Hieracium scopolii Gottschl. & S. Orsenigo, 2021

Gottschlich, Günter & Orsenigo, Simone, 2021, New taxa of Hieracium (Asteraceae) from Mount Lesima and adjacent regions (Northern Apennine, Italy), Phytotaxa 505 (1), pp. 39-55 : 41-43

2. Hieracium scopolii Gottschl. & S. Orsenigo , spec. nov. (racemosum> symphytaceum) ( Fig. 3 , 8b )

Type:— ITALY. Emilia-Romagna, prov. Piacenza, Zerba, Monte Lesima , 44°41’N, 09°15’E, 1550–1650 m, meadows along the road to the summit, 21.07.2020, G. Gottschlich & S. Orsenigo (holotype: FI!; isotypes: PAV!, Hb. Gottschlich-75893) .

Diagnosis:—Quoad foliis confertis in parte inferiore caulis et petiolis alatis foliorum inferiorum ad Hieracio racemoso Willdenow (1803: 1588) accedit, sed ab eo essentialiter foliis superioribus semiamplexicaulibus differt. Ab H. symphytaceo ( Arvet-Touvet 1876: 75) indumento eglanduloso, ab utroque foliorum consistencia coriacea et habitus aliquanto undulatus distinctus differt.

Perennial, rhizome stout, oblique or vertical. Stem erect, vertical, cylindrical, stout (Ø 3–4 mm), (60)65–75(80) cm tall, reddish green, brownish-purple at the base, striated, aphyllopodous or pseudophyllopodous, in the lower part with moderate, in the upper part with numerous, 1–1.5 mm long, whitish, soft, simple and dentate hairs, sparse microglands, without stellate hairs.

Cauline leaves (8)10–13(15), 3–15 × 1–5 cm, the lower ones crowded near the base or in the lower third of the stem, with broadly winged, 2–3 cm long petioles, elliptical, denticulate to sharply and shortly serrate-dentate, acute, slightly coriaceous and undulated, upper surface green to sea-green, glabrous, slightly glossy, margins and vein of the lower surface with moderate simple white hairs, 1–1.5 mm long, the others abruptly decreasing in size upwards and with long internodes, deeply cordate or semiamplexicaul at base, indument similar to those of the lower leaves.

Synflorescence paniculate, branches (4)6–8(10), straight, 1.5–5 cm long, each with 1–3(5) capitula (sometimes abortive); capitula (10)15–20(25); acladium 1–1.5 cm long. Peduncles with 3–5 linear, light green bracts, 1–2 mm long, the upper often enveloping the involucre, peduncles with sparse 1 mm long, white simple hairs, dense stellate hairs, without glandular hairs. Involucre narrow, ellipsoidal, 9–10 mm long. Involucral bracts in a few series, blackish green, the inner ones with pale green margin, linear-lanceolate, 0.8–1 mm wide, acute, with sparse to moderate, 1 mm long simple hairs, sparse 0.3 mm long black to black-yellowish glandular hairs, and sparse stellate hairs. Corolla limb ligulate, yellow, glabrous. Styles, margins of alveoli and achenes not seen.

Etymology:—The species epithet honours Joannes Antonius Scopoli (1723–1788), distinguished naturalist and professor of botany and chemistry at the Pavia University in 1776–1788.

Phenology: —Flowering late July to August. Fruiting in August.

Distribution and ecology:— Hieracium scopolii is currently known only from the grasslands above the treeline of Mount Lesima, where it grows in a restricted area in northern slope meadows at elevations between 1550 and 1650 m.

Conservation status:—Due to its restricted range and reduced number of mature individuals (<250), H. scopolii could preliminary be listed as “Endangerd” (EN) under criterion D, according to the IUCN criteria (2019). Despite at the moment there are no ongoing threats, changes in grazing pressure could have a negative impact on H. scopolii .

Remarks:—As mentioned in the diagnosis, H.scopolii combines characters of H.racemosum and H.symphytaceum . It should be classified in H. sect. Italica Arvet-Touvet (1876: 27) .

Figures

FIGURE 3. Hieracium scopolii (isotype, Hb. Gottschlich-75893).

FIGURE 8. Single capitula of a: H. lesimanum, b: H. scopolii, c: H. scopolioides, d: H. umbrophilum, e: H. lachenalii subsp. zerbanum, f: H. prenanthoides subsp. penicense.