Cardamine pakistanica Al-Shehbaz & D.A. German, 2022

Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A. & German, Dmitry A., 2022, Cardamine pakistanica (Cardamineae; Brassicaceae), a new species from North Pakistan, Phytotaxa 574 (1), pp. 118-120 : 118-119

Cardamine pakistanica Al-Shehbaz & D.A. German , sp. nov.

Diagnosis:— Cardamine pakistanica differs from its Himalayan congeners by having trifoliolate basal and lowermost cauline leaves with 2- or 3-lobed leaflets, flexuous racemes, and slender pedicles 1.5–3.1 cm long.

Type: — PAKISTAN. [Khyber Pakhtankhwa Province], Bebusar Valley , Cedrus deodara forest, 2750 m, 5 September 1993, U. Schikhoff 1735 (holotype, MSB-142915!). Figure 1 .

Description: —Herbs, perennial, sometimes scapose, sparsely to moderately puberulent. Rhizomes slender, short, without stolons or bulbils. Trichomes straight, minute, 0.01–0.05 mm long. Stems 7–10 cm long, simple or 1-branched, erect, slender, minutely puberulent throughout. Basal leaves rosulate, trifoliolate, terminating rhizomes or its branches, sparsely puberulent; petiole 1–5 cm long, slender, only slightly expanded at base; leaflets equal or slightly unequal in size, on petiolules 2–15 mm long, trifid or 2- or 3(–5)-lobed; lobes oblong or obovate to oblanceolate, 3–13 × 1.5–5 mm, entire, base cuneate; cauline leaves 1–3 or absent, lowermost similar to basal leaves; uppermost 1 or 2 leaves, trisect, with linear to narrowly linearoblanceolate lobes, entire or with 2 short lateral lobes, terminal lobe 1.5–3 cm × 1.5–2 mm, entire, base attenuate. Raceme ebracteate, 8–12-flowered; rachis slender, strongly flexuous, puberulent; fruiting pedicels divaricate-ascending, 1.5–3.1 cm long, straight or slightly curved upward, slender, sparsely puberulent. Sepals oblong, 3–3.5 mm long, ascending, puberulent, margin narrowly membranous; petals white, narrowly oblanceolate, 8–10 × 2.5–3 mm, attenuate to claw-like base, apex obtuse; filaments erect, slender to base, unappendaged, median pairs 3–4 mm long, lateral pair 1.5–2 mm long; anthers oblong, ca. 1 mm long. Fruit linear, 2.5–5.5 cm × 0.7–1 mm, straight or slightly curved, glabrous; style 1–3 mm long. Mature seeds not examined.

Phenology: —The only fruiting specimen (Millinger 3363), with all valves and seeds fallen down, was collected in mid-July while other specimen, in bloom, were gathered in September to early October. This probably means that primary flowering and fruiting time is June-July and in autumn, secondary flowering takes place.

Ecology: —Valley forests, foots of granite rocks at 2300–2750 m.

Distribution: —Endemic to northern Pakistan in Gilgit and Khyber Pakhtankhwa Province.

Discussion: — Cardamine pakistanica is not closely related to any of the other perennial Himalayan and Central Asian species of the genus. It can be readily distinguished by being minutely puberulent with straight, 0.01–0.05 mm long trichomes, scapose or non-scapose plants with 1–3 petiolate, non-auriculate cauline leaves, trifoliolate basal and lowermost cauline leaves, 2- or 3-lobed leaflets, distinctly flexuous racemes, and slender fruiting pedicels 1.5–3.1 cm long. Despite the unknown ovule number per ovary and mature fruits and seeds, the combination of above features is unique among species of Cardamine in neighboring countries. It is the only species of Cardamine endemic to Pakistan.

The lengths of fruits and styles was determined from the images of Millinger 3363 (LI).

Additional specimens examined: — PAKISTAN. Northern Areas , SW Karakorum, Gilgit Range, Gilgit, Jutial Nala, SW of Gilgit, N 35°52’, E 75°20’, 2480 m, 31 September 1995, B. Dickoré 12220 (MSB-142914!) ; same area, 2 October 1995, B. Dickoré 12487 (MSB-142918!); Northwest Frontier Provinz , Gilgit District , Astor valley , Gurikot , ca. 2300 m, Fuss einer Felswand, Granit. 10 July 1999, A. Millinger 3363 ( LI) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cardamine pakistanica. A. Plant. B. Basal leaf. C. Cauline leaf. D. Sepal. E. Petal. F. Median stamen. G. Lateral stamen. Drawn and simplified by Al-Shehbaz from the holotype (Schikhoff 1735, MSB-142915).