identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
9AF97E462ECE507582683D64121E16C9.text	9AF97E462ECE507582683D64121E16C9.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Solenopsis sphaciotica Cambria, Giusso, Miniss. & Brullo 2026	<div><p>Solenopsis sphaciotica Cambria, Giusso, Miniss. &amp; Brullo sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 1, 2, 3</p><p>Type.</p><p>Greece • Crete, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=24.12422&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=35.20414" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 24.12422/lat 35.20414)">along the road west of Hora Sfakion</a> on carbonate dripping rocks, 35°12'14.90"N, 24°7'27.19"E, 53 m alt., 28 May 2022, S. Cambria s. n. (holotype CAT!; isotypes CAT! FI!) .</p><p>Diagnosis.</p><p>The new species is similar to Solenopsis minuta in having rosulate leaves, bracteole indumentum and corolla colour; however, it differs in having a much reduced annual habit with smaller morphological characters throughout, a more reduced leaf rosette, leaves without margin glands, smaller bracteoles, shorter calyx (1.1–2 mm long), paler and much smaller corolla (4–5 mm), up to 0.12 mm long papillae, occurring only at the base of the lower lip, shorter anther tube, staminal filament and style and smaller capsule and seeds.</p><p>Description.</p><p>Annual herb, acaulescent or briefly scapose, usually rosulate, 1.2–2 cm in diameter, provided with fibrous slender roots. Leaves 4–12 mm long, spathulate to oblanceolate, with blade entire to weakly crenate, glabrous, without glands, 2–5.5 × 1.2–3 mm, with petiole 2–8 mm long. Floral pedicels 15–45 mm, with 2 bracteoles, 1.5–2.7 mm long, 0.2–0.3 mm wide, with 4–8 hairs in the upper half, of which 1 apical and 2–4 per side, stipulated glands 1–2 per side in the lower half. Calyx 2.5–3.3 mm long, with linear-lanceolate lobes, 1.8–2 mm long, glabrous. Corolla 4–5 mm long, bilabiate, with tube pale lilac, 2–2.5 mm long, 0.6–0.7 mm in diameter; upper lip with 2 lobes lanceolate, 2.5–2.7 mm long, 1.0– 1.2 mm wide, bluish-lilac, acute at apex, without glands; lower lip trilobed, 4.5–5.5 mm long, yellowish at the base, lobes widely ovate and apiculate at the apex, 1.8–2.3 × 1.8–2.2 mm, widely edged in bluish-lilac and irregularly white in the central part until the base, covered by dense papillae up to the base of the lobes, 0.02–0.2 mm long. Stamen filaments free, 3–3.5 mm long, anthers violet, connate into a tube 1.0– 1.1 mm long, wholly encapsulating the stigma; the two lower anthers are smaller, without papillae at basis, each appendiculate at the top with a tuft of hairs, closing a narrow fissure; the three upper anthers are curved, hairy dorsally. Ovary fused with the calyx tube; style whitish, 3.0– 3.5 mm long; stigma pale lilac, bifid, papillate, with a ring of hairs just under the base. Capsule papillose, 1.8–2 mm long. Seeds ellipsoid, brownish shining, 0.36–0.40 × 0.18–0.20 mm.</p><p>Etymology.</p><p>The specific epithet, sphaciotica, refers to Hora Sfakion, the locality where the new species grows.</p><p>Phenology.</p><p>It flowers and fruits from April until early June, based on field observations and cultivated plants in the Botanical Gardens of Catania.</p><p>Distribution, habitat and ecology.</p><p>Solenopsis sphaciotica, a very small annual hygrophyte, occurs in a single locality, near Hora Sfakion (Crete), where it is localised in temporarily dripping rocky walls covered by a layer of red soil rich in clay component (Fig. 4). In this wet microhabitat, it flowers during the spring together with other small microphytes such as Campanula erinus L., Centaurium tenuiflorum (Hoffmanns. &amp; Link) Fritsch and Sedum rubens L., on a relatively sparse moss carpet dominated by Gymnostomum calcareum Nees &amp; Hornsch. var. calcareum .</p><p>Conservation status.</p><p>The species is currently known from a single small population spanning less than 10 m 2. No more than 100 individuals have been counted. The population is localised within the SAC (Special Area of Conservation) “ Lefka Ori Kai Paraktia Zoni ” (code GR 4340008), representing a wide site of significant naturalistic interest. Consequently, any random natural or human-induced event could destroy the site and the entire population. Therefore, according to IUCN criteria (IUCN 2025), it is proposed to treat S. sphaciotica as critically endangered (CR), based on the B 2 a + D criteria.</p><p>Pollen grains micromorphology.</p><p>SEM investigations carried out on dried pollen grains of Solenopsis sphaciotica revealed that they are, as well as all other previously studied species (Dunbar 1975; Brullo et al. 2023 a, 2023 c), 3 - colporate with a perplorate shape. In particular, the pollen is ellipsoid, measuring 37.0–38.0 μm in length and 14.5–18.0 μm in width (Fig. 5 A), with loosely reticulate sexine, characterised by slightly convex and irregularly anastomosed branched lirae, usually not overlapping, with a thickness of 0.2–0.5 μm, delineating irregular lumina 0.6–1.5 μm in diameter. Concerning the pollen grains of S. minuta, they are ellipsoid-fusiform, shorter, measuring 33.5–37.0 μm in length and 17.2–17.8 μm in width (Fig. 5 B), with different sexine characterised by markedly convex and irregularly anastomosed branched lirae, clearly overlapping, with a thickness of 0.1–0.2 μm, delineating irregular lumina 0.23–0.6 μm in diameter.</p><p>Seed micromorphology.</p><p>The ornamentations of the seed coat surface in the Campanulaceae subfamily Lobelioideae hold remarkable diagnostic value and phylogenetic significance (Murata 1992, 1995; Haridasan and Mukherjee 1993; Serra and Crespo 1997; Crespo et al. 1998). Previously, the seed coat in Solenopsis was investigated by Serra and Crespo (1997), Crespo et al. (1998) and Brullo et al. (2013, 2023 a, 2023 b, 2023 c), who emphasised that the sculptures are quite similar across all species. In particular, our SEM investigation carried out on S. sphaciotica highlights that the seeds (Fig. 6 A) typically have an elliptical shape and are slightly rounded at the extremities, with a size of 0.31–0.35 × 0.18–0.20 mm. Regarding the seed testa, the cells show slightly convex periclinal walls, 3.2–5 μm wide, with incised anticlinal walls 0.4–0.5 μm wide (Fig. 6: A 2, A 3). In S. minuta, the seeds (Fig. 6 B) typically have an oblong shape and are rounded at the extremities, with a size of 0.36–0.45 × 0.21–0.24 mm. Concerning the seed testa, the cells show raised and narrower periclinal walls, 2.8–3.0 μm wide, with flat and well-developed anticlinal walls, 2.0–2.8 μm wide (Figs 6: B 2, B 3).</p><p>Additional specimens examined of Solenopsis sphaciotica (Paratypes).</p><p>Greece • Crete, Griechland, W-Kreta, Ep. Sfakia, Südküste bei Chora Sfakion, Felsen an der Straβe nach Anopolis, 4 April 1980, H. Kalheber 80-698 (PAL-GREUTER 35218!) sub Laurentia gasparrinii ; • Crete, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=24.12422&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=35.20414" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 24.12422/lat 35.20414)">along the road West of Hora Sfakion</a> on carbonate dripping rocks, 35°12'14.90"N, 24°7'27.19"E, 53 m alt., 15 May 2023, cultivated material, S. Cambria &amp; S. Brullo s. n. (CAT!) .</p><p>Additional specimens examined of Solenopsis minuta .</p><p>See Brullo et al. (2025).</p><p>Additional specimens examined of Solenopsis antiphonitis .</p><p>See Brullo et al. (2025).</p><p>Additional specimens examined of Solenopsis gutermannii .</p><p>See Brullo et al. (2025).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/9AF97E462ECE507582683D64121E16C9	Public Domain	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.		Pensoft via Plazi	Cambria, Salvatore;Giusso Del Galdo, Gianpietro;Minissale, Pietro;Siracusa, Giuseppe;Brullo, Salvatore	Cambria, Salvatore, Giusso Del Galdo, Gianpietro, Minissale, Pietro, Siracusa, Giuseppe, Brullo, Salvatore (2026): Solenopsis sphaciotica (Campanulaceae) a new species from Crete. PhytoKeys 271: 259-272, DOI: 10.3897/phytokeys.271.175650
