Introduction
The family Celastraceae contains about 60 genera with more than 850
species, and most of these species distributed in tropic, subtropic and
temperate areas, with limited species radiated into cold temperate zone
(Ma 2001, Ma et al. 2008, Li et al. 2014). The tribe Euonymeae is the
majority of the family, containing eight genera with about 230 species
in both the Old and New Worlds (Loesener 1942; Simmons et al. 1999,
2001, 2012). Tribe Euonymeae has been defined as those genera of
Celastraceae with generally opposite leaves, isomerous carpels,
loculicidally dehiscent capsules, and arillate seeds (Simmons et al.
2012). Phylogenetic studies on tribe Euonymeae indicate that the tribe
consists of at least six separate lineages within Celastraceae and that
a revised natural classification of the family is needed (Simmons et al.
2012). Furthermore, Euonymus is the most diverse (129 species)
and widely cultivated genus in the tribe, and its current intrageneric
classifications of Euonymus are not completely natural and
require revision (Simmons et al. 2012, Li et al. 2014).
Euonymus L. is a worldwide distributed plant group, with a total
of about 130 species worldwide (Li 2014). It originated in Europe, and
now most species are widely distributed in Southeast Asia, with China as
the center of diversity, and a few species are distributed in the
Americas, Australia and Africa (Simmons et al. 2012, Li 2014). Due to
the wide distribution area of the genus, the ecological environment
factors such as geography and climate change greatly, resulting in
abundant morphological variation within the genus. Although many study
works are published, there are still many problems in the system and
classification of Euonymus (Li 2014), which have also resulted in
diversity inventory of the genus remaining ambiguous and some new
species published recently (Li et al. 2024, Savinov et al. 2024).
In recent years, we have carried out multiple intermittent field
expeditions in the northwestern regions of Guangxi, where is
biodiversity hotspot of China and currently being prepared for the
Southwest Karst National Park (Myers et al. 2000, Hou et al. 2010), we
document a distinct Euonymus species. After careful study
morphological characteristics and molecular evidence with its related
species, we find the species is a new species of Euonymus to science.