Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 774 No. 1: 11 Sept. 2026
Type: Article
Published: 2026-09-11
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.774.1.8
Page range: 89-97
Abstract views: 29
PDF downloaded: 5

A new species of Ainsliaea (Asteraceae) from Jiangxi, China: Ainsliaea zhangjiangyuanensis

Lushan Botanical Garden Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences; Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Ex Situ Plant Conservation and Utilization; Jiujiang 332000; China
Zhangjiangyuan Provincial Nature Reserve Service Station; Chongyi County; China
Zhangjiangyuan Provincial Nature Reserve Service Station; Chongyi County; China
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology (2023SSY02081); Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang 330045; Jiangxi; China
Lushan Botanical Garden Jiangxi Province and Chinese Academy of Sciences; Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Ex Situ Plant Conservation and Utilization; Jiujiang 332000; China
Jiangxi Provincial Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology (2023SSY02081); Jiangxi Agricultural University; Nanchang 330045; Jiangxi; China
Eudicots Ainsliaea zhangjiangyuanensis Asteraceae Ganzhou new taxon perennial herb

Abstract

This paper describes a newly discovered species of the genus Ainsliaea (Asteraceae), Ainsliaea zhangjiangyuanensis, recently found in the Zhangjiangyuan Provincial Nature Reserve, Chongyi County, southern Jiangxi Province, China. Morphologically, the new species shares some similarities with A. trinervis and A. walkeri. However, A. zhangjiangyuanensis can be clearly distinguished from the closely related species by its minute (1.0–2.5 cm long) and subcoriaceous ovate to ovate-lanceolate leaves, distinctively 3-veined from the base, leaf margins broadly crenate, with 5–8 teeth on each side, conspicuously mucronate between the rounded teeth, and purplish-red anthers. Based on detailed morphological observations of living plants and herbarium specimens, its independent taxonomic status is confirmed. Furthermore, according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, the threat status of this new species is preliminarily assessed as Critically Endangered (CR).

References

  1. Franchet, A. (1894) Plantes nouvelles de la Chine occidentale. Journal de Botanique (Morot) 8: 290–297.
  2. Freire, S.E. (2007) Systematic revision and phylogeny of Ainsliaea DC. (Asteraceae, Mutisieae). Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 94 (1): 79–191. https://doi.org/10.3417/0026-6493(2007)94[79:SRAPOA]2.0.CO;2
  3. Gao, T.G., Freire, S.E. & Hind, D.J.N. (2011) Ainsliaea. In: Wu, Z.Y., Raven, P.H. & Hong, D.Y. (Eds.) Flora of China, vols. 20–21. Science Press, Beijing & Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, pp. 15–27.
  4. Hooker, J.D. (1876) Ainsliaea walkeri. Botanical Magazine 102: t. 6225.
  5. IUCN (2022) Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 15. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Committee. Available from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf (accessed 10 September 2026)
  6. Mitsui, Y., Chen, S.T., Zhou, Z.K., Peng, C.I., Deng, Y.F. & Setoguchi, H. (2008) Phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Ainsliaea (Asteraceae) in the Sino-Japanese region based on nuclear rDNA and plastid DNA sequence data. Annals of Botany 101 (1): 111–124. https://doi.org/10.1093/aob/mcm267
  7. Palazzesi, L., Pellicer, J., Barreda, V.D., Loeuille, B., Mandel, J.R., Pokorny, L., Siniscalchi, C.M., Tellería, M.C., Leitch, I.J. & Hidalgo, O. (2022) Asteraceae as a model system for evolutionary studies: from fossils to genomes. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 200 (2): 143–164. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boac032
  8. Peng, Y., Yang, C. & Luo, Y. (2020) Ainsliaea daheishanensis (Asteraceae): a new species from China. PhytoKeys 138: 233–239. https://doi.org/10.3897/Phytokeys.138.38566
  9. Pascual-Díaz, J.P., Garcia, S. & Vitales, D. (2021) Plastome diversity and phylogenomic relationships in Asteraceae. Plants 10 (12): e2699. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10122699
  10. Tseng, Y.C. (1993) Materials for Chinese Ainsliaea (Compositae). Acta Phytotaxonomica Sinica 31 (4): 362–367.
  11. Zhang, J., Zhan, Q., Liang, Y., Zhang, Z., Liu, F., Li, L., Tang, X., Liang, Z., Chen, W., Hu, M., Tan, S., Luo, H., Zhou, Y. & Yang, B. (2022) Geographic patterns of the richness and density of wild orchids in nature reserves of Jiangxi, China. Diversity 14 (10): e855. https://doi.org/10.3390/d14100855
  12. Zhang, X.Y., Tian, J., Cheng, Y.H., Peng, S., Chen, Y.S., Gao, T.G., Hu, G.W. & Wang, Q.F. (2024) An updated phylogeny of Ainsliaea (Asteraceae: Pertyoideae) and its implications for classification and habit evolution. Taxon 73 (4): 1030–1052. https://doi.org/10.1002/tax.13202
  13. Zhou, C.Y., Su, X., Wei, C., Ma, L. & Chen, S.P. (2025) Two new Ainsliaea species (Asteraceae: Pertyoideae) from southeast china: based on morphological characters and phylogenetic evidence. Ecology and Evolution 15 (3): e71088. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71088

How to Cite

Liu, Y., Liu, A.-F., Yang, D., Wang, R.-F., Tang, Z.-B. & Tang, M. (2026) A new species of Ainsliaea (Asteraceae) from Jiangxi, China: Ainsliaea zhangjiangyuanensis. Phytotaxa 774 (1): 89–97. https://doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.774.1.8