A new variety of Arisaema ciliatum (Araceae)

3 Pages·1999·0.59 MB·English

by  Gouda, E J

BLUMEA 44 (1999) 37-39
A newvariety of Arisaema ciliatum (Araceae)
E.J.Gouda& G. Gusman
INTRODUCTION
InSeptember 1981,seedsofArisaemawereharvestedby Carla Teune, Hortus Botani-
cus Leiden, nearLiuba,areaofMtMinyaKonka(Gonga Shan),Szechuan (Sichuan)
Province, China,at3600m altitude.During thetrip,withRoy Lancasterandothers,
no pressed herbariumspecimen was collected. MichaelHoog, who runned a well
knownDutch Nursery, was given five lotsofseed numberedCT 368 to CT372, all
provisionally labeledA. consanguineum Schott.Allnumberswere collectedthesame
dayalong thesamepath.Aftertheseedlings flowered,itappeared therewas noreason
tokeep them separate;they weremerged and distributedinthe tradeasArisaemaCT
369(AntoineHoog, 1998,private communication).
Thefollowing Latindescription ofA. ciliatumH. Li var. liubaensevar. nov. corre-
sponds to specimens widespread incultureas Arisaema CT 369.As wellknown,the
nameofA. ciliatumH.Li referstothepresenceofsomeciliaalong the mouthofthe
spathe-tube (Fig. 1).Thespadix isapically softlyspiny andafewneutersare ingeneral
present atthebaseofthe appendage. The colourof thespathe is described by Li as
“purple with light greenconspicuous stripes” (Wu &Li, 1979), butin the wildthe
prevailing colourofthe spathe variesfrom red to greenand, moreover, the species
showeditself latertobe stoloniferous.Arisaema CT 369 also shares this character
withA. ciliatumand not withA. consanguineutn (which does not develop stolons).
Thelinkmadepreviously betweenArisaemaCT 369andA.consanguineutn hastobe
discarded.ArisaemaCT369fallsintotherangeofA. ciliatum.Nevertheless,Arisaema
CT 369is easilydifferentiatedfromthetypical A. ciliatumassomereliabledifferences
are visiblein the spathe. The main differenceis found along themarginofthetube
mouth:inArisaemaCT369,theciliaofthetypical species arelackingalong themar-
ginofthetube mouthevenifthismargin is not perfectly smooth,thespadix-appendix
is moreexserted fromthetubeanditsextremityis not spiny (Fig. 2,3).As opposed to
thetypical species, one canaddthatthecolourofthe spathe isinvariably purple with
greenish white longitudinal stripes. Up to now, no seedlings with a greenish spathe
havebeen observed. Thesecharacters are stableand CarlaTeune’s specimens come
true fromseed.
Arisaemaciliatumwas originally described fromYunnan butit appeared later to
be also distributedin Sichuan, as seen by oneofthe authors (G. Gusman). On the
otherhand,specimens identicaltoCarlaTeune'sCT 369havebeenobservedinYunnan,
near Heishui (G. Gusman). Accordingly, distributions ofA. ciliatumand its var.
liubaenseoverlap, afactthatjustifies thechoiceofa varietal status.
1) University Botanic Gardens,P.O.Box 80.162,3508TDUtrecht,The Netherlands.
2) Universite Libre de Bruxelles,Belgium.
38 BLUMEA Vol. 44, No. 1, 1999
Fig. 1.Inflorescence ofArisaema ciliatum
H. Li. One notices the presence ofcilia
along the margin and the spiny spadix-
appendixat apex.
Fig. 2.Inflorescence ofatypical Arisaema
ciliatum H. Li var. liubaense Gusman & Fig. 3. Close-up ofmale and female spa-
Gouda grownfrom theCT369 seedcollec- dices ofArisaema ciliatum H.Li var.liu-
tion from Sichuan. baense Gusman & Gouda.
E.J.Gouda & G.Gusman: A new varietyofArisaema ciliatum 39
ArisaemaciliatumH.Li var. liubaenseGusman& Gouda,var. nov.
Sect. Sinarisaema—Fig. 2, 3
AbArisaema ciliatumH.Li,spathaefaucemarginenon ciliata,spadicisappendixapice
glabraetespathaefauce leviter superans differt.— Typus: Teune369(holoU; iso L),
nearLiuba,areaofMtMinyaKonka(GongaShan),Szechuan(Sichuan)Province,China,
at 3600 malt., 15-IX-1981.
Fromthetypevariety differinginthefollowingcharacters: Spathe notciliate; spadix-
appendix moreexserted fromthespathe-tube, glabrous, not echinate.
Othermateria! studied:Yunnan,Heishui,alt. 3000m, 1992(Gusman GG92118b,BR).
REFERENCE
Wu,C.-Y.& H. Li. 1979.Araceae,Lemnaceae.Fl.Reipubl.Pop. Sinicae,Vol. 13,2: 193.