Oreocharis flavovirens, a new species of Gesneriaceae from Southern Gansu Province, China

Epimediumlongnanense (Berberidaceae), a new species from Gansu, China

Epimediumlongnanense, a new species of Epimedium (Berberidaceae) from Longnan Prefecture, Gansu Province, China, is here proposed and illustrated. E.longnanense has large flowers with petals possessing long spur and obvious basal lamina, and thus should be grouped into series Davidianae. The species closely resembles E.flavum of ser. Davidianae in morphology. However, it can be easily distinguished by its elongated rhizome (vs. compact), trifoliolate leaves (vs. five leaflets, sometimes trifoliolate), pale pink or purplish-red inner sepals with 6-8 × 2-3 mm (vs. pale sulphur-yellow, ca. 11 × 4 mm).

Oreocharisguangwushanensis, a new species of Gesneriaceae from Sichuan Province, China

A new species of Oreocharis, O.guangwushanensis from the Sichuan Province of south-western China, is described and illustrated here. This new species has a pink corolla that is different from other species of Oreocharis in southwest China and, although it is morphologically similar to O.ronganensis and O.reticuliflora, it has significant differences in the colour and shape of the corolla, the apex of the corolla limb, shape and indumentum of the filaments and a shorter pistil. A detailed description, colour photographs, distribution and habitat, as well as the IUCN conservation status, are also provided.

Oreocharis xieyongii, an unusual new species of Gesneriaceae from western Hunan, China

A new species, Oreocharis xieyongii T. Deng, D.G. Zhang & H. Sun, from Hunan Province, central China, is described. The combination of purple zygomorphic corolla with longer adaxial lobes and exserted stamens defines the species and discriminates it from all other current Oreocharis species. Morphological traits of the new species were compared to those of two similar species, Oreocharis xiangguiensis and O. rubrostriata. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that the new species is nested within the Oreocharis. Although only half of Oreocharis species were included in our study, evolutionary character analysis indicates that the ancestral states of the genus are likely the purple corolla, longer abaxial lip and inserted stamens. The longer adaxial lip is perhaps an apomorphy and only present in O. xieyongii and O. rubrostriata. Both morphological and molecular evidence suggest that O. xieyongii is a taxon new to science.