syn_novataxa: [Botany • 2025] Berberis jiuzhaigouensis (Berberidaceae) • A New riparian shrub from northern Sichuan, China

[Botany • 2025] Berberis jiuzhaigouensis (Berberidaceae) • A New riparian shrub from northern Sichuan, China

Berberis jiuzhaigouensis H.L.Pan, D.C.Meng & C.C.Yu,

in Pan, Zhang, Wang, Meng et Yu. 2025.

DOI: doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.261.158475

Abstract

Berberis jiuzhaigouensis is herein described as a new deciduous species endemic to riparian habitats in Jiuzhaigou, northern Sichuan, China. Phylogenetic analyses based on complete plastome sequences and 322 nuclear loci consistently recover B. jiuzhaigouensis as a distinct and divergent lineage, genetically separated from all morphologically similar species and most closely related to B. gilgiana. Species delimitation analyses employing both topology-based (SODA) and substitution-based (bPTP, mPTP) frameworks further corroborate its taxonomic distinctiveness. This discovery highlights previously overlooked species diversity within Berberis in the Hengduan Mountains region.

Key words: Berberis, Jiuzhaigou, new species, phylogenomics, riparian flora

Berberis jiuzhaigouensis sp. nov.
A. Flowering branches; B. Streamlined, narrowly elliptic leaf blades with purplish-brown branches; C. Inflorescence types (clustered on the left, sub-umbellate on the right); D. Reproductive structures, with sepal numbering indicating their positional order; E. Spines on short shoots; F. Leaf morphology.

 Berberis jiuzhaigouensis H.L.Pan, D.C.Meng & C.C.Yu, sp. nov.

Diagnosis. Berberis jiuzhaigouensis is morphologically similar to B. gilgiana and B. salicaria, particularly in leaf shape. However, it can be readily distinguished by its glabrous abaxial leaf surface – contrasting with the distinctly pubescent midrib of B. gilgiana (Suppl. material 1: fig. S1A) – and by its fascicled to sub-umbellate inflorescences, in contrast to the spike-like racemes characteristic of both B. gilgiana and B. salicaria.

Hong-Li Pan, Yue Zhang, Jia-Hao Wang, De-Chang Meng and Chih-Chieh Yu. 2025. Berberis jiuzhaigouensis (Berberidaceae), A New riparian shrub from northern Sichuan, China. PhytoKeys. 261: 165-174. DOI: doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.261.158475