Abstract
Mazus lanceifolius (Mazaceae) is a perennial herb with opposite leaves and endemic to central China that has not been collected for 130 years. Rediscovery of this enigmatic species in the wild allows for determination of its phylogenetic position within Mazaceae. Phylogenetic reconstruction of Mazaceae based on DNA sequences from four plastid markers (matK, rbcL, rps16 and trnL-trnF) and nuclear ribosome ITS consistently showed that Mazus was not monophyletic. Mazus lanceifolius is in the most basal clade within Mazaceae, as sister to the remaining species of three recognized genera Dodartia, Lancea and Mazus. These results support the separation of M. lanceifolius from Mazus as a new genus, which was established here as Puchiumazus Bo Li, D.G. Zhang & C.L. Xiang. Meanwhile, a collection from Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei Province, China, misidentified as “M. lanceifolius” in previous molecular study, is here revealed to represent an undescribed species of Mazus, i.e., M. fruticosus Bo Li, D.G. Zhang & C.L. Xiang, sp. nov. Morphologically, Puchiumazus is clearly distinct from the other three genera by having quadrangular to somewhat ribbed stems, and obviously opposite leaves. In addition, we provide a taxonomic key to the four genera of Mazaceae.
Highlights
Mazaceae (Reveal 2011) is a small herbaceous family in Lamiales currently containing three genera: Dodartia L., Lancea Hook.f. & Thomson and Mazus Lour. (APG IV 2016; Olmstead 2016; Christenhusz et al 2017)
Zhang zdg6673, Fig. 2) sampled by Deng et al (2019) as well as the type specimens (Henry 7250, K001079356!; Henry 5837, K001079356!) and the original description of M. lanceifolius, we found that the plants of “Mazus lanceifolius” used by Deng et al (2019) have opposite to subopposite leaves, which may have led the authors to identify the plant as M. lanceifolius because this species is the only known Mazus species with opposite leaves
The monophyly of Mazaceae was strongly supported (Figs 3, 4; maximum likelihood (ML) BS: 100%, Bayesian inference (BI) posterior probability values (PP): 1.00; all values reported in this order below)
Summary
Mazaceae (Reveal 2011) is a small herbaceous family in Lamiales currently containing three genera: Dodartia L., Lancea Hook.f. & Thomson and Mazus Lour. (APG IV 2016; Olmstead 2016; Christenhusz et al 2017). Lancea is characterized by leaves in a rosette and a lower corolla lip with a distinct palate. Mazus is the largest genus in Mazaceae, including approximately 30 species of annual or perennial herbs (Hong et al 1998; Deng et al 2016) distributed in Asia, Australia and New Zealand (Li 1954; Barker 1991; Fischer 2004). Mazus can be distinguished from the other two genera by a combination of morphological characters: a strongly two-lipped corolla (3/2-bilabiatae), a palate with two longitudinal plaits and a capsule enveloped in a persistent calyx (Fischer 2004; Deng et al 2019)
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