Table 1.

Morphological comparisons of Polyalthiopsis nigra, P. chinensis, P. xui, P. floribunda and P. verrucipes.

Character	P. nigra	P. chinensis	P. xui	P. floribunda	P. verrucipes
Petiole	4–7 mm	4–6 mm	3–7 mm	3–5 mm	3–7 mm
Leaf blades	obovate-elliptic, oblong-elliptic to oblong, 8–18.5 × 3.2–8.3 cm	oblong-elliptic to obovate-lanceolate, 7.9–13 × 2.2–3.8 cm	elliptic, oblong-elliptic, 8.5–19.8 × 2.7–6.3 cm	oblong-elliptic to oblong, 10–15 × 3.5–5 cm	oblong to oblong-lanceolate, 10–17 × 2.5–5 cm
Length/width ratio of leaf	2.0–3.0	3.2–4.5	2.3–3.8	2.5–3.2	3.0–4.5
Number of secondary veins on leaf	15–25 pairs	8–15 pairs	8–14 pairs	10–15 pairs	15–18 pairs
Inflorescences	1–4 flowers	1–2 flowers	1–3(–4) flowers	1–5 flowers	solitary flower
Pedicel	3–7 mm	4–7 mm	5–7 mm	8–10 mm	1–2 mm
Outer petals	lemon to yellowish green, narrowly elliptic-oblong, 13–16 × 3–4 mm	lemon to yellowish green, narrowly elliptic-oblong, 12–13 × 3.5–4.5 mm	lemon to yellowish green; elliptic-ovate, 7–10 × 3–5 mm	color unknown, elliptic-ovate, ca. 6–8 × 3–4 mm	white, narrowly elliptic-oblong, 16 × 3–5 mm
Number of carpels per flower	9–15	8–10	8–12	7	12–16
Number of ovules per carpel	2	2	2	1	2
Monocarps (fresh)	obovoid, ca. 1.4 × 0.9 cm (immature)	ellipsoid to rhomboid, 2.7–3.8 × 1.3–2.6 cm	ellipsoid to rhomboid, 2–2.9 × 1.6–2.5 cm	cylindrical, ca. 2.8 × 1.5 cm	ellipsoid to rhomboid, 2.5–3.2 × 1.5–2.3 cm
Seeds (fresh)	ellipsoid, ca. 8 × 2.5–3 mm (immature)	cylindrical, 2.2–3.2 × 1.0–1.3 cm	ellipsoid, 1.9–2.4 × 0.9–1.1 cm	cylindrical, ca. 2.4 × 1.2 cm	ellipsoid to cylindrical, 1.6–2.5 × 0.9–1.2 cm