Vernonia subg. Austrovernonia H.Rob. & V.A. Funk, subg. nov.

Robinson, Harold & Funk, Vicki A., 2018, Vernonia subgenus Austrovernonia, a new subgenus from South America (Compositae, Vernonieae, Vernoniinae), PhytoKeys 110, pp. 123-134 : 129-131

Vernonia subg. Austrovernonia H.Rob. & V.A. Funk, subg. nov.

Subgeneritype.

Vernonia incana Less.

Diagnosis.

Semi-aquatic herbs 1.0-1.5 m tall, with base an apparently unbranched contorted taproot or rhizome, with fleshy lateral roots rather easily extracted from the soil. Stems striated, subsericeous with appressed T-shaped trichomes. Leaves alternate, sessile with narrow bases; blades linear to elliptical, margins sub-entire with sparse minute denticulations, apices narrowly acute, both surfaces with glandular dots, sub-sericeous with appressed T-shaped trichomes, abaxial surface somewhat paler; venation pinnate with usually 12 or more curving secondary veins on each side. Inflorescences cymbiform, with basal capitulum often appearing sessile as a result of 2-3 or more immediately subtending lateral branches, with branches loosely seriate-cymose. Capitula mostly appearing pedunculate as a result of lowered positions of subtending lateral branches; involucres sub-imbricate with 25-35 gradate involucral bracts in 3-5 series; receptacle flat or slightly convex, epaleate, ridges fringed with min ute trichomes; florets ca. 17 in capitula, corollas lavender to reddish, with basal tube narrowly cylindrical below, throat short, lobes narrowly lanceolate, without obvious multiple longitudinal ducts; anther thecae and apical appendages bearing glandular dots, bases spurred, acute, not tailed; style without enlarged basal node or disk, with sweeping hairs extending strongly on to upper shaft. Achenes cylindric, ca. 2 mm long, 10-ribbed, short twin-hairs dense on ribs, glands in furrows, with scattered idioblasts amongst elongate surface cells, walls with sub-quadrate raphids; pappus of ca. 40 scabrid capillary bristles ca. 7 mm long, with outer series vestigial and bristleform. Pollen ca. 40-50 µ in diam. in fluid, tricolporate, sublophate with continuous perforated tectum between colpi.

Type material.

The single species is as follows: Vernonia incana Less., Linnaea 4: 277. 1829. TYPE: "Brasilia meridionalis legit Sello[w]", [between Rio Grande do Sul, São Gabriel and Uruguay, Catalán Area]: Friedrich Sello[w] 3379, s.d. [1826]. Lectotype here designated: LL 00373309; isosyntypes: BR 0000005536627, GDC G00327411, HAL 0114069, K 000497031, K 001066026 (a mixed sheet with a Tweedie s.n., and Gillies 154-2 collection also mounted with the Sello[w] collection), P 00682761 and P 00682762. None of the isosyntypes has the collecting number so they cannot be considered isolectotypes. A photograph of a specimen of this gathering from B is mounted and filed at F 0BN014552. There may be other isosyntypes that are not available on line [Images of type material cited above can be found online at JSTOR-Plants, continuously updated].

Synonomy.

Vernonia immunis Griseb., Symb. Fl. Argent. 163. 1879.

Cacalia immunis (Griseb.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 970. 1891.

Cacalia incana (Less.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 3(2): 138. 1898.

Remarks.

Lessing worked at Berlin (B) and all of the Compositae in that herbarium were destroyed during WWII ( Hiepko 1987). There are seven isosyntypes in JSTOR from which one may select a Lectotype. There is also is a photograph at F of a B specimen that may have been some of the material Lessing studied but it is not indicated on the sheet. The LL specimen (now housed at TEX) was selected as the Lectotype (Fig. 4 ) because the label had the most complete information, including the collecting number and because the label information indicates that it had formerly been in the Berlin Herbarium. It was, at some point, sent to S.F. Blake (BARC) who worked at the herbarium of the US Department of Agriculture but also spent most of his free time at the US National Herbarium (US). In 1959, after his death, the Blake family sold his personal herbarium and library to C.L. Lundell (1959) who later transferred it to TEX [all of the Lundell specimens should be cited as LL]. The K specimen and one of the P specimens have a larger portion of the root than the others but they have less label information than the LL sheet. According to Vegter (1986), Friedrich Sello[w] lived from 1789 to 1831 and his original herbarium was at B. In TL II, Stafleu and Cowan (pg. 500-501, 1985) indicate that Sello changed the spelling to Sellow in 1914 but later his family dropped the ‘w’ and returned to the original spelling. It seems best to acknowledge the differing opinions and list him as Sello[w].

The collection date and location were determined by consulting Herter (1945) and Herter and Rambo (1953) which together provide a detailed guide to Sello[w]'s itinerary. Number 3379 was collected in 1826. The data from Herter (1945) and Herter and Rambo (1953) say that the numbers 3331-3623 were collected between Rio Grande do Sul, São Gabriel (Brazil) and Catalán, Uruguay. Given the low collecting number, it would seem fairly certain that this collection was made in 1826 in southern Brazil between São Gabriel in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and the Catalán area in the department of Artigas just south of the city of Artigas ( Uruguáy) and just across the Uruguay River from Brazil. Both of the maps ( Herter 1945 and Herter and Rambo 1953), however, show all 1826 collections as being south of the Uruguay river in what is now Uruguay. As a result, we are continuing to list the locality between Rio Grande do Sul, São Gabriel (Brazil) and Catalán, Uruguay.

According to J. Mauricio Bonifacino (MVFA), in the early 19th Century, Brazil had control of Uruguay and some collections made at that time (from what is now southern Brazil and Uruguay) were labelled as "Brasilia meridionalis".

Figures

Figure 4. Image of the selected lectotype for Vernonia incana Less. There are now six isosyntypes in European herbaria: all the specimens are similar, but the LL specimen was selected as the lectotype because it had the most complete information, including the collecting number and the label indicates that it had been in the Berlin herbarium before it was sent to S. F. Blake. [photo courtesy of JSTOR-Plants, continuously updated].