Morphological variation pattern and supplementary description of Epimedium epsteinii

Abstract

Epimedium epsteinii,a species endemic to China,and distributes in Tianping Mountain of Hunan Province,which was described based on several cultivated individuals that.No subsequent morphological observation has been conducted since its publication.In order to obtain the accurate and comprehensive morphological variation of E.epsteinii and to provide a basis for clarifying the taxonomic relation of this species and its allied taxa,morphological variation analysis and supplementary description of E.epsteinii were done through the field investigation conducted in flowering period,based on a population in Tianping Mountain(type locality) of Sangzhi County,Hunan Province.The results are as follows: The variation range of the main characters of E.epsteinii is far beyond the original descriptions.For example,the height of flowering stems is 12.0-68.0 cm,which is significantly higher than the original description of 12 cm;Both short,compact rhizomes and long creeping rhizomes are observed within the population,and the individuals of each type are almost equal in number;The other characters,such as length and width of middle leaflet,length of inflorescence and flower colour are present abundant variation;In addition,the fruit and seed characters were described for the first time.Follicles are about 8-13 mm long and containing 2-11 seeds,which with a large oily caruncle(elaisome) attached.Furthermore,photos on the morphology of living plants in the wild are provided to fill the gap of absence of colour illustration of E.epsteinii in extant literature.It is the first very important thing for taxonomic study to pay more attention to taxonomic description after field investigation,especially the analysis of individual variation.