Limonium bellidifolium (Gouan) Dumortier (1827: 27)

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

4. Limonium bellidifolium (Gouan) Dumortier (1827: 27) ( Fig. 4 )

Basionym:― Statice limonium var. bellidifolia Gouan (1764: 231) ≡ Statice bellidifolia (Gouan) DC. in Lamark & Candolle de (1805: 421). Type:―Not designated.

Description: —Plant perennial, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 15–65 cm tall, with several prostrate to erect stems and a robust tap-root. Caudices 0.5–3.0 cm long, branched, in the upper half with several narrowly triangular bracts; living leaves in dense rosettes at apices. Leaves usually withered at anthesis, fleshy, flat, 25–70 mm long and 5–8 mm broad, narrowly spathulate to narrowly oblanceolate, apex obtuse or acute, sometimes mucronate, one central nerve with 2 lateral nerves at least on large leaves, gradually tapering into the petiole. Stems 10–60 cm long, grey-green, coarsely verrucate, slightly flexuous, branching begins near the base. Inflorescence rhombic to hemispherical in outline. Sterile branches numerous, slender, 2–9 cm long, straight, several times divided. Fertile branches 3–12 cm long, flexuous, coarsely warty, straight to slightly curved, directed obliquely upwards to spreading, forming branching angles of 60°–80°, loosely to densely branched. Spikes short, 4–15 mm long, straight

26 • Phytotaxa 240 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press

BRULLO & ERBEN to curved, sometimes convolute, directed obliquely upwards; axis of spike with many crateriform glands. Spikelets 3.2–4.3 mm long, composed of 1–2 flowers, very densely arranged with 8–16 per cm. Outer bract 1.4–2.1 mm long and 1.4–2.2 mm broad, broadly triangular-ovate, acute; almost completely silver-white membranous. Middle bract silver-white membranous, 1.8–2.6 mm long and 1.7–2.0 mm broad, elliptic to obovate, asymmetrically emarginate. Inner bract 2.5–3.4 mm long and 1.8–2.3 mm broad, obovate to small elliptic, obtuse to round; bract margin very broadly membranous; central part fleshy, 1.3–2.0 mm long and 0.8–1.3 mm broad, oblong, on the upper end rounded or sometimes forming a very short triangular tip. Calyx 2.8–3.8 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by

LIMONIUM (PLUMBAGINACEAE)

Phytotaxa 240 (1) © 2016 Magnolia Press • 27 1.0– 1.5 mm; calyx tube densely long hairy, with 5 ribs ending long below the base of lobes; calyx lobes fine, plicate, ca. 0.3 × 0.8 mm, nearly triangular. Corolla lilac.

Chromosome number: —2n = 18 ( Erben 1978, Artelari 1992; Erben Li–893, unpubl.).

Distribution: — England and throughout the Mediterranean region. In Greece, it is found in the northern Aegean region: Thrace, Makedonia, Epirus, Sterea Ellas, Attika, Peloponnese, Euboea and Lesbos ( Fig. 91B ).

Habitat: —Coastal salt marshes.

Specimens examined: — GREECE. Thrace: Thracia occidentalis, Porto Lagos, in arenosis maritimis, 16 June 1936, K. H. Rechinger 9654 (M).— Makedonia: Regio aegaea sept., peninsola Sithonia, In litoreis ad boreo-occ. Vici Vourvourou, in paludibus salsis, 6 July 1971, Greuter 9187 (Herb. Greuter); Nom. Kavala, ca. 1 km nördlich von Keramoti, auf sandig-brackigen Stellen am Meer , 9 June 1987, Erben (Herb. Erben = Li–893); Komotene- Xanthe, bei Porto Lago, Meeresstrand, 10 July 1987, Nydegger 30808 (M, MSB 90228, Herb. Nydegger).— Epirus: In maritimis prope Monasterium Daphnidis, s.d., s.l. (M).— Attica: In litore Atticae prope Metodi Scaramanghe, 25 July–6 August 1856, Orphanides 695 (M) . — Euboea: Euvoia, Nea Artaki, N of town near the coast, coastal salt marsh cut off the sea by road, 1 m, 1 July 1999, Mucina LM 6788/510 (Herb. Erben).— Peloponnese: Graecia, a Astros, Fraas s.n. (M) .— Eastern Aegean Islands: Lesbos, litorale sabbioso presso Kalloni , 29 June 2003, Brullo & Giusso s.n. (CAT, Herb. Erben) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Limonium bellidifolium (Gouan) Dumortier. A) Habit; B) Spikelet; C) Outer bract; D) Middle bract; E) Inner bract; F) Calyx; G) Calyx lobes; H) Leaves. (Habit and leaves drawn from “Lesbos, Brullo & Giusso s.n., CAT”, spikelet details from “N from Keramoti, Erben s.n., Herb. Erben”).

FIGURE 91. (Map 6) Geographical distribution of Limonium brevipetiolatum (A); L. bellidifolium (B); L. compactum (C); L. hirsuticalyx (D); L. microcycladicum (E); L. oligotrichum (F); L. pagasaeum (G).