Saxifraga pulvinaria Harry Smith, Bull. Brit. Mus.

Horák, David, Hajman, Martin, Hroneš, Michal & Pavelka, Mojmír, 2021, A new natural hybrid in Saxifraga sect. Porphyrion Tausch (Saxifragaceae), Phytotaxa 498 (1), pp. 25-34 : 30-31

Saxifraga pulvinaria Harry Smith, Bull. Brit. Mus. (Nat. Hist.), Bot. 2: 105. 1958. Figs. 2D , 3C–E .

Saxifraga imbricata Royle, Ill. Bot. Himal. Mts. 1: 226. 1835a. non Lamarck (1779: 531), nec Bertoloni (1830: 260).

Type: —[NW INDIA] Kunawur (Lectotype, designated here, illustration on plate 49, fig. 1 in Royle 1835b)

Additional specimen seen:—[ India, Himachal Pradesh]: Kunawor, Royle 1836, ( K 000732296 , digital image!). [ India, Ladakh, Kárgil]: Dras : Zoji La , N-faced slope, WGS 84: 34°15.58ʹN, 75°28.54ʹE, 4330–4450 m a. s. l., 7 Aug 2005 , L. Klimeš 5396 ( PRA); Zanskar: Tsarap , Niri La , above Doksa , E of the pass, WGS 84: 33°33.49ʹN, 77°08.42ʹE ,

4740 m a. s. l., 27 Aug 2004, L. Klimeš 4246 ( PRA); Zanskar : Markha , Hankar village to Zalung Karpo La, W slopes of Kyangze, WGS 84: 33°43.7ʹN, 77°31.5ʹE , 4990 m a. s. l., 20 Aug 1998, L. Klimeš 78 ( PRA). [ India, Ladakh, Leh]: Indus Vy , Domkhar-Dha, Lumba to Timti La, W ascent to pass, WGS 84: 34°16.7ʹN, 76°34.0ʹE , 4400–4490 m a. s. l., 17 Aug 2003, L. Klimeš 3048 ( PRA); Indus Vy : Stot ( E), below Shinbuk La, WGS 84: 33°29.4ʹN, 77°55.2ʹE , 5200‒5250 m a. s. l., 3 Aug 2001, L. Klimeš 1233 ( PRA); Rupshu : Samad Rokhen, mount 6 km east of Tanglang La to the pass—cuesta, WGS 84: 33°30.8ʹN, 77°46.4ʹE , 5440 m a. s. l., 3 Sep 2001, L. Klimeš 1516 ( PRA) .

Distribution and habitat: —N India, N Pakistan, Nepal, China (NW Yunnan, SW Xinjiang, SW Xizang), Bhutan. On dry slopes and rock crevices in alpine and subalpine zone ( Dvorský et al. 2018, Jitang et al. 2001).

Notes: —Royle designated Kunawur (northern India) as the type locality of his S. imbricata . No herbarium specimens were cited in the protologue ( Royle 1835a). Later when Harry Smith (1958) rejected epithet “ imbricata ” (which is later homonym of S. imbricata Lam. ), he stated that “the Royle collections are not available, the type cannot be examinated”. He therefore chose collection of Ludlow & Sheriff 8444 “Kashmir: Mashoo Nullah, 4500 m, cushion plant on dry hillslopes” as “a substitute for the type”. To our knowledge, no collection of S. pulvinaria is present in Herbarium Royleanum in Liverpool, but we were able to find the specimen which may be part of Royle’s original collection in the herbarium of Royal Botanic Gardens Kew (K000732297). However, there is also an illustration cited in the protologue which have to be considered as a part of the original material under Art. 9.4 in Shenzhen Code ( Turland et al. 2018). We therefore chose this illustration as the lectotype of S. pulvinaria Harry Smith (≡ S. imbricata Royle ).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Overall habit of studied Saxifraga species. A. Sympatric growth of S. meeboldii (front), S. pulvinaria (far right) and their hybrid S. ×klimesii (far left) in Zanskar, Ladakh, NW India. B. S. meeboldii. C. S. ×klimesii. D. S. pulvinaria. Photographs by R. Roth (A) and D. Horák (B–D).

FIGURE 3. Morphology of studied Saxifraga taxa. A–B. S. meeboldii C–E. S. pulvinaria. F–J. S. ×klimesii. A, C, F, H. Overall habit. B. Rosette leaves with pores. D, G. Detail of hypanthium. E, J. Rosette leaves with pores and cilia. I. Petals. Photographs by D. Horák (A), M. Hroneš (B, F, J) and M. Hajman (C–E, G–I).