Allium heterophyllum (Amaryllidaceae), a new species from Henan, China

Abstract

Allium heterophyllum D.F.Xie & X.J.He, sp. nov. (Amaryllidaceae), is a new species from Henan, China and is described based on morphological and molecular evidence. It is morphologically most similar to A. dumebuchum in the rhomboid scape in cross-section. However, distinctive differences were detected in perianth color, leaf shape and cross-section, flowers’ density as well as flowering season. Similarly, the karyotype of A. heterophyllum is 2n = 2x = 16 and in A. dumebuchum is 2n = 4x = 32. Phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear ribosomal Internal Transcribed Spacers (ITS) and three cpDNA regions strongly supports that A. heterophyllum is a member of Allium section Rhizirideum and sister to the other species of this section (e.g. A. senescens, A. spirale, and A. prostratum). Currently, only one population and approximately 120 individuals were discovered; the development of scenic spots in this region may affect its growth and threaten this population. Therefore, this new species is preliminarily considered as Near Threatened (NT) according to criteria of the IUCN Red List.

Taxonomic evidences supporting the establishment of ‘sibujing', a traditional condiment crop from the Philippines, as Allium chinense G.Don

“…Sacculiferum clade, the results further indicated a Sacculiferum section origin of 'sibujing' and a particularily close relationship to an accession of A. chinense (KT781694.1), i.e. the same sequence utilized by Xie et al (2022) in establishing a new species of Allium from section Rhizirideum from Henan, China. The reconstructed phylogenetic tree had a similar topology to those presented in previous studies (Friesen et al 2006, Li et Xie et al 2022).…”

New insights into the phylogenetic relationships among wild onions (Allium, Amaryllidaceae), with special emphasis on the subgenera Anguinum and Rhizirideum, as revealed by plastomes

“…Of the five sections, sect. Rhizirideum , represents the most speciose group with 26 species, including the recently published new species A. dumebuchum from Korea ( Jang et al., 2021 ) and A. heterophyllum from China ( Xie et al., 2022 ), which widely occur from Europe to East Asia. Most species are distributed in temperate Asia, whereas only four species occur in Europe, and just two species commonly occur in Europe and reach Western Siberia ( Sinitsyna et al., 2016 ).…”

“…Section Rhizirideum appears to be monophyletic, but phylogenetic relationships among species within sect. Rhizirideum has been poorly resolved based on traditional markers, such as nrDNA ITS and non-coding chloroplast DNA sequences ( Sinitsyna et al., 2016 ; Jang et al., 2021 ; Xie et al., 2022 ).…”

“…Most recently, the ITS sequence phylogeny showed that the clade containing several accessions of A. macrostemon was sister to A. caeruleum and that A. schoenoprasoides was sister to the A. macrostemon - A. caeruleum clade ( Xie et al., 2022 ). In contrast, three cpDNA region sequences ( ndhJ - trnF , psbD - trnT , and psbJ - petA ) indicated a sister relationship between A. macrostemon and A. schoenoprasoides ( Xie et al., 2022 ). The complete plastome sequence of A. macrostemon was reported, and the phylogeny suggested that it is sister to the clade of A. cepa – A. fistulosum – A. altaicum (subg.…”

“…In addition, A. macrostemon has been consistently distinguished from its related sections of Allium subg. Allium , warranting the establishment of a new section ( Friesen et al., 2006 ; Li et al., 2010 ; Xie et al., 2022 ). Thus, it is necessary to reassess the phylogenetic position of A. macrostemon , with additional sampling, in a much broader plastome phylogenetic framework.…”