Drosera montana Saint-Hilaire (1826: 260)

Gonella, Paulo Minatel, Sano, Paulo Takeo, Rivadavia, Fernando & Fleischmann, Andreas, 2022, A synopsis of the genus Drosera (Droseraceae) in Brazil, Phytotaxa 553 (1), pp. 1-76 : 51-53

21. Drosera montana Saint-Hilaire (1826: 260) . Figures 5b , 19a–c

Lectotype (designated here):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: cueilli dans la Serra do Papagayo, Campos des Mines [collected in the Serra do Papagaio, Minas Gerais State], s.d., Saint-Hilaire D 542 (P-00749164!; isolectotypes P-00749165!, K-000432535!, MPU-012261 image!).

= Drosera communis var. pauciflora Eichler in Martius & Eichler (1872: 394).

Lectotype (designated by Duno de Stefano & Culham 1995):— BRAZIL. Minas Gerais: Santa Bárbara, Serra do Caraça , January 1825, Riedel 1463 (B-100272051!; isolectotypes P-00749163!, K-000432544!).

Seasonal geophyte perennial, rosetted, acaulescent. Leaves decumbent, with circinate vernation, oblong, oblongspatulate or more rarely spatulate, petiole usually inconspicuous, shorter than 1/3 of leaf length, gradually broadening into the lamina; stipules rectangular in outline, apical half to third fimbriate or divided into three unequal fimbriate segments. Scapes erect at the base, densely glandular-pilose from base to apex (occasionally also sparsely eglandularpilose at the very base), glandular trichomes uniformly-sized along the whole scape; sepals oblong-ovate, 2–6 × 0.8–2.0 mm, with relatively short glandular trichomes only; petals pink; gynoecium 3-carpelate, styles bifurcated at the base. Seeds ovoid to ellipsoid, testa reticulate (based on Rivadavia et al. 2014).

Illustrations: — Silva & Giulietti (1997: 93, figs. 9A–C, F, G, L, O, Q–U); Ferrero & Mello-Silva (2011: 17, figs. 2D–F); Rivadavia et al. (2014: 149, fig. 3).

Distribution: — Brazil (Northeast: BA; Central-West: DF, GO; Southeast: MG, SP, RJ; South: PR, RS, SC; Fig. 5b ) and disjunctly in Bolivia (Chuquisaca, La Paz, Tarija, Santa Cruz). Newly reported here for Rio Grande do Sul, in Southern Brazil.

Habitat: —Found in a wide range of habitats in sandy soils, but also observed in white and red clayish soils, in seasonally wet areas of cerrado s.l., campos rupestres and campos de altitude, at elevations between 800–2500 m. Also seen growing in ruderal oligotrophic habitats, occupying disturbed areas such as trail sides, road banks and other freshly exposed habitats.

Phenology:— In Brazil, D. montana flowers in the wet season, from December to March, with a few individuals flowering until June. It remains dormant underground as roots between May and November.

Conservation status: —Least Concern (LC). Drosera montana is a widespread species ( Brazil: AOO= 192 km 2, EOO= 1,044,178 km 2; global: AOO= 204 km 2, EOO= 2,761,784 km 2) occurring in several protected areas such as National Parks (Caparaó, Chapada dos Veadeiros, Itatiaia, Sempre-Vivas, Serra da Bocaina, Serra da Canastra, Serra do Cipó, Serra dos Órgãos).

Notes: — Drosera montana is most similar to the other three species that belong to its affinity ( D. spirocalyx , D. tentaculata , D. tomentosa ), but is easily distinguished by the fact that it flowers during the wet season and enters dormancy during the dry season (geophyte life form), while the other three species are of perennial growth (hemicryptophytes) and flower during the dry season. Hence, in the latter three species, short columns of leaves from the previous seasons’ growth are often present (especially in aged specimens), while the few-leaved rosettes of D. montana consist more or less entirely of leaves formed during the annual wet season’s growing cycle, with little to no remnants of previous growth visible. Drosera montana is also distinguished from its three allied species by oblong to spatulate leaves (vs. obovate, oblanceolate or cuneate), and by dense indumentum of glandular trichomes of constant size from base to apex of the scape (vs. glandular trichomes increasing in size and density towards the apex of the scape).

The species was historically circumscribed in a broad sense (e.g., Diels 1906; Hamet 1907; Silva & Correa 2005), until being recircumscribed by Rivadavia et al. (2014).

Across its wide distribution, D. montana presents morphological variation in leaf shape, with three geographical morphotypes being recognized by Rivadavia et al. (2014) to address this variation.

Duplicates of the specimen Riedel 1463, type of D. communis var. pauciflora , are found at different herbaria, constituting syntypes. Duno de Stefano & Culham (1995) cited a “type” at B, therefore made an inadvertent lectotypification that is corrected here (ICN Arts. 7.11 and 9.10; Turland et al. 2018).

Specimens examined: —For a complete listing, see Rivadavia et al. (2014: 152–154).

Additional specimen examined: — BRAZIL. Rio Grande do Sul: Cambará do Sul, Fortaleza , 27 September 1992, Barbieri s.n. (HUCS-12629) .

Figures

FIGURE 5. Distribution maps of Drosera species with broad distribution ranges in Brazil. a, D. latifolia. b, D. montana. c, D. sessilifolia.