Tashiroea Matsum., J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 12: 489. 1899, emend. R.C. Zhou & Ying Liu

Zhou, Qiu-Jie, Dai, Jin-Hong, Lin, Che-Wei, Denda, Tetsuo, Zhou, Ren-Chao & Liu, Ying, 2019, Recircumscription of Bredia and resurrection of Tashiroea (Sonerileae, Melastomataceae) with description of a new species T. villosa, PhytoKeys 127, pp. 121-150 : 130

Tashiroea Matsum., J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 12: 489. 1899, emend. R.C. Zhou & Ying Liu

Lectotype.

Tashiroea yaeyamensis Matsum., J. Coll. Sci. Imp. Univ. Tokyo 12: 489. 1899. (Designated here)

Description.

Shrubs or shrublets, erect, rarely creeping in the lower parts. Stems terete or slightly 4-sided, glabrous or glabrescent, rarely densely hairy (in T. villosa ), terminal and axillary buds pubescent with yellowish uniseriate branched trichomes. Leaves petiolate; leaf blade lanceolate, ovate, elliptic, rarely suborbicular, stiffly papery to leathery, glabrescent when mature, rarely hairy (in T. villosa ), secondary veins 1 or 2 on each side of midvein, margin remotely serrulate, or almost entire. Inflorescences terminal, few-flowered cymes to cymose panicles; bract minute, rarely to 1-2 cm long (in T. villosa ), usually caducous. Flowers 4-merous. Hypanthium campanulate, rarely funnel shaped. Calyx lobes repand, crenate or triangular. Petals pink or purplish red, ovate, oblong to suborbicular, more or less oblique, apex acute or acuminate. Stamens 8, unequal or subequal; filaments filiform; anthers dimorphic or isomorphic, subulate to oblong-linear, gibbose, tuberculate or spurred at base, sometime unappendaged adaxially. Ovary half inferior, slightly crowned or uncrowned, ovoid-globular or turbinate, 4-celled. Style filiform; stigma apiculate. Capsule cup-shaped or subglobular, more or less 4-sided, woody, uncrowned, apex rounded or 4-humped, or crown persistent and enlarged, enclosing an obpyramidal space (in T. nudipes and T. oligotricha ). Seeds numerous, minute, cuneate, densely granulate. ( Figs 2 , 6 , 5 A–D, I–L , 8 A–D, I–L )

Distribution.

Eleven species, eight in southeastern mainland China (Anhui, Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang), one in Taiwan, and two in the Ryukyus ( Fig. 9 ).

Ito and Matsumura (1899) established Tashiroea based on T. yaeyamensis and T. okinawensis without designating a type. The original materials of both species conform to the protologue of Tashiroea . We designate T. yaeyamensis as the type of Tashiroea because this species bears much larger leaves and more flowers than T. okinawensis , which may facilitate future molecular and/or morphological analysis of the type materials.

Figures

Figure 2. Leaf morphology of the Tashiroea clade. A T. amoena (Y. Liu 571) B T. biglandularis (Y. Liu 553) C T. nudipes (Y. Liu 435) D T. oligotricha (Y. Liu 468) E T. okinawensis (Y. Liu 636) F T. quadrangularis (Y. Liu 585) G T. sessilifolia (Y. Liu 540) H T. yaeyamensis (Y. Liu 631).

Figure 5. Trichomes in the Tashiroea clade and the Bredia clade. A-D Micrographs of trichomes in the Tashiroea clade: A sessile gland with thin-walled head in T. nudipes (Y. Liu 435) B multiseriate trichomes in T. amoena (Y. Liu 571) C appressed uniseriate trichomes with glandular heads in T. nudipes (Y. Liu 435) D yellowish uniseriate trichomes (branched or unbranched) in T. quadrangularis (Y. Liu 585). E-H Micrographs of trichomes in the Bredia clade: E sessile gland with thin-walled head in B. longiradiosa var. pulchella (Y. Liu 485) F multiseriate trichomes in B. repens (Y. Liu 558) G appressed uniseriate trichomes with glandular heads in B. gibba (Y. Liu 566) H spreading uniseriate trichomes in B. hirsuta (Y. Liu 563). I-L Stereoscopic images of the Tashiroea clade, showing buds covered in yellowish uniseriate trichomes I T. amoena (Y. Liu 571) J T. nudipes (Y. Liu 435) K T. quadrangularis (Y. Liu 585) L T. yaeyamensis (Y. Liu 631). M-P Stereoscopic images of the Bredia clade, showing buds without yellowish uniseriate trichomes: M B. dulanica (Y. Liu 565) N B. gibba (Y. Liu 566) O B. gracilis (Y. Liu 457) P B. yunnanensis (Y. Liu 627). Scale bars: 100 μm (A-H); 1 mm (I-P).

Figure 6. Stamen morphology in the Tashiroea clade. A-D Dimorphic stamens: A T. amoena (Y. Liu 571) B T. quadrangularis (Y. Liu 585) C T. biglandularis (Y. Liu 553) D T. sinensis (Y. Liu 569). E-F Isomorphic stamens: E T. nudipes (Y. Liu 435) F T. oligotricha (Y. Liu 468). Scale bar: 5 mm.

Figure 8. Longitudinal section of ovary (A-H) and old fruit (I-P). A-D Tashiroea clade, crowned or uncrowned ovaries at anthesis: A T. amoena (Y. Liu 571) B T. quadrangularis (Y. Liu 585) C T. biglandularis (Y. Liu 553) D T. sinensis (Y. Liu 569). E-H Bredia clade, crowned ovaries at anthesis: E B. hirsuta (Y. Liu 563) F B. fordii var. micrantha (Y. Liu 580) G B. plagiopetala (Y. Liu 459) H B. longiradiosa var. pulchella (Y. Liu 485). I-L Tashiroea clade, uncrowned, rarely crowned capsules: I T. amoena (Y. Liu 571) J T. biglandularis (Y. Liu 553) K T. sinensis (Y. Liu 569) L T. oligotricha (Y. Liu 468). M-P Bredia clade, crowned capsules: M B. dulanica (Y. Liu 565) N B. fordii (Y. Liu 444) O B. latisepala (Y. Liu 557) P B. repens (Y. Liu 558). Scale bars: 2 mm.

Figure 9. Distribution of Tashiroea. Hollow triangles indicate the locations of Tashiroea villosa.