Cheniella, R. Clark & Mackinder

Peng, Xia, Jiang, Kai-Wen, Fang, Tian-Song, Gu, Qiao-Yun, Gu, Shi-Ran, Xie, Zhi, Duan, Lei, Li, Shi-Jin, Wang, Xiang-Ping, Shi, Miao-Miao, Tu, Tie-Yao & Zhang, Dian-Xiang, 2024, Cheniella tsoongii (Leguminosae: Cercidoideae), a rare, critically endangered new species from southern China, Phytotaxa 646 (2), pp. 193-202 : 200-201

Key to species of Cheniella

1. Leaf entire to emarginate, bilobed to less than 1/5 of length .............................................................................................................2

- Leaf bilobed to at least 1/4 of length ..................................................................................................................................................5

2. Leaf entire, ovate, hairy on lower surface ....................................................................................................................... C. ovatifolia

- Leaf emarginate, hairy on lower or both surfaces ..............................................................................................................................3

3. Leaf densely tomentose; ovary villose along both sutures; legume hairs ferruginous................................................. C. tianlinensis

- Leaf pubescent; ovary glabrous or with few hairs; mature legume glabrous.....................................................................................4

4. Leaf on lower surface dark ferruginous tomentose, white tomentose on upper surface; inflorescence a raceme, ferruginous tomentose; pedicel persistent after flowering, hypanthium 23–25 mm; ovary glabrous ......................................... C. clemensiorum

- Leaf on lower surface pale ferruginous appressed hairy, tomentose, villose, or pilose on veins, upper surface glabrous; inflorescence a raceme or corymb, pale tomentose; pedicel falling after flowering, hypanthium 7–20 mm; ovary with few hairs at the base........ ................................................................................................................................................................................... C. quinnanensis

5. Leaf length ≤ 51 mm, bilobed to ≥ 1/2 of length................................................................................................................................6

- Leaf length 20–80 mm, bilobed to ≤ 1/2 of length...........................................................................................................................10

6. Petals yellowish green; hypanthium 4–8 mm; ovary mostly glabrous but with ferruginous hairs along the dorsal suture................. ........................................................................................................................................................................................ C. hechiensis

- Petals white or pink; hypanthium 9–28 mm; ovary glabrous.............................................................................................................7

7. Leaf bilobed almost to the base, or the lobes joined by ca 1–2 mm; petals white; hypanthium 9–15 mm ......................... C. didyma

- Leaf bilobed to a lesser degree, the lobes joined by at least 3 mm; petals white or pink; hypanthium 11–28 mm ...........................8

8. Inflorescence an elongate raceme, axis length 2–16 mm; petals white, flowers zygomorphic; lengths of fully developed stamens and mature pistils 10–22 mm; legume curved or twisted, tardily dehiscent along one or both sutures............................ C. longipes

- Inflorescence a corymb, axis length 2–7 mm; petals white or pink, flowers nearly actinomorphic; lengths of fully developed stamens and mature pistils 10–15 mm; legume straight, tardily dehiscent ........................................................................................9

9. Petals pink; hypanthium length 18–28 mm; upper surface of leaves and branches glabrous, lower surface of leaves sparsely appressed pilose............................................................................................................................................................. C. corymbosa

- Petals white; hypanthium length 11–16 mm; both surfaces of leaves and branches densely hairy ...................... C. tsoongii sp. nov.

10. Leaf width greater than length; legume hairy................................................................................................................. C. pubicarpa

- Leaf length greater or lesser than width; legume glabrous...............................................................................................................11

11. Hypanthium length ≤ 14 mm ............................................................................................................................................................12

- Hypanthium length ≥ 15 mm ............................................................................................................................................................14

12. Hypanthium distinctly inflated at the base; petals yellowish to greenish; ovary hairy along lower suture ................. C. touranensis

- Hypanthium not distinctly inflated at the base; petals white; ovary glabrous..................................................................................13

13. Inflorescence a corymb; hypanthium glabrous, or with very few hairs at base, 10–15 mm long; petals white, width ≥ 5 mm .......... .............................................................................................................................................................................................. C. glauca

- Inflorescence a raceme, or lax and few-flowered; hypanthium sparsely to moderately pilose, slender, 5.5–8.5 mm long; petals yellowish white, width ≤ 4mm ............................................................................................................................ C. damiaoshanensis

14. Buds with sepals folded to form 5 prominent longitudinal ridges, deflexed from pedicel; flowers zygomorphic; petals white; fertile stamens at least two times longer than the petals; legume straight or slightly curved, tardily dehiscent ................ C. longistaminea

- Buds psilate, without ridges, not deflexed from pedicel; flowers nearly actinomorphic; petals white, pinkish or pink; fertile stamens nearly equal in length to petals; legume straight, indehiscent..........................................................................................................15

15. Inflorescence axillary; petals white with pink stripes; legume width 17–23 mm ....................................................... C. lakhonensis

- Inflorescence terminal; petals white to pink; legume width 30–60 mm ......................................................................... C. tenuiflora