Solenopsis bivonae (Tineo) M.B.Crespo, Serra & A.Juan subsp. brutia Brullo, C.Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Minissale & Giusso, 2023

Brullo, Salvatore, Brullo, Cristian, Cambria, Salvatore, Tomaselli, Valeria, Crisafulli, Alessandro, Siracusa, Giuseppe, Minissale, Pietro & del Galdo, Gianpietro Giusso, 2023, Taxonomic and ecological remarks on Solenopsis bivonae species complex (Campanulaceae), PhytoKeys 229, pp. 77-111 : 77

1.4 Solenopsis bivonae (Tineo) M.B.Crespo, Serra & A.Juan subsp. brutia Brullo, C.Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Minissale & Giusso subsp. nov.

Figs 4 , 6C , 7D , 8F , 9D

Type.

Italy. Calabria. Rive del fiume Lao, presso Papasidero (Cosenza), 39°52'10.96"N, 15°54'7.93"E, 130 m, 06 August 2018, S. Brullo, D. Puntillo & D. Uzunov s.n. (holotype CAT) .

Diagnosis.

It differs from the type in having leaves arranged in a smaller rosette, shorter leaves, with oblanceolate to oblanceolate-spathulate blade, shorter petiole, shorter floral pedicel, glabrous bracteoles, located in the upper half, provided with sessile apical gland, two basal glands and 0-2 lateral glands, corolla in the lower lip with a green macula at the base and provided with three dark blue spots above, lobes papillose up to the apex, longer staminal filaments, glabrous anther tube, longer style, slightly tuberculate capsule, reddish-brown and larger seeds. Conversely, the type is characterized by leaves arranged in a larger rosette, longer leaves, with spathulate blade, longer petiole, longer floral pedicel, bracteoles hairy at the apex, located in the middle, provided with 1-4 stipulated lateral glands, corolla in the lower lip with a greenish-yellow macula at the base, without spots, lobes papillose for more than the lower half, shorter staminal filaments, anther tube hairy at the apex, shorter style, smooth capsule, brownish and smaller seeds.

Description.

Basal rosette 2.5-7 cm in diameter, with leaves 10-58 mm long, oblanceolate to oblanceolate-spathulate, with blade 5-22 × 2-10 mm and petiole 3-36 mm long; floral pedicels 3-6 cm, with 2 bracteoles, spaced in the upper half, 2-3 mm long, 0.25-0.35 mm wide, glabrous with a sessile gland at the apex, with 2 basal sessile glands and 0-2 sessile glands at the margin; calyx 3.5-5 mm long; corolla 11-12 mm long, with tube white-lilac, 4.5-5 mm long, 1-1.2 mm in diameter; upper lip with lobes 4-4.5 mm long, 1.4-1.8 mm wide, sub-obtuse at apex, provided in the ventral face with papillae in the central part, 0.16-0.6 mm long; lower lip 6.5-7 mm long, greenish at the throat, surmounted by three distinct dark blue spots, slightly bordered of brown at base, lobes 3.5-5 × 2.5-3.5 mm, covered by not very dense papillae often almost to the apex; stamen filaments 5-5.5 mm long, anther connate into a tube 1.5-1.6 mm long; the three upper anthers glabrous in the upper part of the back; style 6-6.5 mm long; capsule slightly tubercolate, 2.3-3 mm long; seeds ellipsoid, reddish-brownish, 0.46-0.50 × 0.26-0.3 mm.

Phenology.

Flowering June to September, fruiting June to September.

Etymology.

The specific epithet refers to “Brutia,” the Latin name of Calabria, territory where this taxon grows.

Distribution and ecology.

This taxon was surveyed in the lower reaches of Lao river (North Calabria), at elevations of 130-350 m, where it grows on rocky metamorphic outcrops (Fig. 10 ). It likes humid and shady stands covered by a dense moss carpet, associated mainly to Adiantum capillus-veneris. As for the other subspecies previously examined, it is linked to hygrophilous communities of the Adiantetea capilli-veneris too. From a phytogeographical point of view, it should be noted that this taxon is the only Solenopsis with a perennial habit, localized in a continental territory since all the others occur exclusively in big Mediterranean islands ( Crespo et al. 1998).

Conservation status.

The populations of this subspecies are rare and all circumscribed to the banks of Lao river in North-West Calabria. Based on recent field surveys, its presence in the three hitherto known locations has been confirmed in only one of them (near Papasidero), while in the other two, it seems to have disappeared (Laino-Castello and Laino-Borgo). It shows an EOO of 9.51 km2 and an AOO of 12 Km2. Therefore, in addition to its rarity and the considerable reduction of its current range, according to B criterion ( IUCN 2022), we propose to consider this taxon as Endangered [EN - B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)].

Additional specimens examined

(paratypes). Italy, Calabria. Valle del Lao (sopra le rocce e in altri luoghi umidi lungo il f. Lao ai piedi lo Borgo-Laino-Castello), 18 August 1892, B. Longo s.n. (RO); Sulle rocce umide lungo il fiume Lao alla Maradosa (Laino Castello), 27 September 1900, B. Longo s.n. (RO); Sopra una roccia umida lungo il fiume Lao (Laino Castello-Cosenza), 16 August 1902, B. Longo s.n. (RO) .

Figures

Figure 4. Solenopsis bivonae subsp. brutia A habit B leaves C bracts D flower in dorsal view E open corolla F open calyces G calyx and capsule H anther in lateral view I anther in lateral view with stigma. J seeds K unicellular papillae occurring in the ventral face of the corolla. Drawn by Salvatore Brullo.

Figure 6. Open corolla (1) and detail of corolla papillae (2) of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (A), S. bivonae subsp. peloritana (B), S. bivonae subsp. brutia (C), S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (D), S. meikleana (E) and S. bacchettae (F). Drawn by Salvatore Brullo.

Figure 7. Flowers in frontal view in natural habitat of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (A), S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (B), S. bivonae subsp. peloritana (C), S. bivonae subsp. brutia (D), S. bacchettae (E) and S. meikleana (F). Photographed by Salvatore Cambria (A-C, E, F) and Lorenzo Peruzzi (D).

Figure 8. Natural habitat along the Sosio river (Sicily) colonized by Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (A). Natural habitat in Madonie massif (Sicily) colonized by S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (B). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. bivonae from Sosio River (C). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum from Madonie massif (D). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. peloritana from Mela River, Sicily (E). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. brutia from Lao River, Calabria (F). Habit of S. meikleana from Cedar Valley, Cyprus (G). Habit of S. bacchettae from Seui, Sardinia (H). Photographed by Salvatore Cambria (A-E, G, H) and Lorenzo Peruzzi (F).

Figure 9. Habit of living plants of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae from Sosio river (A), S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum from Madonie massif (B). S. bivonae subsp. peloritana from Mela River (C). Habit of S. bivonae subsp. brutia from Lao River (D). S. meikleana from Cedar Valley, Cyprus (E). S. bacchettae from Seui, Sardinia (F).

Figure 10. Geographical distribution of Solenopsis bivonae subsp. bivonae (black dots); S. bivonae subsp. madoniarum (red dots); S. bivonae subsp. peloritana (pale blue dot); S. bivonae subsp. brutia (dark blue dot); S. meikleana (purple dots); S. bacchettae (green dots).