Limonium albomarginatum Brullo (1988: 15)

Brullo, Salvatore & Erben, Matthias, 2016, The genus Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) in Greece, Phytotaxa 240 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

84. Limonium albomarginatum Brullo (1988: 15) ( Fig. 84 )

Type:― GREECE. Peloponnese: Laconia, costa rocciosa presso Gerolimenas , 21 June 1986, Brullo, Minissale, Pavone & Spampinato s.n. (holotype CAT!, isotypes B!, M!, Herb. Erben!) .

Description: —Plant perennial, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 30–70 cm tall, with few erect stems and a robust tap-root. Caudices 5–15 cm long, branched, spirally leafy in the upper half. Leaves fleshy, glaucous, 3–8 cm long and 10–20 mm broad, spathulate to oblanceolate, apex acute to obtuse, mucronate, smooth, white-margined, with one central nerve and sometimes with 2 lateral nerves, gradually tapering into the petiole. Stems scabrous, 25–60 cm long, slightly flexuous, branching frequently begins above inferior third of the stems. Inflorescence obtrullate in outline. Sterile branches absent or 1–4 per stem, 2–10 cm long, straight to slightly arched, mostly unbranched. Fertile branches 2–25 cm long, slightly arched to straight, forming branching angles of 25°–60°, very branched. Spikes 10–45 mm long, straight to slightly arched, inserted erect to obliquely. Spikelets 6.5–7.3 mm long, composed of 2–3 (–4) flowers, remotely to densely arranged with 2–5 per cm; sometimes laterally slightly curved near the base. Outer bract 2.2–2.6 mm long and 2.2–2.6 mm broad, triangular-ovate, acute; bract margin broadly membranous; central part slightly fleshy, sometimes only at the base, acuminate. Middle bract membranous, 2.5–3.0 mm long and 1.9–2.1 mm broad, elliptic, rounded. Inner bract 5.1–6.5 mm long and 4.0– 4.8 mm broad, obovate, rounded; bract margin very broadly membranous; central part fleshy, 3.9–4.9 mm long and 2.2–3.2 mm broad, oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.5–0.7 mm long, not reaching the upper margin. Calyx 4.8–5.8 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by 1.0– 1.5 mm; calyx tube more or less densely long hairy, with 5 ribs ending at the base of lobes; calyx lobes c. 0.5 × 1.0 mm, broadly semi-elliptic. Corolla lilac.

Chromosome number: —2n = 36 ( Brullo 1988; Erben Li–1122, unpubl.).

Distribution: —This species is localized near Gerolimenas on the Mani Peninsula (southern Peloponnese) ( Fig. 86G ).

Ecology: —Mesozoic limestone, mainly on very steep slopes near the sea.

Taxonomic remarks: — L. albomarginatum is taxonomically quite isolated. Morphologically, it is related to L. sirinicum and L. doerfleri , but it differs from L. sirinicum by having broader leaves, shorter spikelets, inner bracts and calyces and from L. doerfleri by having longer and more densely arranged spikelets.

Specimens examined: — GREECE. Peleponnese: Laconia, costa rocciosa presso Gerolimenas , 21 June 1986, Brullo, Minissale, Pavone & Spampinato s.n., (CAT, M, Herb. Erben); Grecia: Peloponneso, Mani Peninsula, Gerolimenas, 4 September 2002, Brullo & Sciandrello s.n., (CAT, Herb. Erben = Li–1122) .

Figures

FIGURE 84. Limonium albomarginatum Brullo. A) Habit; B) Spikelet; C) Outer bract; D) Middle bract; E) Inner bract; F) Calyx; G) Calyx lobes; H) Leaves (Drawn from “Laconia, Gerolimenas, Brullo et al. s.n, Herb. Erben, CAT”).

FIGURE 86. (Map 1) Geographical distribution of Limonium aegaeum (A); L. samium (B); L. heraionense (C); L. crateriforme (D); L. zacynthium (E); L. aphroditae (F); L. albomarginatum (G).