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Table 1 Morphological comparison of the diagnostic characteristics between Veronicastrum wulingense and V. liukiuense

From: Veronicastrum wulingense (Plantaginaceae), a new species from Southwestern Hubei, China

Characters

Veronicastrum wulingense

Veronicastrum liukiuense

Plant habit

Arching and rooting apically

Ascending below, arching and rooting apically

Stem

Terete, not angular, with densely short curly hairs

Striate, sparsely pubescent

Petiole

Densely short curly hairs

Pubescent

Leaf

Ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 3–12 × 2–6 cm, blade abaxially purple-red, sparse white pubescent to nearly glabrous

Blade ovate or orbiculate ovate, 5–9 × 2.5–7 cm, lower surface sparsely hirsute on nerves

Serration

Undate, irregular, cuspidate to long apiculate dentate, apex upward, or crenate dentate

Depressed mucronate teeth

Inflorescence

Axillary, 4–9 cm, peduncle 1–7 cm, rachis densely short curly hairs, flower cluster dense in peduncle apex, steadily ca. 2–3 cm

Terminal on short leafy branches, 2–4 cm, 1.5 cm cross in flowers, peduncle hirsute

Bracts and calyx lobes

Bracts and calyx lobes linear-lanceolate to narrowly triangular, conspicuously shorter than corolla, densely short ciliate

Bracts linear-lanceolate, 6–8 mm, acuminate, hirsute; calyx lobes lanceolate, attenuate acuminate, ca. 4 mm, sparsely pilose on upper margin

Flower

Purple-red, pedicellate to subsessile (0–2.5 mm) with densely short curly hairs, corolla 5.5–7 mm

White tinged with pale purple, sessile, corolla ca. 7 mm

Corolla lobes

Ovate-triangular to narrowly triangular, 2/5–1/2 of corolla length

Triangular-lanceolate, acute, ca. 3 mm

Florescence

June to July

September to October