Bomi torchwort (Phlomoides bomiensis) grows at elevations of 3400-4200 meters in China

NEWS - The researchers report and describe a new species, Phlomoides bomiensis, from Bomi, Xizang, China, and describe Phlomoides longidentata, previously known only from Nepal and Bhutan, from Dingri, Xizang, China. This species often grows to more than 1 meter tall.

The phylogenetics of both species were analyzed using nine plastid DNA markers (atpB-rbcL, psbA-trnH, rpl16, rpl32-trnL, rps16, trnK, trnL-trnF, trnS-trnG, trnT-trnL) with brown-black trichomes in the upper corolla lip and nested in the same subclade of Clade II.

The flowers of P. bomiensis differ from those of P. nyalamensis by having truncated or slightly notched calyx teeth, posterior filaments with folded appendages at their bases, and petals with distinct petioles. The flowers also differ from P. breviflora in that the corolla is longer than 2 cm and the seeds are oblong.

A perennial herbaceous species with strong roots and a linear tuberous shape. The stem is 0.5-1.8 meters high, subrectangular, strong, the lower part of the stem is glabrous, the upper part with simple trichomes. They grow in forests and forest edges at an elevation of 3400-4200 meters.

Flowers from August to September and fruits from October to November. The specific epithet refers to the name of Bomi County in Xizang Autonomous Region, where the new species was discovered. The Chinese name is cháng bō mì cǎo cāo sū (波密草糙苏).

Phlomoides was first described by Conrad Moench or Konrad Mönch (1744-1805) in Methodus: 403 (1794). This species with 14 synonyms has more than 110 species to date.

Original research

Zhao Y, Chen Y-P, Bai R-Z, Pendry CA, Sukhorukov AP, Xiang C-L (2024) A new species and a new record of Phlomoides (Lamiaceae) from Xizang, China. PhytoKeys 246: 15-26. DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.246.129057

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