Salvia revelata Matis & A. Z. Szabo 2023
Creators: name: Mátis, Attila
name: Malkócs, Tamás
name: Kuhn, Thomas
name: Laczkó, Levente
name: Moysiyenko, Ivan
name: Szabó, Anna
name: Bădărău, Alexandru S.
name: Sramkó, Gábor
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2023
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Lamiales
Lamiaceae
Salvia
Salvia revelata

description: Salvia revelata Mátis & A.Z.Szabó, sp. nov.
– Holotype: ROMANIA. Pădurea Dumbrăveni Reserve (Constanţa County, SV Dobrogea), on moderately steep (20°), southwest-facing slope, with calcareous, rocky substrate, in a grassland enclave (Ponto-Sarmatic steppe habitat), surrounded by Carpinus orientalis dominated forest, N 43.977070°, E 27.978860°, 77 m a.s.l., 16 May 2015, Mátis & al. (CL No. 668802).
= Salvia austriaca var. perlanata Nyár. in Acta Univ. Szeged., Sect. Sci. Nat., Pars Bot. 1: 43. 1942
– Syntypes: “ Hab. Dobrogea, distr. Caliacra. 1. colline ‘Movila’ prope pa-gum Ghiaursuiuciuc, alt. cca 110 m s. m., 14. VI. 1925 [not found]; 2. In campis litoralibus inter pagos Caiabeikiöi et Sürtükiöi, alt. cca 40–50 m s. m., 14. VII. 1923 [CL No. 193909!]”.
For an image of the holotype, see Fig. 7.
Diagnosis. – Salvia revelata is overall very similar in habitus to S. austriaca, hence the persistent confusion with the latter species. The most significant distinguishing features are all concentrated in the reproductive structures (Table 1, Fig. 8). Salvia revelata has a significantly longer corolla and calyx, and longer upper (abaxial) and lower (adaxial) connective arms of the stamens. Even if the absolute length of the abaxial arm is longer, the distance between joint and theca on the upper connective arm is similar to that of S. austriaca because the arm is more curved, enveloped by the falcate upper lip. Unlike the free upper connective arms of S. austriaca, the upper connective arms of S. revelata are postgenitally fused along their thecae, and, thus, they act as a single functional unit, a feature known to enhance pollen removal (Ren & Tang, 2010). There are also significant structural differences regarding the position of the upper connective arms: in S. austriaca they are tilted outward relative to the main symmetry axis of the flower, and, thus, they are laterally protruding from the flower in the transversal plane, while in S. revelata they are held together by the upper lip that encloses them, thus they have a vertical position in the median plane of the flower. Regarding lever mechanism and pollination biology, in S. revelata pollen is deposited on the dorsal part of the insect by a downward movement of the upper connective arms, resulting in nototribic (dorsal) pollination, whereas in S. austriaca pollen is deposited on the flanks of the insect with a pincer-like movement of the upper connective arms, resulting in plagiotribic (lateral) pollination (Fig. 9).
Description. – Plants perennial, herbaceous, up to 100 cm tall. Taproot ± cylindrical. Stem erect, usually simple, or branching in the upper part, quadrangular, with reddish line on the edges, internodes long. Lower part of stem covered with long, simple hairs and long-stipitate glands, the upper part (inflorescence) covered profusely with long, multicellular, stiff hairs, short hairs and many long-stipitate glands. Leaves mostly radical, forming a compact rosette, spreading over the ground, elliptical, ovate or oblong, blade 8–23 cm long, 5–10 cm broad, mostly obtuse, cordate at base, on the margin doubly crenate, toward the petiole often lobed, midvein broad, flattened and reddish, glabrous above, more or less tomentose below, covered with short hairs (Fig. 10B) and scattered sessile glands between the veins, petiole shorter than blade, 1–9 cm. Cauline leaves 1–2 (3) pairs, reduced, sessile and elliptical, irregularly lobate and dentate, pubescent below with sessile glands, those right below the inflorescence small and entire at margin. Bracts broadly ovate, entire at the margin, acuminate, as long as or longer than calyx, ciliate at margin, below with long, multicellular hairs and with many glands. Inflorescence simple or with 1–2 pair of branches shorter than the main axis (Figs. 10A, 11A). Lower verticillasters distant, upper ones approximate, usually with 6 petiolate flowers. Most individuals are hermaphroditic, with flowers containing functional staminal levers (Fig. 11C), but some individuals in every population seem to be functionally females, with flowers in which the stamens are reduced (Figs. 10E, 11B), resulting in a non-functional lever mechanism (gynodioecy). Calyx 8–10 mm long, 7–8 mm broad, bilabiate, upper lip with 3 very small, acuminate teeth, lower with 2 ovate, more pronounced, acuminate teeth, with long hairs on the veins and covered with short hairs, and many glands between the veins (Fig. 10C). Corolla yellowish-white or cream-colored, 19–26 mm long, with height 8–18 mm, with floral tube only shortly exserted from the calyx. Upper lip quite falcate, flattened, on exterior covered abundantly with long-stipitate, magenta-colored glands. Lower lip with elongated, erect lateral lobes and broad, conduplicate, emarginate, unevenly and obtusely toothed, with few magenta-colored glands on the exterior (Fig. 10C). Two versatile, monothecate stamens with very short filament, highly mobile filamentconnective joint, upper (abaxial) connective arms very long, 18–24 mm, with vertical position in the central axis of the flower, curved and enveloped by the upper corolla lip, but with fertile thecae long exserted and postgenitally fused (Fig. 11D); shovel-like lower (adaxial) connective arms sterile, short, flattened, 2–4 mm, postgenitally fused at a narrow line, entirely blocking the corolla throat. Style much longer than upper (abaxial) connective arms, long exserted, with unequal stigma lobes. Nutlets slightly trigonous, subglobose, 1–2 mm in diameter, brown, smooth (Fig. 10D).
Distribution. – The species is currently known from the Pontic steppe. Even in the forest-steppe ecoregion, it grows exclusively in open steppe patches. One single locality is known from the Balkan mixed forest ecoregion at the boundary of forest steppe: near the Bozhurluka nature reserve in Studena river site of community interest, in pannonic loess and subpannonic steppic grasslands (MEWRB, 2011–2013). Its easternmost known locality is proximate to the River Don estuary (Russia, Rostov Province); the westernmost known distribution point is located in Veliko Tarnovo Province (Bulgaria).
Habitat and ecology. – Salvia revelata grows in petrophilous steppe habitats on loess and clay, between 40 and 120 m altitude. In Dobrogea it occurs sporadically in Ponto-Sarmatic steppic grassland habitats (Fig. 10A) dominated by Festuca callieri (Hack.) Markgr. -Dann., Koeleria splendens C.Presl, Poa angustifolia L., with Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Keng and sometimes Thymus zygioides Griseb., associated with limestone rocky outcrops and xerophilous forest edges. Other forbs co-occurring with Salvia revelata are Astragalus onobrychis L., Taraxacum serotinum (Waldst. & Kit.) Poir., Teucrium chamaedrys L., Thymus roegneri K.Koch, but also some rare steppic species, such as Cytisus jankae Velen. or Paeonia tenuifolia, occur in these grasslands.
Phenology and pollination. – Flowering in May–June, fruiting in July. Pollination carried out by bumblebees, with nototribic pollen placement.
Etymology. – The specific epithet is from the Latin revelatus in the nominative feminine singular, meaning “uncovered”, “revealed”, “disclosed”, referring to the fact that this taxon is no longer cryptic, but has been long hiding in spite of its relatively large distribution.
Vernacular names. – Pontic sage (English), понтийско какула/pontijsko kakula (Bulgarian), pontuszi zsálya (Hungarian), jaleş pontic (Romanian), понтический шалфей/ponticheskij salfej ˇ(Russian), понтична шавлія/pontychna ˇsavlija (Ukrainian).
Preliminary conservation status of IUCN. – Not evaluated (NE). This species is distributed over a large area from north Bulgaria to Russia, Rostov Province, and is a sporadic species, thus could probably be considered as Least Concern (LC).
description: Published as part of Mátis, Attila, Malkócs, Tamás, Kuhn, Thomas, Laczkó, Levente, Moysiyenko, Ivan, Szabó, Anna, Bădărău, Alexandru S. & Sramkó, Gábor, 2023, Hiding in plain sight: Integrative analyses uncover a cryptic Salvia species in Europe, pp. 78-97 in TAXON 72 (1) on pages 87-89, DOI: 10.1002/tax.12818, http://zenodo.org/record/14047522