Potentilla asterotricha (Rosaceae) is a mysterious narrowly local endemic of China from Gansu province

Abstract

This study provides new data on Potentilla asterotricha, a species endemic to China. The species was described in Gansu province without specific information on locations, collectors, or date of collection. It is not given in “Flora of China”. Additional herbarium materials we discovered in KUN, PE and WUK allowed us to significantly expand the information about this enigmatic taxon. It turned out that its classic habitat is Erlang Mountain in the south of Gansu province in Min County. Based on the presence of stellate hairs in the pubescence, P. asterotricha is assigned here to the section Fasciculato-pilosae. The closest species to it is P. acaulis, from which it differs in the presence of pinnate leaves in the basal rosette. Photos of the leaf blade and pubescence of P. asterotricha under a microscope, as well as a scanned image of its herbarium specimen, are presented. The map shows the distribution of the taxon under study and its putative parent species. The southern border of the P. acaulis range has been identified.

Keywords

• china north-central
• endemism
• fasciculato-pilosae
• new data
• potentilla