Limonium hierapetrae Rechinger

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

41. Limonium hierapetrae Rechinger fil. (1943b: 104) ( Fig. 41 )

Type (lectotype, designated here):― GREECE. Crete: Creta: Distr. Hierapetra: In litore arenoso a porto Hierapetra occidentem versus, 18 May 1942, Rechinger 13080 (W!, isolectotypes G!, M!) .

Description: —Plant perennial, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 30–80 cm tall, with several erect to ascending stems and a robust tap-root. Caudices 3–15 cm long, branched, densely spirally leafy in the upper third, living leaves in rosettes at apices. Leaves fleshy, pale green, flat, smooth, 35–120 mm long and 9–18 mm broad, oblong-lanceolate to oblong-spathulate, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes shortly mucronate, retuse, 1 central nerve with 2 lateral

LIMONIUM (PLUMBAGINACEAE)

Phytotaxa 240 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press • 99 100 • Phytotaxa 240 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press

BRULLO & ERBEN nerves at least on large leaves, gradually tapering into the petiole. Stems green, 25–75 cm long, slightly flexuous, rugose, branching begins above the lower third of the stems. Inflorescence obtrullate in outline. Sterile branches absent or 1–4 per stem, 10–35 mm long, straight, undivided. Fertile branches 10–30 cm long, slightly flexuous, straight to slightly curved, directed obliquely upwards, forming branching angles of 35°– 50°, in the upper half branched. Spikes 30–120 mm long, straight to slightly curved, directed obliquely upwards. Spikelets 6.5–7.3 mm long, composed of 1–2 flowers, arranged very remotely biseriately with 1–4 per 2 cm. Outer bract 2.0– 2.5 mm long and 2.1–2.3 mm broad, triangular-ovate, acute; bract margin broadly membranous; central part slightly fleshy, acuminate. Middle bract membranous, 2.4–3.0 mm long and 1.6–1.9 mm broad, oblong-elliptic, rounded. Inner bract (5.0–) 5.4–6.0 mm long and (3.8–)4.0– 4.3 mm broad, oblong-obovate, rounded; bract margin broadly membranous; central part fleshy, 4.0– 4.6 mm long and 2.1–2.5 mm broad, oblong to oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.7–0.9 mm long, not reaching the upper margin. Calyx 5.0– 5.5 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by 1.3–1.5 mm; calyx tube unilaterally sparsely to densely long hairy, with 5 ribs ending above the base of lobes; calyx lobes ca. 0.8 × 1.2 mm, broadly semi–elliptic. Corolla blue - lilac.

Chromosome number: —2n = 43 ( Artelari 1989c).

Distribution: —Confined to southeast Crete, around Ierapetra ( Fig. 92G ).

Habitat: —Calcareous and marly rocky coast.

Taxonomic remarks: — L. hierapetrae is similar to L. cornarianum and L. chrisianum , but it differs from both by having broader leaves, and longer and broader inner bracts. From L. chrisianum it differs by having longer spikelets, longer and broader inner bracts and longer calyces.

Specimens examined: — GREECE. Crete: Creta, in litore arenoso a porto Hierapetra occidentem versus, 18 May 1942, Rechinger fil. s.n. (M); Ep. Ierapetra: Gegend Machära zwischen Mìrtos u. Ammudàres, 10 m, Neogen- Sedimente, spärlich am Strandabfall auf stark bröckeligem Schuttboden, 3 April 1962, Greuter 4076 (Herb. Greuter); Crete, Strand bei Myrtos westlich von Ierapetra, Südküste, 4 September 1971, Hansen 307 (C); Crete, Neos Myrtos, Prov. Hierapetra, S facing sandy slopes, 10 m, 22 April 1994, Wind 94-291 (C); Kriti island: Nomos Lasithiou: 1 km W of Ferma village near the ancient fish-pools, on calcareous maritime rocks, 1 June 1988, R. Artelari & Chondropoulos 1017 (M); Kriti island: Nomos Lasithiou: Makrijialos village , on conglomerate rocks near the ancient Roman settlement, 1 June 1988, R. Artelari & Chondropoulos 1018 (M); Kriti island: Nomos Lasithiou, 1 km W Nea Anatoli village on steps maritime marls, 2 June 1988, R. Artelari & Chondropoulos 1019 (M); Kriti island: Nomos Lasithiou: 3.4 km E of Ierapetra town, on conglomerate maritime rocks, 2 June 1988, R. Artelari & Chondropoulos 1055 (M); Creta, Nea Anatoli (marne), 22 August 1996, Brullo & Guarino s.n. (CAT, Herb. Erben); Creta, Myrtos, 10 June 2000, Brullo & Giusso s.n. (CAT, Herb. Erben) .

Figures

FIGURE 41. Limonium hierapetrae Rechinger fil. A) Habit; B) Spikelet; C) Outer bract; D) Middle bract; E) Inner bract; F) Calyx; G) Calyx lobes; H) Leaves. (Habit and leaves drawn from “Creta, Myrtos, Brullo & Giusso s.n., CAT”, spikelet details from “K.H. Rechinger 13080, M”).

FIGURE 92. (Map 7) Geographical distribution of Limonium calliopsium (A); L. carpathum (B); L. chersonesum (C); L. chrisianum (D); L. contractum (E); L. cornarianum (F); L. hierapetrae (G); L. sougiae (H).