Two new species in Iris series Chinenses (Iridaceae) from south-central China

PhytoKeys. 2020 Sep 15:161:41-60. doi: 10.3897/phytokeys.161.55483. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Iris dabashanensis C.A.Wilson, sp. nov. and I. probstii C.A.Wilson, sp. nov. from China are described and illustrated. Both species occur on grassy slopes in mountainous regions of south-central China. The former is known from the Daba Mountains in rocky, calcareous soils associated with shrubs or mixed conifer and hardwood forests, while the latter is known from a region of karst terrain beside rice fields or under pine woods in Guizhou Province. Molecular data resolves both species in series Chinenses in a subclade that also includes I. odaesanensis, while morphologically they are similar to I. henryi. These newly described species are two of four members of series Chinenses that occur in south-central China.

Keywords: Daba Mountains; Guizhou Province; karst terrain; phylogeny.