Pleione × maoershanensis W. Zhang & S. B. Zhang

Pleione × maoershanensis W. Zhang & S. B. Zhang View in CoL hybr. nov.

[ P. pleionoides (Kraenzlin) Braem & H. Mohr × P. hookeriana (Lindley) Rollisson ( Pleione chunii C. L. Tso )].

Fig. 2 A2, B2–B View FIGURE 2 5 View FIGURE 5 ; Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 and Fig. 8 C, D View FIGURE 8

Pleione × maoershanensis is a hybrid intermediate between P. pleionoides and P. hookeriana . It differs from the former by the lacerate lamellae (not denticulate) on the lip. It also differs from P. hookeriana by the brighter colour of flower and the deeply lacerate lamellae (not papillae or hair) on the lip.

Type: — CHINA. Guangxi: Xing’an County, Maoer Shan, Huilong Temple, 1600m, April 11, 2016, W. Zhang & Y. Yang ZW003 (holotype: KUN!) .

Herbs, lithophytic. Pseudobulb ovoid to conic, 1.5–2.5 × 1–2 cm in diam, 1-leaved. Leaf immature at flowering, mature leaf elliptic-lanceolate, 10–20 × 3–4 cm, papery, apex acute. Inflorescence erect or suberect; peduncle 2.5–5 cm; floral bract 18–28 mm, exceeding ovary. Flowers solitary, bright rose. Dorsal sepal narrowly elliptic, 40–55 mm long, apex acute; lateral sepals slightly oblique, 35–50 mm long, slightly wider than dorsal sepal, apex acute. Petals oblanceolate, 35–60 mm long, narrower than dorsal sepal, apex acute; lip subrhombic, obovate or suborbicular when flattened, 35–50 × 30–49 mm, apical margin denticulate; disk with 4–6 deeply lacerate lamellae. Column 30–40 mm.

Phenology: —Flowering from late March to May.

Etymology:—Named after the highest mountain in South China (Maoer Shan), where this natural hybrid was discovered.

Distribution and habitat: Known only from the type locality. This hybrid grows on humus-covered rocks in forests or cliffs at forest margins, mixed with P. hookeriana at an elevation of 1300–1600 m. The hybrid was found only on rocks while P. hookeriana grows both on rocks and moss-covered trunks or branches of Lithocarpus hancei (Bentham) Rehder in a Tsuga / Rhododelldron forest from 1300 to 2000 m. The other parent, P. pleionoides , was not seen during our brief exploration of Maoer Shan. However, we collected samples of that species from Yinzhulaoshan Nature Reserve in Ziyuan County, a place less than 50 km away from Maoer Shan. The variation of lip morphology of P. × maoershanensis implies backcross between the hybrid and the parents (see Fig 2 View FIGURE 2 ). This hybrid has also been raised artificially by Paul Cumbleton and registered as “ Pleione Potto ” ( P. chunii × P. pleionoides ) in 2009 at Royal Horticulture Society.