Boehmeria virgata var. strigosa, 2013

Wilmot-Dear, C. M. & Friis, I., 2013, The Old World species of Boehmeria (Urticaceae, tribus Boehmerieae). A taxonomic revision, Blumea 58 (2), pp. 85-216 : 173-175

o. var. strigosa (W.T.Wang) Friis & Wilmot-Dear , comb. nov. — Fig. 28f–l ; Map 30

Basionym: Boehmeria holosericea Blume var. strigosa W.T.Wang,Acta Bot. Yunnanica 3, 4 (1981b) 404. ― Type: Guangxi Exped. 3818 (holo PE), China, Guangxi, 27 Sept. 1953 .

Boehmeria dolichostachya W.T. Wang (1981b) 405. ― Type: P.X. Tan 2715 (holo IBSC), China, Guangxi, Lungzhou, 1 Dec . 1957.

Boehmeria strigosifolia W.T. Wang (1983) 77. ― Type: W.T. Tsang 28128 (holo IBSC), China, Guangxi, Guilin, 26–31 Aug. 1937.

Herb, subshrub or shrub, 0.5–1(–3) m tall. Stipules usually relatively short, 5–6(–8) mm long. Stem with hairs sparse to abundant, closely-adpressed, fine, straight, 0.3–0.4 mm long. Leaves broadly ovate (deltate-ovate) or almost orbicular, medium or large 6.5–19 by 6–17.5 cm, length 1–1.2(–1.8) × width, margin dentate, teeth few, usually only (16–)20–25 either side, usually 3–5 by 3–10 mm (sometimes only 2 by 2 mm and up to 30 in number), with width 1–2 × length, proximal ones mostly more outward-pointing (their upper margin convex), sometimes most teeth ± outward-pointing); leaf apex broadly rounded and with abrupt short acumen which is sometimes ± linear and tail-like; base distinctly truncate or ± broad-cordate; texture very thin-chartaceous; adaxial surface with hairs like the stem, rather sparse but conspicuous, fine, adpressed; abaxial surface with similar but finer hairs, dense and lying in a regular pattern giving a conspicuously shiny-silky appearance; petiole variable but often extremely long relative to lamina, 0.4–1 × lamina length. Inflorescence-bearing axes unisexual, leafless throughout most of length but sometimes returning to vegetative growth at apex; male axes 5 –10 cm long, erect, often branched at base, female axes (10–) 15–40 cm long, pendulous, unbranched; clusters sometimes contiguous but more often spaced 1–2 cm apart, female clusters c. 2 mm diam, with c. 10–20 flowers. Fruiting perianth variable, broadly ovoid to obovoid, slightly laterally flattened with distinct marginal rim or more markedly flattened ± winged, c. 0.8 by 0.6 mm, without beak, hairy like stem, always slightly rugulose.

Distribution ― Southern China, Vietnam.

Habitat & Ecology ― Thickets in hills, moist or disturbed places; 100–1300 m altitude.

Notes ― 1. As discussed (see Note 5-xi–xiii under the species as a whole), the distinctive leaves of var. strigosa are similar only to var. sumatrana (allopatric) and var. densiglomerata (sympatric) but larger with more numerous teeth and dense shiny-silky hairs abaxially, and it differs also from both in inflorescence-morphology. (The difference in habit stated by Chen et al. (2003) is not consistent since var. strigosa can be a herb as well as a shrub).

2. Only 21 collections clearly referable to this variety have been seen, with a few others from Vietnam somewhat intermediate with var. densiglomerata (not recorded from Vietnam). Formal conservation status assessment is therefore not meaningful for this variety. It is probably at risk from the increasing pressure on natural habitats in these regions of China and Indochina.

3. As discussed under the subspecies as a whole (see Notes 6, 11), this variety has sometimes been mistaken for B. japonica and B. ternifolia .

4. As discussed under the species as a whole (see Note 5-xiii), a range of somewhat intermediate material has been seen with only half-adpressed or ± spreading indumentum on stem, petioles and leaves abaxially; this includes the following type and names based on it:

Boehmeria strigosifolia W.T.Wang var. mollis W.T. Wang (1983)

78. ― Boehmeria dolichostachya W.T.Wang var. mollis

(W.T.Wang) W.T.Wang & J.C.Chen in Chen et al. (2003) 171.

― Type: Z.T. Li 661100 (holo PE), China, Guangxi, Nandan ,

1 Aug. 1958.

Figures

Map 30 Distribution of Boehmeria virgata (G.Forst.) Guillem. subsp. macrophylla (Hornem.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear var. densiglomerata (W.T.Wang) Friis & Wilmot-Dear (Ê), B. virgata (G.Forst.) Guillem. subsp. macrophylla (Hornem.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear var. strigosa (W.T.Wang) Friis & Wilmot-Dear (●), interme- diates between B. virgata subsp. macrophylla var. densiglomerata and B. virgata subsp. macrophylla var. strigosa (ä) and intermediates between B. virgata subsp. macrophylla var. strigosa and other varieties (✱ under ● representing var. strigosa).

Fig. 28 a–e: Boehmeria virgata subsp. macrophylla var. sumatrana (Miq.) Friis & Wilmot-Dear. a. Habit of stem with branched bisexual inflorescence-bearing axes with flower-clusters (inflorescences); b. detail of stem with unbranched female inflorescence-bearing axis; c. leaf, detail of abaxial surface;d. detail of stem and stipules; e. detail of lower part of branched bisexual inflorescence-bearing axes. — f–l: Boehmeria virgata subsp. macrophylla var. strigosa (W.T.Wang) Friis & Wilmot-Dear. f. Habit of stem with branched bisexual inflorescence-bearing axes with flower-clusters (inflorescences); g, h. leaves from different plants; i. leaf, detail of abaxial surface; j. detail of stem and stipules; k, l. fruiting perianths (from different plants) (a, c-e: Praet s.n., L; b: Bunnemeijer 4828, L; f, j, k: Chow & Wai 79126, E; g, l: Balansa 595, K; h, i: Cuong 150, L). — Scale bars: a, b, g, h = 2 cm; c–e, i, j = 2 mm; f = 10 cm; k, l = 1 mm.