LIMONIUM AUCHERI
Basionym:-Statice aucheri Girard (1844: 328). Type (lectotype, designated here):-GREECE. Cyclades: Ad thermas insulae Cycladum dictae Thermiae anno 1837, Aucher-Eloy 2506 (P-Deless.!, isolectotypes BM!, FI!, FI-WEBB!, G!, G-BOISS!, G-DC!, P!).
= Statice bellidifolia Sm. in Sibthorp & Smith (1806: 211), nom. illeg. non (Gouan 1764: 231) DC. in Lamarck & Candolle de (1805: 421) = Limonium ocymifolium subsp. bellidifolium (Sm.) Meikle (1985:1070). Neotype (here designated):-[Icon] tab. 295 (Sibthorph & Smith 1821).
Description:-Plant perennial, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 10-40 cm tall, with some ascending to erect stems and a robust tap-root. Caudices 30-150 mm long, branched and densely spirally leafy in the upper half, living leaves in rosettes at apices. Leaves herbaceous, green to glaucous, verrucate, flat, 25-70 mm long and 5-10 mm broad, narrowly cuneate-spathulate to spathulate, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes shortly mucronate, with one central nerve, gradually tapering into the petiole. Stems slender, 8-35 cm long, rugose, glaucous, more or less flexuous to straight, branching frequently begins above the lower quarter or third, sometimes proliferous. Inflorescence trullate to obtrullate in outline. Sterile branches absent or only 1-4 per stem, 5-30 mm long, straight, unbranched. Fertile branches 2-10 cm long, straight to slightly arched or flexuous, directed obliquely upwards, forming branching angles of 20°- 60°, longer branches divided in the upper half. Spikes 20-50 mm long, straight to slightly arched, inserted obliquely to erect. Spikelets 5.5-6.3 mm long, composed of 1-4(-6) flowers, more or less remotely arranged with 1-5 per cm. Outer bract 1.7-2.6 mm long and 1.6-2.7 mm broad, broadly triangular- ovate, obtuse; bract margin broadly membranous; central slightly fleshy, sometimes only at the base, acuminate. Middle bract membranous, 1.7-2.5 mm long and 1.4-2.0 mm broad, oblong-elliptic, rounded or emarginate. Inner bract 4.3-5.2 mm long and 3.2-3.9 (-4.1) mm broad, obovate, rounded, bract margin more or less broadly membranous; central part fleshy, 3.3-4.4 mm long and 1,7-3.0 mm broad, oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.5-1.0 mm long, not reaching the upper margin. Calyx 4.3-5.4 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by 1.0-1.8 mm; calyx tube glabrous or sparsely to densely shortly to long hairy, with 5 ribs ending at the base of lobes; calyx lobes ca. 0.4 × 0.9 mm, broadly semi-elliptic. Corolla pale pink to pinkish.
Chromosome number:-2n = 43 (Kouzali & al. 2012, Erben Li-1528, Li-1587, Li-1616, Li-1737, unpubl.).
Distribution:-Very rare in Attika and Peloponnese, frequent on many islands of the central and southern Aegean region: Andros, Crete, Euboea, Kasos, Kythira, Kythnos, Kos, Leros, Liadi, Nisyros, Rhodes, Syros, Yiaros (Fig. 90A).
Habitat:-Rocky coast on different substrates and sandy places.
Taxonomic remarks:-In the past L. aucheri was considered as a synonym of L. ocymifolium, but the morphological investigation of the type material has highlighted that L. aucheri is a distinct species. The differential characters are narrower leaves, and shorter spikelets, bracts and calyces. This plant was first described from Rhodes by Smith in Sibthorp & Smith (1806) as Statice bellidifolia, but this is an invalid name since later homonym of a different taxon was validly published by Candolle in Lamarck & Candolle (1805). Concerning the typification, we have been not able to trace orginal material, so we are forced to designated a neotype according to the art. 9.7 of the ICN. We here designated the illustration by Sibthorph & Smith (1821) as neotype of the name Statice bellidifolia. Plants from Rhodes sometimes have longer (up to 5.7 mm long) and broader inner bracts (up to 4.6 mm broad).
= Statice bellidifolia Sm. in Sibthorp & Smith (1806: 211), nom. illeg. non (Gouan 1764: 231) DC. in Lamarck & Candolle de (1805: 421) = Limonium ocymifolium subsp. bellidifolium (Sm.) Meikle (1985:1070). Neotype (here designated):-[Icon] tab. 295 (Sibthorph & Smith 1821).
Description:-Plant perennial, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 10-40 cm tall, with some ascending to erect stems and a robust tap-root. Caudices 30-150 mm long, branched and densely spirally leafy in the upper half, living leaves in rosettes at apices. Leaves herbaceous, green to glaucous, verrucate, flat, 25-70 mm long and 5-10 mm broad, narrowly cuneate-spathulate to spathulate, apex obtuse to rounded, sometimes shortly mucronate, with one central nerve, gradually tapering into the petiole. Stems slender, 8-35 cm long, rugose, glaucous, more or less flexuous to straight, branching frequently begins above the lower quarter or third, sometimes proliferous. Inflorescence trullate to obtrullate in outline. Sterile branches absent or only 1-4 per stem, 5-30 mm long, straight, unbranched. Fertile branches 2-10 cm long, straight to slightly arched or flexuous, directed obliquely upwards, forming branching angles of 20°- 60°, longer branches divided in the upper half. Spikes 20-50 mm long, straight to slightly arched, inserted obliquely to erect. Spikelets 5.5-6.3 mm long, composed of 1-4(-6) flowers, more or less remotely arranged with 1-5 per cm. Outer bract 1.7-2.6 mm long and 1.6-2.7 mm broad, broadly triangular- ovate, obtuse; bract margin broadly membranous; central slightly fleshy, sometimes only at the base, acuminate. Middle bract membranous, 1.7-2.5 mm long and 1.4-2.0 mm broad, oblong-elliptic, rounded or emarginate. Inner bract 4.3-5.2 mm long and 3.2-3.9 (-4.1) mm broad, obovate, rounded, bract margin more or less broadly membranous; central part fleshy, 3.3-4.4 mm long and 1,7-3.0 mm broad, oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.5-1.0 mm long, not reaching the upper margin. Calyx 4.3-5.4 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by 1.0-1.8 mm; calyx tube glabrous or sparsely to densely shortly to long hairy, with 5 ribs ending at the base of lobes; calyx lobes ca. 0.4 × 0.9 mm, broadly semi-elliptic. Corolla pale pink to pinkish.
Chromosome number:-2n = 43 (Kouzali & al. 2012, Erben Li-1528, Li-1587, Li-1616, Li-1737, unpubl.).
Distribution:-Very rare in Attika and Peloponnese, frequent on many islands of the central and southern Aegean region: Andros, Crete, Euboea, Kasos, Kythira, Kythnos, Kos, Leros, Liadi, Nisyros, Rhodes, Syros, Yiaros (Fig. 90A).
Habitat:-Rocky coast on different substrates and sandy places.
Taxonomic remarks:-In the past L. aucheri was considered as a synonym of L. ocymifolium, but the morphological investigation of the type material has highlighted that L. aucheri is a distinct species. The differential characters are narrower leaves, and shorter spikelets, bracts and calyces. This plant was first described from Rhodes by Smith in Sibthorp & Smith (1806) as Statice bellidifolia, but this is an invalid name since later homonym of a different taxon was validly published by Candolle in Lamarck & Candolle (1805). Concerning the typification, we have been not able to trace orginal material, so we are forced to designated a neotype according to the art. 9.7 of the ICN. We here designated the illustration by Sibthorph & Smith (1821) as neotype of the name Statice bellidifolia. Plants from Rhodes sometimes have longer (up to 5.7 mm long) and broader inner bracts (up to 4.6 mm broad).
FIGURE 72. Limonium aucheri (Girard) Greuter & Burdet. A) Habit; B) Spikelet; C) Outer bract; D) Middle bract; E) Inner bract; F) Calyx; G) Calyx lobes; H) Leaf. (Habit and leaf drawn from “Sorgente termale di Loutra, Kythnos, Brullo & Giusso s.n., Herb. Erben, CAT”, spikelet details from “Kos, Agios Stefanos, S. Schwarz s.n., Herb. Erben”).