Lonicera lanzhouensis Shun Liu & Yu J. Wang, 2025

Liu, Shun & Wang, Yu-Jin, 2025, Lonicera lanzhouensis (Caprifoliaceae), a new species from Gansu, Northwest China, PhytoKeys 256, pp. 83-90 : 83-90

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.256.142365
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15465257
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/2EC807E5-DA73-5213-A76F-7D8CF06E67A5
treatment provided by	PhytoKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Lonicera lanzhouensis Shun Liu & Yu J. Wang
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Lonicera lanzhouensis Shun Liu & Yu J. Wang sp. nov.

Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2

Type.

China • Gansu: Lanzhou , 36.810001°N, 102.994549°E, 3012 m elev., May thirtieth, 2022, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904293 (Holotype, LZU!; Isotypes, LZU!), Figs 1 View Figure 1 , 2 View Figure 2 GoogleMaps .

Description.

Shrub erect, up to 2 m tall. Stems cylindrical, branched. Branches solid with white pith. Petiole 1.5–2.5 cm long, inconspicuously pubescent. Leaves opposite, leaf blade narrowly lanceolate, stiffly papery, 2–4 cm × 0.5–0.8 cm, hairy, narrow, margin with irregular undulations, entire, apex tapering. Inflorescence thyrsoid, axillary, cymes opposite and reduced to paired flowers, pedunculate with a pair of bracts and 2 pairs of bracteoles; bracts long, ca. 4.5 mm × 0.5 mm, bracteoles wide and short, ca. 0.5 mm × 0.5 mm. Paired flowers with free ovaries. Pedicels 1.5–2.5 cm long, Calyx 5 - lobed, with sparse glandular hair. Corolla bilabiate, yellow-green at the beginning, turns into reddish-purple after anthesis, ca. 1.4 × 0.5 cm; tube shallowly to deeply gibbous toward base, outside sparsely spreading hairy, inside puberulent; lower lip slightly recurved; upper lip 4 - lobed to middle. Stamens subequaling corolla, filaments pubescent. Ovary inferior, locules 2; style ca. 1.1 cm long, slender, hairy; stigmas capitate. Fruit a berry, round, green, turns red when mature, ca. 0.6 cm in diameter.

L. lanzhouensis is morphologically most similar to L. webbiana and can be readily distinguished from it by having narrow leaves, yellow-green flowers at the beginning and reddish-purple when mature, and long involucrate bracts. In contrast, L. webbiana has ovate-elliptic to ovate-lanceolate leaves, red flowers and short involucrate bracts.

Phenology.

Flowering: May to June, Fruiting: June.

Distribution and habitat.

L. lanzhouensis is found only in Lanzhou, Gansu, China with a population of about 500 individuals. It grows in a spruce forest at elevation of 2870–3300 m.

Additional specimens examined.

China • Gansu: Lanzhou City , Yongdeng County, 36.719479°N, 102.620805°E, 3271 m elev., June 27 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904106 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.712555°N, 102.631604°E, 3254 m elev., June 27 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904107 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.810001°N, 102.994549°E, 3012 m elev., July 1 st, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904108 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.726978°N, 102.603234°E, 3300 m elev., July 12 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904287 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.727188°N, 102.605435°E, 3211 m elev., July 12 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904288 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.7192°N, 102.621335°E, 3005 m elev., July 13 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904289 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.710396°N, 102.634037°E, 2907 m elev., July 13 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904290 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.707924°N, 102.635953°E, 2878 m elev., July 13 th, 2018, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904291 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps ; • 36.707694°N, 102.698808°E, 3297 m elev., August 19 th, 2019, Y. J. Wang WYJ 201904292 ( LZU!) GoogleMaps .