Limonium echioides

Brullo, Salvatore & Erben, Matthias, 2016, The genus Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) in Greece, Phytotaxa 240 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

3. Limonium echioides (L.) Miller (1768: no. 11) ( Fig. 3 )

Basionym:― Statice echioides Linnaeus (1753: 275) . Type lectotype designated by Erben 1978: 558):―[Icon] Limonium minus annuum bullatis foliis vel echioides in Magnol (1676: t. pag.156),

= Statice aristata Sibthorp & Smith (1806: 213) . Type (lectotype, designate here):―[Icon] Limonium minus annuum bullatis foliis vel echioides ( Magnol 1676: t. pg. 156).

Description: —Plant annual, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 5–45 cm tall, with few erect to ascending stems and a thin tap-root. Caudices very short, 5–10 mm long. Leaves in a basal rosette, withered at anthesis, 7–55 mm long and 3–16 mm broad, cuneate to spathulate, apex obtuse to round, dark green or purple when semi-dry, normally flat, surface with tuberculate glands, with one central nerve and pinnately branching lateral nerves, gradually tapering into the very short petiole. Stems 3–40 cm long, straight to slightly flexuous, rugose, branching begins normally above the lower third. Inflorescence trullate or obovate in outline. Sterile branches absent. Fertile branches 4–50 mm long, straight to slightly flexuous, directed obliquely upwards, forming branching angles of 40°– 60°, sometimes branched in the upper half. Spikes very long, 2–18 cm, arched, directed obliquely upwards to spreading. Spikelets 6.5–8.5 mm long, composed of 1–4 flowers, very remotely arranged with 1–2 per cm, laterally slightly curved near the base, sometimes nearly clustered. Outer bract 1.8–2.3 mm long and 1.4–1.8 mm broad, triangular-ovate, acute to obtuse; bract margin narrowly membranous; central part fleshy, tuberculate, acuminate. Middle bract membranous, 1.9–2.3 mm long and 1.1–1.8 mm broad, oblong-obovate to oblong-elliptic, rounded. Inner bract 4.8–6.4 mm long and 2.4–3.5 mm broad, oblong to narrowly obovate, rounded to obtuse; bract margin very narrowly membranous; central part thick-fleshy, tuberculate with glands, 4.2–5.5 mm long and 1.8–3.2 mm broad, oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.5–1.0 mm long, reaching the upper margin. Calyx narrow, 5.3–6.1 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by 1.5–2.0 mm; calyx tube glabrous or with some short hairs in the middle part, with 5 ribs ending near the upper margin; calyx lobes ca. 1.0 × 0.3 mm, narrowly triangular, shortly dentate between the lobes; margin of calyx lacerate after anthesis. Corolla pale lilac.

Chromosome number: —2n = 18 ( Erben 1978, R. Artelari & Georgiou 2003; Erben Li–537, Li–538, unpubl.).

Distribution: —Widespread throughout the Mediterranean. In Greece, it occurs in Sterea Ellas, Attika, Crete, Euboea, Karpathos, Kythira, Kythnos, Naxos, and probably on other islands too ( Fig. 93A ).

Habitat: —Limestone rocky coasts, sandy places near the seashore.

Typification:—

Taxonomic remarks: —This species was described by Linnaeus (1753: 275) from Montpellier (” Habitat in Monspelii ”). The protolgoue consists of a short diangosis (“ STATICE caule nudo paniculato tereti, foliis tuberculatis ”), plus two synonyms cited, as Sauvage (1751: 15) and Magnol (1676: 157); the latter author provides an illustration (at pag. 156) that is part of the original material and was chosen by Erben (1978) as lectotype. Statice

24 • Phytotaxa 240 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press

BRULLO & ERBEN LIMONIUM (PLUMBAGINACEAE)

Phytotaxa 240 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press • 25 aristata Sibthorp & Smith (1806: 213) was described from Cyprus, by a short diagnosis and the same Magnol’s synonym cited by Linnaeus (1753: 275); an illustration referring to the later Flora Graeca ( Sibthorp & Smith 1821: t. 299) was also cited. It is interesting to note that Sibthorp & Smith (1806) changed the Linnaeus’ concept of Statice echioides by the exclusion of the Magnol’s synonym (“ S. [ Statice ] echioides …Sp. Pl. 394: excluso Magnoli syn. ”) and proposed the new species S. aristata . As a consequence, the Magnol’s illustration is also original material for the name Statice aristata . Since no specimens of original material were trace on the Sibthorp herbarium at OXF, the image by Magnol (1676) is here designated as lectotype for Statice aristata .

Morphologically, L. echioides is very similar to the triploid species L. avei ( De Notaris 1846: 54) Brullo & Erben (1988: 17) , which is not found in Greece.

Specimens examined: — GREECE. Attica: Grecia, bei Cortessa am Isthmus, 7 June 1833 (M); In sabul. marit. Phalerei, June 1833, s.l, (M); Daphne et Eleusis, s.d., Fraas s.n. (M); Ad rad. Lycabetti, 18 August 1851, Sartori s.n. (WU); In saxosis Munychiae pr. Piraeum, 22 May1851, De Heldreich 1476 (FI); Attica, in aridis, 23 May 1856, Heldreich s.n. (M); In aridis ad M. Hymetti radices, 20 May 1880, De Heldreich s.n. (FI, WU); Attica ad Phalerum, 8 July 1897, De Heldreich s.n. (WU); Attica, in halipedo Phalerei, 5 July 1899, Heldreich s.n. (M); Megara ad Scyronides petras (Nunckukiskala), 26 September 1910, Tuntas 1030 (WU); Eleusis, June 1932, Guiol 139 (FI); 5 km SE von Vuliagmeni an der Strasse Pireevs-Kap Sunion, Meeresstrand, 14–18 May 1967, Podlech 13913 &, Zollitsch (M, Herb. Greuter).— Saronic Islands: Inseln im Saronischen Golf, Ep. Aeginis, Inselchen M o ni, N- Tei l, R andz one de s fr ühe re n C a m pi n g pl at z e s, 26 A pr il 200 1, K al hebe r 01–6 36 (H er b. Kalheber).— Euboea: Insula Euboea meridionalis, in petalium insula Megalonisi, ad litus australe, 22 June 1958, K. H. Rechinger 18806 (M).— Ionian Islands: Cerigo, Hafen von Agios Nicolaos, 6 May1902, Sternech 337 (W).— Cyclades: Insula Cytnos, 15 May 1855, Orphanides s.n. (WU); Naxos: Insel Naxos, 18 June 1894, Reisen s.n. (WU).— Crete: Creta, Girapetro, s.d., Sieber s.n. (M); Insula Gavdos, in arenosis maritimis ad sinum Sarakiniko, 6 June 1942, K. H. Rechinger 13650 (M); Selinos, Küste östl. der Insel Elafonisi, 1 m. Nicht selten auf harten, sandigen Flächen hinter den Stranddünen, 4 June 1962, Greuter 4663 (Herb. Greuter); Felsplateau am Kap Mavro nordwestl. Erimùpolis, 130 m, Kalk: Rotlehmflächen auf Fels, stellenweise häufig, 12 May 1962, Greuter 4454 (herb. Greuter); Küste nördlich Erimùpolis, 50 m, pleistoz. Konglomerat, 31 May 1962, Greuter 4458 (Herb. Greuter); Crète, Palaeochora, littoral, 12 May 1966, Greuter s.n. (Herb. Greuter); Kreta, Nomos Iraklion, Südküste Kali Limenes, 0–5 m, Felsküste, 16 April 1979, Buttler 79–1126 (Herb. Erben = Li–537, Li–538); Küste gegenüber dem Inselchen Elafonisi. Offene Sandflächen und Phrygana auf Sandboden, 1–10 m, 31 May 1982, Greuter 19427 (Herb. Greuter); Ost-Kreta, Südküste östlich Ierapetra, Kloster Kapsas, 31 March 2007, Kattari s.n. (Herb. Erben).— Dodecanese: Insula Karpathos: ad boreo-occidentem porti Finiki versus promontorium, alt. 8– 15 m. In petroso-argillosis plani sublitoralis, 11 May 1963, Greuter 5146 (Herb. Greuter); Karpathos, SE-Küste, Bucht 1 km südwestl. der Insel Prasonisi. Festgeblasene Sandflächen, Brackwasserlagunen und Pistacia lentiscus -Gebüsche am Strand, 2 m, 7 May 1982, Greuter 18863, Raus 1675 (Herb. Greuter); Karpathos, Höhen über der Bucht zwischen Kap Volakas und Amopi, 0–40 m, Phrygana auf Terassenschotter, 6 April 1995, Kalheber 95–065 (Herb. Kalheber); Karpathos, Felsplateau zwischen dem Ort Ormos Amorfos und dem Ort Amopi, 15–30 m, Felsphrygana, 1 June 1998, Kalheber 98–771 (Herb. Kalheber); Karpathos, Arkasa, Bucht südlich des Ortes, am Felsen von Agios Nikolaos, Landseite, Dünen, 9 June 1998, Kalheber 98–1121 (Herb. Kal-heber)

Figures

FIGURE 3. Limonium echioides (L.) Miller. A) Habit; B) Spikelet; C) Outer bract; D) Middle bract; E) Inner bract; F) Calyx; G) Calyx lobes; H) Leaf. (Habit and leaf drawn from “Creta, Brullo & Guarino s.n., CAT”, spikelet details from “Kreta, Buttler 79-1126, Herb. Erben”).

FIGURE 93. (Map 8) Geographical distribution of Limonium echiodes (A); L. helenae (B); L. quinnii (C); L. lobatum (D); L. monolithicum (E); L. taenari (F); L. spreitzenhoferi (G).