Callitriche deflexa A.Braun ex Hegelmaier (1864: 58)

Lansdown, Richard V., Rhazi, Laila, Saber, Er-Riyahi, Madihi, Mohammed El & Grillas, Patrick, 2022, The genus Callitriche (Plantaginaceae, Callitricheae) in Morocco, Phytotaxa 555 (1), pp. 53-72 : 58-59

3. Callitriche deflexa A.Braun ex Hegelmaier (1864: 58)

Type: — BRAZIL. Rio de Janeiro: 1859, F. Rudio s.n. (lectotype [designated by Lansdown & Hassemer (2021: 95)] STU 15655!; isolectotypes G, GH 00048927!, GH 00048928!, GH00048929!, K 000470002!, MO 1913776!, MO 1913777!, STU 15662) .

Distribution: — Callitriche deflexa is native to central South America in an area including southern Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. It is also very widespread as a non-native, with records from Australia, Mauritius, Morocco, Portugal, South Africa, Taiwan, Tanzania, and the United Kingdom ( Ascension Island) ( Lansdown 2022). In Morocco it was established in the Arboretum of Oued Cherrate for many years and may still persist, it has also been recorded from a garden at Abou-Ali-Al-Youssi, at the former home of Joel Mathez (specimen in RAB). It is not known whether it still persists at either of these sites.

Habitat and ecology: —In its native range, this species occurs in low-lying, humid areas such as sandy beaches along rivers and dry river beds. Outside its native range it occurs in a wide range of seasonally or permanently moist conditions, such as irrigated areas of nurseries, ornamental beds and greenhouses in botanical gardens, low lying disturbed soil in areas such as un-metalled parking areas and on roadsides ( Lansdown 2022).At the Arboretum of Oued Cherrate, C. deflexa grew in shade on the edges of a track leading from a spring that supported C. cribrosa ( Hammada et al. 2004, Fennane & Ibn Tattou 1998).

Recognition: — Callitriche deflexa can be distinguished from other Callitriche species recorded from Morocco, except C. mathezii , by the small fruit that are blackish when mature. It can be distinguished from C. mathezii by the fruit that are wider than long and at least some on all plants pedunculate, combined with the presence of both ♂ and ♀ flowers in most leaf axils

Illustrations: —Figures in Lansdown [2008: 25 (16),140, 141]; Figure 1 (h) in Lansdown & Hassemer [2021: 88, fig. 1(h)]).

Specimens examined: — MOROCCO: Piste vers Cherrate, Reg., Rabat, Arboretum de l’Oued Cherrate , piste venant à la source, s.d., Mathez, Andreas, Schotsman 7 ( RAB 44617) . Piste, Cherrate 1970 Mathez, Andreas, H.D. Schotsman s.n. (P). Reg. Rabat, reboisement de l’Oued Cherrate, piste venant à la source à Callitriche cribrosa , 18April 1970, J. Mathez 5365 ( RAB 47213) . Jardin du Zankat Abou-Ali-Al-Youssi (chez Mathez); pelouse de Stenophrum, 6 May 1975, J. Mathez 7543 ( RAB 47228) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Known distribution of Callitriche spp. in Morocco. A. C. brutia subsp. brutia, with insert map showing the position of Morocco in northwestern Africa. B. C. brutia subsp. naftolskyi. C. C. cribrosa. D. C. lusitanica.