Piptochaetium fuscum (Nees ex Steud.) Barkworth, Ciald., & Gandhi, 2014

Barkworth, Mary E., Cialdella, Ana Maria & Gandhi, Kanchi, 2014, Piptochaetium fuscum (Nees ex Steud.) Barkworth, Ciald., & Gandhi, a new combination replacing Piptochaetium setosum (Trin.) Arechav., PhytoKeys 35, pp. 17-22 : 18-19

Piptochaetium fuscum (Nees ex Steud.) Barkworth, Ciald., & Gandhi comb. nov.

Basionym.

Urachne fusca Nees ex Steud., Syn. Pl. Glumac. 1(2): 123. 1854 [1855 publ. 2-3 Mar 1854]. Lectotypus: K000433539, Herbarium Hookerianum 1867 (http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/K000433539), imaginem videmus; Isolectotypi K000433540, Herbarium Benthianum 1854 (http://specimens.kew.org/herbarium/K000433540), imaginem videmus; CGE, Herb. J. Lindley, purchased 1866 (figs 1, 2, 3); "prope Valparaiso, Chili; H. Cuming 453, 1831; Imagines videmus.

The three specimens are from the same gathering and conform to the protologue. We chose K000433539 as the lectotype because it has more material, both reproductive and vegetative, than the other specimens. Columbus and Smith (2010) were forced to base their name on Piptochaetium purpuratum Phil. because the name Stipa fusca had already been used for an Australian taxon by Hubbard (1925).

Parodi (1944) stated that Piptochaetium fuscum grew in central Chile, extending from Valparaiso and Santiago to Valdivia. This statement was confirmed by Zuloaga et al. (2008) who added that it grew at 0-800 m. There are only three South American records with latitude and longitude in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility. They were collected at 37.41S, 72.01W [SI 268952]; 36.48S, 72.71W [BAA 416344], and 36.56S, 72.49W [BAA 416345]. Zuloaga et al. (2008) provide information in terms of Chile’s regions ( Fig. 2 ). The species is also known from one locality in Marin County, California, where it was first collected in 1978 ( Consortium of California Herbaria 2014). The origin of the population is unknown. It does not appear to have spread since its introduction.

To determine the conservation status of Piptochaetium fuscum , a search should be made for specimens in Chilean herbaria and field work conducted to locate natural populations. Such activities were beyond the scope of our study.

Figures

Figure 2. Native distribution of Piptochaetium fuscum. Information and base map from Zuloaga et al. (2008), used with permission of Missouri Botanical Garden Press.