Polygonatum dabieshanensis (Asparagaceae), a new species from the Dabieshan Mountains, Anhui and Henan provinces, China

Polygonatum dabieshanensis (Asparagaceae), a new species from the Dabieshan Mountains, Anhui and Henan provinces, China, is described and illustrated. It is most similar to P. praecox, P. cyrtonema, and P. odoratum but can be distinguished by having a yellow terete rhizome, a terete stem, elliptic leaf blades, racemose inflorescences, 1–2 (occasionally 3) flowers, a cylindrical perianth extending inwardly, filaments inserted near the distal 1 / 2 of the perianth tube that are smooth and glabrous, a white corolla, and blue-black berries, 0.8–1.0 cm in diameter, with 2–4 seeds.

The complete chloroplast genome of the sampled individuals of this new species that we sequenced ranged from 155,107–155,108 bp in length. Our phylogenetic analyses, based on chloroplast sequences, confirm that the new species is distinct from morphologically similar species.