Biscutella laevigata L. subsp. woycickii Wierzbicka, Pielich. & Wasowicz, 2020

Wierzbicka, Malgorzata, Pielichowska, Maria, Bemowska-Kalabun, Olga, Rostanski, Adam & Wasowicz, Pawel, 2020, A new taxon within Biscutella laevigata L. (Brassicaceae) endemic to calamine areas in southern Poland, PhytoKeys 160, pp. 123-129 : 123

Biscutella laevigata L. subsp. woycickii Wierzbicka, Pielich. & Wasowicz subsp. nov. Figure 1

Type.

Poland. Olkusz, 1922, R. Kobendza, s.n. (holotype, WA0000071422!).

Diagnosis.

Biscutella laevigata subsp. woycickii is similar to subsp. gracilis , but differs from the latter in having thin, light-green rosette leaves very densely covered by simple non-glandular trichomes. Plants belonging to subsp. woycickii have smaller seeds and are characterised by the ability to tolerate and accumulate high quantities of heavy metals.

Etymology.

This subspecies is dedicated to a renowned Polish botanist Zygmunt Wóycicki (1871-1941), a pioneer of biological research on calamine areas.

Distribution and ecology.

Calamine areas in the vicinity of Olkusz, Powiat Olkuski (Olkusz County), Województwo Małopolskie (Lesser Poland Voivodeship/Province), southern Poland.

Phenology.

Flowering in April-May, fruiting in July-August.

Chromosome number.

A study carried out by Skalińska (1950) on plants from the calamine population in the vicinity of Olkusz resulted in the diploid chromosome number, 2 n = 18.

Preliminary conservation status.

Currently, the taxon is known only from calamine areas in the vicinity of Olkusz, where it is quite abundant on calamine soils. The extent of occurrence (EOO) of the taxon is 7 km2 and the area of occupancy (AOO) is 14 km2. A steady decline in population size has been observed during the last 20 years. It seems that the new taxon could be classified as Vulnerable according to the IUCN criteria (Standards IUCN 2019), but more research is needed to estimate the number of mature individuals and population dynamics.

Figures

Figure 1. A holotype of Biscutella laevigata subsp. woycickii Wierzbicka, Pielichowska & Wasowicz (WA 0000071422).