Solenopsis meikleana Brullo, C.Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Minissale & Giusso, sp. nov.

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

2. Solenopsis meikleana Brullo, C.Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Minissale & Giusso, sp. nov.

Figs 5 , 6E , 7F , 8G , 9E

Laurentia tenella Auct. Fl. Cypr., non A. DC. Prodr. 7(2): 410, 1839.

Laurentia minuta Auct. Fl. Cypr., non A. DC. Prodr. 7(2): 410, 1839.

Laurentia minuta (L.) DC. f. nobilis Wimmer, Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 56:333, 1948, p.p.

Solenopsis minuta (L.) C. Presl subsp. nobilis (Wimmer) Meikle, Kew Bull. 34(2): 374, 1979, p.p.

Solenopsis bivonae (Tineo) M. B. Crespo, Serra & A. Juan, Pl. Syst. Evol. 210(3-4): 219. 1998, p.p.

Solenopsis bivonae Christodoulou et al., Cypricola 17: 1, 2020, p.p.

Type.

Cyprus. Mesa Potamos Falls , 34°53'31.88"N, 32°54'32.37"E, 960 m, 6 June 2019, S. Cambria s.n. (holotype CAT) .

Diagnosis.

It differs from Solenopsis bivonae in having glabrous and longer bracteoles, provided with apical sessile glands and 1--2 glands per side, pale blue or pale violet corolla, with upper lip lobes without papillae, lower lip lobes oblong, smaller, provided with shorter glands, anther tube shorter and papillose at the base, shorter style and longer capsule. Conversely, S. bivonae is characterized by shorter bracteoles, hairy at the apex and with 1--4 glands per side, bluish-lilac corolla, with upper lip lobes with papillae in the ventral face, lower lip lobes linear-lanceolate, larger, provided with longer glands, anther tube longer, without basal papillae, longer style and shorter capsule.

Description.

Basal rosette 2.5-11 cm in diameter, with leaves 10-75 mm long, oblanceolate-spathulate, with blade glabrous or covered by scattered hyaline hairs, 6-30 × 4-15 mm and petiole 5-50 mm long; floral pedicels 2-12 cm, subequal to 3 times longer than leaves, with 1-2 bracteoles, 2-8 mm long, 0.2-0.6 mm wide, glabrous, with 1-2 stipulated glands at the margin per side; calyx 3-5 mm long, with lobes 1.5-3 mm long; corolla 10-12 mm long, with tube green-violet, 3-5 mm long, 1.1-1.3 mm in diameter; upper lip with lobes 1.5-1.7 mm wide, pale blue to pale-violet, without papillae; lower lip 5-5.5 mm long, lobes oblong, obtuse at the apex, 2.5-3.5 × 1.4-2.2 mm, covered by papillae 0.05-0.3 mm long; stamen filaments 3-5 mm long, anther connate into a tube 1-1.5 mm long; the two lower anthers are papillose at basis; the three upper anthers with scattered hairs in the upper part of the back; style 3.5-4 mm long; capsule 3-3.2 mm long; seeds broadly ellipsoid, 0.40-0.46 × 0.24-0.29 mm.

Iconography.

Meikle (1985), plate 65.

Phenology.

Flowering March to October, fruiting April to October.

Etymology.

It is dedicated to Robert Desmond Meikle (1923-2021), author of the "Flora of Cyprus," who dealt with the taxonomy of the genus Solenopsis .

Distribution and ecology.

This species occurs in western Cyprus, where it is localized in very moist environments such as river banks, springs, waterfalls, and dripping walls (Fig. 10 ). Usually, it grows from hills to mountain belts up to an elevation of 1600 m, on ophiolitic rocky outcrops covered by bryophyte carpets and ferns, particularly Adiantum capillus-veneris. This vegetation can be referred to the Adiantetea capilli-veneris class for its floristic and ecological peculiarity.

Conservation status.

This species, endemic to Cyprus, shows a scattered distribution in the western part of the island. It is a perennial hygrophyte, usually occurring in the wet rocky stands, which are always subject to dripping waters. Regarding conservation, the habitat characterized by this species is subject to synanthropic threats, represented mainly by the uptake of springs or the waters of streams, which allow its survival. The species shows an EOO of 1298 km2 and an AOO of 288 Km2. Therefore, according to B criterion ( IUCN 2022), we propose to consider this taxon as Endangered [EN - B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)].

Additional specimens examined

(paratypes). Cyprus. Iter Cyprium, Mont Troodos 5000-6400', 10 June 1912, M. Haradjian s.n. (L2993291); frequens ad fontes in pago Moni inter Larnaca et Limassol, 28 April 1862, T. Kotschy 576 (L2993300, G-BOIS00781682); Troodos , valley Caledonian falls . On rocks next to the falls. 34°54'N, 32°52'E, Alt. 1350, 22 July 1995, J.J. Wieringa 3330 and M.I.D. Janzen (WAG 1335512); Iter Cyprium , pr. Galata , 16 June 1880, Sintenis et Rigo 742 (P00260376); Ganze voicin de la Gratiola et de la Bonnaga in insula Cypri in humidis maritimis, 1837, M. Aucher-Eloy s.n. (P00260370); in Cypro , s.d., M. Aucher-Eloy 3854 (P00260371, G-BOIS00781706); In humidis in insulae Cypri , 1836, M. Aucher (Eloy) s.n. (G-DC00329488); Ins. Cypro, in valle fluminis prope Galata , 16 June 1880, Sintenis et Rigo 742 (P00260379; FI); Cyprus , near Phini. On dripping tufa by roadside, 5 June 1962, R.D. Meikle 2874 (P00242688); Zypern : Trooditissa Monastery , Division 2 (sensu Meikle 1979, 1985), at the waterfall in hairpin bend E of Monastery, wet rocks, 1315 m (L: 32°50'33"E / B: 34°54'45"N), 24 Sep. 2010, Hand 5739 (B100342825); Insule Cypri, Nikosia, pr. le gauche a Kordukkis, 28 March 1905, J. Holmboe 292 (O-V2262581); Insulae Cypri, Troodos: Pasha Livadia, 12 July 1905, J. Holmboe 1075 (O-V2262581); Cedar Valley , Cedar hiking path, 34°59'28.58"N, 32°41'19.65"E, 1126 m, 7 June 2019, S. Cambria s.n. (CAT) .

Figures

Figure 5. Solenopsis meikleana sp. nov. A habit B leaves C bracts D flower in lateral view E open corolla F bud G open calyx H anther in lateral view I anther in ventral view J anther in lateral view with stigma K calyx and capsule L seeds M unicellular papillae occurring in the ventral face of the corolla. 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).