Lycoris × xiui, a new wild nothospecies from Anhui, China, a hybrid between L. longituba and L. sprengeri (Amaryllidaceae)

A new wild nothospecies, Lycoris × xiui S. Y. Zhang, Ying F. Hu & J. W. Shao, from Anhui Province in eastern China, is described and illustrated based on complete chloroplast genome, morphological, and karyotype evidence. This taxon resulted from the hybridization of L. longituba and L. sprengeri and is currently known only from Langya Mountain. Phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome revealed that L. sprengeri served as the maternal parent of all hybrid individuals sequenced.

It is characterized by a karyotype of 2 n = 19 = 3 V + 16 I, a perigone tube typically 1.5–3.5 cm long, and flowers usually pink to pale pink (rarely white or pale yellow), with tepal apices sometimes pale blue. These characteristics differ markedly from those of both putative parents; therefore, this study formally names the taxon and provides a detailed morphological description and diagnosis.