Rubus prissanicus Kosiński, Maliński & Ziel., 2018

Kosiński, Piotr, Maliński, Tomasz, Sliwinska, Elwira & Zieliński, Jerzy, 2018, Rubus prissanicus (Rosaceae), a new bramble species from North West Poland, Phytotaxa 344 (3), pp. 239-247 : 240-244

Rubus prissanicus Kosiński, Maliński & Ziel. , sp. nov.

Holotype ( Fig. 1 ):— POLAND. West Pomerania Province: 2 km NNE of Kunowo village, Scotts pine forest, ATPOL: AC14 , 53° 09’ 28’’ N, 14° 42’ 24’’ E, 67 m, 14 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. (holotype KOR! 51083).

Diagnosis: — Rubus prissanicus is most similar to R. lindleianus Lees (1848: 361) and R. langei Jensen ex Friderichsen & Gelert (1888: 67) , both from R. ser. Rhamnifolii. However, it differs from the former species as it has less numerous prickles on the inflorescence axis as well as by having broader leaflets both of the primocane and inflorescence leaves; from the latter taxon by unevenly serrate leaflet margin, and from both these brambles by different indumentum on abaxial leaflet surface. At first glance, the new bramble can also be taken for R. marssonianus Weber (1984: 613) , but this species has generally broader, more evenly serrated terminal leaflets; in the indumentum of the underside of its leaves, branched hairs slightly predominate over simple ones; and its inflorescence axis is loosely patent-hairy and devoid of stalked glands. Sometimes, R. prissanicus may be mistaken for triploid R. grabowskii Weihe ex Günther & Schummel (1827: 14) from R. ser. Discolores (P.J. Müller) Focke (1914: 152), but it differs from this species by predominance of simple hairs on abaxial surface of the leaves, and presence of long-stalked glands both on the inflorescence axes and pedicels.

Description ( Figs. 2–3 ):—Shrub usually robust, up to 2 m tall. Primocanes high-arching, angulate, with flat or shallowly furrowed sides, flushed red-brown on the side exposed to the sun, with scattered mostly simple hairs and numerous sub-sessile and sessile glands. Prickles uniform, 5−10 per 5 cm of the primocane length, 6−9 mm long, broad-based, straight or slightly curved, patent or somewhat declining. Leaves 5-foliolate, shortly pedate, glabrous above, with sub-sessile glands on the veins, grey-green beneath, soft to the touch, ± densely covered with simple, mid-long “ruffled” hairs mixed with less numerous thicker, ± erect, protruding hairs and few stellate, 2–3-armed trichomes. Leaflets usually not contiguous. Terminal leaflets on mid-long or long petiolules (the ratio of petiolule length to the length of leaflet blade 30−45%), orbicular-elliptic or broadly elliptic to broadly ovate, rounded to shallowly cordate at the base and with an acuminate apex 10−15 mm long; serration periodical, 2−3 mm deep, with broad-based, variously directed teeth (the principal ones being straight or slightly retrorse) and often u-shaped sinuses between them. Petioles usually longer than basal leaflets, with 10−20 curved or hooked prickles. Stipules narrowly lanceolate, with sub-sessile and short-stalked glands. Inflorescence conical. Inflorescence leaves 3−5-foliolate at base of inflorescence, and usually simple and ovate below the apex; indumentum similar to primocane leaves, but with more numerous erect long hairs. Inflorescence axis angulate, red-brown on the insolated side, loosely to densely covered with fascicled and simple patent hairs, with numerous sub-sessile glands and few, scattered long-stalked glands. Prickles subulate, straight, or slightly curved, sometimes more or less declining, 3−6 mm long, 5–6 per 5 cm. Bracts and bracteoles with short-stalked glands. Pedicels 0.5−2.5 cm long, felted, with few (usually 1–4), 2−3 mm long prickles. Sepals grey, feltedhairy, usually with few yellow acicles, sometimes with stalked glands, reflexed after anthesis. Petals not contiguous, pale pink or white, 8−12 mm long, orbicular-elliptic. Stamens longer than styles, filaments white, anthers glabrous. Ovary glabrous or with few hairs. Receptacle slightly hairy.

Genome size: —Nuclear DNA content of R. prissanicus is 2C=1.50 pg. Comparison of its PI fluorescence with triploid, tetraploid, and hexaploid Rubus species, the ploidy of which was previously established by chromosome counting, revealed that R. prissanicus is DNA tetraploid, similarly as other species of R. ser. Rhamnifolii ( Krahulcová et al. 2013).

Ecology:— Rubus prissanicus grows most abundantly on rather rich soils, usually in open places, along broadleaf forest margins ( Fig. 4 ), in pine forests planted on former farmland grounds, in clearings, along forest roads, in wayside thickets, etc.

Eponymy:— after the medieval West Slavic tribe Prissani inhabiting the lower Odra river region (around the modern town Pyrzyce).

Observations:— Species of the Rubus ser. Rhamnifolii have usually robust, high arching and branchy stems, primocanes glabrous to hairy; prickles strong, uniform, often red at the base, confined to angles; leaves usually 5- foliolate, palmate or subpedate, coriaceous, green to grey-felted beneath; stalked glands rare on stems but usually present on rachis and pedicels. R. ser. Rhamnifolii is closely related to R. ser. Discolores. Some species of R. ser. Rhamnifolii growing in sunny places have abaxial leaf surface often covered with abundant, sometimes whitish indumentum, hence they may resemble species of R. ser. Discolores. However, they can be distinguished, at least in the Polish flora, by following combination of characters: their leaves are generally less hairy; on the underside of the leaves, branched hairs usually less numerous than simple ones (in R. ser. Discolores, branched hairs prevail, sometimes simple hairs are rare or absent), there are almost always small branched hairs (in R. ser. Discolores, there are both long and small branched hairs); stalked glands are usually present (species of R. ser. Discolores lack of stalked glands) ( Weber 1995; Zieliński 2004; Trávníček & Zázvorka 2005; Tomaszewski et al. 2014). Based on the above mentioned criteria, classification of R. prissanicus into R. ser. Rhamnifolii does not rise doubts, because this species has stalked glands on both inflorescence axis and pedicels, as well as typical indumentum on the underside of the leaves: mainly composed of simple hairs (in other Polish species of R. ser. Rhamnifolii, indumentum is composed mainly of branched hairs, although the latter may be less numerous then simple ones), and there are only small branched hairs ( Fig. 3 ). As regards ploidy: all species of R. ser. Rhamnifolii are tetraploids, whereas in R. ser. Discolores, triploids slightly predominate over tetraploids ( Krahulcová et al. 2013).

Distribution:— Rubus prissanicus is a regional species hitherto found only in NW Poland ( Fig. 5 ). It occurs on relatively small area, but in most locations it is represented by several to rather numerous vigorous flowering/fruiting individuals or clumps. Its furthermost stands are separated by distance of about 60 km. The high availability of habitats suitable for this bramble will probably favour its spread. Our observations showed that this species does not qualify for any of the IUCN (2017) threat categories and can be classified as Least Concern (LC). The species can be expected to be found in Germany (the stand near Ognica is located right next to the Polish-German border). When revising herbarium material from Warsaw University (WA) we stated that “our” species was collected for the first time by E. Holzfuss in 1936 in the Puszcza Bukowa (“Beech Woods”, SE of Szczecin), but it was determined by him to be Rubus gelertii Friderichsen (1886: 237) .

Additional herbarium specimens analysed (paratypes) and field observations: — POLAND. West Pomerania Province, ATPOL AB84 : Szczecin, Right Bank district , S of Stargardzka Street, municipal forest, pine monoculture on fresh deciduous forest habitat, 53° 21’ 52’’ N, 14° 42’ 57.2’’ E, 13 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52415) ; ATPOL AB93 : 100 m N of Lake Binowo, pine forest, 53° 18’ 59” N, 14° 38’ 11” E, 27 July 2016, P. Kosiński & L. Mackiewicz s.n. ( KOR! 52406) ; S of road Kołowo – Szczecin Podjuchy, clearing and reforestation, mixed deciduous forest habitat, 53° 20’ 22.6’’ N, 14° 37’ 49.7’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52426) ; 0.5 km SW of Binowo , pine monoculture, fresh deciduous forest habitat, 53° 18’ 10.9’’ N, 14° 38’ 17.1’’ E, 16 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52432) ; ATPOL AB94 : Piasecznik Mały Lake , 53° 19’ 5” N, 14° 39’ 48” E (approximately), 11 July 1936, E. Holzfuss s.n. ( WA s.n.) ; 2.5 km N of the Glinna village , pine forest, 53° 17’ 56” N, 14° 43’ 9” E, 3 September 2014, J. Suszka s.n. ( KOR! 51854) ; 1 km SW of Kołowo village, at the dirt road to Binowo , 53° 19’ 0.7’’ N, 14° 40’ 10.4’’ E, 13 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52416) ; 2 km SWW of Sosnówko village , open shrub between the road and forest cultivation, fertile beech forest habitat, 53° 19’ 37.6’’ N, 14° 43’ 43’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52417) ; 1 km NNE of Glinna village , on the roadside and in a clearing, fertile beech forest habitat, 53° 17’ 51.3’’ N, 14° 43’ 32.5’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52418) ; W outskirts of Gliniec village , the roadside and forest edge of fertile beech forest, 53° 17’ 54.7’’ N, 14° 43’ 4.9’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52419) ; N of Lake Glinna , on the roadside and in an opening in a fertile beech forest, 53° 17’ 52.7’’ N, 14° 41’ 0.8’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński (field observation 17/20) ; N of Lake Glinna , on the roadside and in an opening in a fertile beech forest, 53° 17’ 53.6’’ N, 14° 40’ 48.7’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52421) ; N of Lake Glinna , on the roadside and in an opening in a fertile beech forest, 53° 17’ 58’’ N, 14° 40’ 39.3’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52422) ; 1.6 km SE of Binowo village , forest dominated by birch, mixed deciduous forest habitat, 53° 18’ 4.5’’ N, 14° 40’ 28.1’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński (field observation 17/23) ; 0.9 km SE of Binowo village , pine plantation, mixed deciduous forest habitat, 53° 18’ 7.5’’ N, 14° 40’ 6.7’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52424) ; E outskirts of Binowo village , roadside thickets, 53° 18’ 21.4’’ N, 14° 39’ 44.2’’ E, 14 September 2017, P. Kosiński (field observation 17/25) ; 1.2 km SSE of Binowo, along the cobbled road “ Gliniecki Bruk ”, 53° 17’ 33.7’’ N, 14° 39’ 33.3’’ E, 16 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52433) ; ATPOL AC02 : S outskirts of Gryfino, roadside thickets and small pine plantation, 53° 13’ 40.7’’ N, 14° 29’ 32.7’’ E, 15 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52427) ; 0.7 km SW of Krzypnica , pine forest with admixture of oak, mixed deciduous forest habitat, 53° 10’ 39.6’’ N, 14° 27’ 36.4’’ E, 15 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52428) ; ATPOL AC03 : 1.3 km NW of Rożnowo village , pine forest with admixture of sycamore and birch, fresh mixed deciduous forest habitat, 53° 10’ 32.4’’ N, 14° 34’ 37.3’’ E, 15 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52431) ; 1.2 km SW of Wełtyń , pine forest with admixture of birch, fresh mixed coniferous forest habitat, 53° 14’ 49.4’’ N, 14° 33’ 52’’ E, 16 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52434) ; 1.2 km E of Wirówek village , pine monoculture on post-arable land, fresh mixed coniferous forest habitat, 53° 13’ 21.9’’ N, 14° 34’ 21.5’’ E, 16 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52435; Fig. 5 ) ; 1.2 km NNW of Borzym village , pine monoculture on fresh deciduous forest habitat, 53° 12’ 15’’ N, 14° 37’ 3.7’’ E, 16 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52436) ; ATPOL AC04 : 2.5 km S of the Stare Czarnowo village , pine forest, 53° 15’ 15.5” N, 14° 47’ 2.5” E, 3 August 2014, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52405) ; ATPOL AC12 : 5 km S of Lubicz village, pine forest, 53° 05’ 55” N, 14° 28’ 57” E, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51090) ; 3 km SSE of Widuchowa , pine-dominated forest, mixed deciduous forest habitat, 53° 6’ 15.2’’ N, 14° 24’ 53.5’’ E, 15 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52429) ; ATPOL AC13 : 5 km SWW of the Lubanowo village, pine forest, 53° 07’ 14” N, 14° 33’ 26” E, 12 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51078, KOR! 51082) ; 2 km NWW of Baniewice, in mixed deciduous forest, 53° 05’ 33’’ N, 14° 34’ 43’’ E, 12 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51081, KOR! 51086) ; S outskirts of Rożnowo village , pine forest with admixture of pedunculate oak and birch, fresh coniferous forest habitat, 53° 9’ 37.8’’ N, 14° 35’ 56.1’’ E, 15 September 2017, P. Kosiński s.n. ( KOR! 52430) ; ATPOL AC14 : 1, 5 km NW of Kunowo village, pine forest, 53° 09’ 11” N, 14° 41’ 32’’ E, 14 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51092) ; 1.5 km of Sosnowo village, wayside thickets, 53° 08’ 46” N, 14° 40’ 03” E, 14 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51084) ; ATPOL AC21 : 4 km SSW of Ognica, pine forest with Prunus serotina , 53° 03’ 22’’ N, 14° 21’ 15’’, 13 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51075) ; ATPOL AC22 : 3 km SWW of Żelechowo, pine forest, 53° 03’ 14” N, 14° 29’ 46’’ E, 13 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński ( KOR! 51087) ; 1.5 km NE of Lisie Pole village, pine plantation, 53° 02’ 15’’ N, 14° 28’ 16” E, 13 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51079) ; 2 km NNE of the Lisie Pole village, pine forest, 53° 02’ 37’’ N, 14° 26’ 53’’ E, 13 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51080) ; ATPOL AC23 : 2 km SE of Baniewice, wayside thickets, 53° 04’ 32” N, 14° 37’ 01.5’’ E, 12 July 2011, T. Maliński & J. Zieliński s.n. ( KOR! 51085, 51088, 51089) ; Lubuskie Province, ATPOL AC45 : 8 km S of Myślibórz (1.4 km N of village Mystki), mixed coniferous forest, 52° 50’ 30’’ N, 14° 52’ 20’’ E, 26 July 2006, T. Maliński & P. Kiciński s.n. ( KOR! 51213) ; 8.5 km S of Myślibórz (1.1 km NNW of village Mystki ), wayside thickets in pine forest, 52° 50’ 17.5’’ N, 14° 52’ 4.8’’ E, 12 July 2016, P. Kosiński et al. s.n. ( KOR! 52407) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Holotype of Rubus prissanicus (KOR 51213).

FIGURE 2. Rubus prissanicus. A: leaves of the middle part of primocane, B: infructescence, C: flowers, D: primocane, E: leaf margins (lower and upper leaf surfaces), F: inflorescence axis (A, B, D, E, F: from the plant cultivated in the Dendrological Garden of the University of Life Sciences in Poznań, 30 August 2017; C: from the specimen located 2 km SWW of Sosnówko village, 14 September 2017, phot. P. Kosiński).

FIGURE 3. Mid–long simple, ±arched hairs definitely dominate in the indumentum of abaxial leaf side of R. prissanicus; they are mixed with much rarer simple ±patent, protruding hairs and few stellate hairs (phot. M. Gawlak).

FIGURE 4. Rubus prissanicus on the edge of the forest (1.2 km E of Wirówek village, 16 September 2017, phot. P. Kosiński).

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Rubus prissanicus (ATPOL grid 10 × 10 km).