Erigeron brachycephalus H.Lindb., Sched. Pl. Finland. Exsicc. Fasc. 21-42: 88 (1944)

Sennikov, Alexander N. & Kozhin, Mikhail N., 2023, Taxonomic revision of the Erigeron acris group (Asteraceae) in Murmansk Region, Russia, reveals a complex pattern of native and alien taxa, PhytoKeys 235, pp. 83-128 : 83

8. Erigeron brachycephalus H.Lindb., Sched. Pl. Finland. Exsicc. Fasc. 21-42: 88 (1944)

Erigeron acris brachycephalus - Erigeron acris subsp. brachycephalus (H.Lindb.) Hiitonen in Ann. Bot. Fenn. 8(1): 78 (1971).

Type.

Russia. Leningrad Region: " Isthmus Karelicus, par. Metsäpirtti [now Priozersk District ], Taipale [now Solovievo ], in campo sicco una cum E. acris (n. 1371) crescens", 26.06.1934, H. Lindberg [ Plantae Finlandiae Exsiccatae no. 1372] (lectotype H 340008, designated by Väre (2012: 41); isolectotype H 758234 pro parte) .

Description.

Stems 30-50 cm tall, branched in the upper third, intensely to slightly purple-coloured, rather densely covered by numerous hairs 0.6-1 mm long. Cauline leaves 8-14 under the synflorescence, rather congested, noticeably reduced towards the stem top, completely covered by numerous hairs ca. 0.5 mm long on both sides. Synflorescence with rather short branches carrying few to several capitula, racemose in shape, with abundant hairs 0.2-0.4(0.5) mm long. Phyllaries 5.5-6 mm long, slightly or moderately purple-coloured, outer and middle ones moderately covered by hairs up to 0.5-0.8 mm long, innermost ones with sparse to rare hairs. Ray flowers bright-pink. Pappus greyish-white.

Flowers in July to August, fruits in August.

Distribution in Murmansk Region.

Coastal area of the White Sea, Vuorijarvi and Kuolajarvi Villages, Nivsky Village, isolated in Pasvik (Fig. 8D ).

Global distribution.

Boreal zone of Fennoscandia and Eastern Europe, southern limit unknown.

Nomenclatural note.

The lectotype collection of Erigeron brachycephalus is taxonomically mixed. The designated lectotype at H ( Väre 2012) belongs to the more hairy taxon ( E. brachycephalus s.str. as defined in our work), whereas its presumed duplicates at OULU and S belong to the less hairy taxon, E. uralensis . A duplicate at H is mixed, with both taxa mounted together. Although Lindberg (1944) described his new species as “usually” less hairy than E. acris s.str., by adding the word “usually” he apparently included also more hairy plants as casual variants. Further collections included into the original circumscription of E. brachycephalus as other syntypes belong to even more deviating taxa, e.g. E. droebachiensis . Although the lectotype specimen of E. brachycephalus is different from the other parts of this collection examined by us, it cannot be treated as incongruent with the protologue because of a broader taxonomic circumscription used by Lindberg (1944).

Taxonomic note.

This species is most similar to E. uralensis , into which it has been recently included ( Tzvelev 1994). It differs from the latter in a constantly much denser and more regular pubescence on stems, synflorescence branches, leaves and involucres, and by a regular red colouration of the whole plant.

Prior to its scientific recognition, this taxon went under the collective name E. droebachiensis in Finland ( Lindberg 1938). It was originally collected with the co-occurring E. acris s.str., from which it was distinguished by the paniculate synflorescence, a greater number of smaller heads, a much lesser development of pubescence and a later flowering period ( Lindberg 1944).

Figures

Figure 8. Distribution of the Erigeron acris group in Murmansk Region, Russia A E. acris L. B E. droebachiensis O. F. Muell. C E. uralensis Less. D E. brachycephalus H. Lindb. Origin and residence status: yellow - pre-industrial alien; red - industrial alien. Maps were created using ArcGIS software by Esri. ArcGIS is the intellectual property of Esri and is used herein under license. Copyright Esri. All rights reserved.