Campuloclinium alternifolium, Gardner. A. Habitat, 1847
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.11646/phytotaxa.309.2.12 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F087F7-FFAB-FF9E-FF31-F95400F335E7 |
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treatment provided by |
Felipe |
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scientific name |
Campuloclinium alternifolium |
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Re-collection of Campuloclinium alternifolium View in CoL
The specific indication of its provenance was “margins of woods at Sapê” and the collection date “ April 1840 ”. On 19–21 April 2017, we went to Arraias from Barreiras (Bahia), which are approximately 300 km away, and there we looked for the Hacienda Sapé. During two days we were prospecting the surroundings of the hacienda focusing our search in the forest edges according to the aforementioned indication. We did not find any specimen around the forest edges, but we finally located a population growing within the forest covering the limestone slopes of the hills on the southeast of the hacienda ( Fig. 1A View FIGURE 1 ). These slopes appeared to be well watered, as pointed out by Gardner, and carbonate accumulations similar to travertine deposits were observed on the soil. Based on the population we found, this species shows preference for this type of soil and is markedly sciophilous ( Fig. 1B, 1C View FIGURE 1 ). These ecological conditions are not common in the Cerrado ecosystem and lead us to think that C. alternifolium could be a narrow endemic of this particular habitat known in the southeastern part of Tocantins.
The florets are initially pale pinkish and become whitish when time passes ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 , 2A View FIGURE 2 ). As described by Gardner, this species is annual ( Fig. 2D View FIGURE 2 ), which makes C. alternifolium the only annual species in the genus. It is also characterized by a short pappus and membranaceous leaves ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 , 2B View FIGURE 2 ). The former character is shared with C. campuloclinioides ( Baker 1876: 196) King & Robinson (1974: 123) but the membranaceous leaves are also unique in Campuloclinium . The presence of this type of leaves can be easily explained because C. alternifolium is a sciophilous plant whereas the remaining Campuloclinium species are clearly heliophilous. Gardner (1847) described the leaves as alternate and unfortunately named the species on the basis of this character. Our collections revealed that the cauline leaves are clearly opposite ( Fig. 2C View FIGURE 2 ) and slightly decussate ( Fig. 1B View FIGURE 1 ). The synflorescence bracts are certainly alternate and very similar to the upper cauline leaves ( Fig. 1C View FIGURE 1 ). Such inaccuracy in the leaf arrangement described by Gardner is explained by the fact that he used a duplicate containing only the upper part of a plant; it shows the alternate synflorescence bracts and its cauline leaves are lacking. This duplicate, currently kept at BM, belonged to the Professor Graham’s herbarium. As Gardner (1847) explained, he obtained by purchase the set of his plants from Goiás at the sale of the mentioned herbarium after losing his own set during his removal from England to Ceylon [ Sri Lanka].
Therefore, the new collection of C. alternifolium not only confirms the presence of this species around Sapé, but contributes to properly describe the species and gives new ecological insights that might serve to find new populations in order to accurately delimitate its distribution area. Moreover, the new material will be available for future studies aimed at resolving the evolutionary history of Campuloclinium . The duplicates will be distributed to several Herbaria in America and Europe (i.e., ALCB, K, MA, MBM, RB, SPF, and US).
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.