Viola auricolor Skottsberg (1916: 260)

Nicola, Marcela Viviana, Salomón, Luciana & Zuloaga, Fernando Omar, 2018, Nomenclatural and taxonomic study in species of Viola (Violaceae) from Argentina, Phytotaxa 338 (2), pp. 151-176 : 153

Viola auricolor Skottsberg (1916: 260)

Type (lectotype, designated here):— [ ARGENTINA. Santa Cruz:] Montañas altas al oeste del Río Zeballos, 16 December 1908, C. Skottsberg s.n. (SGO 000003272 [digital image!]; possible isolectotype, UPS [missing]) .

Protologue citation:— “Andines Patagonien: Hochgebirge s. vom Lago Buenos Aires, Abhang w. vom Rio Zeballos, c. 1300 m (Heide), zw. 1400 und 1600 m (Schutthalden), Bl. 2, 16. 12. 08; Nordseite des Zeballos—Gio-Passes, 1400–1500 m (Bl. 2, 17. 12. 08); im Tarde—Belgrano-Pass, nö. Vom Lago Belgrano (Bl. 2, 22. 12, 08).”

Distribution:— Endemic of Argentina; known for Chubut and Santa Cruz provinces near de politic boundary between Argentina and Chile.

Notes:— Watson et al. (2010) were able to trace one Carl Skottsberg syntype at UPS and they suspected that it could be the only remaining extant type collection of this taxon. These authors strongly suspected that all Skottsberg syntype material related with Viola auricolor and two other Andean Viola described by Skottsberg may have been permanently lost due to 95 Viola specimens loaned out from UPS have never been returned ( Watson et al. 2010). However, we have traced a further Skottsberg specimen with the barcode number SGO 000003272, and we select it as the lectotype of Viola auricolor because it agrees with the original diagnosis and is a complete specimen with various flowers and clearly represents one of the syntypes of the species. The label, inscribed in Skottsberg’s handwriting, indicates: “Patagonia, montañas altas al oeste del Río Zeballos, 16/12/1908, Carl Skottsberg, muestra original”.

In relation with the type locality, Skottsberg (1911) reported in his book “The wilds of Patagonia” that on 16 December 1908 he and his fellow travelers camped at Rio Zeballos and “above the forests we climbed over rattling heaps of loose slates; numbers of charming Alpine plants were in flower among debris and snowfields, and from a crest of 5700 feet we had a splendid view: to the east the mighty basalt-covered meseta; to the north we cast a last glance at Lake Buenos Aires [...]; to the west deep, forest-clad valleys and summits, not yet found on any map; to the south the Zeballos pass, our battlefield for the coming day.” According to the description, they were on the Argentine side of the Andes , in Santa Cruz province. Furthermore, all subsequent records of Viola auricolor were made in the provinces of Chubut and Santa Cruz, Argentina .