Hieracium moravense Gottschl. & Selvi, 2023

Gottschlich, Günter & Selvi, Federico, 2023, Hieracium moravense (Asteraceae), a new hawkweed from Albania, Phytotaxa 592 (1), pp. 73-78 : 73-75

Hieracium moravense Gottschl. & Selvi , spec. nov. („waldsteinii – bifidum“) (figs. 1+2)

Type:— ALBANIA. Korcë, Mt. Moravë , gola rocciosa che parte da Drenovë, rocce e rupi ultramafiche (serpentino), 40.5780°N, 20.7966°E, 980–1100 m, 14.07.2022, F. Selvi, A. Coppi, I. Colzi, E. Bianchi s. n. (holotype: FI068417 ; isotype: Hb. Gottschlich 81174) .

Diagnosis:— Planta inter Hieracium waldsteinii subsp. plumulosum et H. bifidum intermedia , ab Hieracio waldsteinii foliis rosulariis veris et supra minus hirsutis vel glabrescentibus, foliis caulinis minus numerosis, ab Hieracio bifido indumento plumoso differt.

Perennial, hemicryptophyte. Rhizome stout, vertical. Stem erect, vertical, cylindrical, stout (2 mm in diam.), 25–40 cm tall, light green, brownish-purple at base, slightly striated, phyllopodous, in lower part with dense plumose whitish, soft, simple hairs and sparse minute (up to 0.1 mm long) yellowish glandular hairs, above glabrous. Basal leaves 3–4, ovate to elliptical, blade 4–8 × 3–4 cm, greyish-green, at base rounded to shortly attenuate, entire or denticulate only in the lower part, petiole 1–3 cm long, like the lower surface of leaves densely covered with 1–1.5 mm long plumose whitish soft simple hairs, upper surface becoming glabrous or only covered with moderate to sparse plumose hairs, glandular and stellate hairs absent. Cauline leaves 2–3, lanceolate, entire, the lower one long attenuate in a short, 1 cm long petiole, the one or two others attenuate-sessile, pubescence like on the basal leaves. Synflorescence racemose, peduncles 2–3, 3–7 cm long, sparsely covered with stellate hairs, in the upper part with 1–2 filiform bracts 3–4 mm long. Involucre almost ovoid, 8–9 mm long. Involucral bracts in a few rows, dark green, linear-lanceolate, 1 mm wide, acute, with dense stellate and few 0.3 mm long glandular hairs, simple hairs lacking. Corolla limb ligulate, yellow, glabrous. Styles yellow. Margins of alveoli with short broad teeth. Achenes not seen.

Phenology: —Flowering in June and July. Fruiting in July.

Distribution and ecology:— Hieracium moravense is currently known from only the type locality in the massif of Mt. Moravë in the region of Korcë. This locality is found in the narrow rocky valley ending at the south-eastern border of the village of Drenovë. The few plants that we could observe were growing at 1030–1050 m a.s.l. in fissures of steep, nearly vertical serpentine rocks on the hydrographic right of the gorge, mainly facing to the south-west ( Fig. 3 ). Due to the difficult access to the site, only two specimens could be collected. This new hawkweed can be categorized as a metallophyte, and is also likely an obligate serpentinophyte, being able to tolerate the several chemical and physical anomalies of ultramafic soils, especially the elevated concentrations of trace metals such as Ni, Cr and Co.

Taxonomic affinities:—As given in the diagnosis, Hieracium moravense is quite intermediate between H. waldsteinii subsp. plumulosum and H. bifidum . Such species with intermediate characters between a species of Hieracium sect. Pannosa and a species of Hieracium sect. Hieracium or H. sect. Bifida (Arvet-Touvet) A.R.Clapham in Clapham et al. (1952: 1135) are well known from the Balkan Peninsula. They may have evolved by hybridisation. Examples are Hieracium eriobasis Freyn & Sintenis in Freyn (1897: 787) („pannosum – murorum“), H. megalothecum Zahn (1921: 587) („gymnocephalum – murorum“), H. mattfeldianum Zahn (1928: 383) („pannosum – bifidum“) and H. wettsteinianum Zahn (1921: 586) („gymnocephalum – bifidum“). In the habit they all are characterised in being intermediate between the aphyllopodous Pannosa species and the phyllopodous H. murorum Linnaeus (1753: 802) or H. bifidum Kitaibel ex Hornemann (1815: 761) . Differences are easy to recognize by the different pubescence of the putative parents.

Final remarks:—The discovery of Hieracium moravense underlies the phytogeographical importance of Mount Moravë as a centre of plant diversity in Albania, especially for the serpentine flora. This area is home of local endemics such as Odontarrhena moravensis (F.K.Meyer) L. Cecchi & Selvi (2018: 18) and Centaurea drenovensis Pils (2016: 9) , as well as of Albanian endemics like Acantholimon albanicum O.Schwarz & F.K.Meyer in Meyer (1987: 31), and others.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Hieracium moravense, plant in nature. (Photo: F. Selvi, 14 Jul 2022).