Abstract:

 The genus Eurya was established by Thunberg in 1783 on a  Japanese species E.

japonica.  Several decades later, many authors had made more or less intensive study on

this genus.  But in the earlier period, the different autherities had no clear conception of

the genus.  Thus Szyszylowicz (1893), Engler (1897) and Melchior (1925) entertained

a much broader conception of this genus, including Freziera and Cleyera, both of which

are now considered as distinct genera.  A. Gray (1855), Vesque (1895), Urban (1896),

and Kobuski  (1935-37), however, concentrated their study only on the now accepted

genus Eurya.  Recently, a more detailed study of Chinese Eurya was  made  by Chang

Hung-da (Acta Phytotax. Sin. 3 (1954) 1-59).  But all of these authors did not sub-

divide this genus into more than subgenera except Vesque, who used  the  number  of

stamens and the septation of the anther cells to further subdivide this genus into 4 sec-

tions.

     In the present treatment, we base on the  following  characteristics  to  make  sub-

divisions: the number of stamens, the septation of the anther cells, the hairness of the ovary,

the length of the style, the shape and texture of the sepals, and the shape and hairness

of the young branchlets.  We assume that the morphology of the flowers has the following

evolutionary tendencies: stamens from large (28) to small (5) numbers; anther cells from

septate to nonseptate; ovary from being hairy to glabrous, styles from 5-4 free to 3 and

more or less connate, from 2-6 mm to 0.5-1 mm long, and ovules from many (60)

to few (2-4) in each cell.

     The genus Eurya has now about 140 species, being divided into 2 subgenera: Subg.

Ternstroemiopsis Urban, with 2 species endemic in Sandwich Islands and Subg. Eurya with

138 species, in Asiatic tropic and subtropic regions  and  southwestern  Pacific  Islands.

According to the characteristics mentioned above, we divide the second subgenus into 2

sections and 8 series, as follows:

 (I) Sect. Meristotheca Vesque             (II) Sect. Eurya

        Ser. Ciliatae Hu et L. K. Ling             Ser. Longistylae Hu et L. K. Ling

        Ser. Trichocarpae Hu et L. K. Ling         Ser. Rigidisepalae Hu et L. K. Ling

        Ser. Tetragonocladae Hu et L. K. Ling      Ser. Nitidae Hu et L. K. Ling

        Ser. Muricatae Hu et L. K. Ling           Ser. Brevistylae Hu et L. K. Ling

     In China, the subgenus Eurya distributes east from Taiwan, west to the western part

of Szechuan and Yunnan, and south from Hainan, north to the southern slope of Tsin-ling

Range.  The region north from southern part of Nan-ling Range, southwest to southeast

Yunnan, south to northern part of the Peoples Republic of Vietnam, seems to be the centre

of both maximum variety and frequency of this subgenus, for the number of species and

the representatives of more primitive taxa in this region are much richer than  in  any

other regions of the world.  From this centre going northeast to Japan and Korea, west

to eastern part of India, south to Java and Sumatra, north to the southern slope of Tsin-

ling Range, the number of species and types gradually decreases, and especially the primi-

tive series and species rapidly disappear.  In addition, many species are also found in the

Island of Irian, which we incline to consider as another young centre of development for

this subgenus.  Furthermore, according to the distribution of quite a large number of the

species in China, we can recognize several boundary lines which are in agreement with the

limits of the floristic and geobotanic provinces of China.

      In this article we have enumerated 80 species, and 11 varieties of the genus Eurya

of China, among which are published for the first time 11 new species and 1 new variety,

one species, E. persicaefolia Gagnepain, is first recorded from China, a number of specific

names have been restored and a number reduced to synonyms.  They are as follows:

      Restored species:

            Eurya acuminatissima Merrill & Chun

            E. patentipila Chun

            E. henryi Hemsley

      Reduced to synonyms:

            Eurya parastrigillosa Hsu ( E. patentipila Chun)

            E. changii Hsu (E. fangii var. megaphylla Hsu)

            E. chienii Hsu (E. persicaefolia Gagnepain)

            E. hwangshanensis Hsu (E. saxicola Chang)

            E. fangii Rehd. var. glaberrima Hsu (E. cavinervis Vesque)

            E. pseudopolyneura Chang (E. impressinervis Kobuski)

            E. longistyla Chang (E. stenophylla Merrill)

            E. huiana Kobuski f. glaberrima Chang (E. muricata Dunn)

      New combination:

            Eurya muricata Dunn var. huiana (Kob.) Hu et L. K. Ling

            E. aurea (Levl.) Hu et L. K. Ling