Integrative analysis of chloroplast genome, chemicals, and illustrations in Bencao literature provides insights into the medicinal value of .

The genus L. (Apiaceae) is a large group comprising more than 120 species distributed worldwide. Many plants of the genus have been studied and used in traditional Chinese medicine. In 2020, a new species, Lu Q. Huang, H. S. Peng & S. S. Chu, was found in the Huangshan Mountains of Anhui Province, China. However, little is known about its medicinal properties. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the potential medicinal value of . and its relationship with other species. Through textual research on illustrations of in Bencao literature, it can be inferred that at least five species of genus have been used in Chinese medicine. Therefore, we chose these five species of and . together for subsequent research. We conducted morphological, chloroplast genome, and chemical analyses of six species, including the newly discovered . The chloroplast genomes of showed a typical tetrad structure, and the gene structure and content were similar and conservative. There were significant differences in genome size and the expansion of the inverted repeat boundary. Through nucleotide polymorphism analysis, we screened 14 hotspot mutation regions that have the potential to be used as specific molecular markers for the taxonomy of . Our results showed an inversion of the gene in the chloroplast genome, which can be developed as a specific molecular marker for species identification. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the phylogenetic trees had high support and resolution, which strongly supports the view that is not a monophyletic group. had the closest genetic relationship to K. T. Fu, followed by Fedde ex Wolff. Furthermore, the main coumarins of were most similar to those of Thunb. and . In summary, our research lays a foundation for the systematic classification of and sheds light on the medicinal value of .