The genus Alphonsea currently comprises 27 species of shrubs or trees, distributed in wet tropical lowland forests across south and south-east Asia, from India to the Philippines. In a recent study, a new member has added to the genus Alphonsea .
In field surveys, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) and South China Botanical Garden (SCBG) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found two indigenous trees growing in XTBG and in a small forest patch near Man-zhang Reservoir in Meng-la County, Yunnan Province.
After morphological comparison and phylogenetic analyses, the researchers regarded it as new and named it as Alphonsea glandulosa.
The two individual trees were easily identifiable as conspecific and belonging to Alphonsea, because they have multiple flowers (often five to nine) in each inflorescence and have glandular tissue at the base of the inner petals.
Alphonsea glandulosa
The researchers carried out molecular phylogenetic analyses based on six chloroplast regions to ascertain the systematic position of the species. Both the molecular and morphological data support the placement of the new species in Alphonsea.
Although the researchers have undertaken an extensive field survey in Xishuangbanna, they only found two individuals in Meng-la County, Yunnan Province. On the basis of current IUCN red list categories and criteria, they therefore recommend the new species as critically endangered.
The research entitled “Alphonsea glandulosa (Annonaceae), a New Species from Yunnan, China” has been published in PLoS ONE.
The inflorescence of Alphonsea glandulosa
86-10-68597521 (day)
86-10-68597289 (night)
86-10-68511095 (day)
86-10-68512458 (night)
cas_en@cas.cn
52 Sanlihe Rd., Xicheng District,
Beijing, China (100864)