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

1.2. Solenopsis bivonae (Tineo) M.B.Crespo, Serra & A.Juan subsp. madoniarum Brullo, C. Brullo, Cambria, Tomaselli, Minissale & Giusso del Galdo subsp. nov.

Figs 2 , 6D , 7B , 8D , 9B

Type.

Italy. Sicily. Madonie, laghetto sopra Piano Zucchi , 37°52'43.40"N, 14°0'12.87"E, 1259 m a.s.l., 15 July 2018, S. Cambria s.n. (holotype CAT) .

Diagnosis.

It differs from the type in having leaves arranged in a smaller rosette with shorter blade, shorter floral pedicel, provided with a single bracteole glabrous or with few apical hairs and 1-2 basal sessile glands, corolla smaller with upper lip lobes without glands in the ventral face and lower lip lobes shorter, obtuse, provided with dense and shorter papillae, with anther tube papillose at the basis and longer capsule. Conversely, the type is characterized by leaves arranged in a larger rosette with longer blade, longer floral pedicel, provided with (1)2 bracteoles with several hairs at the apex and 1-4 lateral stipulated glands, corolla larger with upper lip lobes with glands in the ventral face and lower lip lobes longer, acute, provided with lax and longer papillae, anther tube without papillae at the basis and shorter capsule.

Description.

Basal rosette 3.5-8 cm in diameter, with leaves 15-45 mm long, oblanceolate to oblanceolate-spathulate, with blade 4-20 × 2-8 mm and petiole 8-25 mm long; floral pedicels 2-5(9) cm, with one bracteole near the middle, 1.8-2.2 mm long, 0.1-0.3 mm wide, with few hairs at the apex, with 1 or 2 sessile glands at the base and rarely one sessile gland at the margin; calyx 3-4 mm long, with lobes 2-3.5 mm long; corolla 8.5-10 mm long, with tube lilac, 3.7-4.5 mm long, 0.9-1.3 mm in diameter; upper lip with lobes 3-4 mm long, 1.2-1.7 mm wide, bluish-lilac, obtuse or slightly mucronate at apex, provided in the ventral face with dense papillae in the lower half, 0.1-0.24 mm long; lower lip 5-6 mm long, with a large yellowish macula at the base, bordered at the base by a brown band, lobes ovate and obtuse or slightly mucronate at the apex, 2.5-3.5 × 1.6-2.5 mm, covered by dense papillae in the lower half; anther connate into a tube 1.4-1.6 mm long; the two lower anthers are papillose at the base; style 4.5-5.5 mm long; capsule 2.7-3 mm long; seeds obovoid-ellipsoid, pale brown, 0.40-0.46 × 0.24-0.26 mm.

Etymology.

The epithet derives from Madonie, a massif of North Sicily, where this taxon is rather spread.

Phenology.

Flowering late May to October, fruiting June to October.

Distribution and ecology.

Based on herbarium data and field investigations, this taxon is distributed in the Madonie massif, where it is localized in many places at 700-1600 m of altitude (Fig. 10 ), represented mainly by peat bogs, dominated by Sphagnum sp. pl., Aulacomnium palustre (Hedw.) Schwägr. and Polytrichum commune Hedw. Here, it characterized an orophilous plant community belonging to Scheuchzerio palustris-Caricetea fuscae R. Tx. 1937, as emphasized by Raimondo et al. (1980, 2021). Sometimes, as near Petralia Soprana or Piazza Armerina, it occurs also on calcareous vertical wet rocky places affected by permanent dripping, where it is a member of vegetation of the class Adiantetea capilli-veneris, dominated by Adiantum capillus-veneris and several bryophytes.

Conservation status.

This taxon shows a scattered distribution, occurring mainly in some localities within the Madonie Regional Park. Besides, it is a species closely linked to small wet stands fed by water springs, whose collecting leads to the destruction of the habitat and the disappearance of the vegetation that characterizes it. It shows an EOO of 410 km2 and an AOO of 20 Km2. Therefore, according to B criterion, we propose to consider this taxon as Endangered [EN - B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)) ( IUCN 2022)].

Additional specimens examined

(paratypes). Italy, Sicily. Madonië, van Portella Mandarini naar Geraci Siculi, op bult in moeras, c. 1400 m., 9 June 1983, J. Mennema 2962 (L2993484); Ad rivulos et fontes Montium Nebrodensium (alla fontana di S. Nicolò sul M. Pietrafucile, 24 June 1840, De Heldreich s.n. (P00260388; WAG1507801, FI); Italie , Sicile, Prov. Palermo, entre Portella Mandarini (1206 m) et Geraci (1070 m) en passant pour la base de Punta Argentiera (1450 m), 9 June 1983, A. Charpin, M. Dittrich & D. Jeanmonod 96449 (PAL); Ad aquas scaturientes Madoniarum 3500', 6 August 1874, G. Strobl s.n. (FI); Ad scaturigines frigidas Nebrodes acque delle Favare di Petralia , July 1888, M. Lojacono 319 (FI); Madonie presso il passo della Botte, July 1904, F. Cavara s.n. (FI); Madonie a Vulpignano , alla Favara , a Polizzi presso alla Pietà, June 1840, F. Parlatore s.n. (FI); A montibus nebrodensibus, s.d., Schouw s.n. (G-DC00239486); Contrada Scorzone (Geraci Siculo), 22 June 2004, R. Galesi s.n. (CAT000194); Piano Pomo (Madonie-PA), 31 July 1990, Bartolo , Brullo , Pulvirenti , Scelsi , Spampinato s.n. (CAT037288); Madonie , Portella Mandarini , sfagnete, 37°51'55"N, 14°07'04"E, 1247 m, 15 July 2018, S. Cambria s.n. (CAT); Madonie, Petralia Soprana, sorgente Cataratta, parete umida, 37°49'37.26"N, 14°4'11.39"E, 1166 m, 15 July 2017, S. Cambria s.n. (CAT); Piazza Armerina, Monte Canalotto, presso l’abbeveratoio, 37°28'6.55"N, 14°22'41.04"E, 771 m, 16 October 2021, S. Cambria & D. Azzaro s.n. (CAT) .

Figures

Figure 2. Solenopsis bivonae subsp. madoniarum A habit B leaf C bracts D flower in dorsal view E flower in lateral view F open corolla G open calyx H calyx and capsule I anther in lateral view J anther in lateral view with exerted stigma K unicellular papillae occurring in the ventral face of the corolla L seeds M bract detail. 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).