This paper describes and illustrates a new species of Primulaceae, Primulawolongensis sp. nov. from Wolong National Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China. It is very rare and currently only known from its type locality. The new species belongs to subsection Chartacea of the section Petiolares on account of lacking bud scales at flowering, being efarinose and having distinct petiolate leaves with more or less rounded lamina. The new species can be differentiated from other members of the subsection by leaf blade margin dentate, and leaf veins which are not raised, scape shorter than or equal to pedicels, yellow flowers and location of stamens of the corolla tube at thrum flower. Molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ribosome internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) demonstrated that P.wolongensis was sister to subgen. Auriculastrum. Primulawolongensis is currently known from a single location in Wolong Town, and its conservation status is assessed as Data Deficient (DD).
Keywords: Hengduan Mountains; Primula sect. Petiolares; morphological characters; phylogenetic analysis; taxonomy.
Xiong Li, Yue-Hong Cheng, Hong-Qiang Lin, Cheng Chen, Xin-Fen Gao, Heng-Ning Deng, Feng Yu, Plenković-Moraj Anđelka, Wen-Bin Ju, Bo Xu.