Menonvillea spathulata (Gillies & Hook.) Rollins (1955: 22)

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 : 267

9. Menonvillea spathulata (Gillies & Hook.) Rollins (1955: 22) . Hexaptera spathulata Gillies & Hook. in Hooker (1830: 351). Type:— ARGENTINA or CHILE. Andes between Chile and Mendoza, J. Gillies s.n. (holotype K!; isotype E!).

Hexaptera pusilla Philippi (1872: 674) . Hexaptera spathulata Gillies & Hook. var. pusilla (Phil.) Reiche (1895: 89) . Hexaptera spathulata subsp. pusilla (Phil.) Gilg & Muschler (1909: 443) . Type:— ARGENTINA [Provincia de Mendoza], Paso de las Avestruces, Cruz de Piedras, 1871, F. Leybold s.n. [lectotype designated by Al-Shehbaz et al. (2011: 284), SGO 63965!; isolectotype SGO 68270!].

Hexaptera cuneata (Gillies & Hook.) Rollins var. edentata Kuntze (1898: 6) . Type:— ARGENTINA. [Provincia de Mendoza]. Cordillera, Paso Cruz , O. Kuntze 51 (holotype NY!; isotype CORD!) .

Perennials, cespitose, with deep, branched caudex. Stems 2.5−8(−13) cm, woody to slightly fleshy, 1 to several from base, usually canescent with straight, simple, terete, antrorse trichomes 0.5−1.5 mm long. Leaves petiolate, subrosulate; blade entire, suborbicular to broadly obovate, rarely oblong, 5−15(−20) × (3−)4−6(−8) mm, pubescent with appressed, antrorse trichomes, base cuneate, margin entire, apex rounded or rarely acute; upper leaves smaller and narrower. Racemes terminal, ebracteate or less frequently bracteate proximally, corymbose, slightly elongated in fruit, 1.3−4(−5.5) cm long; rachis pilose, straight; fruiting pedicels ascending at base, straight or often recurved distally, (5−) 7−11 mm long, appressed hirsute. Sepals broadly oblong, (2−)2.53.5(−4.5) × (1.2−) 1.5−2 mm, hirsute, erect, not saccate, persistent, margin membranous; petals white, sometimes slightly purplish at base, spatulate to broadly so, 4−6(−6.5) × 1.5−2(−3) mm, clawed, not papillate at base; stamens tetradynamous; filaments free, conspicuously dilated at base, not papillate, white, 2−3 mm long; anthers oblong to narrowly so, 11.4 mm long; nectar glands confluent, subtending or surrounding bases of all filaments. Fruits globose to broadly ovoid, sparsely hirsute or glabrous; valves 3-winged, prominently ribbed between wings, (3.5−)4−6(−8.5) × (3.5−)5−7(−8.5) mm; lateral wings (0.3−)1−2(−2.5) mm wide, purplish red at maturity, slightly undulate; dorsal wing smaller, occasionally reduced to a crest, 0.1−1.4(−2) mm wide; gynophore 0.5−1.3 mm long; style 1−2(−3) mm long; stigma slightly decurrent. Seeds broadly ovate, 2.2−3.2(−4) × 1.6−2.2(−3) mm, wingless, flattened to somewhat plump; cotyledons accumbent. Fig. 15 .

Distribution and habitat:— Menonvillea spathulata grows in Argentina (Mendoza) and Chile (Región Metropolitana de Santiago and V Valparaíso) at elevations of 2100−4200 m ( Fig. 12H ).

Phenology:— Flowers from November to March.

Taxonomic notes:— A very distinct species easily distinguished by its dwarf size, appressed, terete and antrorse leaf trichomes, persistent sepals, strongly dilated filament bases, and fruit valves conspicuously ribbed abaxially between the wings. Width of the fruit wings is highly variable, and some specimens have almost wingless fruits and others with fully developed wings to 2.5 mm wide.

Representative Specimens:— ARGENTINA. Mendoza: Depto. Las Heras, Cerro Pelado, 2 February 1913, Sanzin 116 ( SI) ; Depto. Luján de Cuyo , Cerro platita, 21 January 1983, Roig 11058 ( MERL) ; Depto. Malargüe, Mallin del Valle , December 1912, Hicken 94 ( SI) , Depto. San Carlos, reserva provincial Laguna del Diamante , 2 February 2010, Prina 3624 ( SI, SRFA) ; Depto. San Rafael, subida desde Ruta Provincial 180 a Cerro El Nevado, 20 November 2010, Zuloaga et al. 12258 ( SI) ; Depto. Tunuyán, cerca de las llaretas, entre Real de Curuona y las Lagunitas, camino al Paso del Portillo Argentino , 24 December 1933, Ruíz Leal 1903 ( MERL) . CHILE. Región Metropolitana de Santiago: Prov. Cordillera, Com. San José de Maipo, Cajón del Yeso Termas El Plomo , sendero hacia Paso Piuquenes, 18 January 1995, Muñoz et al. 3513 ( SGO). V Valparaíso: Prov. Los Andes, Com. San Estebán, Portillo , lado de Chile , no date, Diaz s.n. ( SGO 63966) .

Figures

FIGURE 12. Distribution of species of Menonvillea sect. Cuneata. A, M. cicatricosa. B, M. comberi. C, M. cuneata. D, M. frigida. E, M. macrocarpa. F. M. nordenskjoeldii. G. M. patagonica. H, M. rigida. I, M. spathulata. J, M. virens.

FIGURE 15. Menonvillea spathulata (Gillies & Hook.) Rollins. A, plant with flowers. B, plant with fruits. C, flower. D, nectar glands, stamens and ovary. E, sepal. F, petal. G, stamen. H, ovary. I, fruit, dorsal view. J, seed. K, embryo. L, leaf trichome. From Boelcke et al. 10008 (SI). Scale bars: A–B = 1 cm; D–K= 1 mm; L = 200 µm.