Campanula cochleromena Gardère, 2021

Gardère, Mathieu L., Florence, Jacques, Muller, Serge, Savriama, Yoland & Dubuisson, Jean-Yves, 2021, Codonographia Gorgonum, or the description of a pleiad of bellflowers (Campanula, Campanulaceae) from the Cabo Verde archipelago, Candollea 76 (1), pp. 13-40 : 35-36

7. Campanula cochleromena Gardère , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 , 3G , 11 ).

Holotypus: CABO VERDE. E São Nicolau: Alto das Cabaças, végétation rupicole au bord des falaises sommitales, 16°35'57"N 24°06'20"W, c. 650 m, 14.XII.2015, Gardère 1120 ( P [ P02091100 ]!; iso-: CECV!, LISC!) .

Campanulae jacobaeae C. Sm. ex Webb affinis , sed calycis deltatis lobis (vs. triangulares lobos), corolla campanulata sine constrictione (vs. campanulatam corollam fauce paulo constricta), stylo corollae subexserto (vs. stylum corollae inclusum), praecipue differt.

Sub-frutex 5–20 cm tall, prostrate in dense clump, highly woody in lower part; floriferous stems branched, procumbent to decumbent arising from the base of one or several sterile basal rosettes, glabrous to glabrescent in the woody basal parts with indument hispid toward the extremity, consisting of trichomes ± 0.5 mm long. Leaves: rosette-leaves elliptic to narrowly elliptic (1.5–)2.5–3.5(–4) × (0.7–)1–1.5(–2) cm, base cuneiform to attenuate, apex ± obtuse to acute; cauline-leaves elliptic to narrowly elliptic, (1–)1.5–3.5(–4) × (0.7–)1–1.3(–1.5) cm, base cuneiform to attenuate, apex ± obtuse; margin weakly revolute, crenelate to slightly denticulate; adaxial side medium green in vivo, glabrescent or scattered by hispidulous to hispid of trichomes 0.2– 0.5 mm long, indument generally more pronounced around the apex; abaxial side light green in vivo, venation whitish, hispidulous to hispid indument on primary and secondary veins consisting of trichomes 0.2–0.5 mm long and glabrescent on tertiary and ultimate veins, lamina glabrous. Inflorescences in monochasial pauciflorous cyme. Flowers erect, pedicel 0.5–1.5(–2) cm long, with the same indument as the stem; axillate by one or two bracts subopposite, ovato-triangular or ovate to narrowly ovate, base semi-amplexicaul, apex acute, with the same indument as the leaf. Calyx , calyx-lobes deltoid, 5–8 × 4–6 mm, pressed up against the corolla, margin distinctly revolute; appendages ovate, reflexed, 1–1.5 mm long; lobe edges, appendage and median main vein hispid, 0.5–0.75 mm long, lamina glabrous to weakly hispidulous, 0.35 –0.5 mm long. Corolla campanulate with inflexion point in the middle, purplish-blue; base wide round c. 6 – 8 mm large; tube, 20–22 mm long, gradually widening and reach the maximum diameter of 11 – 13 mm in the middle then widening up to 22–28 mm large at the mouth, constrictions absent; throat straight; lobes spreading to obliquely erect, 2–4 × 8–10 mm, apex apiculate; external lamina entirely covered with indument microhispidulous c. 0.1 mm long, except the primary veins micro-hispidulous to hispidous, 0.1–0.2 mm long. Stamens with glabrous filaments; anthers, 2–4 mm long. Ovary, roof of the ovary glabrous to glabrescent, flat, topped by a yellowishwith nectary disk. Style thick, fleshy, 16–20 mm long, slightly exserted from the corolla, stigma trifid and papillose. Etymology. – The species epithet cochleromena meaning “loved by snails”, is a compound of two words of ancient Greek: cochlos, “snail” and eromenos, “loved, desired by”. Indeed, a rare phenomenon of pollination by snails was recently observed in the species ( GARDÈRE, 2018).

Vernacular name. – “Flor-de-caracol” literally “snail flower”, the name is not very widespread and only known by a few shepherds working on the summits of Alto das Cabaças ( GARDÈRE, 2018).

Distribution and habitat. – Campanula cochleromena is endemic to E São Nicolau, between 550 and 650 m. The species is mainly confined to the edges of cliffs, on summit ridges of Alto Joaquina and Alto Cabaças, facing completely north, windblown and regularly covered by the fog. Campanula cochleromena is part of rupicolous vegetation principally made up of microendemic species such as Conyza schlechtendalii Bolle (Asteraceae) , Helichrysum nicolai N. Kilian et al. (Asteraceae) , Diplotaxis sundingii Rustan (Brassicaceae) and Limonium sundingii Leyens et al. (Plumbaginaceae) with other more broadly ranging Cabo Verdean endemic species like Daucus sp. (Apiaceae) , Verbascum capitis-viridis Hub. -Mor. ( Scrophulariaceae ) and some Euphorbia tuckeyana (Euphorbiaceae) . One locality is an exception, as being located in a stabilized landslide in Tope Simon around 500 m elevation, where the floristic community is poorer and composed of Daucus sp. (Apiaceae) and Echium stenosiphon (Boraginaceae) .

Notes. – The populations from E São Nicolau, identified until now as C. jacobaea ( ERIKSSON et al., 1979; HANSEN & SUNDING, 1985, 1993; SUNDING, 1982; RUSTAN & BROCHMANN, 1993; LEYENS & LOBIN, 1995; GARDÈRE, 2018), are described here as new under C. cochleromena . The discovery of this bellflowers is relatively recent, the first collect dates back to Sunding in 1976 from the locality of Alto Joaquina followed by those of Brochmann & Rustan in 1982 for the locality of Alto das Cabaças. Campanula cochleromena is distinguished from all other CVB species by its typically campanulate corolla without constriction ( Fig. 1 , 11C ) and by its deltoid calyx-lobes ( Fig. 11D ).

Additional specimens examined. – CABO VERDE. E São Nicolau: Alto das Cabaças, 640 m, 2.II.1982, Brochmann & Rustan CB -688/82 ( O); ibid. loco, c. 650 m, 20.XI.2014, Gardère 872 ( P); ibid. loco, c. 650 m, 14.XII.2015, Gardère 1119 ( P); ibid. loco, c. 550–650 m, 14.I.1994, Kilian & Leyens 3182 ( B, FR); Alto Joaquina , 615 m, 11.XII.2017, Gardère 1590 ( CECV, LISC, MARS, P); ibid. loco, 570 m, 24.XI.1976, Sunding 3835 ( O); in den Bergen südlich Juncalinho , 600 m, 6.I.1986, Kilian 1063 ( FR); Tope Jalunga , 29.XI.1996, Schmidt CV / KS -1996-22 ( FR); Tope Simon , 550 m, 17.XII.2017, Gardère 1127 ( CECV, P). Nomen dubium

Figures

Fig. 1. – Distribution map of the seven Cabo Verdean Campanula L. species illustrated by their flower in lateral view.

Fig. 3. – SEM micrographs of abaxial surface of leaves. A. Campanula jacobaea C. Sm. ex Webb; B. C. bravensis (Bolle) A. Chev.; C. C. feijoana Gardère; D. C.vicinituba Gardère; E. C. monteverdensis Gardère; F. C. fransinea Gardère; G. C. cochleromena Gardère. [A: Gardère 1428; B: Gardère 1615; C: Gardère 959; D: Gardère 1035; E: Gardère 612; F: Gardère 1096; G: Gardère 1120]

Fig. 11. – Campanula cochleromena Gardère.A. Habit; B. Rosette-leaves; C. Flower in lateral view; D. Flower in bottom view with a focus on the deltoid calyx-lobes; E. Flower in face view.