Further investigation of Melocalamus (Poaceae, Bambusoideae) in China based on Skmer analysis and morphology

By

Chen, Yu-Jin
Chen, Mei
Zhou, Meng-Yuan
Xu, Zu-Chang
Zhang, Yuxiao
Liu, Jing-Xia
Li, De-Zhu

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-7-2

Original Publication

PhytoKeys

Volume

259

Pages

177--198

Subjects

Cephalostachyum , epitype , genome skimming , Neomicrocalamus , new combination , new species , new synonyms

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers [2010]-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/phytokeys.259.151683

 

Abstract

Melocalamus is a genus of paleotropical woody bamboos distributed in Southeast Asia, characterised by its complex taxonomic history. Currently, the taxonomic status of several species within Melocalamus remains unresolved, primarily due to incompleteness of vegetative specimens for identification, coupled with scarcity of floral and fruit specimens and phylogenetic discordance. To address these issues, we developed a genome skimming dataset with multiple samples per species of Melocalamus through the Skmer approach. Genetic and morphological evidence supports the transfer of M. elevatissimus to Cephalostachyum, with a new combination, C. elevatissimum. Based on a comprehensive evaluation that integrates morphological characters, molecular data and geographic distribution, we propose treating M. utilis as a synonym of M. orenudus and provide the description of its inflorescence and an epitype of it for the first time. Our results further indicate that M. ningmingensis is a synonym of Neomicrocalamus prainii. We also described a new species, M. guangxiensis from Ningming, Guangxi, based on morphological and molecular evidence. Our results demonstrate both the efficiency and reliability of the Skmer approach in species discrimination while emphasising the importance of integrating morphological characters with genomic data for accurate species classification in Melocalamus.