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Carya luana sp. nov., a new species of Juglandaceae from Guizhou, China, is described and illustrated. The new species is easily distinguished from other Carya species by having lanceolate leaflets and obovate fruits with a 4-6 mm thick husk, but is otherwise morphologically close to C. tonkinensis and C. kweichowensis. Based on phylogenetic reconstruction of whole plastomes, C. luana is the sister of C. tonkinensis, while formed a clade with C. tonkinensis and C. hunanensis on ITS. A morphometric analysis demonstrate that C. luana, C. tonkinensis and C. kweichowensis are morphologically distinct. The conservation status of C. luana is assessed as Endangered (EN) according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. A new identification key to all Asian Carya species is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Early Devonian flora of South China is composed of many endemic members and has been studied mainly based on Yunnanmaterials. We in this study report a new Lower Devonian plant locality, recognize four sub-regions of the Early Devonian flora from South China and furthermore demonstrate these plants' distribution pattern and probable dispersal route. The new finds of plant fossils are from the Lower Devonian of Hezhang County, Guizhou Province, and include Zosterophyllopsida Demersatheca and Euphyllophytopsida Pauthecophyton. Demersatheca contigua, consisting of cylindrical strobili with four longitudinal rows of sporangia decussately arranged, shows great similarities to the plant from Yunnan and Guangxi localities. Pauthecophyton hezhangensis sp. nov. has distinct fertile units with grouped sporangia and each unit with two or three fusiform sporangia. The new locality belongs to the Guizhou sub-region and shares some taxa with the eastern Yunnan and Cathaysia sub-regional floras within South China, in which the shared plant members are distributed around the epicontinental sea. We suggest that the Guizhou sub-region might act as a bridge during plant dispersal from eastern Yunnan to Cathaysia Oldland in the Early Devonian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]