Solenopsis bivonae (Tineo) M.B.Crespo, Serra & A.Juan subsp. peloritana Brullo, C.Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Crisafulli, Minissale & Giusso del Galdo, 2023

Brullo, Salvatore, Brullo, Cristian, Cambria, Salvatore, Tomaselli, Valeria, Crisafulli, Alessandro, Siracusa, Giuseppe, Minissale, Pietro & del Galdo, Gianpietro Giusso, 2023, Taxonomic and ecological remarks on Solenopsis bivonae species complex (Campanulaceae), PhytoKeys 229, pp. 77-111 : 77

1.3. Solenopsis bivonae (Tineo) M.B.Crespo, Serra & A.Juan subsp. peloritana Brullo, C.Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Crisafulli, Minissale & Giusso del Galdo subsp. nov.

Figs 3 , 6B , 7C , 8E , 9C

Type.

Italy. Sicily. Monti Peloritani, Vallone Passo Pirtuso, S. Lucia del Mela , 38°4'59"N, 15°18'28"E, 559 m, 19 July 2020, S. Cambria, A. Crisafulli & F. Anania s.n. (holotype CAT) .

Diagnosis.

It differs from the type in having longer bracteoles, glabrous, provided with apical gland, longer calyx with longer lobes, larger corolla with denser and spread glands in the ventral face, larger upper lip lobes and lower lip lobes, within the lower lip a yellow macula at the base, slightly bordered of red-brown, longer style and larger capsule. Conversely, the type is characterized by shorter bracteoles, hairy apex without gland, shorter calyx with shorter lobes, smaller corolla with more scattered glands in the ventral face, smaller upper lip lobes and lower lip lobes, within the lower lip a greenish-yellow macula at the base, slightly bordered of brown, shorter style and smaller capsule.

Description.

Basal rosette 4-10 cm in diameter, with leaves 15-55 mm long, with blade 7-23 × 4-10 mm and petiole 5-30 mm long; floral pedicels 5.5-11 cm, with 2 bracteoles, 3-5.5 mm long, 0.4-0.7 mm wide, glabrous, with one terminal gland and 1-2 stipulated glands at the margin per side; calyx 4-5 mm long, with lobes 3.2-4 mm long; corolla 12-14.5 mm long, with tube green with lilac ribs, 3.5-4 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm in diameter; upper lip with lobes 5-6 mm long, 2-2.4 mm wide, dark lilac, provided in the ventral face with papillae in the central part, 0.1-0.4 mm long; lower lip 8-9 mm long, with a small yellow macula at the base, slightly bordered of red-brown at base in the upper part or sometimes with central red-brown spot, lobes obovate, the central one 5.5-6.5 × 4-4.5 mm, the lateral ones 4.5-5.5 × 4-4.2 covered by very dense papillae almost until the apex; stamen filaments 4.5-4.7 mm long, anther connate into a tube 1.7-1.9 mm long; the three upper anthers with scattered hairs in the upper part of the back; style 6.5-7 mm long; capsule smooth, 2.5-3 mm long; seeds ellipsoid, 0.45-0.50 × 0.24-0.26 mm.

Etymology.

The epithet derives from Peloritani, a chain of North-eastern Sicily, where this taxon is localized.

Phenology.

Flowering June to August, fruiting July to August.

Distribution and ecology.

It grows on metamorphic vertical wet rocky stands affected by permanent dripping. It is a member of a plant community of the class Adiantetea capilli-veneris, dominated by Adiantum capillus-veneris, associated with Samolus valerandi L., Lysimachia nemorum L., Hypericum hircinum L. subsp. majus (Aiton) N. Robson and several bryophytes. In this stand, it is localized exclusively along a short watercourse of the Mela valley (Peloritani chain) at an elevation of 600-700 m (Fig. 10 ), where several individuals of this taxon were surveyed.

Conservation status.

This taxon is known for one stand of the Peloritani chain, along a short wet wall, where about one hundred well-developed individuals were observed. This population is very isolated and inaccessible and it does not seem subject to immediate threats. It shows an EOO of 4 km2 and an AOO of 4 Km2. Therefore, according to the B criterion ( IUCN 2022), we propose to consider this taxon as Critically Endangered category [(CR - B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii))].

Figures

Figure 3. Solenopsis bivonae subsp. peloritana A habit B leaves C bracts D open corolla E flower in lateral view F flower in dorsal view G bud. H open calyx I calyx and capsule J seeds K unicellular papillae occurring in the ventral face of the corolla L anther in lateral view M anther in ventral view. Drawn by Salvatore Brullo.

Figure 6. Open corolla (1) and detail of corolla papillae (2) of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (A), S. bivonae subsp. peloritana (B), S. bivonae subsp. brutia (C), S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (D), S. meikleana (E) and S. bacchettae (F). Drawn by Salvatore Brullo.

Figure 7. Flowers in frontal view in natural habitat of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (A), S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (B), S. bivonae subsp. peloritana (C), S. bivonae subsp. brutia (D), S. bacchettae (E) and S. meikleana (F). Photographed by Salvatore Cambria (A-C, E, F) and Lorenzo Peruzzi (D).

Figure 8. Natural habitat along the Sosio river (Sicily) colonized by Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (A). Natural habitat in Madonie massif (Sicily) colonized by S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (B). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. bivonae from Sosio River (C). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum from Madonie massif (D). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. peloritana from Mela River, Sicily (E). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. brutia from Lao River, Calabria (F). Habit of S. meikleana from Cedar Valley, Cyprus (G). Habit of S. bacchettae from Seui, Sardinia (H). Photographed by Salvatore Cambria (A-E, G, H) and Lorenzo Peruzzi (F).

Figure 9. Habit of living plants of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae from Sosio river (A), S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum from Madonie massif (B). S. bivonae subsp. peloritana from Mela River (C). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. brutia from Lao River (D). S. meikleana from Cedar Valley, Cyprus (E). S. bacchettae from Seui, Sardinia (F).

Figure 10. Geographical distribution of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (black dots); S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (red dots); S. bivonae subsp. peloritana (pale blue dot); S. bivonae subsp. brutia (dark blue dot); S. meikleana (purple dots); S. bacchettae (green dots).