Lomariocycas moritziana (Klotzsch) Gabriel y Galán & Vicent 2018

Vicent, Maria, Gabriel, Jose Maria & Molino, Sonia, 2018, One forgotten name, and another misinterpreted, in Lomariocycas (Blechnaceae, Polypodiopsida), Phytotaxa 360 (1), pp. 77-80 : 77-79

Lomariocycas moritziana (Klotzsch) Gabriel y Galán & Vicent , comb. nov.

Basionym:— Lomaria moritziana Klotzsch (1847: 347) . Type:— VENEZUELA: Mérida, in sylv. subalpin. J. W. K. Moritz 301 (holotype B2000031857!, isotypes K000633425!, BM000769819!; other pieces referred to Moritz 301, probable parts of the holotype or isotypes B200031858!, B200031859!, B200031860!, B200031861!). Other combinations:— Blechnum moritzianum (Klotzsch) Hieronymus (1908: 47) .

= Lomariocycas yungensis (Ramos Giacosa) Gasper & A.R. Sm. in Gasper et al. (2016: 213).

= Blechnum yungense Ramos Giacosa (2010: 68) . Type:— ARGENTINA: Prov. Jujuy, Ledesma, Camino a Valle Grande, 12 sep. 1971, P.R. Legname & A.R. Cuezzo 8609c (holotype LP!, isotypes CTES, LIL).

Remarks:— Lomariocycas moritziana has been repeatedly misinterpreted since the times of Hieronymus (1908), who used the name Blechnum moritzianum , citing the type of Moritz 301 deposited in B. All modern collections of this plant, and some of the old ones, appear identified as B. auratum ( Fée 1857: 71) R.M. Tryon & Stolze (1993: 67) subsp. auratum ( L. aurata (Fée) Gasper & A.R. Sm. in Gasper et al. 2016: 213), B. schomburgkii ( Klotzsch 1847: 346) C. Christ (1905: 159) ( L. schomburgkii (Klotzsch) Gasper & A.R. Sm. in Gasper et al. 2016: 213), B. columbiense Hieronymus (1908: 244) ( L. columbiensis (Hieron.) Gasper & A.R. Sm. in Gasper et al. 2016: 213) or even sometimes as B. tabulare ( Thunberg 1800: 171) Kuhn (1868: 94) ( L. tabularis (Thunb.) Gasper & A.R. Sm. in Gasper et al. 2016: 213). The group has been reviewed by Rolleri et al. (2012) who think that B. auratum and B. schomburgkii are conspecific (an idea that we respect here, although it is not relevant to our results) and who describe B. columbiense as a readily differentiable plant due to the heavily enrolled pinnae. Lomariocycas moritziana differs from L. schomburgkii by the base of the laminae (truncate in L. mortiziana vs. attenuate in L. schomburgkii ), and the number (25–30 in L. moritziana vs. 40–50 in L. schomburgkii ), disposition (horizontal in L. moritziana vs. markedly ascendant in L. schomburgkii ), margins (flat in L. mortiziana vs. revolute in L. schomburgkii ) and base (sub-petiolulate in L. moritziana vs. sessile in L. schomburgkii ) of sterile pinnae ( Table 1). Also, other anatomical details in epidermal cells and in spores differ between both taxa (Rolleri et al. 2012).

Under this circumscription, L. moritziana is distributed from Venezuela to North Argentina, being particularly well represented in the Northern Andean area ( Figure 1 ).

The type of L. moritziana , deposited in B, consists only of fragments of fertile fronds, which thus does not clearly show diagnostic characters. There are isotypes in BM and K, and also other pieces deposited in B, probable fragments of either the holotype or isotypes, in which the specimens show complete sterile and fertile fronds ( Figure 2 ). The observation of these types clearly reveals that the outline of laminae and the pinnae features correspond exactly to what was described as Blechnum yungense ( Ramos 2010) . Therefore, L. moritziana is the name that should apply to B. yungense . This name has been recently transferred to Lomariocycas ( Gasper et al. 2016) as L. yungensis , which in turn should be considered as synonym of L. moritziana .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Lomariocycas moritziana, spreading from Venezuela to North Argentina along the Andes, with a higher incidence in the area of Bucaramanga-Bogotá-Cali (Colombia). Based on herbaria data compiled by Rolleri et al. (2012).

FIGURE 2. Types of Lomariocycas moritziana. A) Holotype B200031857, two fragments of fertile fronds. B) Isotype B200031859, one sterile frond showing the typical acicular scales in the base of petiole. C) Isotype BM000769819, one sterile and one fertile frond in which the lamina outline is clearly visible. D) Isotype K000633425, one fertile frond and an almost complete sterile frond.