Taxonomic Revision Of Ardisia(Primulaceae)in China And Pan-Himalaya

The genus Ardisia Swartz was placed in Myrsinaceae in traditional taxonomy systems,but in APG(III)and APG(IV)it was included in Primulaceae.The genus consists of 400-500 species and is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas.In China,the species of Ardisia are distributed on the south of Q inling Mountains,with species richness in southwestern C hina.There are many views about the taxonomy of Ardisiafor a long time,such as different classification systems of the genus,and the systematic positions of some species has long been in dispute.Because of some reasons,such as lack of examination in type specimens or the details of original description,many species in China have been misidentified,and the boundary between some species are undefined.In this study we tried to resolve the existent problem and propose revision by herbarium work,literature research and field study.The Pan-Himalayas(the Himalayas and adjacent regions)forms a natural geographic unit,from the Wakhan Corridor and northeastern Hindu Kush eastwards to the Hengduan Mountains via Karakorum and the Himalayas.This region covers northeastern corner of Afghanistan,northern Pakistan,northern India,Nepal,Bhutan,northern Myanmar,and southwest C hina(S Tibet,SE Q inghai,SE Gansu,W Sichuan and NW Yunnan).There was not a taxonomic revision of Ardisia species in Pan-Himalayas region up to now,and this research tried to fill in the gap of the statistics and revision.Base on field study,examination of specimens and the combination of various references and information,a taxonomic revision of Ardisiain Pan-Himalayas region and China was conducted,and some problems of doubtful species were clarified.74 species,1 subspecies and 5 varieties were rcgonized in the research region,including 12 species in Pan-Himalayas region,and 70 species,1 subspecies,5 varieties in C hina.One new record species of China,A.macrocarpa Wall.,was recognized,and it was reported in C hina with other 4 species which appeared in Pan-Himalayas region but not in C hina.The names of 3 species were revised.7 names was resumed as species or varieties such as A.kusukusensis Hayata,and several names were treated as new synonyms such as A.baotingensis C.M.Hu.One new subgenus was proposed,Subgen.Odontophylla(Yang)Huang,including species from Pan-Himalayas region and C hina such as A.odontophylla Wall.ex A.DC.The new identification keys to subgenera and species were provided.Part of the result of this study,i.e.,the taxonomic revisions of Ardisia from Pan-Himalayas,will accumulate information for the Flora of Pan-Himalayas.However,there are some problems that have not been solved.More work in laboratory,herbaria and wild should be continued.