Centaurea dissecta var. macrocephala Groves ex Fiori

Bartolucci, Fabrizio & Conti, Fabio, 2024, Typification of names allied to Centaurea ambigua (Asteraceae) from the Apennine Peninsula (Italy), Italian Botanist 18, pp. 215-223 : 215-223

Centaurea dissecta var. macrocephala Groves ex Fiori in Fiori & Bég., Fl. Italia 3 (2): 335. 1904. [April 1904]

Protologue citation.

“ Abr. a Macchia Lunga (Groves!) ”.

Lectotype

(designated here). [ Italy, Abruzzo] Macchia lunga, Abruzzi , 1888, Profeta s. n. ex Herb. Groves (FI barcode FI 058574 [digital photo!], Suppl. material 1: fig. S 2).

Nomenclatural note.

The name Centaurea dissecta var. macrocephala is legitimate even though it was published under the illegitimate C. dissecta Ten. (1812: LI), a later homonym of C. dissecta Hill (1762) (Art. 55.2 of the ICN). Fiori (1904) published this name providing a short description and quoting only a single locality. We traced in FI the specimen barcoded FI 058574 bearing the label “ Centaurea dissecta Ten. forma macrocephala, Macchia lunga, Abruzzi, 1888, Profeta ex Herb. Groves ”. This specimen is complete, well preserved and agree with the protologue and can be safely considered as original material (Art. 9.4 of the ICN). The herbarium specimen FI 058574 is selected here as lectotype for the name C. dissecta var. macrocephala .

The type locality “ Macchia lunga ” is probably a toponym close to Roccapia (L’Aquila), where other botanists at that time have made some gatherings (e. g., E. Levier). Furthermore, there are other samples collected by Profeta (see nomenclatural notes of C. dissecta var. melanocephala ) around that area (i. e. Mt. Genzana, L’Aquila). In addition, the morphological features of the type specimen of C. dissecta var. macrocephala clearly correspond with those observed by us in the specimens collected in the area of Mt. Genzana.

Taxonomic note.

This variety, based on the studied type specimen and on field observations, is morphologically different from the subspecies currently recognized under C. ambigua . Pending further in-depth systematic and taxonomic studies, we provisionally include this variety in the variability of C. ambigua subsp. nigra , primarily for the black involucral bracts.