Geographical distribution and morphological diversification of Lilium fargesii

Lilium fargesii (Farges' lily) belongs to the Sino-Japanese Floristic Subregion and is one of the unique lily flowers of China. Reports of its wild resources and geographical distribution are quite rare. We have discovered two main natural distribution areas for Farges' lily in a survey of Shaanxi Province, Chongqing Municipality and Hubei Province in the years 2012-2015. One of the areas is located in the Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province (33°40'-34°09'N, 107°02'-107°50'E; altitude 1816-2715 m), specifically in the Jialing River Head in Fengxian County, Mt. Taibai in Meixian County in Baoji Prefecture, and the Foping Nature Reserve in Hanzhong Prefecture. The other distribution area is Bashan Mountains in southwest Shaanxi Province, specifically in Mt. Hualong in Zhenping County, Ankang Prefecture (31°59'N, 109°20'E; altitude 2220 m). Five scattered populations have been found thus far, with no more than six individuals of Farges' lily in each, showing that this species is very rare. There is spatial reproductive isolation between wild populations so that they are vulnerable to environmental stress and human disturbance. Morphological data of different populations was compared with the data in Flora of China and we found that Farges' lily has an abundant morphological diversity: plant 43-91 cm tall; leaves from linear to lanceolate; flowers solitary or two in an inflorescence; tepals from middle bent to strongly reflexed, with reddish-purple or purple-brown spots; and flowering beginning on 19 July (Mt. Hualong), 25 July (Foping) or 4 August (Mt. Taibai, Jialing River Head). Results of the present investigation provided background for the conservation strategy and germplasm utilization of these wild lily resources.