Menonvillea flexuosa Philippi (1872: 674)

Salariato, Diego L., Zuloaga, Fernando O. & Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A., 2014, A revision of the genus Menonvillea (Cremolobeae, Brassicaceae), Phytotaxa 162 (5), pp. 241-298 : 274-275

14. Menonvillea flexuosa Philippi (1872: 674) . Type:— CHILE. [Región Metropolitana]. Prov. Santiago, Valle del Yeso, January 1866, R. A. Philippi s.n. (holotype SGO 63980!; isotypes CONC 61870 !, SGO 63980, fragm. in GH!, B!, K!, LE!) .

Menonvillea crassa Rollins (1955: 45) . Type:— CHILE. [Región de Coquimbo]. Ovalle, Limari , Fray Jorge , November 1925, E. Werdermann 896 (holotype GH!; isotypes CAS 142894 !, E!, F 59103 !, G!, K!, LIL 53554!, SI 47248 !, 47249!, U!, UC 289283!).

Menonvillea falcata Reiche (1895: 85) . Type:— CHILE. Salto de Agua , 7 December 1879, R. A. Philippi s.n. (holotype SGO 63978!) .

Menonvillea flexuosa Phil. f. tomentosa Gilg & Muschler (1909: 441) . Type :— CHILE. [Región Metroplitana]. Santiago, R. A . Philippi s.n. (holotype in B destroyed; lectotype here designated CORD!)

Perennials with thick, woody caudex. Stems 20−40(−60) cm, erect to decumbent, several from base, simple or branched, slightly to strongly flexuous above, densely floccose to glabrescent, with slender, simple or more frequently branched trichomes to 0.4 mm long. Leaves not rosulate, sessile; blade narrowly linear, fleshy, 3−5(−10) cm × 0.8−2 mm, subterete, trifid or undivided, entire, glabrous or densely pubescent. Racemes terminal or axillary, ebracteate, corymbose, elongated considerably in fruit, 4−12 cm long; rachis glabrous to glabrescent, often flexuous; fruiting pedicels divaricate-ascending, straight, 2−4(–6) mm long, glabrous or sparsely pubescent with slender, arachnoid trichomes. Sepals narrowly oblong, (3−)4−6 × 1−1.5(−2) mm, glabrous, erect, subsaccate at base, caducous, margin membranous; petals yellowish, narrowly spatulate to nearly linear, (5−)6−8(−11) × 0.8− 1.2(−2) mm, minutely papillate at base; stamens tetradynamous; filaments free, erect, papillate and not dilated at base, 3−5(−6) mm long; anthers oblong, 0.8−1.4 mm long; nectar glands confluent, low, not petaloid. Fruits globose, glabrous; valves 2-winged, 4−5(−7) × 4−5(−6) mm, with a prominent midvein, callus absent, glabrous or with few papillae on dorsal surface; wings (0.7−) 1−1.5 mm wide; gynophore 0.5−1.8 mm long; style 1−2(−3) mm long; stigma slightly decurrent. Seeds ovate, 2−3 × 1.3−2.5 mm, wingless, compressed; cotyledons obliquely incumbent.

Distribution and habitat:— Menonvillea flexuosa is endemic to Chilean regions III (Atacama), VI (Coquimbo), V (Valparaíso), and Metropolitana de Santiago, where it grows on steep rocky slopes from coastal areas to the Andes at high elevations to 3700 m ( Fig. 13D ).

Phenology: —Flowers from September till January.

Taxonomic notes: — Rollins (1955) recognized Menonvillea crassa and M. flexuosa as different species based mainly having in the former of straight (vs. flexuous) stems and rachis and stout, slightly recurved (vs. slender, ascending) fruiting pedicles. However, these characters are unreliable because the type collection of M. crassa has flexuous stems and rachis and slender, recurved pedicels. The presence of several leaves at each node in M. crassa results from abnormal growth induced by fungal or insect infestations, and these observations were noted by Rollins (1955). Although the type collection of M. crassa has longer leaves and slightly larger flowers and fruits, it is indistinguishable from M. flexuosa in all other aspects. Therefore, M. crassa is reduced herein to synonymy of M. flexuosa .

Rollins (1955) reduced Menonvillea falcata Reiche to synonymy of M. linearis DC. However , a critical examination of its type shows that it is a synonym of M. flexuosa Phil.

Representative Specimens:— CHILE. III Atacama: Prov. Copiapó, Com. Copiapó, Copiapó , 20 September 1885, Mison-Gaste s.n. ( SGO 63973) . IV Coquimbo: Prov. Elqui, Com. Vicuña, Baños del Toro , 23 December 1971, Beckett et al. 4667 ( SGO) . V Valparaíso: Prov. Los Andes, Com. Los Andes, 3 km E del Río Blanco, en el lado opuesto Piscicultura, en pendientes paradas al lado Sur del Río Blanco , 13 December 1951, Hutchinson 181 ( CONC) ; Prov. Quillota, Com. Quillota, Cerro La Campana , ladera oeste, 30 November 1947, Bultmann s.n. ( CONC 21331 ) ; Prov. Valparaíso, Com. Valparaíso, Santo del Agua , no date, Philippi s.n. ( SGO 63978) . Región Metropolitana de Santiago: Prov. Santiago, Com. San Ramón, Salto de San Ramón , December 1879, Philippi 109- 6 ( SGO 68227) .

Figures

FIGURE 13. Distribution of species of Menonvillea sect. Menonvillea. A, M. chilensis. B, M. constitutionis. C, M. filifolia. D, M. flexuosa. E, M. linearis. F. M. litoralis. G. M. marticorenae. H, M. minima. I, M. orbiculata. J, M. pinnatifida. K, M. purpurea.