Cryptantha pondii, , Johnston, 1928

Simpson, Michael G. & Rebman, Jon P., 2021, Research in Boraginaceae: A new variety of Cryptantha maritima, Cryptantha pondii resurrected, and Johnstonella echinosepala transferred back to Cryptantha, Phytotaxa 509 (2), pp. 185-210 : 196-198

Affinities of Cryptantha pondii

The relationships of Cryptantha pondii within the genus are not clear, especially because the species was not correctly recognized by most botanists. Johnston (1928: 75) stated that “The species is a very distinct one of uncertain affinities. It is probably best placed in a special Series between Graciles and Ramulossimae.” Series Graciles of Johnston (1925) solely included the species Cryptantha gracilis Osterhout (1903: 236) . However, this species differs from C. pondii in lacking bracts, having a distinctive calyx with a conical base and numerous, fine, whitish hirsute trichomes, and in having one nutlet per fruit, the nutlet smooth but characteristically trigonous in cross-section. Cryptantha gracilis is centered in the Great Basin region of the United States and east into the Rocky Mountains ( Kartesz 2015). Johnston’s series Ramulossimae solely included the species Cryptantha fendleri (A. Gray 1885:268) Greene (1887: 120), distinctive in having virgate lateral branches and a fruit with four smooth nutlets, thus more like C. pondii . However, the calyces of C. fendleri are more like a typical Cryptantha , hispid along the midrib and appressed hirsute along the margin.Also, C. fendleri either lacks bracts or they are sparse on the plant, unlike C. pondii . Cryptantha fendleri , like C. gracilis , occurs mainly in the Great Basin and east into the Rocky Mountains of the United States. Neither C. gracilis nor C. fendleri occur in Mexico ( Rebman et al. 2016, Villaseñor 2016).

We think that Cryptantha pondii is likely a close relative of C. maritima . In general habit, the two species are quite similar. Aside from the type, all vouchers (if determined beyond genus) were originally identified as either Cryptantha maritima or as C. maritima var. cedrosensis . Cryptantha pondii resembles C. maritima in having linear, pustulate bracts at the base of the cymules and scattered among the flowers. It is especially similar to C. m. var. vizcainensis in having a solely strigose stem vestiture, is similar to C. m. var. cedrosensis in having four ovules and four nutlets that are heteromorphic (by size alone in C. pondii ) with the odd nutlet axial (nearest the inflorescence axis, as opposed to away from it), and is similar to both varieties in having relatively large corollas. It differs from all C. maritima varieties in lacking “rough” (minutely tuberculate) nutlets, but we note that C. maritima specimens will sometimes have a single nutlet; when so, it is smooth. In addition, the similar geographic range of Cryptantha pondii ( Fig. 7 ) and C. maritima var. vizcainensis ( Fig. 2 ) may be indicative of a common evolutionary origin. We considered, but rejected, the taxonomic treatment of C. pondii as a variety of C. maritima because we have no clear evidence of relationships between the two species. Future molecular phylogenetic studies should clarify the interrelationships among these taxa.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Distribution maps of varieties of Cryptantha maritima. Data from Baja Flora (2021), CCH2 (2021), GBIF (2020), and SEINet (2021), all specimens annotated by the authors (Appendix 1). A, B. Distribution in North America. A. Full distribution map. B. Close-up of Vizcaíno Peninsula and adjacent islands. Note location of type populations and restriction of C. maritima var. cedrosensis to Cedros Island and of C. maritima var. vizcainensis to the western Vizcaíno region. Black dots=C. maritima var. maritima; red dots=C. maritima var. pilosa; green triangles= C. maritima var. cedrosensis; yellow squares= C. maritima var. vizcainensis. C. Distribution of C. maritima var. pilosa in Argentina, South America, data from GBIF (2020).All maps from ©Google 2021, INEGI Data.

FIGURE 7. A,B. Cryptantha pondii, distribution map of three known collections. Georeference point for the type, Pond 22, approximate; that of Gentry 8684 placed as a centroid of three different georeferenced estimates. Maps from ©Google 2020, INEGI Data.