Muhlenbergia bryophilus ( Doell ) P.M. Peterson, Caldasia 31(2): 279, f. 2 A-B , 2009.

Peterson, Paul M., Vega, Isidoro Sanchez, Romaschenko, Konstantin, Giraldo-Canas, Diego & Rodriguez, Nancy F. Refulio, 2018, Revision of Muhlenbergia (Poaceae, Chloridoideae, Cynodonteae, Muhlenbergiinae) in Peru: classification, phylogeny, and a new species, M. romaschenkoi, PhytoKeys 114, pp. 123-206 : 135-137

2. Muhlenbergia bryophilus ( Doell) P.M. Peterson, Caldasia 31(2): 279, f. 2 A-B, 2009. Fig. 3A, B

Aegopogon bryophilus Döll, Fl. Bras. 2(3):239. 1880. Type: BRAZIL, Minas Gerais, 10 Apr 1879, A.F.M. Glaziou 11661 (holotype: P-01863266 [image!]; isotypes: C-10016716 [image!], K-000309079 [image!], US-1280026!).

Aegopogon geminiflorus var. muticus Pilg., Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 27(1-2):25. 1899. Type: Bolivia, La Paz, near Sorata, 1 May 1892, M. Bang 1307 (holotype: unknown; isotypes: CM-0179 [image!], K-000309080 [image!], NDG-07662 [image!], PUL-00000320 [image!], US-2473254!; W-18930005256 [image!]).

Aegopogon argentinus Mez, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 17(8-12):145. 1921. Type: ARGENTINA. Salta: Sierra Nevada del Castillo, P.G. Lorentz & G. Hieronymus 182 (holotype: B?; isotypes: BAA-00001256 [image!], US-75037 fragm. ex B!).

Aegopogon fiebrigii Mez, Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 17(8-12):145. 1921. Type: BOLIVIA. Camacho, K. Fiebrig 2865 (holotype: B?; isotypes: MVFA-0000127 [image!], US-75308 fragm. ex B!).

Description.

Slender often sprawling, caespitose annuals. Culms (4-) 6-30 cm long, glabrous below the nodes; internodes 0.6-6 cm long, glabrous to pilose. Leaf sheaths mostly 0.5-4.8 cm long, shorter than the internodes, glabrous to sparingly pilose; ligules 0.6-1.5 mm long, glabrous, apex mostly truncate, lacerate, auricles absent; blades 1.5-6 cm long, 0.5 –1.5(– 1.7) mm wide, flat, scaberulent and pubescent above, mostly smooth beneath. Panicles 2-6 cm long, 0.5-1.2 cm wide, open, loosely-flowered; primary branches 0.2-0.6 mm long, excluding the awns, one per node, racemosely inserted. Fertile spikelets 2.4-3 mm long, in fascicles of two, rarely three per branch, often greenish or purplish, the clusters with one short-pedicelled spikelet (bisexual); pedicels (0.0-) 0.2-0.5 mm long (fertile spikelets) and the other two spikelets (sterile or staminate) longer pedicelled; pedicels about 0.7-1 mm long (sterile or staminate); glumes 1-1.3 mm long, narrowly acuminate, apex prolonged, aristate; lemmas 2.4-3 mm long, 3-awned, the central awns (3-) 5-8 (-12) mm long, lateral awns usually 0.8-1.4 mm long; paleas 2.2-2.8 mm long, puberulent, apex aristate, the awns usually 1-1.2 mm long; anthers 0.5-0.7 mm long, yellowish. Caryopses about 1 mm long, obovoid, light brownish.

Distribution.

Muhlenbergia bryophilus is found in South America, occuring in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Ecology.

This species occurs on moist slopes, cliffs, barrancas, canyons, roadsides and along or near springs usually in shaded areas associated with Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.) Morrone, Bouteloua simplex Lag., Festuca myruos L., Urochloa , Veronica , Eragrostis , Baccharis , Salvia , Agave and Erodium ; 1500-3700 m. Flowering December through May.

Comments.

Muhlenbergia bryophilus is morphologically similar to M. cenchroides and can be separated from the latter in having anthers 0.5-0.7 mm long, the annual habit with culms (4-) 6-30 cm tall and sessile or inconspicuously pedicelled perfect spikelet associated with one (rarely two) staminate or sterile pedicelled spikelet ( Tovar 1993; Giraldo-Cañas and Peterson 2009). The central lemmatal awn length of the sessile or inconspicuously pedicelled spikelet was used by Beetle (1948) to differentiate between these two species but we found this measure to be completely overlapping. Muhlenbergia bryophilus is sister to a single entry of M. uniseta (Peterson 24712) in our new analysis (Fig. 1B ). We have only a single marker (ITS) for M. bryophilus , so its alignment may change with additional plastid markers.

Specimens examined.

Peru. Cusco: Prov. Anta, Mollepata-Takawana, C. Vargas C. 19050 (USM); Prov. Urubamba, SW facing slope of Machu Picchu Mountain, V. Ugent 5324 (USM); Junín: Prov. Huancayo, Abajo de Pariahuanca, O. Tovar 7895, 7904 (USM); Cerro E of Huancayo, O. Tovar 2137 (USM); La Libertad: Prov. Bolivar, W of Longotea, 0.5 km towards San Vicente, 7°2'35.6"S, 77°52'39.8"W, 3202 m, 31 Mar 2008, P.M. Peterson 21966, R.J. Soreng & J. Montoya Quino (US, USM); Lima: Prov. Canta, 8 km SW of San Jose Canta towards Huamantango, 11°31'10"S, 76°42'16.3"W, 2770 m, 28 Mar 2004, P.M. Peterson & N. Refulio Rodríguez 17995 (US, USM); Piura: Prov. Huancabamba, La Beatita, S. Llatas Quiroz 1850, 1851 (CPUN); Puno: Prov. Sandia, Debajo de Cuyocuyo, R. Ferreyra & A. Vera Beuner 16636 (USM).

Figures

Figure 1. A, B Maximum-likelihood tree inferred from combined plastid (ndhA intron, rps 16 - trnK, rps 16 intron, rps 3, and rpl 32 - trnL) and ITS sequences. Thick branches indicate posterior probabilities of 0.95 - 1; species in red occur in South America; scale bar = 2 %.

Figure 3. A, B Muhlenbergia bryophilus (Doell) P. M. Peterson A habit B spikelet C, D Muhlenbergia cenchroides (Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.) P. M. Peterson C habit D spikelet. Drawings from Giraldo-Canas and Peterson (2009) A, B drawn from S. G. Beck 818 (LPB) C, D drawn from S. G. Beck 7464 (LPB).