Plantago australis subsp. hirtella (Kunth) Rahn (1964: 50)

Hassemer, Gustavo, 2017, Contributions to the knowledge of the genus Plantago (Plantaginaceae) in the Central-West region of Brazil, Phytotaxa 316 (1), pp. 1-21 : 2-11

Plantago australis subsp. hirtella (Kunth) Rahn (1964: 50)

≡ Plantago hirtella Kunth in Humboldt et al. (1817: 229, tab. 127)

Type: —COUNTRY UNKNOWN [ PERU?]. S.d., A. J. A. Bonpland & F. W. H. A. von Humboldt s.n. (lectotype [designated here] P-00670059! [ Fig. 1 ]).

= Plantago galeottiana Decaisne (1852: 726)

Type: — MEXICO. Près Real del Monte, June–October 1840, H. Galeotti 1427 (lectotype [designated here] P-00609788! [ Fig. 2 ]).

= Plantago leptophylla Decaisne (1852: 723)

Type: — BRAZIL. RIO GRANDE DO SUL: 1835, A. Isabelle s.n. (lectotype [designated here] P-03530099! [ Fig. 3 ]).

= Plantago schiedeana Decaisne (1852: 723)

Type: — MEXICO. S.d., C. J. W. Schiede 72 (lectotype [designated here] P-00609789! [ Fig. 4 ]).

= Plantago veratrifolia Decaisne (1852: 721–722)

Type: — MEXICO. VERACRUZ: Pìc d’Orizaba, June–October 1840, H. Galeotti 1422 (lectotype [designated here] P-00609787! [ Fig. 5 ]).

Description: —Rosette herbs, perennial.Taproot absent, substituted with numerous unthickened (to 1.5 mm wide) cord-like secondary roots. Caudex generally inconspicuous, to 2 cm long, without a conspicuous tuft of reddish trichomes at its apex. Leaves elliptic, oblanceolate or obovate, basally attenuated, without a very evident petiole, membranaceous to papiraceous, pilose. Trichomes on leaves and scapes ribbon-shaped, compressed, with very conspicuous cellular articulations, perceptibly gradually tapering towards the apex (type G); those on scapes antrorse, generally appressed, but sometimes only very slightly pointing upwards. Scape covered with trichomes throughout the entire length, or almost. Spike multiflowered, with flowers densely packed above, less densely crowded below. Corolla actinomorphic, glabrous, remaining very conspicuous after fruit maturation. Stamens 4. Pyxidia 3(–4)-seeded. Seeds slightly convex to slightly concave ventrally, convex dorsally; surface reticulate. See also the description in Rahn (1974: 83).

Illustrations: —Tab. 127 in Humboldt et al. (1817); Fig. 31 in Rahn (1974).

Photographs: — Figs. 1–6 .

Distribution: —This taxon occurs from southwestern USA (Arizona) to northern Argentina and Uruguay through Mexico, Central America, the Andes and southern Brazil, from sea level to 3000 m, but is absent from tropical lowlands ( Rahn 1974, Hassemer et al. 2015b). A distribution map for this subspecies is available in Rahn (1974, Figs. 25–26). In Brazil, P. australis was hitherto recorded in the following states: Minas Gerais, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and São Paulo ( Souza 2010, Souza & Hassemer 2015) ( Fig. 7 ). Here, I present the first records of P. australis , and of P. australis subsp. hirtella , in the Central-West region of Brazil, where it has been collected in Brasília (Distrito Federal) and Dourados (Mato Grosso do Sul) ( Fig. 7 ).

Habitat: —This taxon has a very broad ecological range, occurring in clearings in subtropical forests, highaltitude grasslands, coastal vegetation, and very notably also in disturbed habitats as a ruderal plant.

Conservation status: —Least concern (LC). This taxon has a very large distribution and a relatively broad ecological range, including ruderal habitats, and is frequent throughout its range ( Rahn 1974, Hassemer et al. 2015b, 2016).

Notes: —The new records were discovered during herbarium revisions. Particularly, the discovery of a collection of P. australis from Brasília, at latitude of 15°42’– 15°51’ S, is remarkable, as it represents, along with the new record of P. commersoniana from the same territory (see below), the northernmost records of native Plantago species in South America outside of the Andes.

The only subspecies of P. australis recorded in the Central-West region of Brazil is P. australis subsp. hirtella , which is the commonest and most widespread native Plantago in Brazil and the Americas ( Rahn 1974, Hassemer et al. 2015b), and also the commonest and most widespread taxon within Plantago section Virginica Decne. & Steinh. ex Barnéoud (1844: 17) . This subspecies has a considerable shade tolerance, in contrast with almost all other taxa within Plantago .

Typification of Plantago hirtella : —The protologue ( Humboldt et al. 1817: 229) provided the following information on the type: “ Crescit in Regno Peruviano?”; illustrations were also provided (loc. cit., tab. 127). Since the protologue did not cite any specimens or the herbaria where specimens were deposited to, a holotype was not designated for this name ( McNeill 2014). A thorough revision of the literature has evidenced that no work thus far has designated a lectotype for P. hirtella ; on the type of this name, Rahn (1974: 83) mentioned that “The specimen in P labelled: “Herb. Mus. Paris. Herbier HUMBOLDT & BONPLAND Amerique equatoriale” and “ Plantago hirtella ” (photographs in C and F) is according to PILGER (1937) the only one with KUNTH’ s handwriting. There is a sheet of P. australis ssp. hirtella in K with three labels: “Herb. R. J. SCHUTTLEWORTH–RECD. 1877”, “Amer. mer. BONPLAND? ” and “ Plantaginacea 1 Sp. ”.”, but evidently did not select a specimen to be the type.

During a visit to K in 2016 I could not find the second specimen mentioned by Rahn (1974). Also, there is no original material for P. hirtella kept at B (including B-W [Willdenow]) (Robert Vogt, pers. comm.). Considering that most of the herbarium of Aimé Jacques Alexandre Bonpland and Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt is housed at P, I designate here the sheet P-00670059 (see Fig. 1 ), the first specimen mentioned by Rahn (1974), as the lectotype of P. hirtella ; this specimen is in agreement with the morphological description and illustrations provided in the protologue.

Typification of Plantago galeottiana : —The protologue ( Decaisne 1852: 726) provided the following information on the type: “In Mexicanis Cordil. circa Real del Monte 2500 metr. (Galeotti n. 1427), in frigidis prov. Oaxaca 3000 metr. (Galeotti n. 1425)” (syntypes, according to Art. 9.5). I was able to locate one syntype at P: P-00609788 (H. Galeotti 1427; see Fig. 2 ); I designate here this sheet as the lectotype of P. galeottiana . This name has been synonymised with P. australis subsp. hirtella by Rahn (1974: 83), to which I agree.

Typification of Plantago leptophylla : —The protologue ( Decaisne 1852: 723) provided the following information on the type: “In Boliviâ prov. Tominâ ditione Chuquisacâ (Weddell 3846), in Brasiliâ prov. Rio Grande do Sul (Isabelle), in Nuevâ Granadâ Turbaco (Just. Goudot.)” (syntypes, according to Art. 9.5). I was able to locate the three syntypes at P: P-03530104, P-03530099 and P-03530094, respectively. I designate here the sheet P-03530099 (see Fig. 3 ), kept at P, which is the most complete and best preserved specimen among the syntypes, as the lectotype of P. leptophylla . This name has been synonymised with P. australis subsp. hirtella by Pilger (1937: 254), to which I agree.

Typification of Plantago schiedeana : —The protologue ( Decaisne 1852: 723) provided the following information on the type: “In Mexico, in monte Orizabâ Galeotti n. 1420, P. tomentosa Schiede n. 72” (syntypes, according to Art. 9.5). I was able to locate one syntype at P: P-00609789 (C.J.W. Schiede 72; see Fig. 4 ); I designate here this sheet as the lectotype of P. schiedeana . This name has been synonymised with P. australis subsp. hirtella by Pilger (1937: 254), to which I agree.

Typification of Plantago veratrifolia : —The protologue ( Decaisne 1852: 721–722) provided the following information on the type: “In summo monte Orizabae (Galeotti, n. 1422)”. Since a single gathering but not a single specimen was indicated, a holotype was not designated for this name ( McNeill 2014). I designate here the sheet P-00609787 (see Fig. 5 ), kept at P, as the lectotype of P. veratrifolia . This name has been synonymised with P. australis subsp. hirtella by Rahn (1974: 83), to which I agree.

Additional specimens examined: — BRAZIL. DISTRITO FEDERAL: Brasília: Quadra 713 Sul , 1 February 1983, R. C. Mendonça & B. A. S. Pereira 193 (HRB-21010) ; MATO GROSSO DO SUL: Dourados : 22°14’ S, 54°49’ W, 452 m, 18 October 2004, C. L. Paes 2 (DDMS-5045) ; 450 m, 18 October 2004, G. W. Fengler 2 (DDMS-5092) .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Lectotype of Plantago hirtella (A.J.A. Bonpland & F.W.H.A. von Humboldt s.n., P-00670059). Published with permission of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00670059.

FIGURE 2. Lectotype of Plantago galeottiana (H.Galeotti 1427, P-00609788).Published with permission of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00609788.

FIGURE 3. Lectotype of Plantago leptophylla (A. Isabelle s.n., P-03530099). Published with permission of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p03530099.

FIGURE 4. Lectotype of Plantago schiedeana (C.J.W. Schiede 72, P-00609789). Published with permission of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00609789.

FIGURE 5. Lectotype of Plantago veratrifolia (H.Galeotti 1422, P-00609787).Published with permission of Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle.Available online at: https://science.mnhn.fr/institution/mnhn/collection/p/item/p00609787.

FIGURE 6. Specimen of Plantago australis subsp. hirtella from Brasília (R.C. Mendonça & B.A.S. Pereira 193, HRB-21010). Published with permission of Tânia Jost (Herbário RADAMBRASIL).

FIGURE 7. Distribution of Plantago commersoniana (purple squares, the new record in orange), P. hatschbachiana (red triangles) and P. napiformis (green dots, the new records in yellow); the new records of P. australis subsp. hirtella in the Central-West region of Brazil (blue diamonds); and the new records of P.major in Mato Grosso state (pink stars). The area in the map shaded in blue corresponds to the states in Brazil where the occurrence of P. australis subsp. hirtella had been hitherto recorded.