Convolvulus lineatus L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 923. 1759. (Linnaeus 1759: 923).

Wood, John R. I., Williams, Bethany R. M., Mitchell, Thomas C., Carine, Mark A., Harris, David J. & Scotland, Robert W., 2015, A foundation monograph of Convolvulus L. (Convolvulaceae), PhytoKeys 51, pp. 1-282 : 167-169

156. Convolvulus lineatus L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 923. 1759. (Linnaeus 1759: 923). Figure 20, t. 34-42

Convolvulus spicifolius Desr. in Lamarck. Encycl. 3: 549. 1792. ( Desrousseaux 1792: 549). Type. Plant cultivated in Jarden du Roi (P [Herb. Lam.]).

Convolvulus humilis Salisb., Prodr. Stirp. Chap. Allerton 125. 1796, illegitimate superfluous name for Convolvulus lineatus L. ( Salisbury 1796: 125).

Convolvulus intermedius Loisel., J. Bot. (Desvaux) 2: 264. 1809. ( Loiseleur-Deslongchamps 1809: 264). Type. FRANCE, Avignon, Requien s.n. (holotype P, not seen).

Convolvulus gerardii Roem. & Schult., Syst. Veg, ed. 15 bis [Roemer & Schultes] 4: 294.1819. ( Roemer and Schultes 1819: 294). Type. No type cited, presumably France, with reference to “Gérard, Fl. Gallo-Prov. 317, n.3".

Convolvulus besseri Spreng., Syst. Veg. 1: 610. 1824. ( Sprengel 1824: 610). Type. UKRAINE, Pedolia, Besser s.n. (B†).

Convolvulus nitens K.Koch, Linnaea 22: 743. 1849. ( Koch 1849: 743). Type. ARMENIA, Yerevan, Koch s.n. (B†).

Convolvulus lineatus var. pentapetaloides Batt., Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 12: 27. 1921. ( Battandier and Jahandiez 1921: 27). Type. MOROCCO, Oudjda, Jahandiez s.n. (holotype MPU009741!).

Convolvulus lineatus var. minutus Maire & Weller, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afrique N. 31: 28. 1940. ( Maire 1940: 28). Type. MOROCCO, Grand Atlas, Maire & Weller 628 (holotype AL, not seen; isotype MPU004309!).

Convolvulus tshegemensis Galushko, Novosti Sist Vyssh. Rast. 13: 252. 1976. ( Galushko 1976: 252). Type. RUSSIA, northern Caucasus (Balkaria), Galushko 12/7/1963 (holotype cited from but not received at LE, whereabouts unknown).

Type.

Without locality, Löfling 163 (lectotype LINN No. 218.43!, designated by Sa’ad 1967: 128).

Description.

Perennial herb, often mat-forming, from a thick, branched underground rhizome; stems ascending to 30 cm, vegetative parts densely but minutely puberulent to shiny white-sericeous. Basal leaves 4.5-8 × 0.8-1.8 cm, oblong to oblanceolate, acute, entire, attenuate at base into a long pseudopetiole; stem leaves distinctly sessile, 1.5-5 × 0.2-0.7 cm, narrowly linear-oblanceolate, acute. Flowers in terminal diachasial cymes and axillary cymes of 1-5 flowers; bracts and bracteoles not clearly differentiated, 3 -25 × 1-3 mm, linear to oblanceolate, acute, very variable in size; pedicels 3-4 mm; sepals of two parts-pale base and acute, commonly reflexed, green apex; outer sepals 6-10 × 2 mm, oblong-lanceolate; inner sepals 6-8 × 3 mm, broadly ovate, margins scarious; corolla 1.8-2.5 cm long, pink with white centre and paler midpetaline bands, shallowly lobed, midpetaline bands appressed pilose; ovary conical, sericeous, style pilose, divided 7-10 mm above base, stigmas 5-7 mm; capsule pubescent; seeds shortly pubescent. [ Sa’ad 1967: 128; Meikle 1985: 1170; Austin and Ghazanfar 1979: 18; Nowroozi 2002: 65 (plate), 103 (map). Polunin 1980 (Plate 35); Strid and Strid 2009: 400-401 (plate)]

Distribution.

Around the Mediterranean and Black Seas and through Iran and central Asia to western China (Xinjiang) and Siberia (Altai): Portugal; Spain (Ellman & Hubbard 282, Lewalle 9116); France ( André 21/6/1855); Italy (Davis & Sutton 65425); Sicily (Alexander 1845); Morocco (Carine et al. 367); Algeria (Alston & Simpson 37688, Faure 25/5/1916); Tunisia (Davis & Lamond 56988); Malta (Duthie 4/11/1874); Libya; Egypt (Ehrenberg s.n.); Lebanon (Gombault 4482); Syria (Delessert 1965); Turkey (Davis 46875, Watson 272, Callier 672); Cyprus; Greece: Karpathos (Gathorne-Hardy 416); Dodecanese (Raus 9902); Ukraine (Shiraevsky 16/7/1903, Callier 672), Armenia (Gabrilian 5/6/1975); Georgia (Hohenacker 6/1831, Kozlowsky 12/6/1924); Azerbaijan (Aucher-Eloy 4946); Russia: Kuban (Busch et al. 367), Altai (Shishkin et al. 17/6/1931);); Iran (Rechinger 4314, Edmondson 1282); Afghanistan (Grey-Wilson & Hewer 1197); Pakistan (Lace 3716); Kyrgyzstan (Borosova 27); Turkmenistan (Litwinov 1655); Kazakhstan (Androssov 3770a); Tajikistan (Nikitin & Soskov 430); Uzbekistan (Bukinitsch 71); China (Roborowski 146); Mongolia/Songaria (Potanin 1876).

Notes.

Although we have not seen the type of Convolvulus tshegemensis we are confident in treating it as a synonym of Convolvulus lineatus as the diagnosis does not distinguish it from Convolvulus lineatus in any way.

Apart from Convolvulus arvensis , Convolvulus lineatus is the most widely distributed species of Convolvulus . Preliminary molecular studies suggest that this species is polyphyletic with significant genetic variation but until now no significant morphological variation has been discerned so it is here treated as a single species.