Taxonomic Revision Of Viola L. (Violaceae) In China

Viola L. (Violaceae) is a genus of 525–600 species mainly distributed in the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere and the Andes in South America. This genus is richly represented in China, with 110 species recorded in the Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae(FRPS) (volume 51), plus 58 previously described taxa based on Chinese material yet overlooked in this work. Hence this country constitutes a most important part of one of the three primary centers of morphological and taxonomic diversity of this genus, i.e. the center of the Himalayas and mountainous Asia.In this work, a taxonomic revision of the genus Viola L. (Violaceae) from China was conducted based on extensive literature survey, both herbarium and field observations, and transplant experiment in some cases. About 8, 000 herbarium specimens were examined, including most of the type specimens concerned. Seven species and two varieties are described as new to science, including V. dimorphophylla (the only species with whorled leaves known up to date in the whole genus), V. muliensis, V. bulbosa var. oblonga, V. gongshanensis, V. guangxiensis, V. hui, V. magnifica var. qianshanensis, V. miaolingensis and V. nitida; six new combinations are proposed, namely, V. biflora var. rockiana, V. dissecta var. incisa, V. prionantha var. taishanensis, V. philippica var. stenocentra, V. kosanensis subsp. pendulicarpa and V. kosanensis subsp. serrula; 11 species (V. belophylla, V. yunnanfuensis, V. tienschiensis, V. duclouxii, V. fargesii, V. hondoensis, V. kosanensis, V. japonica, V. striatella, V. kwangtungensis and V. perpusilla) are confirmed to occur in...