Arisaema yunnanense Buchet (1911: 367) subsp. quinquelobatum (H.Li & J.Murata) Z.X.Ma, 2017

Ma, Zheng-Xu, Du, Wen-Yan & Wang, Xiao-Yun, 2019, A new species and a new combination of the genus Arisaema (Araceae) from China, Phytotaxa 395 (4), pp. 265-276 : 274

Arisaema yunnanense Buchet (1911: 367) subsp. quinquelobatum (H.Li & J.Murata) Z.X.Ma , comb. & stat. nov.

Arisaema quinquelobatum H.Li & J.Murata in Li et al. (2010: 59). syn. nov. Type:— CHINA. Yunnan Province: Lijiang City, Yulong County,

Hutiaoxia Town, Hutiao Valley, 1860 m, 20 Jun. 1995, J. Murata, X. Cheng, H. Takahashi, J. Ohno & H. Murata s.n. (holotype

TI!). Arisaema yunnanense var. quinquelobatum (H.Li & J.Murata) Z.X.Ma & H.Li (2017: 75) . syn. nov.

Distribution and habitat:—T hickets, valley slopes, roadsides, grassy slopes, Pinus-Quercus forests. At elevations of 1800–2100 m. Northern to central Yunnan Province, China.

Discussion:— The subspecies A. yunnanense subsp. quinquelobatum was previously treated as a variety of A. yunnanense ( Ma & Li, 2017) . However, the evidences of chromosome number of the former (2n=24) and the latter (2n=48) ( Li et al., 2010) indicate the reproductive isolation between them and the stable presence of the leaf blade number, 5-foliolate in the former and 3-foliolate in the latter, also suggested their obvious morphological distinction. Furthermore, according to our field investigations and examination of herbarium specimens, A. yunnanense subsp. quinquelobatum is always found in the dry-hot river valley and its vicinity in northcentral to northwestern Yunnan Province, whereas A. yunnanense subsp. yunnanense appears commonly in more various habitats, and is widespread in Guangxi Province, Guizhou Province, Sichuan Province and Yunnan Province. Consequently, considering the concept of variety and subspecies, we propose ranking the taxon as a subspecies instead of a variety.