Menonvillea pinnatifida Barnéoud

Salariato, Diego L., Zuloaga, Fernando O. & Al-Shehbaz, Ihsan A., 2014, A revision of the genus Menonvillea (Cremolobeae, Brassicaceae), Phytotaxa 162 (5), pp. 241-298 : 283-285

20. Menonvillea pinnatifida Barnéoud in Gay (1846: 182). Type :— CHILE. [Región de Coquimbo]. Coquimbo, C . Gay 332 (holotype P!; isotype F 13845 !) .

Perennials or rarely annuals. Stems (15−)20−45(−55) cm, erect, 1 to several from base, gyrose or not, much branched, densely tomentose to sparsely pubescent with simple or more frequently branched, arachnoid, slender trichomes 0.25−0.7 mm long. Leaves not rosulate, sessile to subsessile; blades of basal and lowermost cauline leaves pectinate, 2−7 cm × 5−11 mm, with (3−)5−11, narrowly linear to filiform lobes (0.5−)0.7−1.5(−2) mm wide, densely pubescent and canescent or rarely glabrescent; middle and uppermost cauline leaves trifid or undivided, smaller than lower leaves. Racemes terminal or axillary, ebracteate, corymbose, elongated considerably in fruit, 6− 12 cm long; rachis sparsely pubescent to glabrescent or glabrous, conspicuously flexuous in fruit; fruiting pedicels divaricate-ascending, straight, 1.5–4(−5) mm long, glabrescent or pubescent. Sepals narrowly oblong, (2.8−)3− 4.5(−5.5) × 1.3−1.8 mm, glabrous or pubescent, erect, both pairs or at least inner pair saccate at base, caducous, margin membranous; petals yellow to yellowish green, linear to narrowly spatulate, 5−8(−10) × 0.8−1.2 mm, clawed, base papillate; stamens tetradynamous; filaments free, erect, papillate and not dilated at base, 3−4(−4.7) mm long; anthers narrowly oblong, 0.9−1.2(−1.4) mm long, sagittate at base; nectar glands confluent, petaloid. Fruits broadly oblong to subovoid; valves 2-winged, 3−4(−5) × 2.5−4 mm, emarginate at apex and base, with 2 dorsal and 2 ventral wrinkled calluses adjacent to wings, sometimes midvein of dorsal side conspicuously thick and as wide as or wider than lateral callosities, papillate or glabrous between callosities; wings (0.1–)0.2−0.6(−0.8) mm wide, narrower near apex or base; gynophore 0.4−0.9 mm long; style 1−1.5(−2.1) mm long; stigma 2-lobed, slightly decurrent. Seeds ovoid to broadly oblong, 1.4−2 × 1−1.5 mm, wingless, plump; cotyledons obliquely accumbent. Fig. 21 .

Distribution and habitat:— This species is restricted to Chile in regions II (Antofagasta), III (Atacama), IV (Coquimbo), and Metropolitana de Santiago. It grows frequently in arid scrub and rocky slopes and outcrops at elevations of (10–) 800–3000 m ( Fig. 13J ).

Phenology:— Flowering from September to February

Taxonomic notes:— Menovillea pinnatifida is easily distinguished from all species of the genus by its pectinate lowermost leaves, branched and arachnoid trichomes, flexuous rachis of fruiting raceme, and two or three bands of callus on dorsal side of each valve. The fruit wing is somewhat variable in length, although it is always less than 1 mm long. A variation that requires critical field study is the development of dorsal midvein area of fruit valves into a central callus. For example, in Wagenknecht s.n. (CONC 92012) the central callus is about the same size as the two lateral ones, but in Garaventa 8007 (CONC), Ricardi et al. 1255 (CONC), and Ricardi & Marticorena 4363/748 (CONC, OS) the central callus is much larger than the lateral ones.

Representative Specimens:— CHILE. II Antofagasta: Prov. Antofagasta, Com. Taltal, Paposo , 10 November 1987, Hoffmann & Rodríguez 98-b ( CONC) . III Atacama: Prov. Copiapó, Com. Tierra Amarilla, Valle del río Turbio subafluente del Río Copiapó , en la cordillera de Copiapó , 30 November 1941, Pisano & Bravo 895 ( CONC, SGO) ; Prov. Huasco, Com. Vallenar, cerca del Mineral de Santa Fe (entre La Serena y Vallenar ), 9 October 1965, Garaventa 8007 ( CONC) Carretera Panamericana, 30 km al Sur de Vallenar , 13 October 1965, Ricardi et al. 1255 ( CONC 70349 ) . IV Coquimbo: Prov. Elqui, Com. La Higuera, Incahuasi , 19 September 1957, Ricardi & Marticorena 4363/748 ( CONC, OS) ; Com. Vicuña, Camino al embalse de La Laguna, a 15 km de La Junta, 5 February 1963, Ricardi et al. 707 ( CONC) ; Rodados del Río Seco , a 4 km más arriba de Nueva Elqui en camino a mina El Carmen, 16 December 1940, Wagenknecht s.n. ( CONC 92012 , GH, MO) ; Prov. Limarí, Com. Río Hurtado, Séron , 24 December 1957, Jiles 3300 ( CONC) . Región Metropolitana de Santiago: Prov. Cordillera, Com. San José de Maipo, Rio Yeso , 17 km de Romeral, 28 December 1977, Biese 742 ( LIL) .

Figures

FIGURE 13. Distribution of species of Menonvillea sect. Menonvillea. A, M. chilensis. B, M. constitutionis. C, M. filifolia. D, M. flexuosa. E, M. linearis. F. M. litoralis. G. M. marticorenae. H, M. minima. I, M. orbiculata. J, M. pinnatifida. K, M. purpurea.

FIGURE 21. Menonvillea pinnatifida Barnéoud. A, plant. B, flower. C, sepal. D, petal. E, stamens. F, nectar glands stamens and ovary. G, immature fruit. H, fruit mericarp, ventral view. I, fruit mericarp, dorsal view. J, seed. K, embryo. L, leaf trichome. From Wagenknecht s.n. (CONC 93480). Scale bars: A = 1 cm; B–K= 1 mm; L = 100 µm.