Schizanthus Ruiz & Pav., Fl. Peruv. Prodr.: 4. 1794

Morales-Fierro, Vanezza, Munoz-Schick, Melica & Moreira-Munoz, Andres, 2020, Synopsis of Schizanthus Ruiz & Pav. (Solanaceae), a genus endemic to the southern Andes, PhytoKeys 154, pp. 57-102 : 57

Schizanthus Ruiz & Pav., Fl. Peruv. Prodr.: 4. 1794

Type species.

Schizanthus pinnatus Ruiz & Pav.

Annual or biennial herbs, sometimes woody at base, usually sticky, with non-glandular unicellular trichomes and glandular shaggy hairs. Leaves rarely entire or slightly serrate, mostly lobed, pinnatisect to bipinnatifid. Inflorescences terminal, paniculate. Flowers 5-merous; calyx tube almost absent, segments slightly unequal, linear-spathulate or lanceolate; corolla tube shorter to several times longer than the calyx, zygomorphic, papilionate; 10-34 mm long, 10-40 mm wide, the upper lip tripartite, with the middle lobe entire, retuse, bilobed or multilobed, lateral lobes bipartite, sometimes these lobes can be two or more times divided; the lower lip with the middle lobe forming a keel and the lateral lobes linear or spathulate, the latter arched inwards; stamens 4, two superior like staminodes and two fertile inferior, sometimes a third staminode is present; anthers dorsifixed, dehiscing explosively by means of pollinators; gynoecium 2-carpellate, ovary with annular nectary, style filiform, stigma inconspicuous, lacking papillae. Capsule septicidal, 2-valved. Seeds up to 40, ellipsoidal or reniform, compressed.

In our treatment we recognise 17 taxa, i.e. 14 species and three infraspecific taxa. The genus is mainly distributed in Chile, where all taxa occur, with three centres of species richness: in the coast of Coquimbo (ca. 30°S), Valparaíso (32-33°S), and Metropolitan Andes (ca. 33°S) (Fig. 1A , Appendix II). In Argentina there are only two species, shared with Chile, which are restricted to the Provinces of Mendoza and Neuquén ( Zuloaga et al. 2008). Following the bioclimatic classification by Rivas-Martínez et al. (2011), the genus occurs in three macrobioclimates. The northern portion reaches the Tropical macrobioclimate (Hyperdesertic), while the southern limit of the distribution is extending until the Temperate macrobioclimate (Oceanic). The distribution of the genus (number of records and taxa) is mainly located in the Mediterranean macrobioclimate (Fig. 1B ).

Figures

Figure 1. Distribution of the genus Schizanthus A number of taxa of Schizanthus by cells of 0.5 degree and administrative units B distribution of the genus by macrobioclimates and administrative units C distribution of Schizanthus parvulus D, E examples of S. parvulus in Las Chinchillas National Reserve. Photos by A. Moreira-Munoz (D, E).