New oak species present in Guangxi

Oak (genus Quercus), comprising roughly 469 species of decorative and trees bushes and shrubs within the beech circle of relatives (Fagaceae), is a dominant woody lineage in woodland ecosystems around the Northern Hemisphere.

All through their herbarium specimens survey of Fagaceae in 2021, researchers from Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Lawn (XTBG) of the Chinese language Academy of Sciences and Yunnan College discovered some oak fabrics with traits now not observed in any recognized species of Quercus.

After consulting related literature and herbarium specimens from primary herbaria in China and key global herbaria, they decided that the specimens range from all revealed species of Quercus, and constitute a brand new species.

The brand new species has been named Quercus zhekunii in honor of Prof. Zhou Zhekun of XTBG, a prominent botanist who has devoted his occupation to the systematics, biogeography and fossil historical past of East Asian Fagaceous crops and has made important contributions to working out Cenozoic plants adjustments in East Asia.

The new species was once revealed within the Nordic Magazine of Botany.

Quercus zhekunii is a small evergreen tree or shrub, 2–4 m tall. The dense fused fasciculate and uniserate trichomes at the leaf abaxial floor of Q. zhekunii resemble the ones of Q. kingiana.

Alternatively, its distinctively concave number one and lateral veins at the leaf adaxial floor, in conjunction with the distinguished backward-recurved leaf blade and leaf margin, make it morphologically distinct from any recognized species in Q. sect. Ilex.

The brand new plant end result biennially (pistillate vegetation to acorns requiring two years to mature). It vegetation in March and end result within the subsequent October to early November, and acorns are scarce.

Quercus zhekunii grows on open limestone hills with brown lime soil at elevations of 450–830 m above the ocean degree. It’s discovered at 4 recognized places on open limestone rocky cliffs, tops or ridges within the northern tropical area of East Asia. It’s scattered throughout western to northwestern Guangxi Zhuang Self reliant Area of China.

“Given its vulnerability to habitat degradation, which considerably affects its populations within the karst areas of southwestern China, we suggest that Q. zhekunii be categorized as ‘Endangered’ (EN) in step with the present IUCN purple record classes and standards,” stated Professor Huang Jian, corresponding writer of the find out about and a researcher from XTBG.