Origins and evolution of plant diversity in the Hengduan Mountains, China

1.Introduction The Hengduan Mountains region(HDM)in southwest China,one of the earth's 34 biodiversity hotspots,is characterized by its unique geology,dramatic topography,a climate where snow and below freezing temperatures can occur on any day of the year,by its location at elevations averaging between(1400e)2000 and4500(e5300)meters above sea level(m a.s.l.),and by one of

Twenty years of Chinese vascular plant novelties,2000 through 2019

From 2000 to 2019,11,895 new names or new additions to the Chinese vascular flora were proposed by 4226 individuals(4086 articles and 140 books),as documented in the Chinese Plant Names Index(CPNI).During those 20 years,4407 new taxa of vascular plants were described from China,including 7 new families,132 new genera,3543 new species,68 new subspecies,497 new varieties and 160 new forms.Additionally,3562 new combinations and names at new rank and 306 new replacement names were also proposed.Among these various new names were 150 invalid names and 108 illegitimate names,including some that have not been resolved.Six hundred and forty three vascular plants were reported as new to China,while 2349 names were reduced to synonyms of 1406 taxa.The data show that the Chinese flora increased in size at the rate of about 200 taxa annually during those years.Despite the increased attention given to biodiversity in recent years,the evidence indicates that a large number of species in China have yet to be discovered.Further basic investigation of the Chinese flora is needed.Additionally,in the past two decades only 8.5%of the newly published species have been based on molecular evidence,but in the past five years such data have increased significantly,reaching about 20%.Molecular data will undoubtedly become increasingly significant in the discovery of new species in the coming years.Yunnan,Guangxi,Sichuan,Xizang and Taiwan were important sources of new discoveries,with more than 3300 new taxa and records from these five provinces.By area,Taiwan and Hainan,two islands in southern China,have the highest density of newly discovered species.Regional plant surveys are still needed,especially in areas in the southwest and on the southern islands.

Molecular phylogeny of Solms-laubachia(Brassicaceae) s.l.,based on multiple nuclear and plastid DNA sequences,and its biogeographic implications

The Hengduan Mountains region of south-west China is a noted biodiversity hotspot,but the geographic origins and historical assembly of its rich endemic flora,including the sky-island species of Solms-laubachia Muschl.(Brassicaceae),have been little studied.Previous molecular studies on the phylogeny of Solms-laubachia showed it to be paraphyletic,leading to considerable expansion not only of its taxonomic limits,but also its geographic range,with the inclusion of taxa from outside the Hengduan region.However,these studies provided little resolution of interspecific relationships,preventing inferences about historical biogeography within the clade.In the present study,new sequence data from two nuclear genes(LEAFY and G3pdh) and two chloroplast intergenic spacers(petN-psbM and psbM-trnD) were combined with existing markers to increase phylogenetic signals.Phaeonychium villosum(Maxim.) Al-Shehbaz was found to be nested within Solms-laubachia s.l.In general,phylogenetic relationships appear to be a good predictor of geography,with the Hengduan Mountain endemics embedded in a paraphyletic grade of species from the western Himalayas and central Asia,but they also imply morphological homoplasy.Incongruence was detected between the nuclear and chloroplast gene trees,perhaps resulting from incomplete lineage sorting of ancestral polymorphisms.The crown age of Solms-laubachia s.l.was estimated to be approximately 1.42-3.68 mya,using Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analysis.Historical biogeographic analysis using a parametric dispersal-extinction-cladogenesis model inferred central Asia and the western Himalayas as most probable ancestral range of Solms-laubachia s.l.,and estimated higher rates of eastward expansion than westward during the diversification of descendant lineages.In summary,our results suggest that Solms-laubachia s.l.originated during the Pliocene in central Asia,and subsequently migrated eastward into the Hengduan Mountains,colonizing sky-island,alpine scree-slope habitats that may have provided novel ecological opportunity and accelerated speciation,ultimately establishing this region as the present center of diversity of the genus.

Phylogeny of Catalpa （Bignoniaceae） inferred from sequences of chloroplast ndhF and nuclear ribosomal DNA

Phylogenetics of Chilopsis and Catalpa (Bignoniaceae) was elucidated based on sequences of chloro-plast ndhF and the nrDNA ITS region. In Bignoniaceae, Chilopsis and Catalpa are most closely related as sister genera. Our data supported section Macrocatalpa of the West Indies and section Catalpa of eastern Asian and North American continents. Within section Catalpa, Catalpa ovata of eastern Asia form a clade with North American species, C. speciosa and C. bignonioides, while the other eastern Asian species comprise a clade where C. duclouxii is sister to the clade of C. bungei and C. fargesii. The Caribbean species of Catalpa diverged early from the continental species. More studies are needed to test whether the phylogenetic pattern is common in eastern Asian-North American disjunct genera with species in the West Indies.

中国瑞香科植物——柳叶荛花的确认及补充描述(英文)

确认了中国瑞香科Thymelaeaceae存疑植物柳叶荛花Wikstroemia salicina(Lévl.)Lévl.& Blin为中国植物记录,同时补充描写了一些其重要的分类学特征。

Meconopsis wilsonii subsp.wilsonii (Papaveraceae) Rediscovered

Field studies in the Lamagetou Nature Reserve, Mianning Xian, Sichuan Province, in the summer of 2005 revealed a particularly rich and diverse flora. One particularly noteworthy plant growing in openings in the forest, at woodland margins and on exposed slopes, was the recently described Meconopsis wilsonii Grey-Wilson subsp.wilsonii (Papaveraceae), a species previously known only from the type collection and last collected in 1908, nearly 100 years ago.

Resolving place names in Amdo and Kham:A gazetteer for the Hengduan Mountains region of Southwest China

Perhaps no region on earth presents such a confusing array of place names as does the area made up of the former provinces of Kham and Amdo in historic Tibet (Xizang). Within these areas, cities, towns, villages, mountains, lakes and other geographic features have at least two names applied to them, one Tibetan, the other Chinese. Overlying this indigenous nomenclature are the names applied by outsiders, mostly Europeans, each of whom used their native language to transliterate the names they heard or read from Tibetan or Chinese script, and names in the languages of other ethnic minorities who live within the area. Adding to the confusion are the conflicting “standards” for transliterating Tibetan and Chinese names. To resolve the inconsistencies and uncertainties of place names in this region, a multilingual gazetteer and thesaurus was prepared. The gazetteer-thesaurus was compiled to be used as a tool for correlating the often radically different names assigned to a single place or feature and to provide the geographic coordinates for each. The impetus for this project was the need to assign geographic coordinates to plant specimens collected in the area since the latter part of the 19th century up until the advent and widespread use of Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers in the 1990s. Georeferencing specimens is necessary for plotting the historical distribution of species and for more completely understanding the information contained on specimen labels. Knowing the distribution of plants is important for answering phylogenetic questions, determining local and widespread biogeographical patterns, identifying areas of unusually high diversity or endemism, and determining areas in need of special protection. The value of such a gazetteer, however, extends well beyond the field of botany. It is intended to be of use to anyone with a desire to know the nomenclatural history of places in the area and for pinpointing with a fair degree of accuracy the location of each of those places.

用cpDNA matK基因和nrDNA ITS区序列确定我国特有植物四棱草属的系统位置

测定了我国特有植物四棱草属以及马鞭草科6属和唇形科13属共27个代表种的叶绿体DNAmatK基因和核核糖体DNA ITS区序列。应用相对表观衍征分析方法(RASA)对所测DNA序列的系统发育信号及所选择外类群的有效性进行了统计评价,应用最大简约法(MP)、邻接法(NJ)和最大似然法(ML)对matK和ITS序列进行了独立的和联合的分子系统发育分析。结果表明,四棱草与三花莸为姐妹群;Contino等提出的莸属复合群不构成单系类群,获属4种具有复系演化关系;Contino系统中的筋骨草亚科形成一个单系分支。此外,本文结果支持马鞭草科与唇形科构成复系类群以及白骨壤属从马鞭草科中独立的观点.

New Species of Meconopsis (Papaveraceae) from Mianning,Southwestern Sichuan,China

Two new species of Meconopsis,M.pulchella and M.heterandra are described and characterized. Differences with similar species are discussed and photos showing the diagnostic features are provided.

New Species of Meconopsis (Papaveraceae) from Balang Shan, Western Sichuan, China

A new species with two varieties, Meconopsis balangensis varieties balangensis and atrata (Papaveraceae), is described and characterized. Differences separating it from similar species are discussed and photos showing the diagnostic features are provided.

Botanical Literature Goes Global:The Biodiversity Heritage Library

Scholars in the natural sciences rely on historic literature more than any other branch of science.Yet much of this material has limited global distribution and much of it is available in only a few select libraries.This wealth of knowledge is available only to those few who can gain direct access to significant library collections,a situation that is considered one of the chief impediments to the efficiency of research in the field.Community support and new technologies led to the formation of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.The BHL is an international collaboration of natural history libraries working together to make biodiversity literature available for use by the widest possible audience through open access and sustainable management.

New Species of Meconopsis(Papaveraceae) from Laojun Shan and Yao Shan,Northern Yunnan,China

Two new species,Meconopsis muscicola and M.yaoshanensis(Papaveraceae),are described and characterized.Differences separating them from similar species are discussed and photos showing their diagnostic features are provided.