J Syst Evol ›› 2011, Vol. 49 ›› Issue (5): 464-467.DOI: 10.1111/j.1759-6831.2011.00149.x

• Research Articles • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Paeonia rotundiloba (D. Y. Hong) D. Y. Hong: A new status in tree peonies (Paeoniaceae)

De-Yuan HONG*   

  1. (State Key Laboratory of Systematic & Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100093, China)
  • Received:2011-05-17 Published:2011-09-13

Abstract: Paeonia decomposita Hand.-Mazz. subsp. rotundiloba D. Y. Hong is here raised to the specific rank, P. rotundiloba (D. Y. Hong) D. Y. Hong, based on its distinctiveness of four diagnostic characters: number of carpels; height of disk; number of leaflets of the lower leaves, and shape of the terminal leaflets; and unpublished molecular data. Paeonia rotundiloba differs distinctly from P. decomposita in having carpels mostly 3, less often 2 or 4, very rarely 5 (vs. almost always 5, very occasionally 4 or 3), disk 8–15 mm high (vs. 4–9.6 mm), leaflets mostly 19–39 (vs. 29–63) in number, and ratio of length to width of the terminal leaflets 1.09–1.93 (vs. 1.81–2.99).

Key words: China, new status, Paeonia decomposita, Paeonia rotundiloba, Sichuan, statistical analysis.