Calendula oualidii A.C. Gonç. & P. Silveira, 2023

Gonçalves, Ana Carla, Ouhammoud, Ahmed, Amirouche, Rachid, Santos, Conceição, Figueiredo, Estrela & Silveira, Paulo, 2023, A taxonomic revision of Calendula (Asteraceae) in Morocco, including some taxa from Algeria and Tunisia, Phytotaxa 605 (1), pp. 1-83 : 34

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/phytotaxa.605.1.1
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/E82AFC0A-156F-CA4E-66ED-FCA88290F88D
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Calendula oualidii A.C. Gonç. & P. Silveira
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

8. Calendula oualidii A.C. Gonç. & P. Silveira View in CoL , sp. nov. Type:— MOROCCO. Bokkoya , 33 km from Imzouren, 740 m

[34°54’46” N, 3°47’59” W], 13 May 2014, P . Silveira & A.C.R.S. Gonçalves 3339 (holotype RAB!; isotypes AVE!,

MARK!).

Diagnosis:— Calendula oualidii differs from C. eckerleinii by the presence of a white-arachnoid indumentum (in C. eckerleinii whitearachnoid hairs are restricted to the leaf margin) and by the trialate achenes with subentire margins (instead of sinuate-dentate on lateral wings).

Description:––Perennial herbs, ± woody at the base. Stems (16) 30.3–44 (48) cm long, erect to ascending, with a mixture of glandular and white-arachnoid non-glandular hairs. Basal leaves (3.5) 4.5–7.1 (9.5) × (0.8) 0.9–1.3 (1.5) cm, with 0.3–0.4 (0.5) mm thick, oblanceolate to spatulate, apex acute, margins sinuate-dentate, with some glandular hairs, but predominantly white-arachnoid pubescent. Capitula solitary, (2.2) 2.6–3.6 (3.8) cm diameter, concolorous, yellow. Achenes heteromorphic: outer achenes rostrate (5.8) 6.5–8.1 (8.7) × 1.5–1.7 (1.8) mm (brevirostrate), ± straight or slightly curved, without dorsal spines; middle achenes trialate (5) 5.6–6.7 (7) × (3) 3.3–4.4 (5.8) mm, lateral and ventral wings sub-equal and sub-entire; inner achenes vermiculate-exalate (3.7) 3.8–4.8 (5) × (1.3) 1.5–1.7 mm, falcate, without ventral wing. Figure 16 View FIGURE 16 .

Habitat and distribution:— Limestone rocks, at an elevation of ± 740 m. It grows under semi-arid Mediterranean bio-climate. Endemic to Bokkoya Mountains in Al Hoceïma ( Morocco). Figure 13 View FIGURE 13 .

Conservation status:—Critically Endangered (CR). Calendula oualidii is under numerous threats, especially grazing and effects of climate change such as drought. The species is rare and local with a small-restricted range; only one subpopulation is known, intersected by a road. The number of mature individuals is estimated to be <50 based on field observations. The AOO is 8 km 2, which qualifies for CR. The existence of other populations is unlikely. Therefore, we propose its conservation status as CR B1ab(iii, v)+2ab(iii, v); C2a(I, II), D.

Chromosome number:— 2n = 18.

Genome size:—1.69 ± 0.10 pg.

Eponymy:— Calendula oualidii commemorates the Moroccan botanist Dr Jalal El Oualidi (1958–) who is a prolific botanist and curator of RAB herbarium.