Skip to main content

Leye willow (Carrierea leyensis) found in limestone area of Guangxi, China, resembles Carrierea dunniana

Leye willow (Carrierea leyensis.) found in limestone area of Guangxi, China, resembles Carrierea dunniana

NEWS - Leye willow (Carrierea leyensis Z.C.Lu & W.B.Xu, sp. nov.) of the Salicaceae found in the limestone area of Guangxi, China, resembles C. dunniana H.Lév, but is evergreen, with shorter petioles and serrated or glabrous when old. The leaf blade is elliptical with a wedge-shaped base; the inflorescence is shorter and the capsule is smaller.

Carrierea Franchet (1896) is a small genus in the Salicaceae distributed from southern China to northern Vietnam. Four species have been published in Carrierea previously, but C. rehderiana Sleumer as a synonym of C. calycina Franch. (1896) and C. vieillardii Gagnep. as a synonym of Itoa orientalis Hemsl.

Zhao-Cen Lu and Wei-Bin Xu from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Guilin conducted an investigation from July 2023 to May 2024 and discovered the unusual plant. After careful examination of the morphological characters of the specimen, they confirmed that the specimen is a species new to science.

C. leyensis is a tree or small tree, monoecious, evergreen, 5–12 m tall; bark gray-brown; branchlets grayish, with white lenticels and leaf marks, tomentose, glabrous when old; winter buds conical, scales hairy; stipules absent.

Petiole 3–8 mm long, tomentose to glabrous when old; leaf blade greenish abaxially, deep green adaxially, glabrous, elliptic, (2.8–)4–9.5(–12.5) × 1.7–4.6 cm, leathery or thinly leathery, both surfaces glabrous or abaxially sparsely appressed-villous along midveins.

Weakly 3-veined at base, lateral veins 5–8 pairs, veins distinct on both sides, midvein raised below, base cuneate, margin remotely serrate, with spheroidal to torus-shaped glands at the tips of the teeth (salicoid teeth), apex acuminate to long acuminate.

Terminal or axillary inflorescence, 2–11-flowered, rarely single flower axillary, 1.8–4.5 cm long including flowers, tomentose, pistillate flowers in terminal part of inflorescence, staminate ones in lower part; bracts ovate-lanceolate, 1–1.35 cm long, papery, both surfaces sparsely to densely tomentose.

Pedicels 0.5–2.5 cm long, 2-bracteolate near middle; bracteoles similar to bracts, opposite, narrowly oblong, 3–7 mm long, papery, both surfaces sparsely to densely tomentose. Sepals (2 or 3 rare) 4–5, valvate, ovate-deltoid to oblong, 3.5–8 × 2–3 mm, papery, both sides tomentose, apex acute.

Petals absent. Staminate flowers: smaller than pistillate flowers, stamens with filaments unequal in length, 2–3 mm long, glabrous; anthers ca. 0.5mm long.

Pistillate flowers: staminodes like stamens but much reduced; ovary superior, elliptic, densely tomentose, 0.6–1 cm long; placentas 3 or 4; styles 3 or 4, 0.5–1 mm long, connate at least at base to form a column, sparsely tomentose like the ovary; stigmas reflexed, drying black, flattened, triangular, 2–3 mm long, irregularly lobed, glabrous.

Capsule fusiform, slightly curved, 1.7–2.7 cm long, 5–9 mm in diam., tomentose, valves splitting from both apex and base; fruiting pedicel stout, 1–2.8 cm long; seeds compressed, including wing 9–12 mm long; sterile seeds smaller.

C. leyensis differs from C. dunniana in being evergreen; petioles shorter, only 3–8 mm long, and tomentose or glabrous when old; leaf blades elliptical with a wedge-shaped base; inflorescence shorter; flowers smaller; and capsules smaller.

The specific epithet ‘leyensis’ refers to the locality where the new species was collected. Flowers April to May (spring) and fruits July to October (summer to autumn). The specimen was collected from Leye County, Baise City, Guangxi, China. It grows sporadically in forests on limestone slopes at elevations of 1100–1350 m.

Related species include Handeliodendron bodinieri (H.Lév.) Rehder, Pistacia chinensis Bunge, Pittosporum tonkinense Gagnep., Machilus cavaleriei H.Lév., Triadica rotundifolia (Hemsl.) Esser, Jasminum lanceolaria Roxb., Eriobotrya seguinii (H.Lév.) Cardot ex Guillaumin, Carex brunnea Thunb., Ophiorrhiza and Carpinus.

Original research

Lu Z-C, Liu Z-R, Mo M-L, Chang S-L, Xu W-B (2024). Carrierea leyensis, a new species of Salicaceae from limestone areas of Guangxi, China. PhytoKeys 248: 305-313, DOI:10.3897/phytokeys.248.129824

Dlium theDlium
Labels:

Popular Posts

Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar (Amanita javanica)

OPINION - Javan mocca or Javan slender caesar ( Amanita javanica ) is a mysterious fungus species and has been enigmatic since it was first reported by Boedijn in 1951 and after that no explanation or reporting of specimens is believed to be the same as expected. Boedijn (1951) described A. javanica which grew on Java island as having the characteristics covered in the Amanita genus. Corner and Bas in 1962 tried to describe Javan mocca and all species in Amanita based on specimens in Singapore. Over time some reports say that they have found A. javanica specimens in other Southeast Asia including also China, Japan, India and Nepal. But there is no definitive knowledge and many doubt whether the specimen is the same as described by Boedijn (1951). I was fortunate to have seen this species one afternoon and soon I took out a camera for some shots. In fact, I've only met this mushroom species once. Javan mocca is an endangered species and I have never seen in my experience in...
Read more

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) manufacture bubble-nets as tools to increase prey intake

NEWS - Humpback whales ( Megaptera novaeangliae ) create bubble net tools while foraging, consisting of internal tangential rings, and actively control the number of rings, their size, depth and horizontal spacing between the surrounding bubbles. These structural elements of the net increase prey intake sevenfold. Researchers have known that humpback whales create “bubble nets” for hunting, but the new report shows that the animals also manipulate them in a variety of ways to maximize catches. The behavior places humpbacks among the rare animals that make and use their own tools. “Many animals use tools to help them find food, but very few actually make or modify these tools themselves,” said Lars Bejder, director of the Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP), University of Hawaii at Manoa. “Humpback whales in southeast Alaska create elaborate bubble nets to catch krill. They skillfully blow bubbles in patterns that form a web with internal rings. They actively control details such ...
Read more

Javanese grasshopper (Valanga nigricornis)

Wooden grasshopper or Javanese grasshopper ( Valanga nigricornis ) is an animal species of Acrididae, grasshoppers that have at least 18 subspecies, insects with very wide diversity in color and size, sexual dimorphism in which females are larger in size and paler in color. V. nigricornis in males has a length of 45-55 millimeters and females 15-75 mm. The head is square and green or yellow or brown or black in color. A pair of antennas has a black color. The eyes are large and gray or white or brownish. The hind legs are very large and have a green or yellow or brown or black color, plain or brindle. The limbs have two rows of large and long spines with black tips facing backward. The wings have a length exceeding the belly, a rough surface and are brown or green or yellow or black in color with pulse lines forming spaces filled with black color. The hind wings are rose red which will be visible when flying. Nymphs are pale green or yellow or brown or blackish in color. Javanese gr...
Read more