Phrynium yunnanense Y.S.Ye & L.Fu, 2017

Phrynium yunnanense Y.S.Ye & L.Fu View in CoL , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–3 View FIGURE 1 View FIGURE 2 View FIGURE 3 )

Type: — CHINA. Yunnan: Hekou County, Nanxi Farm, Mage Team protection zones, ca. 280 m, 22°69’868”N, 103°99’995”E, 13 April 2013, Yu-shi Ye 5672 ( holotype IBSC!).

Diagnosis: — Phrynium yunnanense is similar to P. hainanense , but it is distinguished by having longer and larger peduncle ( 20–45 cm), bright orange bracts and fruits. It is also similar to P. pedunculiferum , but it differs in having bright orange bracts, green flowers and bright orange fruits with sparse hairs.

Rosulate, clustering herb, 1.2–2.3 m tall, often forming large clones. Basal leaves 6–10 per shoot, cauline leaf absent; sheath 25–80 cm long, yellowish green, densely pubescent; petiole 26–82 cm long, glabrous; pulvinus 4–13 cm long, yellowish green, glabrous; leaf blade oblong to elliptic, glabrous, 30–80 × 14–31 cm, adaxially yellowish green, abaxially yellowish green to grey-white, base rounded to subrounded, apex acuminate. Inflorescence interfoliar, erect; peduncle 20–45 cm long, glabrous, pale yellowish green; synflorescence elongate, 4.5–11 cm long; first order branches 3–9, spirally arranged; sterile bracts broadly lanceolate to oblong, 5–20 × 2–4 cm, bright orange, sometimes yellowish green at base, soon becoming dry and turning brown, margin hairy; the proximal branches 5.5–22 cm long, densely villous, with 1–3 second order branches; each second order branch subtended by a broadly lanceolate to oblong bract of 3.5–7 × 1.2–2.5 cm, bright orange; fertile bracts 13–25 per branch, glabrous, spirally arranged, oblong to elliptic, 2.5– 5.5 × 1–2.2 cm, bright orange, apically mucronulate to emarginate, the apex often splits into fiber-like structures after flowering; each fertile bract has 2–3 flower pairs, associated prophylls 10–23 × 4–8 mm, interphyll absent. Flowers green, 3.0– 3.3 cm long; pedicel 6–13 mm long, densely pubescent; sepals 3, oblong-lanceolate, 12–13 × 3–4 mm, whitish translucent, glabrous; petal oblong, apically emarginated, 10–14 × 6–8 mm, deflexed and curled, translucent, light orange at base, green at tip, glabrous; corolla tube 5–6 mm long, glabrous; outer staminode absent; cucullate staminode with free part 6–9 × 7–8 mm, pink with green tip; callose staminode 5–7 × 4–5 mm, pink; fertile stamen 5–8 mm long, pink, with a narrow petaloid appendage, 5–6 × 1–2 mm, light pink; style with free part 4–6 mm long, curved, pink; stigma bright red, ca. 2 mm in diameter; ovary oblong, yellow, densely hairy, 3–4 mm long, 3-loculed. Fruits bright-orange, trigonous, both ends compressed, sparsely hairy, 10–12 × 13–15 mm, 3-valved dehiscent; seeds 3, ellipse, 8–10 × 4–6 mm; aril cream, enveloping seed.

Phenology, distribution and habitat: —At the type locality, the species bloom from April to June and bear fruits from July to mid October. It is found in valley rainforest at elevation range of 280–640 m in Hekou County (Honghe Hani-Yi Autonomous Prefecture) and Maguan County (Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture) in Yunnan, China. It is also found in valley rainforest at ca. 350 m in Cuc Phuong National Park and 400–500 m in Que Phong District, Nghe An Province, Vietnam. The type locality at Hekou county is a small, highly disturbed rainforest fragment embedded in a large area of banana plantations.

Etymology: —The specific epithet refers to Yunnan Province in China.

Taxonomic Notes: — Phrynium yunnanense differs from all other species of Marantaceae in having long peduncle ( 20–45 cm), bright orange bracts and fruits, and green flowers. The cauline leaf, normally found in P. hainanense and P. pedunculiferum , is absent in P. yunnanense . Compared to P. hainanense , it has oblong to elliptic fertile bracts and ellipse seeds. Compared to P. pedunculiferum , its leaf sheaths are 6.0– 14.5 cm long, green, glabrous and its cucullate staminode is white. Other characteristic features of this new species include its long pulvinus ( 4–13 cm), long pedicel ( 6–13 mm), oblong petals and oblong-lanceolate sepals. Details of morphological comparison between P. yunnanense , P. hainanense and P. pedunculiferum are summarized in Table 1.

Additional specimens examined ( paratypes): — CHINA. Yunnan: Hekou County, Nanxi Farm, Mage Team protection zones, ca. 280 m, 14 June 2013, Yu-shi Ye 5680 ( IBSC!) ; Yunnan: Maguan County, Gulinqing Nature Reserve, Bojia Protection Station , ca. 640 m, 13 April 2013, Yu-shi Ye 5670 ( IBSC), 14 June 2013, Yu-shi Ye 5679 ( IBSC!) . VIETNAM. Nghe An Province: Que Phong District, Chau Kim, Phu Quang above Ban Muong , 400–500 m, 19°34’N, 104°52’E, 6 April 1998, D.D. Soejarto, T.N. Ninh, P.H. Hoang 10256 ( AAU) GoogleMaps ; Ninh Binh: Cuc Phuong National Park, trail from Bong to the peak, 350 m, 20°19’N, 105°59’E, 22 November 2003, P. Suksathan 3546 ( AAU) GoogleMaps .