Plantago australis subsp. angustifolia ( Pilger 1913: 274 ) Rahn (1974: 75–76)

Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M. & Rønsted, Nina, 2015, Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key, Phytotaxa 221 (3), pp. 226-246 : 233-234

Plantago australis subsp. angustifolia ( Pilger 1913: 274) Rahn (1974: 75–76)

≡ P. bicallosa var. angustifolia Pilger (1913: 274) . Type:— BRAZIL. RIO DE JANEIRO: 1885–86, A.F.M. Glaziou 16360 (lectotype C!).

See description in Rahn (1974).

Illustration: —Figure 28 in Rahn (1974).

Phenology: —Poorly known; probably October–January (based on the few known collections).

Habitat and distribution: —Apparently restricted to the high summits of Serra dos Órgãos, 2000–2250 m asl, in Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil ( Figure 3 ).

Conservation status: —Data Deficient (DD). Distribution data about this subspecies is still deficient, as it has never been included in identification keys to Plantago in Brazil. This subspecies appears to be restricted to Serra dos Órgãos, thus warranting a threatened status, but more studies are necessary to clarify the distribution, conservation status and ecology of this poorly-understood subspecies.

Discussion: — Rahn (1974), while making this combination, admitted that “It is with some hesitation that I have included all the material cited above in the same subspecies”, as he greatly expanded the distribution of former P. bicallosa var. angustifolia , in attributing to it five collections (at HBR herbarium) from Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. GH examined all these specimens, and concluded that they actually belong to P. australis subsp. hirtella . That would explain why Hefler et al. (2011) proposed the synonymisation of this subspecies under P. australis subsp. australis (see more details about this misunderstanding under P. australis subsp. hirtella ).

However, the examination of the lectotype (A.F.M. Glaziou 16360, C), and of high-resolution images of the isotype at K and of another collection attributed to this subspecies by Rahn (1974) from Serra dos Órgãos (E.H.G. Ule 136, R) has convinced us that these specimens are indeed distinct from other P. australis subspecies ( Table 3). This, in addition to the very controversial synonymisation by Hefler et al. (2011), who did not see any collections from Rio de Janeiro, including the type, has led us to propose here the revalidation of this subspecies. This poorly-understood species needs further study to elucidate its morphology, distribution, conservation status, ecology and phylogenetic relationships with other P. australis subspecies.

Figures

FIGURE 3. Distribution of Plantago australis subsp. angustifolia (stars), P. napiformis (dots) and P. pretoana (triangles). Refer to the legend of the identification key for the abbreviations of the territories in the map.