Calamagrostis salina Tzvelev (1965: 27)

Paszko, Beata, Chen, Wen-Li & Liu, Bing, 2016, Confirmation of Calamagrostis salina in China, previously misidentified as C. macilenta, and notes about C. kokonorica and C. macilenta (Poaceae, Agrostidinae), Phytotaxa 268 (4), pp. 251-262 : 252-254

1. Calamagrostis salina Tzvelev (1965: 27) ; Figs. 1–3 .

Type: — RUSSIA. [Zabaykalsk territory]: Stepi po r.r. Urulyunguyu i Arguni [steppes between Urulunguj (Urulunguy) and Argun rivers], staroe zarosshee ruslo ruchya u s. Abagajtuj [overgrown old riverbed at Abagajtuj (Abagaytuy) village], 22 August 1930, M. Ivanova s.n. (holotype LE 01011029!).

Description: —Perennial; caespitose, clumped loosely. Culms 19–70 cm tall, unbranched, glabrous; nodes 2–4. Sheaths smooth, not inflated; collars smooth; ligules 1.5–8.5 mm long, membranous, pointed. Cauline blades 3.5– 14 cm long, 0.9–4 mm wide, lanceolate-linear, gray, involute; margins finely serrate; midrib not prominent; abaxial surfaces minutely scabrous; adaxial surfaces with deep furrows, and prominent ridges, glabrous or minutely scabrid owing to the presence of regular rows of exceedingly fine sharp pointed hairs on the top of ridges. Panicle 3.7–17.5 cm long, erect, open to contracted; the lowest panicle branches 0.6–2.7 cm long; primary branches slightly scabrous, with spikelets scattered along the branches, without spikelets in lower quarter or even half. Spikelets 3.5–5 mm long, 1-flowered; glumes subequal or equal, weakly scabrid on keel, subobtuse or obtuse at apex; the lower 3.5–5.0 mm long, and 1–1.6 mm wide, 1-veined; the upper 3.4–4.6 mm long, and 1–1.5 mm wide, 3-veined, 0.92–1 times as long as the lower glume; callus hairs 1.8–3.5 mm long, 0.55–0.83 times as long as the lemmas, surrounding the floret; lemma 3–4.5 mm long, 5-veined, 0.8–1 times as long as the lower glumes, shortly 2-toothed et apex, with dorsal awn 1.4–2.9 mm long, well developed, slightly geniculate and twisted at the base, attached in the lower half (0.14–0.41) of the lemmas, not exerted beyond the glumes; palea 2.8–4 mm long, 0.82–0.97 times as long as the lemmas; rachilla prolongation 1.3–2.5 mm long, densely bearded with hairs 3–4 mm long. Anthers 2.2–2.4 mm long. Flowering in June and July.

Taxonomic notes: —Almost 55 years ago and also afterwards, Tzvelev (1965, 1968, 1976) noticed that unknown grass species in China was misidentified by Keng (1959) for Deyeuxia macilenta . Tzvelev stated that illustration of D. macilenta drawn by Jinyong Feng ( Keng 1959, Li 2007) represents his new Calamagrostis salina . Tzvelev’s finding has remained unnoticed by Chinese botanists. We have confirmed that the Chinese herbarium specimens of C. salina were misidentified for Deyeuxia macilenta .

Calamagrostis salina was incorrectly synonymized with C. macilenta by Cui (1996).

Calamagrostis salina shares with C. kokonorica and C. macilenta the following morphological characteristics, such as awns slightly bent or substraight, inserted usually shortly below the middle of the lemma back, and long and well developed rachilla prolongations covered with long hairs. The present study reveals the best key characters for the separation of C. salina , C. kokonorica and C. macilenta . These are panicle shape, lower glume length, ratio of palea to lemma length, and anther length ( Table 1, Figs. 2 & 4 ). Since only seven specimens of C. kokonorica were examined and only in six of 21 specimens of C. salina were anthers found, further research on more specimens is necessary to substantiate some key characters.

Distribution: — CHINA (Gansu, Nei Mongol, Qinghai, Xinjiang); MONGOLIA (E of Midlle Khalkha, East Mongolia, Depression of Great Lakes, Gobi-Altai); RUSSIA (Buryatia, Zabaykalsk Territory) ( Fig. 1 ).

Distribution notes: — Calamagrostis salina was previously recorded from Russia (Buryatia and Zabaykalsk Territory), Mongolia, and China. In China, C. salina was reported by Tzvelev from Jungaria (also spelled Zungharia or Dzungaria; northern region of Xinjiang), Kashgaria (southwestern region of Xinjiang), and northern Tibet (southern edge of Xinjiang) ( Tzvelev 1965, 1968, 1976, Grubov 1982, Badmaeva 2001, 2013). Nevertheless, in the recent treatment of genera Calamagrostis and Deyeuxia in Flora of China ( Lu & Phillips 2006, Lu et al. 2006), C. salina is not reported. According to Malyshev and Peshkova (1984) C. salina represents a central Asian floristic element.

Based on the current revision C. salina is confirmed for Xinjiang (Aksu, Ruoqiang), NW China, and its new provincial records are recorded in northern China from Gansu (Kang, Tianshui, Subei, Sunan), Nei Mongol (Alxa Left Banner, Hailar) and Qinghai (Golmud, Gonghe, Mangnai) ( Fig. 1 ).

Habitat: — Calamagrostis salina grows in saline meadows, salt marshes (called solonchaks in Russian) and saline lands up to lower mountain belt ( Tzvelev 1976, Badmaeva 2013). In northwestern and northern China it grows in saline meadows and salt marshes, i.e. by lakes or rivers, at mid-to-upper elevations between 1100–3650 m. Malyshev and Peshkova (1984) considered it as a typical steppe plant, and Pykhalova et al. (2013) regarded it as a halophyte.

Examined specimens: — CHINA. Gansu: Subei, Yuerhong , [39°31’N, 94°53’E], 3650 m, 17 September 1964, [Anonymous] 1848 ( PE) ; Sunan , [without precise locality], [38°50’N, 99°37’E], 1500 m, near sand dune, 2 August 1964, [Anonymous] 1355 ( PE) ; Subei, Nalongguole , [39°31’N, 94°53’E], riverbank, 16 August 1956, B.Z. Guo 3442 ( PE) ; Kang , [without precise locality], [33°20’N, 105°36’E], Kangzi 124 ( PE) ; Alxa Left Banner, Toudaohu , [38°50’N, 105°40’E], meadow, saline soil by the lake bank, 18 June 1960, Sino-Russia Exped. 56 ( PE, 3 sheets) ; Tianshui , [without precise locality], [34°35’N, 105°43’E], s.d., P.Z. Ye 1711 ( PE) . Nei Mongol: Hailar , S of Hailar, [49°13’N, 119°43’E], August 1957, T.C. Zhu 521 ( PE) . Qinghai: Golmud , NW of Golmud, [36°25’N, 94°53’E], 2720 m, 17 June 1955, Qaidam Pendi Exped. 52 ( PE, 3 sheets) ; Gonghe, Tiebujia , [36°17’N, 100°37’E], August 1964, [Anonymous] 43-92 ( PE) ; Mangnai , [without precise locality], [38°20’N, 90°13’E], 14 July 1955, Qaidam Pendi Exped. 120 ( PE) ; Mangnai, Alazi , [38°20’N, 90°13’E], 2980 m, 10 August 1983, Veg. - Geo. Exped. 115 ( HNWP) ; Da Qaidam, Qaidam Pendi ( Basin ), NW end of Da Qaidam Hu ( Lake ) off road to Golmud , ca. 160 km N of Golmud, 3240 m, 37°50′N, 95°20′E, wet springy meadows grading from sligthly to extremely saline soils, frequent, 26 September 1997, R.J. Soreng et al. 5484 ( PE) ; Da Qaidam, Qaidam Pendi (Basin), NW end of Da Qaidam Hu ( Lake ) off road to Golmud , ca. 160 km N of Golmud, 37°50′N, 95°20′E, 3240 m, 26 September 1997, R.J. Soreng et al. 5486 ( PE) . Xinjiang: Ruoqiang , NW of Mangya, [39°01’N, 88°10’E], 3000 m, meadow by the lake side, 28 August 1988, K. Guo & D. Zheng 12537 ( PE) ; Aksu , N of Wensu, [41°10’N, 80°15’E], 1100 m, slightly saline soil, 30 September 1958, A.R. Li & J.N. Zhu 8970 ( PE) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Calamagrostis kokonorica (solid triangles), C. macilenta (open square), and C. salina (solid circles) in China.

FIGURE 2. Panicles within the Calamagrostis macilenta complex. A–C. C. salina. D–E. C. kokonorica. F–L. C. macilenta. Illustrations A–B from Sino-Russia Exped. 56 (PE), C from Qaidam Pendi Exped. 120 (PE), D–E from Liu 484 (PE), F–G from K. Wesche & H. Wehrden 1501 (GLM), H–J from Dawažamc et al. 1666 (GAT), K from Nejfeld & Krasnov s.n. (KRAM), L from Dawažamc et al. 1937 (GAT). Scale bar: A–L = 5 cm.

FIGURE 3. Calamagrostis salina. A. Glumes in side view. B. Floret in side view, showing well developed rachilla prolongation. C. Rachilla prolongation. D. Anthers. E. Collar region of the cauline leaf (second counted from the top of shoot). F. Upper leaf surface. Illustrations from Sino-Russia Exped. 56 (PE); China. Scale bar: A–F = 1 mm.

FIGURE 4. Scatter plot of two characters: the ratio of palea to lemma length against anther length, for Calamagrostis kokonorica (solid triangles), C. macilenta (open squares), and C. salina (solid circles).