Confirmation of the taxonomic status of Lysionotus pterocaulis (Gesneriaceae) supported by morphological and molecular evidence.

Lysionotus serratus var. pterocaulis C.Y.Wu ex W.T.Wang was initially described as a variety, but was treated as an independent species L. pterocaulis (C.Y.Wu ex W.T.Wang) H.W.Li in 1991, although this status was not always retained by subsequent authors. Our observation of wild living plants demonstrated that L. pterocaulis is obviously distinguishable from L. serratus D.Don through its longitudinally angled stems with wings, yellowish to white corolla, tubular to slightly funnelform tube, and linear-lanceolate calyx lobes. Furthermore, the molecular phylogenetic analyses indicated that L. pterocaulis is not clustered with L. serratus but embedded in a different lineage. Therefore, L. pterocaulis is confirmed to be an independent species and an updated description is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]