Lagenophora sinuosa Lannuzel, Gateble & Jian Wang ter, 2021

Lannuzel, Guillaume, Gateble, Gildas, R. Bean, Anthony & Wang, Jian, 2021, Lagenophora (Asteraceae, Astereae) in New Caledonia, PhytoKeys 177, pp. 125-138 : 125

Lagenophora sinuosa Lannuzel, Gateble & Jian Wang ter sp. nov. Figs 1 , 2

Type.

New Caledonia. North Prov.: Pouembout, Ouaté, 500 m, 21°9'52.43"S, 165°7'1.5"E, 26 Mar 2019, G. Gâteblé, S. Liede-Schumann, U. Meve & D. Fleurot 1091 (Holotype: P!, isotype: NOU107482!).

Diagnosis.

Lagenophora sinuosa Lannuzel, Gâteblé & Jian Wang ter differs from all other species in the genus with its usually deeply lobed leaf margins and ribbed cypsela surface. It resembles L. queenslandica Jian Wang ter & A.R.Bean with its very short cypsela beak.

Description.

Perennial rhizomatous herb; roots and rhizomes fibrous; stem usually absent (leaves in basal rosette); leaves and scapes firmly attached to stem and/or rootstock. Leaves 5-10, oblanceolate to spathulate, 1.5-4 cm long by 0.5-1.5 cm wide (1.5-3 × longer than wide), winged petiole-like base 0.1-3 cm long; leaf apex obtuse to rounded; leaf margins more or less deeply lobate, sinuate to crenate, usually with 4-10 deep lobes, each lobe 2-5 mm deep; upper leaf surface greyish green; with 4-10 trichomes per mm2, each 0.3-1 mm long; lower leaf surface pale green, with 1-6 trichomes per mm2, each 0.2-0.6 mm long; leaf margins with 6-14 trichomes per mm, each 0.7-1 mm long; secondary veins obscure on upper leaf surface, but sometimes obvious on lower leaf surface. Scapes channelled or not, 1-4 per tuft, 3-25 cm long, c. 0.5 mm diameter; bracts 2-7, upper ones c. 4 × 0.5 mm, lower ones c. 5.0 × 1.5 mm; trichomes 0.2-0.5 mm long, patent or retrorse, erect; 10-15 trichomes per mm2 at midpoint of scape, 15-30 trichomes per mm2 towards apex; papillae to c. 0.01 mm long, 5-15 per mm2 at midpoint of scape, but very densely distributed towards apex. Capitula 3-6 mm long, 2-5 mm diameter; involucral bracts c. 25 in 2-3 rows, with trichomes c. 0.3 mm occasionally along midrib on outer surface, linear to lanceolate, apex purple, acute to acuminate, with fringed margins on distal half, outer bracts 1.3-2.1 × 0.5 mm, inner bracts 2-3.5 × 0.3-0.7 mm. Receptacle convex, 2.8-4.2 mm diameter and 1.4-2.5 mm high. Ray florets 20-30 in 1 or 2 rows; tube 0.1-1 mm long, c. 0.3 mm wide, glandular pilose; style branches c. 0.5 mm long; ligules 1.9-4.2 × 0.4-0.9 mm, with longitudinal veins obscure, white or very occasionally pink, apex obtuse and bidentate. Disc florets 10-30, corolla greenish or yellow, tubular, 1.5-2 mm long, outer surface covered with papillae; corolla lobes 4-5, deltate, 0.4-0.6 × 0.3 mm; stamens 4-5, anthers 0.6-0.8 mm long; style branches 0.4-0.9 mm long; sterile ovary 2.2-2.5 mm long; pappus scales absent. Cypselae oval in cross section, oblanceolate, 2.3-3.2 × 0.5-0.8 mm excluding beak, uniformly brown at maturity; surfaces with 2-4 longitudinal ribs on each side; no trichome at the base; beak 0.1-0.3 mm long, densely covered by glands, without a thickened white annular collar at its apex.

Additional specimens examined.

New Caledonia. North Prov.: Haute rivière de Voh, 250 m, 12 Mar 1951, Guillaumin & Baumann-Bodenheim 12112 (P03292561image!†); Haute rivière de Voh, 250 m, 12 Mar 1951, Guillaumin & Baumann-Bodenheim 12154 (P03292559image!†); Vallée de la Moindah (branche nord), 150 m, 3 Oct 1965, MacKee 13515 (P04427664image!†); Mt Paeoua , contrefort nord-est, 600-900 m, 4 Jul 1967, MacKee 17004 (P04427667image!†); Pouembout, 30 m, 26 May 1971, MacKee 23675 (NOU054762!, P04234038image!); Pouembout, 30 m, 16 Feb 1972, MacKee 25003 (P03276832image!); Pouembout, 30 m, 16 Apr 1981, MacKee 38956 (P04427671image!†); Poya, forêt de Nékoro, 2 m, 26 May 1983, MacKee 41502 (CANB718870.1image!, NOU054761!, P04427669image!†); Poya, forêt de Nékoro, 2 m, 16 Aug 1984, MacKee 42136 (NOU072073!, P04295155image!†); Poya nord, entre le creek Hervouet et son affluent nord au dessus de la RT1, 40- 50 m, 14 Oct 1998, Veillon 8135 (NOU072074!); Cap Devert, 1861-1867, Vieillard 816 (Deplanche? 109) (P03292531image!†) . South Prov.: Mont Dore, 800 ft., 3 Apr 1914, Compton 675 (BM013867015image!); Tontouta , 1 Nov 1924, Däniker 414 (P03292449image!†); Prony , 2 m, 22°19'31.5"S, 166°49'34.44"E, 17 Mar 2020, Gâteblé, Lannuzel & Ititiaty 1184 (NOU107485!, P!); Cap N’Doua, Kô Mwâ Nirê, 20 m, 22°22'33.78"S, 166°56'28.1"E, 17 Mar 2020, Gâteblé, Lannuzel & Ititiaty 1187 (BRI!, K!, MPU!, NOU107484!, P!); Prony, Îlot Casy, 5 m, 22°21'20.84"S, 166°50'46.77"E, 14 Aug 2020, Gâteblé 1224 (BRI!, K!, MPU!, NOU107486!, P!); Prony, Sep 1910, Godefroy s.n. (P03292558image!, left plant); Ouipouin, 21°41'18.96"S, 165°59'25.08"E, 14 Dec 2018, Laudereau 1236 (NOU091404!); Sommet de la Table Unio (1000 m), 21 Sep 1965, MacKee 13414 (P04427666image!†); Plateau sommital de la Table Unio, 1000 m, 14 Nov 1970, MacKee 22908 (NOU072308!, NSW935348, P04427668image!†); Mont Nakada, 1000 m, 21°37'50"S, 166°3'35"E, 18 Apr 2001, Munzinger & McPherson 814 (P00217314image!); Ouaménie, 1 Jul 2006, Munzinger et al. 3488 (NOU013890!); Poya, sud-est de Mépouiri, 10 m, 9 Jul 1991, Veillon 7390 (NOU072081!); Colline à M’bée, 1855-1860, Vieillard 816 (P03292447image!†) .

Probable additional specimen.

Haute Tipindje, Contrefort Sud du massif Oua Tilou, 400 m, 28 Jun 1970, MacKee 22128 (P03292503image!†). We were not able to conclusively identify this specimen as the image apparently bears no cypsela. Regarding morphology and ecology, it may be a L. sinuosa but further field work is needed to acquire certitude on that locality.

Distribution and habitat.

Lagenophora sinuosa is an endemic species to New Caledonia. It grows only on mainland Grande Terre from the southern tip to Kaala-Gomen as the northernmost locality. As with L. sublyrata , the species has a relatively broad altitudinal distribution ranging from 2 to 1000 m above sea level (Fig. 2 ). It inhabits the wet forests and open scrublands (maquis minier), mainly on serpentinic alluvium but has been recorded also on peridotitic derived soils at higher altitude and on vertisols at low altitudes.

Phenology.

Both flowers and fruits were recorded from February through November from herbarium specimens.

Etymology.

The specific epithet Lagenophora sinuosa refers to the sinuate leaf margins, by which the species differs from L. sublyrata . Some immature plants or populations bear crenate leaves in natural conditions, but showed ability to produce deeply lobed leaves in greenhouse conditions.

Conservation status.

The species is largely distributed on the mainland, though often neglected by collectors, perhaps because it is an inconspicuous herb and maybe considered as an “exotic” or weedy species. The number of localities where it occurs may then be underestimated through herbarium records. The ecology of the species being rainforests floors and maquis on both ultramafic and non-ultramafic substrates at low to medium altitudes tend to consider the invasive introduced Rusa deer ( Rusa timorensis ) as the major threat both by grazing and by trampling. The fire threat is another issue, especially for open maquis populations. Nevertheless, with over ten localities (sensu IUCN 2019) recorded, L. sinuosa does not meet the requirements for a threatened species and qualifies for the Least Concern (LC) status.

Notes.

Lagenophora sinuosa has variable leaf shapes. Although its leaf margins are usually deeply lobed, there are two populations growing in the understory of coastal Araucaria forests showing crenate leaf margins. These two populations were considered at one stage as a different species. However, further examinations of their fertile aspects showed there were no significant differences between these two and all other populations. Moreover, some individuals of two of the populations that were cultivated in greenhouse conditions with fertilizers can occasionally produce lobed leaves. Therefore, these two populations have been included in L. sinuosa .

Generic placement of the new species is subject to debate, and consideration was given to making it a new monotypic genus. However, as pointed out by Saldivia et al. (2020), rank redundancy with monotypic genera is already relatively high (36%) in Asteraceae . Thus, considering existing genera in the region, this new species is here included in the genus Lagenophora because of the involucres with 1 to 2-seriate ray florets, the disc florets with 4-5 corolla lobes, and cypselae with a glandular beak. The new species is atypical in the genus because of its distinctive but variable leaf shapes and more importantly its cypselae that have longitudinal ribs on both surfaces. Its characteristics were also compared with other genera in the subtribe Lagenophorinae , including the closely related genera in the region, viz. Pytinicarpa G.L.Nesom, Solenogyne Cass., Keysseria Lauterb. and Myriactis Less., or the morphologically similar Brachyscome Cass. in Brachyscominae . In Table 1 also a comparison with other members of the genus is made. Further molecular based studies among these related genera, and including New Caledonian samples, are highly recommended to clarify its position.

Figures

Figure 1. Lagenophora sinuosa Lannuzel, Gateble & Jian Wang ter, sp. nov. A plant in natural conditions B capitula C capitula with mature cypsela D disc floret E ray floret F cypsela A-D from Gateble 1184 E, F from Gateble 1187. Photos from G. Lannuzel. Scale bars: 0.5 mm.

Figure 2. Distribution of Lagenophora sinuosa Lannuzel, Gateble & Jian Wang ter, sp. nov. Dots represent reliable localities and stars doubtful ones, grey shaded areas represent ultramafic outcrops.