Limonium virgatum ( Willdenow 1809: 336 ) Fourreau (1869: 141)

Agius, Dolores Rita, Galea, Maria Elizabeth, Cambria, Salvatore, Galdo, Gianpietro Giusso Del & Brullo, Salvatore, 2023, Taxonomic survey on the genus Limonium in the Maltese islands, with description of a new species, Phytotaxa 622 (2), pp. 99-114 : 104

Limonium virgatum ( Willdenow 1809: 336) Fourreau (1869: 141) ( Fig. 2 )

Type: SPAIN. “Habitat in Hispania”, s.d., s.cl. (Lectotype B061891!), designated by Erben (1978: 456) = Statice virgata Willdenow (1809: 336) .

= Statice smithii Tenore (1824 –1829: 350).

= Statice virgata Willdenow var. tenia Heldreich (1901 : no. 1683)

≡ Limonium tenium (Heldr.) Rechinger (1961: 371) .

= Statice melia Nyman (1881: 612) .

≡ Limonium melium (Nyman) Pignatti (1971: 365) .

Plant perennial, glabrous, with caudices branched, 0.5–2.0 cm long. Leaves green, rigid, laxly inserted on the caudices, spathulate to oblanceolate, 1-nerved, 15–40 mm long, 4–8.5 mm wide, more or less flat, rounded to obtuse at the apex, mucronate. Stem several, rigid, erect, 14–40 cm tall, branched from the base, trullate in outline, with several sterile branches. Articles slightly arched, 5–40 mm long, rugose and with deepened glands, forming branching angles of 30– 45°. Fertile branches localized at the top of the stem. Spikes 5–80 mm long, straight or slightly arched, with spikelets loosely arranged. Spikelets more or less curved, 6–7 mm long, 4–6 per cm, 1–5 flowered. Outer bract 1.5–2.5 mm long, triangular-ovate, acute, fleshy at the base, membranous at margin, forming an apiculum 0.8–1 mm long. Middle bract membranous, rounded, 1.8–2.5 mm long. Inner bract 5–5.5 mm long, 3–3.2 mm wide, elliptical to oblong, rounded to obtuse, with outer hyaline margin and pale brown inner margin, central part herbaceous, with an apiculum 1–1.5 mm long, not reaching the apex. Calyx 5–6 mm long, sparsely hairy in the tube, 1.8–2.2 mm protruding from the inner bract, with tube 2.5–3 mm long and limb 2.5–3 mm long, with midribs ending at the base of the lobes, which are semi-elliptical, 0.6–0.9 mm long.

Etymology: — The Latin epithet “ virgatum ” refers to the twigs twiggy, long and slender.

Phenology: — Limonium virgatum flowers from June to October and produces seeds from August to November.

Distribution and ecology: — This species, widespread throughout the Mediterranean area, in the Maltese Archipelago occurs prevalently in Malta, where it grows mainly on marly and clayey substrata of the coastal belt and more rarely in the salt marshes ( Fig. 7 ). According to Brullo et al. (2020), L. virgatum shows its optimum in the rocky coast characterized by marls, often rich in clayey component. In this stands it is a member of a plant community of the Crithmo-Limonion, alliance of the Crithmo-Limonietea class, referable to Crithmo maritimi-Limonietum virgati, association described by Pirone (1995) and distributed in several localities of the Central Mediterranean area. In this vegetation L. virgatum grows with other perennial halophytes, such as Crithmum maritimum Linnaeus (1753: 246) , Lotus cytisoides , Limbarda crithmoides subsp. longifolia and Daucus gingidium Linnaeus (1753: 142) . Sometimes, L. virgatum was also observed with a sporadic occurrence in halophilous plant communities tied to salt marshes and belonging to Salicornietea fruticosae class ( Brullo et al. 2020).

Conservation status:— During the last decades, Limonium virgatum in the Maltese territory, due to the considerable anthropic pressure on the coastal environmental, shows a quite scattered distribution, disappearing completely in some stands, where it was previously recorded. Therefore, according to IUCN protocol ( IUCN 2023), this species due to progressive and constant regression of its populations, represented by a small number of individuals, should be classified as “vulnerable” VU A2.

Specimens examined: — MALTA. Malta: Maddalena Tower, 23 September 1985, S. Brullo s.n. (CAT 013167!); Sliema, 29 September 1985, S. Brullo s.n. (CAT 013166!); Muxar ( St. Thomas Bay ), 25 September 1985, S. Brullo s.n. (CAT 013165!); Marsalook, fanghi salini. 19 August 1982, E. Lanfranco s.n. (CAT 013163!); Marsalook, 14 November 1986, S. Brullo & P. Pavone s.n. (CAT 013171!); Marsalook, 16 November 1986, S. Brullo & P. Pavone s.n. (CAT 013174!); Ras L-Irqitpe, 24 June 1973, S. Brullo & G: Ronsisvalle s.n. (CAT 013162!); Exiles (Sliema), terreno roccioso presso il mare, 30 August 1982, E. Lanfranco 7062 (CAT 013164!); Qaliet (San Giuliano), terreno roccioso presso il mare, 26 August 1982, E. Lanfranco 7069 (CAT 013162!); Qaliet, caruhging rocks, 20 October 1984, E. Lanfranco 7212 (CAT 013168!); Rdum Tal-Vi-Gaju, 14 November 1986, S. Brullo & P. Pavone s.n. (CAT 013172!); Delimara, 10 April 1984, S. Brullo & G. Ronsisvalle s.n. (CAT 013171!); Delimara, 26 September 1985, S. Brullo s.n. (CAT 013169!); Dragunara, 23 September 1985, S. Brullo s.n. (CAT 013170!); Melita, 1845, Delicata s.n. (FI!). Ghadira, salt marshes, Mellieha, 17 October 2022, G. Tavilla s.n. (CAT!); Ghadira, salt marshes, Mellieha, 10 October 2022, G. Tavilla s.n. (CAT!); Pembrok, costa rocciosa, 28 September 2022, G. Tavilla s.n. (CAT!) .

Figures

FIGURE 2. Diagnostic features of Limomium virgatum. A. Habit. B. Stem article. C. Inflorescence. D. Spikelet. E. Inner bracts in lateral view. F. Inner bracts in dorsal view. G. Middle bracts. H. Outer bracts. I. Calyces. J. Calyx lobes. Illustration by S. Brullo based on living material coming from Malta (CAT).

FIGURE 7. Distribution of Limonium species in the MalteseArchipelago.Green dots:Limonium melitense; blue dots:Limonium virgatum; purple dots: Limonium zeraphae; red dot: Limonium lanfrancoi. It is based only on examined specimens listed in the paper.