Petrocosmea leiandra (W.T.Wang) Z.J.Qiu

Han, MQ., Yuan, Q., Lü, TF. et al. (2019). Petrocosmea qiruniae (Gesneriaceae), a new species from Guizhou, China with supplementary data and revised description of P. leiandra. Kew Bulletin 74: 22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-019-9811-8

Morphology General Habit

Perennial herbs, with short rhizomes and crowded fibrous roots

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 8 – 15 per plant, all basal, petioles 2 – 5 cm long, pubescent; leaf blades ovate to elliptic, 1 – 2 × 1 – 2.5 cm, herbaceous, bases cordate, margins serrate, apex obtuse or rounded, both surfaces pubescent, lateral veins adaxially impressed, abaxially conspicuous, 2 – 3 on each side

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Cymes 1 – 5, 1 flower per cyme; peduncles 4 –10 cm long, densely pubescent; bracteole 2, opposite; calyx 5-lobed nearly to base, lobes lanceolate, the adaxial three lobes shorter, c. 3 mm, the abaxial two lobes longer, c. 4 mm, pilose outside, glabrous inside

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla

Corolla violet, pubescent outside, glabrous inside; tube c. 5 mm, two wine red spots merge into one inside the tube under the anthers, throat violet, 2 white spots on the throat; adaxial lip c. 3 mm, indistinctly 2-lobed, two lobes are fused nearly their entire length and each lobe is folded and rolled laterally to form a carinate–plicate shape of the adaxial lip that encloses the style, abaxial lip 7 – 9 mm, 3-lobed to the middle, lobes deltoid; stamens 2, c. 5 mm; adnate to the corolla tube at the base, filaments c. 3.5 mm, geniculate near the middle, glabrous; anthers ovate, coherent, poricidal, c. 1.5 mm long, glabrous, dorsifixed; staminodes 3, adnate to the corolla tube at the base, glabrous; pistil c. 9 mm; ovary lance-ovoid, c. 2 mm, with pilose-glandular hairs; style glabrous, c. 7 mm; stigma white

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Capsules c. 6 mm, brown, long-ellipsoid, both loculicidally and septicidally dehiscent.

Distribution

China, Guizhou Province, Qingzhen City.

Ecology

Petrocosmea leiandra was observed to grow in moist rocky crevices on a limestone hill at an elevation of 1300 m.

Conservation

Petrocosmea leiandra was only found in moist rocky crevices on a limestone hill, Qinglong Mountain, Qingzhen City, Guizhou. The total number of individuals was approximately 100. The habitat of P. leiandra has been threatened and damaged by tourism. Thus, we assess it to be Critically Endangered CR B1ab(iii) according to the IUCN red list criteria (IUCN 2015).

Type

China, Guizhou, Qingzhen City, Qinglong Mountain, 30 May 1936, S. W. Deng 90396 (holotype PE!, isotype A).