Micromeria maderensis Puppo & Bräuchler, 2015

Puppo, Pamela & Meimberg, Harald, 2015, New species and new combinations in Micromeria (Lamiaceae) from the Canary Islands and Madeira, Phytotaxa 230 (1), pp. 1-21 : 17-19

Micromeria maderensis Puppo & Bräuchler , nom. nov. Fig. 11

≡ Micromeria thymoides (Solander ex Lowe) Webb & Berthelot (1844: 71) , nom. illeg., non De Notaris (1844: 319–320); Satureja thymoides Solander ex Lowe (1831: 19) . Type:— PORTUGAL. Madeira, 1777, F. Masson s.n. (Lectotype, designated here by Bräuchler: BM001025181!, two lower right hand branches on sheet).

Erect subshrub 10–35 cm height, highly branched; branches straight or ascending, basal parts of branches glabrous shedding bark, younger parts white tomentose. Leaves sessile or subsessile, petioles when present less than 1 mm long; blades herbaceous, 6–10 × 1–3 mm, green, basal blades lanceolate, flat, glabrate or minutely pubescent adaxially, abaxially tomentose on the midrib, upper blades linear, revolute, adaxially glabrous, velutinous or minutely strigose, abaxially tomentose. Cymes shortly pedunculated or almost sessile. Calyx shortly pubescent to pilose, less than 3 mm long, calyx apices lanceolate to subulate, white-ciliate. Corolla white to pink or pink to purple, up to 4, 5 mm long, exerted. Anthers included or barely exerted. Style included or exerted.

Etymology:— The new name of this species is derived from the island of Madeira where this species grows.

Specimens Examined: — PORTUGAL. Madeira: Madeira, 1776, F. Masson s.n. ( BM001025179 , left hand individual mounted on one sheet with the type) ; Fayal-bresal, bajo Eira do Serrado, July 1976, J. R. Arcebes & P. L. Pérez de Paz s.n. ( TFC) ; Ribeira Brava , 100 m, July 1976, P. L. Pérez de Paz & J. R. Arcebes s.n. ( TFC) ; Juxta “Pico Arrieiro”, 1750 m, July 1976, P. L. Pérez de Paz s.n. ( TFC) ; Ribeira do Inferno , 27 July 1977, I. La Serna & M. del Arco s.n. ( TFC) ; Porto Santo: Porto Santo , 1777, F. Masson s.n. ( BM001025180 , upper hand individual mounted on one sheet with the type) .

Geographical Distribution: —This species has been collected in Madeira and Porto Santo and has also been reported from Desertas ( Jardim & Francisco 2000; Borges et al. 2008). In Madeira, it is more abundant in the eastern half of the island from sea-level up to the highest points between Pico do Arrieiro and Pico Ruivo, between 1600–1800 m.

Notes: —The epithet “ thymoides ” cannot be used for this taxon due to priority of De Notaris (1844) name. Micromeria thymoides De Not. is sometimes regarded as a synonym or a subspecies (named imperica Chater) of M. graeca , a very variable species with many subordinate taxa described and widely distributed in the Mediterranean region. Micromeria thymoides sensu Webb & Berthelot is restricted to the Madeiran archipelago and has frequently been cited as synonym of M. varia . Both author names have been widely used in the literature, especially during the 19 th century ( M. thymoides De Not. : Grisebach 1843, Bertoloni 1854, Durand & Jackson 1886 –1895, Parlatore & Caruel 1884, Penzig 1897 –1898; M. thymoides Webb & Berthel. : Bentham 1848, Otto & Dietrich 1852, Hartung & Bronn 1860, Christ 1885, 1888, Bolle 1892, Jackson 1893). Sanctioning of either name is thus not desirable making a new name necessary for the taxon from Madeira (ICN art. 53). The type specimen is mounted on a sheet with two further collections by Francis Masson (BM001025179 and BM001025180, both cited above). Both unambiguously represent part of the original material: the preface of the volume containing the protologue ( Lowe 1831: 2) states that Masson collections in the Banksian herbarium (now at BM) were one source of material and the localities cited in the protologue match those on the sheet written by Solander. All three collections have a shared handwritten label with the different collections numbered 1–3. A note “small dark specimen” identifies the Porto Santo specimen (3) as the upper individual. As for assignment of the remaining fragments on the sheet to one of the localities, we follow the standard procedure of assigning the first specimen from left to right to locality 1 and the other two fragments representing branches from one and the same plant to locality 2. Although there remains some uncertainty, it does not affect application of the name since both were collected on the island of Madeira, in subsequent years, and they unambiguously represent the same taxon. The lectotype designated here is also separated by pencil linings and includes a label “Type Specimen” which originally may have referred to the whole sheet.

KEY TO ALL THE SPECIES OF MICROMERIA PRESENT IN THE CANARY ISLANDS (modified from Pérez de Paz 1978)

1. Leaves ovate, lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, coriaceous or subcoriaceous, generally glabrous, margins straight or slightly revolute......................................................................................................................................................................................................2

- Leaves linear to lanceolate, not coriaceous, glabrate to hairy, tomentose or wooly, margins revolute............................................. 6

2. Leaves with glands in the abaxial side; flowers less than 5 mm long............................................................................ M. teneriffae

- Leaves lacking glands; flowers larger than 10 mm long................................................................................................................... 3

3. Leaves subcoriaceous, lanceolate, 2 cm long. (Gran Canaria)............................................................................ M. helianthemifolia

- Leaves coriaceous, not lanceolate, less than 1.5 cm long. (Tenerife)................................................................................................ 4

4. Leaves ericoid, less than 2 mm width (Teno)................................................................................................................ M. densiflora

- Leaves not ericoid, wider than 3 mm (Anaga) .................................................................................................................................. 5

5. Leaves oblong, apex acuminate; corolla pink-violet; style included ............................................................................ M. glomerata

- Leaves obovate, apex acute; corolla white or slightly pink; style exerted ........................................................... M. rivas-martinezii

6. Leaves up to 3 cm long.; flowers larger than 12 mm long ................................................................................................................ 7

- Leaves shorter than 2 cm long.; flowers smaller than 10 mm long................................................................................................... 8

7. Subshrub larger than 60 cm tall; leaves lanceolate; corolla violet (restricted to NW Gran Canaria)............................. M. pineolens

- Subshrub less than 20 cm tall; leaves oblong; corolla white (restricted to SW Gran Canaria)...................................... M. leucantha

8. Plants densely white-lanate or grey-tomentose (Gran Canaria) ........................................................................................................ 9

- Plants glabrate, strigose, pilose, or tomentose (Gran Canaria, La Palma, Tenerife, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura).................................................................................................................................................................................................. 11

9. Plants grey-tomentose; upper lip of the corolla conspicuous............................................................................................... M. tenuis

- Plants white-lanate; upper lip of the corolla reduced ...................................................................................................................... 10

10. Inflorescence pedicelated; flowers up to 4 mm long; calyx ovate ...................................................................................... M. lanata

- Inflorescence sessile; flowers up to 10 mm long.; calyx tubular .................................................................................. M. benthamii

11. Leaves ericoid, upper leaves arranged in fascicles.......................................................................................................................... 12

- Leaves ovate, lanceolate or linear, not arranged in fascicles........................................................................................................... 15

12. Plants up to 50 cm tall, glabrate to velutinous (La Gomera)....................................................................................... M. pedro-luisii

- Plants up to 30 cm tall, puberulent to densely pilose (Tenerife) ..................................................................................................... 13

13. Leaves glabrate or puberulent; corolla soft pink (from Teno to Anaga below 1000 m)........................................................ M. varia

- Leaves strigose, lanuginose, tomentose or pilose; corolla white (Las Cañadas above 2000 m)..................................................... 14

14. Leaves strigose on the adaxial side, abaxial side lanuginose; calyx tubular; inferior corolla lip projected upwards .......................... .................................................................................................................................................................................. M. lachnophylla

- Leaves pilose on the adaxial side, abaxial side tomentose; calyx campanulated; inferior corolla lip slightly folded backguards ...... ...................................................................................................................................................................................... M. lasiophylla

15. Leaves up to 16 mm long., abaxial mid-vein sericate (Tenerife) ............................................................................... M. hyssopifolia

- Leaves less than 12 mm long., abaxial mid-vein puberulent, lanate, strigose, hirsute, or villous but not sericate (La Gomera, La Palma, El Hierro, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura)........................................................................................................ 16

16. Cymes conspicuously pedunculated, peduncles 5–10 mm long. (La Gomera)................................................................... M. lepida

- Cymes sessile or shortly pedunculated, peduncles less than 5 mm long. (La Palma, El Hierro, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura) ............................................................................................................................................................................. 17

17. Younger parts of branches villous; corolla up to 7 mm long. (La Palma)............................................................ M. herpyllomorpha

- Younger parts of branches puberulent, canescent, strigose, tomentose, incanous or lanuginose; corolla up to 5 mm long. (El Hierro, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura)................................................................................................................. 18

18. Corolla white or slightly pink (El Hierro) ..................................................................................................................... M. hierrensis

- Corolla lilac to dark purple (La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura) ................................................................... 19

19. Adaxial surface of leaves sparsely strigose; calyx less than 2.5 mm long. (La Gomera) ........................................... M. gomerensis

- Adaxial surface of leaves glabrate, puberulent or hirsute; calyx 2.5–3.5 mm long. (Gran Canaria, Lanzarote or Fuerteventura)..20

20. Cyme peduncles up to 5 mm long.; corolla dark purple (Lanzarote and Fuerteventura)................................................ M. rupestris

- Cyme peduncles up to 2 mm long.; corolla light purple (Gran Canaria) .................................................................... M. canariensis

Figures

FIGURE 11. Micromeria maderensis flowering branch (A), leaf axial and abaxial (B) and flower, frontal and side view (C). Drawn by P. Puppo from P. L. Pérez & J.R Acebes s.n. (TFC).