高山龍膽

Gentiana scabrida var. horaimontana (Masamune) Liu & Kuo, Bull. Exp. Forest N. T. U. 114: 188, pl. 10. 1974; Liu & Kuo in Li et al., Fl. Taiwan 4: 178. 1978; Ho, Fl. Reipubl. Popularis Sin. 62: 243. 1988; Ying, Quart. J. Exp. Forest N. T. U. 3(2): 94. 1989; Ho & Pringle in Wu et al., Fl. China 16: 77. 1995.

Annual herbs. Stems usually branched, greenish yellow to brownish yellow, caespitose glabrous, 3-5 cm tall. Leaves aristate-acuminate at apices, slightly scabrous along margins; radical leaves lanceolate or ovate, 3-10 mm long, 2-4 mm wide; cauline leaves lanceolate to narrow-lanceolate, 3-5 mm long; sheaths less than 1 mm long. Flowers pedicellate, solitary on terminal branches; calyx-tube campanulate, 3 mm long, with 5 scabrous costae, 5-lobed, ovate, aristate-acuminate at apex, about 2 mm long; corolla tubular-campanulate, yellow with brown spots in the middle, 9-10 mm long, with 5 lobes; the lobes acutely ovate, about 2 mm long, appendages acute or cuspidate near apices. Stamens 5, the anthers narrow, 0.5-1 mm long, the filaments about 4 mm long, attached slightly above the lower-part of corolla-tube; ovary shortly stipitate, lanceolate to narrow ovate, 2-3 mm long, about 1 mm wide, stiple 1 mm long, style 2-3 mm long, the stigma bifurcate and spirlly recurve at bloom. Capsules obovate, 2-3 mm long, exserted beyond the persistent corolla. Seeds ovoid, with minutely longitudinal reticulate-striae, 1-1.2 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide.

TYPE: Taiwan, Taityu-syu: In umbrosis juniperetorum montis Maborasu-san, Suzuki-T 13630, 3 Aug. 1935 (holotype: TAI!).

NANTOU HSIEN: Mabolasushan, Suzuki-T 13630 (TAI). CHIAYI HSIEN: Paiyuanshanchuang, Lu 3692 (NCUF); same loc., Lu 3750 (NCUF); Payuanshanchuang to mt. peak of Yushan, elev. ca. 3700-3800m, C. H. Chen 2237 (TNU), same loc., Peng 14373 (HAST). PINGTUNG HSIEN: Pingtung to Tawushan, Huang 13676 (TAI).

Distribution and habitat. Endemic to Taiwan, rare in the high altitude of the Central Mountain Range from 3,600 to 3,900 m in elevation. Found in umbrose Juniperus and on shady limestone bedrock or mossgrown slope. Rare. Flowering Sep-Oct, fruiting Sep-Nov.

Notes: The taxon was treated as distinct species by Masamune (1936), but was reduced to variety of G. scabrida by Liu & Kuo (1974). According to the opinions of Liu & Kuo, this taxa was close to G. scabrida Hayata, but differed from the latter in the glabrous leaves, the corollaceous appendages which are entire and cuspidate-acute at apex, the minute plant body and high altitude distribution up to 3800 m. However, from authors’ field experience and detailed comparison, in addition to the differences described above, this species has yellowish plant body and different habitat (shadier condition) required. Based upon these numerous characters we mentioned above, it is appropriate to treat this taxon as distinct species.