sister to S. subaequifoliata. However, these two species are clearly distinguishable in plant size, inflorescence structure, and indumentum.

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How to Cite

Ma, X.-L., Gornall, R.J., Gao, Q.-B. & Xiang, C.-L. (2026) Morphological and molecular evidence for a new species of Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae) from southwestern China. Phytotaxa 766 (2): 169–178. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.766.2.5