223
P imula xinjingensis (P imulaceae), a new species om Guizhou,
China
Sheng-Hu Tang1, Ze-Xu Long2, Fang-Wen Li3
1 Gesne iad Conse a ion Cen e o China (Guizhou), Na ional Fo es y and G assland Adminis a ion Key Labo a o y o Biodi e si y Conse a ion in Ka s Te ain
o Sou hwes e n China, Guizhou Bo anical Ga den, Guiyang 550000, China
2 School o Biological Science, Guizhou Educa ional Uni e si y, Guiyang 550000, China
3 Chengdu Bo anical Ga den (Chengdu Pa k Ci y Bo anical Science Resea ch Ins i u e), Chengdu 610000, China
Co esponding au ho : Fang-Wen Li ([email p o ec ed])
Copy igh : © Sheng-Hu Tang e al.
This is an open access a icle dis ibu ed unde
e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion
License (A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional – CC BY 4.0).
Resea ch A icle
Abs ac
A new species, named P imula xinjingensis, has been desc ibed om no h-eas e n
Guizhou, China. I belongs o he sec . Monoca picae. The species esembles P. pellu-
cida in ha ing e a inose plan s, he shape o he lea blade, and ecu ed calyx lobes in
ui . Howe e , i di e s om P. pellucida by possessing a campanula e calyx, lanceola e
calyx lobes, na owly cunea e-obo a e co olla limb lobes, and a s yle eaching he h oa
in he pin lowe s. I also sha es simila i ies wi h P. di a ica a and P. epili hica in e ms o
e a inose plan s and he shape o he lea blade. Ne e heless, i is dis inc om hese
wo species by he absence o hizomes, ha ing ecu ed calyx lobes in ui , lanceola e
calyx lobes, and na owly cunea e-obo a e co olla limb lobes. The new axon has been
assessed as “Da a De icien ” (DD) acco ding o he IUCN s anda ds.
Key wo ds: ka s lo a, new axon, P imula, Yanhe Coun y
In oduc ion
P imula L. is a la ge genus belonging o he amily P imulaceae, comp ising app ox-
ima ely 548 species wo ldwide (POWO 2025). This genus p ima ily occu s in he
empe a e and alpine egions o he No he n Hemisphe e (Hu 1990; Hu and Kelso
1996). In China, app oxima ely 351 species ha e been documen ed (Liu 2025). In
ecen yea s, nume ous new axa ha e been disco e ed in China (IPNI 2025), in-
cluding P. yanbianensis T.Shuai, Lei Cai & Z.K.Wu (Shuai e al. 2025), P. medogensis
W.B.Ju, Bo Xu & X.F.Gao (Ju e al. 2023), P. zhengyii Bin Yang & Y.H.Tan (Yang e al.
2023), and P. xinningensis Wei Zhang bis & J.W.Shao (Zhang e al. 2022).
The sec ion Monoca picae F anch. ex Pax o he genus P imula is cha ac e ized
by plan s ha ing mul icellula hai s, memb anous lea es wi h a dis inc pe iole and
a ound o hea -shaped blade base, a campanula e calyx, and a globose o cylin-
d ical capsule dehiscing by al es (Hu 1990). This sec ion is a small g oup consis -
ing o 21 species in China (Hu and Kelso 1996; Xu e al. 2016a, 2016b, 2017, 2022).
Du ing a ield su ey conduc ed in Ma ch 2025 in Yanhe Coun y, Guizhou
P o ince, China, we disco e ed some lowe ing plan s belonging o he genus
P imula. In Ap il 2025, we e u ned o collec specimens and ake pho og aphs.
Academic edi o : A elinah Julius
Recei ed:
7 Augus 2025
Accep ed:
23 Sep embe 2025
Published:
4 No embe 2025
Ci a ion: Tang S-H, Long Z-X, Li
F-W (2025) P imula xinjingensis
(P imulaceae), a new species om
Guizhou, China. Phy oKeys 265:
223–232. h ps://doi.o g/10.3897/
phy okeys.265.168043
Phy oKeys 265: 223–232 (2025)
DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.168043
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Phy oKeys 265: 223–232 (2025), DOI: 10.3897/phy okeys.265.168043
Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
In June 2025, we ha es ed he capsules om he plan s cul i a ed a he
Guizhou Bo anical Ga den. The plan s a e cha ac e ized as pe ennial, e a inose
he bs lacking hizomes. They ea u e a 5–9-lobula e lea blade wi h mul icel-
lula hai s, lanceola e calyx lobes ha a e ecu ed in ui s, and na owly cu-
nea e-obo a e co olla lobes. A e ho ough compa isons, we concluded ha
hey ep esen a new species belonging o he sec ion Monoca picae.
Ma e ials and me hods
The mo phological cha ac e is ics o app oxima ely 100 ma u e indi iduals we e
obse ed, and 20 selec ed lowe s we e ca e ully obse ed and measu ed in he
ield. A mic oscope (Olympus SZ61, Tokyo, Japan) was used o mic o-obse a-
ion. The plan was desc ibed ollowing he e minology used by Hu and Kelso
(1996). All he species belonging o he sec ion Monoca picae in China ha e been
examined using ype specimens o he desc ip ions p o ided by Hu (1990) and
Hu and Kelso (1996). Rele an li e a u e was consul ed, including Xu e al. (2016a,
2016b, 2017, 2022). The ele an images we e sou ced om i ual he ba ia and
da abases, including E (h ps://da a. bge.o g.uk/sea ch/he ba ium/), P (h ps://
science.mnhn. /all/sea ch), iPlan (h p://www.iplan .cn/), and CVH (h ps://www.
c h.ac.cn/), CFH (h ps://www.c h.ac.cn/) and CUBG (h ps://image.cubg.cn/).
Taxonomic ea men
P imula xinjingensis Sheng H.Tang & F.W.Li, sp. no .
u n:lsid:ipni.o g:names:77371343-1
Figs 1–3
Diagnosis. The new species bea s a s iking esemblance o P imula pelluci-
da F anch. in e ms o he e a inose plan s, he shape o he lea blade, and
he ecu ed calyx lobes in ui . Howe e , i is dis inguished by ha ing a cam-
panula e ( s. b oadly campanula e) calyx, lanceola e ( iangula o o a e) calyx
lobes, na owly cunea e-obo a e ( s. obo a e) co olla limb lobes and a s yle
eaching he h oa ( s. exse ed om he co olla ube) in he pin lowe s. The
new species also sha es simila i ies wi h P. di a ica a F. H.Chen & C.M.Hu and
P. epili hica F.H.Chen & C.M.Hu in e ms o lea blade size and shape, as well
as he campanula e calyx. Ne e heless, i is se apa om hese wo species
by he absence o hizomes ( s. hei p esence), lanceola e ( s. iangula o
o a e- iangula ) calyx lobes ha a e ecu ed ( s. e ec ) in ui s, and na owly
cunea e-obo a e ( s. cunea e-obo a e o obo a e) co olla limb lobes.
Type. China. Guizhou P o ince: Yanhe Coun y, Xinjing Town, 28°52'N, 108°18'E,
ca. 700 m, 3 Ap il 2025, Sheng H.Tang & Da-Zhu Tang 202504001 (holo ype: CSH!
[accession numbe CSH0220070]; iso ype: he Guizhou Bo anical Ga den!).
Desc ip ion. He bs pe ennial, e a inose, wi hou hizomes, up o 9 cm all
a an hesis. Roo s nume ous, ib ous. Lea es 7–20, o ming a ose e; pe i-
ole 5–13 mm long, sho -s alked glandula and spa sely mul icellula hai s;
lea blade o a e o subo bicula , 4–12 × 4–10 mm, memb anous when d y,
abaxially and adaxially wi h mul icellula hai s, base co da e, apex acu e,
ma gin 5–9-lobula e; lobules o a e o b oadly o a e, ma gin en i e, some-
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
Figu e 1. P imula xinjingensis sp. no . A. Flowe ing plan , and b ac s (inse ); B. Adaxial and abaxial su aces o he lea
blade, and mul icellula hai s on bo h sides (inse ); C, D, E. Pin lowe ; F, G, H, I, J. Th um lowe ; K, L. Capsules; M. Seeds.
Pho og aphs by Sheng-Hu Tang.
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
imes wi h 1 o 2 ee h, apex acu e; la e al eins 3–4 pai s, obscu e adaxially
and p ominen abaxially. Scapes 1–3, sho -s alked glandula and spa sely
mul icellula hai s, 1–4 cm all, umbel 1, a ely 2, 1–4- lowe ed; b ac s 3,
some imes 2 o 4, linea -lanceola e, 2–3 mm long, sho -s alked glandula
on bo h sides. Flowe s he e os ylous. Pedicel 1–2 cm long, sho -s alked
glandula and spa sely mul icellula hai s. Calyx campanula e, 2–4 mm
long, sligh ly enla ged in ui , sho -s alked glandula and spa sely mul i-
cellula hai s ou side, glab ous inside, pa ed o middle o sligh ly below;
lobes 1.5–2.5 × 0.8–0.9 mm, lanceola e, ecu ed a an hesis some imes,
and ecu ed in ui , apex acumina e. Co olla ose-pu ple; ube 6–9 mm
long; limb 9–14 mm wide; lobes 4–6 mm long, na owly cunea e-obo a e,
deeply ema gina e. Pin lowe s: s amens 2–2.2 mm abo e base o co olla
ube, s yle 4.5–7 mm long, eaching h oa . Th um lowe s: s amens owa d
Figu e 2. Habi a s o P imula xinjingensis sp. no . (Popula ion a he ype locali y). Pho og aphs by Sheng-Hu Tang.
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
Figu e 3. Holo ype o P imula xinjingensis sp. no . s o ed in CSH (Sheng H.Tang & Da-Zhu Tang 202504001, CSH0220070).
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
apex o co olla ube, s yle 2.5–3 mm long. Capsule globose, 1.7–2.1 mm in
diam., dehiscing by 2 al es o c umbling i egula ly. Seeds nume ous, o oid
o i egula ly o oid, 0.5–0.8 mm long, b own, es a e icula e.
Phenology. Flowe ing occu s om la e Ma ch o ea ly Ap il, and ui ing oc-
cu s om May o June.
E ymology. The new axon was named o i s locali y, Xinjing Town, Yanhe
Coun y, Guizhou P o ince, China.
Ve nacula name. The Chinese name is “Xīn Jǐng Bào Chūn” (新景报春).
Dis ibu ion and habi a . Only one popula ion was disco e ed in Xinjing
Town, Yanhe Coun y, Guizhou P o ince, China (Fig. 4). I h i es on mois , shady
cli s and limes one su aces. The p ima y companion species a e And osace
kouy chensis Bona i, Pe ocodon scopulo um (Chun) Yin Z.Wang, and Ophio hi-
za chinensis H.S.Lo.
Conse a ion s a us. Only one popula ion, consis ing o app oxima ely 200
ma u e indi iduals, was disco e ed a he ype locali y. Addi ional popula ions
likely exis in his a ea. Un il u he in es iga ion is conduc ed, he species
should be designa ed as “Da a De icien ” (DD) in acco dance wi h he IUCN Red
Lis C i e ia (IUCN 2024).
No es. The new species bea s he closes esemblance o P imula pellucida
(Fig. 5), P. di a ica a (Fig. 6), and P. epili hica (Fig. 6), and we ha e success ully
ob ained images o hei ype specimens. The de ailed mo phological compa -
ison is shown in Table 1, as well as an iden i ica ion key o P. xinjingensis and
i s ela ed species.
Figu e 4. Loca ion o he popula ion o P imula xinjingensis sp. no . in Yanhe Coun y, Guizhou P o ince, China (indica ed
by he blue ci cle).
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
Figu e 5. The ype specimen o P imula pellucida s o ed in P (Dela ay 2274, P04544677).
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
Key o P imula xinjingensis and i s ela ed species
1 In lo escences and abaxial su ace o lea es mo e o less a inose ........2
– Plan s e a inose h oughou .........................................................................3
2 Calyx pa ed below middle, lobes lanceola e o linea -lanceola e ...............
.......................................................................................................P. duclouxii
– Calyx pa ed o he middle, lobes iangula o na owly iangula .............
.....................................................................................................P. pe ocallis
Table 1. De ailed compa isons among P imula xinjingensis, P. pellucida, P. di a ica a and P. epili hica.
Cha ac e s P. xinjingensis P. pellucida P. di a ica a P. epili hica
Habi a al . ca. 700 m al . ca. 2000 m al . 1800–2700 m al . 2300–2500 m
Rhizomes absen absen p esen p esen
Calyx
Calyx shape campanula e b oadly campanula e campanula e campanula e
Lobe shape lanceola e iangula o o a e iangula o a e- iangula
Lobe apex acumina e acu e acu e acu e
Lobes in ui ecu ed ecu ed e ec e ec
Co olla limb lobes na owly cunea e-obo a e obo a e cunea e-obo a e obo a e
Pin lowe s s yle eaching h oa s yle exse ed om co olla ube s yle ca. as long as ube s yle eaching h oa
Figu e 6. The ype specimens o P imula di a ica a and P. epili hica. A. Iso ype o P. di a ica a s o ed in WUK (M.K.Li 3439,
271331); B. Holo ype o P. epili hica s o ed in KUN (M.K.Li 1199, 1218844).
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Sheng-Hu Tang e al.: P imula xinjingensis
3 Rhizomes absen , calyx lobes ecu ed in ui s .........................................4
– Rhizomes p esen , calyx lobes e ec in ui s ..............................................5
4 Calyx campanula e, and s yle o pin lowe s eaching h oa ......................
.................................................................................................. P. xinjingensis
– Calyx b oadly campanula e, and s yle o pin lowe s exse ed ....................
.......................................................................................................P. pellucida
5 Scapes wi h small lea es a apex; calyx 2–3 mm .....................P. di a ica a
– Scapes wi hou lea es a apex; calyx ca. 4 mm ......................... P. epili hica
Acknowledgemen s
Thanks o E (h ps://da a. bge.o g.uk/sea ch/he ba ium/), P (h ps://science.
mnhn. /all/sea ch), iPlan (h p://www.iplan .cn/), CVH (h ps://www.c h.
ac.cn/), CFH (h ps://www.c h.ac.cn/), and CUBG (h ps://image.cubg.cn/) o
p o iding a weal h o ele an images on he In e ne . Thanks o P and CVH
o g an ing us pe mission o use hei images o his publica ion. The MNHN
gi es access o he collec ions in he amewo k o he RECOLNAT in e na ion-
al Resea ch In as uc u e. We a e g a e ul o Da-Zhu Tang, Yue-Heng Feng and
Jia-Hao Fang o hei kind con ibu ions o he ield wo k, and o Bin-Jie Ge o
deposi ing he ype specimen o he new axon in CSH.
Addi ional in o ma ion
Con lic o in e es
The au ho s ha e decla ed ha no compe ing in e es s exis .
E hical s a emen
No e hical s a emen was epo ed.
Use o AI
No use o AI was epo ed.
Funding
This wo k was suppo ed by he Na ional Na u al Science Founda ion o China
(32160095), he Guizhou Bo anical Ga den (Z[2023]01), he Guizhou P o incial Basic Re-
sea ch P og am (Na u al Science): No. Qian-Ke-He-Ji-Chu [2023]1Y235, and he Cen al
Fo es y and G assland Ecological P o ec ion and Res o a ion Fund (MYH2024-HT041).
Au ho con ibu ions
Sheng-Hu Tang and Fang-Wen Li concei ed he s udy. Sheng-Hu Tang and Ze-Xu Long col-
lec ed he samples. Sheng-Hu Tang, Ze-Xu Long, and Fang-Wen Li conduc ed he measu e-
men s o he mo phological cha ac e is ics, da a analysis, and mic oscopic obse a ions.
Sheng-Hu Tang and Ze-Xu Long w o e he o iginal manusc ip . Fang-Wen Li e iewed and
edi ed he manusc ip . All he au ho s app o ed he inal e sion o he manusc ip .
Au ho ORCIDs
Sheng-Hu Tang h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-2168-8559
Ze-Xu Long h ps://o cid.o g/0000-0002-2870-8751
Fang-Wen Li h ps://o cid.o g/0009-0002-6326-5922
