LILIACEAE - China

usually borne at or near apex of pedicel (rarely at middle orbase); bract lanceolate to narrowly so, 3–12 mm, shorter thanflower (sometimes a few bracts at base of raceme to 2 × flowerlength), glabrous, apex acute. Perianth white to pink, 4–7.5 mm,glabrous (but sometimes slightly puberulent at base of tube);tube very short, broadly funnelform; lobes erect, spreading,recurved, or revolute, narrowly oblong or narrowly lanceolate,2–5.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm, 1–5 × tube length, apex obtuse to acute.Capsule narrowly ovoid to subglobose, 4–8 × 2–4 mm, apex ofvalves abruptly narrowed; style 1–3 mm; stigma thickened ornot. Fl.Mar–Aug, fr. Apr–Aug.Forests, river banks, stream beds, rocks; 1100–2900 m. Guizhou,Sichuan, E Xizang (Bomi Xian).Typical Aletris laxiflora from C Sichuan and E Xizang has short,usually erect perianth lobes, while plants from C and E Sichuan andGuizhou have longer, often recurved or revolute perianth lobes, andhave been called A. revoluta. Intermediate plants occur where the twoentities overlap in C Sichuan. All are here regarded as a single, variablespecies. The type of A. gracilipes, from C Sichuan, also belongs hereand not under A. stelliflora (i.e., A. gracilis) as given in FRPS; it is unusualin having 6–10 mm long pedicels with a basal bract and bracteole.5. Aletris gracilisRendle, J. Bot. 44: 41. 1906.星 花 粉 条 儿 菜 xing hua fen tiao er caiAletris stelliflora Handel-Mazzetti.Plant glabrous throughout. Rhizome surrounded by adense collar of persistent fibers from disintegrated leaf bases.Leaves 5 to numerous, usually laxly tufted, linear, 2–20 cm ×2–7(–9) mm. Scape 7–40 cm. Raceme 2–15 cm, not coveredwith viscid secretion, laxly 5–40-flowered. Flowers distinctlypedicellate; pedicel 1–10 mm; bract borne at or near base ofpedicel, narrowly lanceolate, 3–9(–16) mm, shorter than flower(rarely a few bracts at base of raceme slightly longer thanflower), apex obtuse to subacute; bracteole borne on proximal1/2 of pedicel above bract. Perianth yellowish, whitish, or pinkish,4–5 mm; tube broadly funnelform; lobes strongly recurvedor revolute, narrowly oblong or oblong, 2–3 × ca. 1 mm, 1.5–2× tube length, apex obtuse to rounded or truncate. Capsule narrowlyovoid, 4.5–7 × 2.5–3.5 mm, apex of valves abruptly narowed;style 0.5–2 mm; stigma conspicuously thickened, capitate.Fl. Jul–Sep, fr. Sep–Oct.Alpine swamps, alpine grasslands, bamboo thickets, thicket margins,grassy cliffs, rocks; 2500–3900 m. SE Xizang, NW Yunnan [Bhutan,NE India, N Myanmar, Sikkim].The type of Aletris gracilis corresponds with A. stelliflora, not A.laxiflora as given in FRPS, so the name A. gracilis has priority over A.stelliflora, which was described in 1936. Aletris gracilis is easily distinguishedfrom A. laxiflora by its completely glabrous raceme rachisand pedicels.6. Aletris cinerascens F. T. Wang & Tang, Fl. Reipubl. PopularisSin. 15: 254. 1978.灰 鞘 粉 条 儿 菜 hui qiao fen tiao er caiPlants glabrous throughout. Rhizome not surrounded by adense collar of fibers but sometimes by persistent, dead leaves.Leaves somewhat numerous, densely tufted, linear-lanceolate,4–13 cm × 3–12.5 mm. Scape 8–35 cm. Raceme 2.5–19 cm,not covered with viscid secretion, laxly 10–23(or more)-flowered.Flowers distinctly pedicellate; pedicel 1–10 mm; bractborne at or near base of pedicel (sheathing, so sometimes appearingapical on very short pedicels), lanceolate, 3–7 mm,shorter than flower, apex obtuse; bracteole borne on proximal1/2 of pedicel above bract. Perianth yellowish, 4–6 × 2–2.5mm; tube very short, broadly funnelform; lobes strongly recurvedor revolute, narrowly lanceolate, 3–4.5 × 1–1.5 mm, ca. 3 ×tube length, apex obtuse. Capsule oblong-ovoid or ± ellipsoid,5–7 × 3–3.5 mm, apex of valves abruptly narrowed; style 1.5–2.5 mm; stigma not or only slightly thickened. Fl. and fr. Jun–Nov.Grassy hilltops, dry slopes, forests; 2700–3100 m. Guangxi, WCYunnan (Jingdong Xian).7. Aletris pauciflora (Klotzsch) Handel-Mazzetti, Symb. Sin.7: 1220. 1936.少 花 粉 条 儿 菜 shao hua fen tiao er caiRoots thickened, fleshy. Rhizome stout, sometimes clumpforming,often surrounded by a dense collar of persistent fibersfrom disintegrated leaf bases. Leaves usually rather few (5–10)and laxly tufted, sometimes more numerous and dense, linearlanceolateto linear, 3–25 cm × 1–10 mm. Scape 3.5–40 cm.Raceme 1–20 cm, densely to laxly 4–40-flowered, rachis pubescent.Flowers distinctly pedicellate; pedicel 1–12 mm, pubescent;bract and bracteole borne at or near apex of pedicel;bract lanceolate to narrowly linear-lanceolate, 3–20 mm, 1–4 ×flower length, glabrous, apex obtuse to rounded. Perianth darkred, red, pink, orange, yellow, greenish yellow, or white, 3.5–6mm, glabrous; tube campanulate; lobes usually recurved, sometimeserect, oblong-ovate to lanceolate, 1.5–2.5 × 0.8–1.5 mm,0.6–1 × tube length, apex obtuse to rounded. Capsule ovoidellipsoidor ovoid-conical, 4–6 × 2.5–4 mm, apex of valvesgradually narrowed; style to 0.5 mm; stigma thickened. Fl.Apr–Aug, fr. Jun–Oct.Mixed,coniferous, and broad-leaved forests,scrub, bamboo scrub,swamps, marshes, bogs, stream banks, wet flushes, damp meadows,grassy alpine slopes, open stony pastures, exposed ridges, river gravels,moraines, rocks; 1500–4900 m. Sichuan, Xizang, Yunnan [Bhutan, India,Kashmir, N Myanmar, Nepal, Sikkim].Two varieties may be recognized, although intermediate plantsand mixed collections occur. In FRPS, they were distinguished, in additionto bract length, by having racemes laxly flowered (var. pauciflora)or densely flowered (var. khasiana). However, raceme density seems toindicate the developmental stage of the inflorescence (i.e., denser isyounger) rather than correlate with bract length.1a. Bract obviously longer than flower, to4 × flower length ................................... 7a. var. pauciflora1b. Bract subequaling flower ........................ 7b. var. khasiana7a. Aletris pauciflora var. pauciflora少 花 粉 条 儿 菜 ( 原 变 种 ) shao hua fen tiao er cai (yuan bianzhong)Stachyopogon pauciflorus Klotzsch in Klotzsch & Garcke,Bot. Ergebn. Reise Waldemar, 49. 1862; Aletris mairei H. Léveillé;A. nepalensis J. D. Hooker, nom. illeg. (included S. pau-