Armeria denticulata (Bertol.) DC. (Plumbaginaceae)

Astuti, Giovanni, Bartolucci, Fabrizio, Conti, Fabio, Cera, Beatrice, Giaco, Antonio, Orsenigo, Simone, Sandroni, Luca & Peruzzi, Lorenzo, 2021, Chromosome numbers for the Italian flora: 12, Italian Botanist 12, pp. 123-131 : 123

Armeria denticulata (Bertol.) DC. (Plumbaginaceae)

Chromosome number.

2 n = 18 (Fig. 2 ).

Voucher specimens.

Italy. Liguria. Sarzana (La Spezia), nei pressi del castello della Brina (WGS84: 44.14732N, 9.95068E), 11 June 2021, L. Sandroni (PI049856-PI049876). Toscana. Rosignano Marittimo (Livorno), Poggio Pelato (WGS84: 43.43525N, 10.43103E), 25 May 2021, L. Sandroni & G. Astuti (PI049924-PI049948); Prato, Monteferrato (WGS84: 43.92042N, 11.07572E), 9 June 2021, L. Sandroni (PI049902-PI049923).

Method.

Squash preparations were made on root tips obtained from germinating seeds. Root tips were pre-treated with 0.4% colchicine for 3 hours and then fixed in Carnoy fixative solution for 1 hour. After hydrolysis in HCl 1N at 60 °C, the tips were stained in leuco-basic fuchsine for 7-8 minutes.

Observations.

This species is endemic to ophiolitic substrates of western Liguria and Toscana ( Arrigoni 2015). The type locality of this species is in Liguria, but very close to the border with Toscana, where the vast majority of populations is found. We report here three counts, one obtained from plants collected in the type locality and two from elsewhere in Toscana. These data confirm the 2 n = 18 chromosome number reported for Impruneta, Firenze ( Arrigoni et al. 1976, 1980). This is also the only known number for the entire genus ( Rice et al. 2014 +).

Figures

Figure 2. Armeria denticulata (Bertol.) DC. from (a) Castello della Brina (Sarzana, La Spezia), (b) Poggio Pelato (Rosignano, Livorno), and (c) Monteferrato (Prato), 2 n = 18. Scale bar: 10 μm.