Plantago lagopus, Linnaeus, 1753

Iamonico, Duilio, Fortini, Paola & Pietro, Romeo Di, 2019, Typification of the Linnaean names Plantago afra, P. altissima, and P. lagopus (Plantago subg. Psyllium, Plantaginaceae), Phytotaxa 405 (4), pp. 210-214 : 212

Plantago lagopus

This species was published by Linnaeus (1753: 114) in the 1 st Edition of Species Plantarum.A diagnosis (“ PLANTAGO foliis lanceolatis, spica ovata hirsute, scapo angulato”), one synonym from Bauhin (1620: 98, 1623: 189), and Morison (1699: 259) and the provenance (“ Habitat in G. Narbonensi, Hispania, Lusitania”) were provided. Morison (1699) provided an illustration (“Sectio 8. Tab. 16. [figure] 13”, image available at http://bibdigital.rjb.csic.es/ing/Libro.php? Libro=5556&Pagina=750) which is original material for the name Plantago lagopus .

Patzak & Rechinger (1965: 13) indicated unspecified material in LINN as the type, but did not distinguish between sheets Nos. 144.12, and 144.14, which are evidently not part of a single gathering. As a consequence Art. 9.17 of ICN cannot be applied. The sheet no. 144.14 includes the Linnaean annotation “ lagopus ”, so lacking the relevant Species Plantarum number (i.e., “6”). Accordingly it cannot be considered as part of the original material and consequently it is not elegible as lectotype.

Two relevant collections were located for lectotypification purposes, the first at LINN (no. 144.12), and the second at UPS (Herb. Burser X: 76). The LINN sheet bears two plants and the following original annotation: “ Monsp [eliensis] 5, and “ Plantago 6 Lagopus ” [“ Monsp ” was added just below the plant on the left, “ 5 ” between the two plants (probably part of a single gathering; Art. 8.2 of the ICN)], and “ Plantago 6 Lagopus ” (at the bottom-centre of the sheet). “6” refers to the Species Plantarum number, and it is very important since confirm that LINN-144.12 is part of the original material for P. lagopus and eligible as lectotype (see Jarvis 2007). Burser’s collection consists of one plant with leaves and five inflorescences, together with the annotation “ Plantago angustifolia , paniculis lagopi Bauh ” which corresponds to the Linnaean synonym cited in Species Plantarum .

We prefer not to select the image by Morison as lectotype, since herbarium specimens are better choices for typification than illustrations because of their potential ability to provide large number of additional characters (micromorphological, chemical, molecular, etc.) that cannot be matched by images (see Jarvis 2007: 21–22). As a consequence the possible lectotype is to be selected choosing between LINN-144.12, and UPS-X.76. The LINN sheet appears as better preserved and it is therefore here designated as lectotype of the name Plantago lagopus .

According to the current treatment of Plantago (see e.g., Moore 1976, Pignatti 1982, Pedrol 2008), LINN-144.31 corresponds to the current concept of P. lagopus on the basis of the occurrence of a basal rosette of leaves, and flowers with densely villous bracts and sepals.