Abstract. In 1974, Chang and Yan adopted the name Pittosporum ovoideum Gowda 1951, but excluded its holotype, correctly noting that it is a flowering specimen of P. pauciflorum Hooker & Arnott. They therefore published the later homonym P. ovoideum Hung T. Chang & S. Z. Yan 1974, non Gowda 1951. Gowda’s name is a synonym of P. pauciflorum. The species described by Gowda as P. ovoideum has remained without a legitimate name until the present paper, where it is formally described as P. lenticellatum Chun ex H. Peng & Y. F. Deng, sp. nov.

Key words: China, Pittosporaceae, Pittosporum.

Chang and Yan (1974: 34) adopted the name Pittosporum ovoideum Gowda (1951: 322) but definitely excluded its type, C. Wang 39113 (holotype, A), correctly noting that it is a flowering specimen of P. pauciflorum Hooker & Arnott (because it has three, rather than two, carpels) and explicitly including it under that species (1974: 33). Under Article 48.1 of the Saint Louis Code (Greuter et al., 2000), they therefore published the later homonym P. ovoideum Hung T. Chang & S. Z. Yan 1974, non Gowda 1951. Gowda’s name is a synonym of P. pauciflorum, even though the original description and two paratypes of P. ovoideum do not belong to P. pauciflorum. Chang and Yan (1974: 34) designated one of Gowda’s paratypes, H. Fung 21114 (A), as the holotype (as "Lecto-typus!") of their P. ovoideum. They also designated an additional specimen not mentioned by Gowda, C. N. Teng 13409 ["13469"] (IBSC), as a paratype (as "Fl[ower].-Typus!"). (The use of these terms to denote holotype and paratype can be treated as correctable errors under Art. 9.8 of the Code.) One of us (Peng) has checked the holotype and an isotype (at IBSC) of P. ovoideum Gowda, and has come to the conclusion that the judgment of Chang and Yan is correct, i.e., that both these type specimens are indeed P. pauciflorum. However, the treatment of Chang and Yan is unsatisfactory because the species described by Gowda as P. ovoideum has been left without a legitimate name until the present paper. In 1940, Chun Woon-young annotated specimens of this species (at IBSC) as P. lenticellatum. Therefore, that name is adopted here and ascribed by us to Prof. Chun.

Species Pittosporo planilobo Hung T. Chang & S. Z. Yan affinis, sed laminis foliorum magniore 4--11 cm longis 1--3 cm latis, capsulis 1.2--1.4 cm latis, seminibus 16 usque ad 24, differt.

Shrubs evergreen, 1--4 m tall. Branchlets verticillate or dichotomous, pubescent, later glabrescent; bark gray or brown, conspicuously speckled with lenticels. Leaves loosely crowded toward apex of branches; petiole 1--1.5 cm; leaf blade narrowly obovate-lanceolate, 4--11 ´ 1--3 cm, broadest at or above the middle, firmly leathery, pubescent on both surfaces when young, later glabrescent, lateral veins in 8 to 10 pairs, abaxially prominent, adaxially impressed, reticulate veins conspicuous, base cuneate, margin recurved, entire, apex acute or acuminate. Inflorescences pseudoterminal or axillary, umbellate, subumbellate, or 1-flowered, subtended by a whorl of leaves and bracts; bracts narrowly lanceolate, 3--4 ´ ca. 1 mm, inconspicuously pubescent; pedicels 5--10 mm, pubescent. Flower buds ovoid, ca. 5 mm, densely silky brown hairy, apex acute. Sepals 5, free, yellow, ovate-lanceolate, 3--5 ´ 1--3 mm, abaxially pubescent, margin ciliate, apex acuminate. Petals 5, free, linear, 5--8 ´ ca. 2 mm. Filaments 5, ca. 3 mm; anthers oblong, ca. 2 mm. Ovary cylindric, ca. 3 mm, densely silky brown hairy; placentas 2, parietal; ovules 16 to 24; style 3--4 mm, glabrous; stigma subcapitate. Capsules globose or subglobose, slightly compressed, 1.2--1.4 cm, woody, 2-valved; valves ca. 2 mm thick, subglobose or suboblong, striate and coated with oily substance inside; funicles biseriate, arranged from base to beyond middle of placenta, darkish, knoblike, less than 1 mm. Seeds 16 to 24, darkish red, irregular, ca. 4 ´ 2 mm.

Phenology. Flowering in March, fruiting from July through September.

Ecology and distribution. Evergreen forests, thickets, limestone mountains; 200--1100 m. Endemic to China, occurring in northern Guangxi and southeastern Guizhou.

Paratypes. CHINA. Guangxi: Guilin, 200 m, 1 Apr. 1964, N. K. Liang & D. Fang 44878 (IBSC), 28 Mar. 1948, C. N. Teng 13409 (IBSC), 6 July 1937, W. T. Tsang 27776 (A, IBSC), 9 May 1982, H. G. Ye 545 (IBSC); Lingui, 23 Nov. 1953, C. F. Liang 31106 (IBSC); Luocheng, 1939, M. Chen 84179 (IBSC), R. C. Ching 5340 (IBSC); Xingan, Guangxi Expedition 406 (IBSC). Guizhou: without locality, Y. Tsiang 6833 (IBSC); Libo, X. H. Song 752 (NF), X. H. Song 1056 (NF), 12 Apr. 1984, Z. R. Xu L1329 & L1473 (IBSC, SYS).

Acknowledgments. We thank Nicholas J. Turland (MO) for nomenclatural advice, editorial modifications, and for correcting the English. We also thank Zhang Zhiyun (PE) for discussing the taxonomic treatment. This article is the result of part of a major project on the biodiversity of the Mekong River Basin in Yunnan, supported financially by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, grant no. KZ951-A1-104-03.

Literature Cited