Flemingia weii T.V.Do & X.F.Gao, 2020

Do, Truong Van & Gao, Xin-Fen, 2020, Taxonomic revision of the genus Flemingia (Leguminosae) from Indo-Chinese floristic region, Phytotaxa 429 (1), pp. 1-38 : 29-30

17. Flemingia weii T.V.Do & X.F.Gao , sp.nov. Type:— CHINA. Yunnan: Ching Tung-Hsiae Chang Chieh, 20 December 1939, M.K.Li 1581 (Holotype, KUN-0612135!) ( Figures 7 & 8 )

Erect shrub, ca. 1.5 m. Branchlets terete or slightly grooved, with brown tomentose. Petioles 3.5–5 cm long, unwinged or slightly winged at apex, adaxially grooved, pubescent; petiolules 2–3 mm long, densely villous of grey indumentum. Stipules lanceolate, 1.1–1.3 cm long, margin densely trichomes, outside densely grey silky, inside glabrous, caducous. Leaves digitately 3-foliolate, unequal; terminal leaflet rhombic, rarely elliptic, 9–11 cm long, 5–6 cm wide; basal veins 3, equal, external ones reaching upwards to more than two-third of the length of the leaflet lamina, lateral veins pinnate, 6–7 pairs, base cuneate, apex acute; lateral leaflets oblique-ovate or elliptic-lanceolate, 10–11 cm long, 5–6 cm wide, basal veins 3, unequal, slender one reaching upwards to one-fourth of the length of the leaflet lamina, thicker one reaching upwards to more than two-third of the length of the lamina leaf, lateral veins pinnate, 6–7 pairs, base oblique, one side cuneate, other side rounded and apex acuminate or slightly cuspidate, ca. 1 cm long; leaflets leathery; adaxially glabrous with obscure dotted glands; abaxially glabrescent except for some indumentum on veins, densely dotted glands. Inflorescence racemose with flowers condensed from base to apex, spike-like, axillary, solitary; inflorescence axis 6–7 cm long, straight, exceeding the length of petiole; bracts lanceolate, longer than calyx and corolla, being 9–10 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, base truncate, apex acuminate, both surfaces glabrous with well-marked striation, margin densely trichomes, ca. 2 mm long, persistent. Flowers pedicellate, 7–8 mm long; pedicel ca. 1–1.5 mm long, densely villous. Calyx 6–8 mm long, tube ca. 2 mm long, calyx lobes thrice as long as tube, with five subequal lobes, lanceolate, subulate, both surfaces with sparsely dotted glands, upper equally 4-lobed, 6–7 mm long, 1.5–2 mm wide, lower 1-lobed, broadest and longest, 7–8 mm long, ca. 2 mm wide, outside densely grey trichomes, inside glabrous, margin densely trichomes. Corolla white, as long as the calyx or slightly longer, glabrous, standard elliptic-obovate, 6–7 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, with obviously parallel striation, clawed, 2–3 mm long, apex cuspidate, base tapering to the claw with short auricles, ca. 1 mm long, margin entire; wings elliptic, shorter than standard and keel, 3–4 mm long, 1.5–2 mm wide, clawed, ca. 2 mm long, apex acute, base tapering to the claw with short auricles, margin entire; keel falcate, wider than wings, 4–5 mm long, 2.5–3 mm wide, clawed, 3.5–4 mm long, acute at apex, tapering to the claw with extremely short auricles at base, margin entire. Stamens diadelphous; staminal tube 5–6 mm long, thick, pubescent at lower half; filaments 1–1.5 mm long, glabrous; vexillary stamen free, 6–7 mm long, thin, glabrous; anther oblong 0.3–0.5 mm long, ca. 0.2 mm wide, glabrous. Ovary elliptic, subsessile, densely pubescent of white trichomes, 1.5–2 mm long, 2-ovuled; style long, filiform, 7–8 mm long, densely grey pubescent on the lower two-thirds; stigma capitate. Pods unknown.

Etymology: —The specific epithet honors a Chinese botanist, Prof. Dr. Wei Yuetsung who primarily contributed to the knowledge of Flemingia in China ranging from systematics and taxonomy.

Ecology and phenology: — Flemingia weii growing under the hillside and along streamsides, elev. 900–1600 m. Flowering from November to December; fruiting maybe start from January.

Distribution: — Endemic to China (Yunnan).

Notes: —The specimens of F. weii at KUN herbarium were misidentified as F. macrophylla , a widely distributed species in Indochinese floristic region, but it is clearly different from the latter in having solitary racemes (vs. clustered racemes or branched), inflorescence axis exceeding the petiole length (vs. shorter), lanceolate bracts, longer than corolla (vs. ovate, much shorter than corolla), calyx lobes lanceolate thrice as long as tube, densely trichomes (vs. lanceolate-ovate, ca. 1.5 × as long as tube pubescent), corolla as long as calyx or slightly longer (vs. much longer than calyx). Flemingia weii is mostly morphologically similar to F. grahamiana by sharing dense raceme, lanceolate bract with acuminate apex, persistent. It is, however, distinguished from the latter by some morphological characters of stipules (caducous vs. persistent), racems (solitary, spike-like vs. 3–5 clustered racemes), bract (longer than corolla, margin densely trichomes vs. as long as corolla or slightly shorter, margin smooth), corolla (as long as calyx or slightly longer vs. included in calyx). A detailed comparison is presented in Table 3.

Additional specimens examined (paratype): — CHINA. Yunnan, 8 December 1958, 1600 m alt., W.Wang 10194 (KUN-0616222).

Figures

FIGURE 7. Holotype of Flemingia weii (Li 1581 at KUN-0612135). A. A branch with axillary inflorescence; B. Lanceolate bract; C. Flower; D. Calyx; E. Parts of corrolla (standard, keel, and wings).

FIGURE 8. Morphological characters of Flemingia weii. A. A branch with axillary inflorescence; B. Lanceolate bract; C. Flower; D. Outside of calyx; E. Standard; F. Keel (dorsal and side views); G. Wings. H. Stamens with pistil. Line drawings drawn by Do Van Truong.