Yang Han-Pi
J Syst Evol. 1982, 20(1): 23-33.
The present paper is a preliminary research of the taxonomy, evolution, geographical distribution and origin of the species of the Genus Pedicularis L. in Xizang
plateau. It may be summed up as follows:
1. There are 108 species of Pedicularis in Xizang, representing about 33% of the
total species of the genus known in China. Among these species, there are 35 endemics,
about 35.9% of the total species of the genus, this is especially true in Southeastern
Xizang. Where there are 82.7% of total species of Xizang and 88% of endemics
reported.
2. According to the relationships of the morphology of flower, leaf and evolution,
the genus Pedicularis in Southeastern Xizang seems very active in evolution, because
there is a wide range of flower types varying from the primitive alternate-toothless
and opposite-toothed to the advanced beaked and long-tubed corolla-types.
3. There are almost all morphological types of the pollen, especially, the primitive particular tricolpate type is decidedly dominant, and the species with derived
type of bicolpate pollen almost all belong to the beeked, long-tubed type of flowers;
therefore, the evolutionary tendency and correlation between two types is very clear.
According to above conditions, it may be considered that Southeastern Xizang is
the evolutionary centre of the Genus Pedicularis L.
4. Basing upon the floristic-geographical analysis of neighbouring regions, we may
consider that the members of genus Pedicularis in Xizang mainly come from the East,
i.e. the mountains of the plateau frontier in Western Sichuan and Northwestern
Yunnan.
Finally, the floral relationships with other regions such as Buthan, Nepal, Xinjiang
and Qinghai, Gansu, etc. are not so close, because the species in common are not verymany and usually widely distributed species.
