Limonium messeniacum Artelari & Kamari (2000: 45)

Brullo, Salvatore & Erben, Matthias, 2016, The genus Limonium (Plumbaginaceae) in Greece, Phytotaxa 240 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

38. Limonium messeniacum Artelari & Kamari (2000: 45) ( Fig. 38 )

Type:― GREECE. Peloponnese: Peloponnisos, Nom. Messinias, Ep. Kalamon: ad pagum Kitries , in saxosis maritimis, 36° 56´N, 22° 09´E, 22 September 1990, Phitos & Kamari 20788 (holotype UPA)

Description: —Plant perennial, glabrous, forming a sub-shrub 15–40 cm tall, with numerous erect to ascending stems and a robust tap-root. Caudices 1–4cm long, branched, densely spirally leafy in the upper third. Leaves fleshy, grey-green, 10–45 mm long and 3–9 mm broad, narrowly oblanceolate to narrowly spathulate, apex obtuse,

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BRULLO & ERBEN LIMONIUM (PLUMBAGINACEAE)

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BRULLO & ERBEN margin flat or slightly revolute, with one central nerve, gradually tapering into the petiole. Stems 10–35 cm long, fragile, slightly flexuous, rugose, branching begins near the base of the stems. Inflorescence corymbose or obtrullate in outline. Sterile branches several, 2–6 cm long, straight, normally unbranched. Fertile branches 2–12 cm long, slightly flexuous, slightly constricted at the nodes, straight to slightly curved, erect or directed obliquely upwards, forming branching angles of 40°– 85°, longer branches in the upper half loosely branched. Spikes 8–50 mm long, straight to slightly curved, erect or directed obliquely upwards; sometimes spikelets arranged solitary at the end of the branches. Spikelets 5.0– 5.5 mm long, composed of 1–2 flowers, remotely to densely arranged with 3–6 per cm. Outer bract 1.1–1.7 mm long and 1.3–1.9 mm broad, triangular-ovate, acute; bract margin broadly membranous; central part slightly fleshy, acuminate. Middle bract membranous, 1.7–2.1 mm long and 1.1–1.5 mm broad, oblong-elliptic, rounded. Inner bract 3.2–3.8 mm long and 2.3–2.5 mm broad, obovate, obtuse to rounded; bract margin broadly membranous; central part fleshy, 2.9–3.2 mm long and 1.8–2.2 mm broad, oblong-obovate, acuminate, forming a triangular tip, 0.7–0.9 mm long, not reaching the upper margin. Calyx 4.5–5.2 mm long, exceeding the inner bract by 1.3–1.5 mm; calyx tube sparsely shortly hairy, with 5 ribs ending above the base of lobes; calyx lobes ca. 0.8 × 0.9 mm, semi-elliptic. Corolla violet.

Chromosome number: —2n = 18 ( Artelari & Kamari 2000).

Distribution: —Confined to the southern Peloponnese, between Avia and Kitries ( Fig. 90E ).

Habitat: —Calcareous rocky coast.

Taxonomic remarks: — L. messeniacum is closely related to L. kardamylii , from which it differs by having flexuous stems branched near the base, shorter spikelets and inner bracts.

Specimens examined: — GREECE. Peloponnese: Peloponnisos, Nom. Messinias, Ep. Kalamon, c. 200 m from the southern entrance of “Akrogiali Avias”, on maritime calcareous rocks, 15 September 1991, R. Artelari & B. Chondropoulos 1248 (Herb. Erben); Peloponneso, litorale roccioso calcareo presso Kitries, 20 July 2011, Brullo & Giacalone s.n. (CAT) .

Figures

FIGURE 38. Limonium messeniacum Artelari & Kamari. A) Habit; B) Spikelet; C) Outer bract; D) Middle bract; E) Inner bract; F) Calyx; G) Calyx lobes; H) Leaves. (Habit and leaves drawn from “Peloponneso, Kitries, Brullo & Giacalone s.n., CAT”, spikelet details from “R. Artelari & B. Chondropoulos 1248”, Herb. Erben”).

FIGURE 90. (Map 5) Geographical distribution of Limonium aucheri (A); L. fragile (B); L. kardamylii (C); L. meandrinum (D); L. messeniacum (E); L. ocymifolium (F); L. thirae (G).