Limonium admirabile Terrones, J. Moreno, M., sp. nov.
Creators: name: Moreno, Joaquín
name: Terrones, Alejandro
name: Alonso, María Ángeles
name: Juan, Ana
name: Crespo, Manuel B.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Caryophyllales
Plumbaginaceae
Limonium
Limonium admirabile

description: Limonium admirabile Terrones, J.Moreno, M. A.Alonso, Juan & M.B.Crespo sp. nov. (Fig. 3)
Type:— SPAIN. Albacete: Tobarra, Saladar de Cordovilla, 30SXH2066 (38º 32’ 19’’ N, 1º 37’ 5’’ W), 514 m a.s.l., 19 July 2014, Moreno & Terrones s.n. (holotype ABH-71927, isotypes ABH-71928, ABH-71929, MA-921769).
Description:—Perennial plant, multicaule, glabrous. Stump 10–24 cm. Leaves of the basal rosette 27–98.6 × 11–59.8 mm, usually markedly smaller at the centre of the rosette, limb slightly recurved ca. 60–80º, mostly green at anthesis; elliptic-spatulate, glaucous green, sometimes yellowish green, with (3–)4–5 lateral nerves, scarious margin 0.1 mm, obtuse apex, mucronate 0.3–1.7 mm; petiole very wide, (5–)6.8–17.4(–28) mm wide, erect, 1/4 to 3/4 of the length of the limb. Scapes 34.8–104.3 cm, erect, almost straight, usually with the first bract green and longer, branching generally from the middle or the upper third. Inflorescence with lanceolate outline (usually type C); sterile branches absent or with only some primary or secondary short sterile branches. Primary branches up to 40 cm long, laxly disposed, almost straight, erect-patent to patent (branching angle 35˚–50˚). Terminal spikes 4.5–9.8(–11.4) mm, dense at the apex of the branches or disposed in glomerules, straight; lateral spikes shorter than terminal spikes (3.6–9.2 mm). Spikelets (2.7–)3.0– 4.1 mm, densely arranged, 7–13 per cm, in bilateral disposition, each with 2–4(–9) flowers. Outer bract 0.6–0.8(–0.9) × 1.0– 1.4 mm, triangular-ovate, with obtuse apex; hyaline margin broadly membranaceous; slightly fleshy in the middle part, narrowly oblong tip not reaching the margin. Middle bract 0.8–1.0 × 0.7–0.9 mm, oblong-elliptical to oblong-obovate, membranaceous. Inner bract (2.0–)2.2–3.1(–3.2) × 2.3–3.4 mm, ranging from longer than wide to wider than long, usually with similar length and width, broadly obovate, with a broad hyalinemembranaceous margin; middle part (1.9–)2.0–2.3 × 1.8–2.3 mm, fleshy, glaucous green, with green-brownish dots, with marked white nerves, apex 0.3–0.4 mm not arriving to the margin. Corolla ca. 2.5 mm in diameter. Calyx 3.0– 3.5 mm long, exceeding inner bract ca. 0.6–1.0 mm; tube densely hairy only on one side, with long hairs up to 0.3 mm; teeth 0.7–0.9 × 0.6–0.8 mm, broadly semielliptic; tube ribs ending near the tooth base. Petals ca. 3.6–4.0 × 0.6–0.8 mm, cuneate, white or pale violet. Stigma filiform, covered with conical, subacute papillae (type “papillate”). Pollen grains very narrowly reticulate (type “B”). Pollen-stigma combination “ type B” (self-incompatible).
Ecology:— Limonium admirabile grows on salt-silts and limestone clay soils (Tertiary and Quaternary substrates). These saline sites are placed at slightly higher elevations than the surrounding areas that can be flooded during winter.
Phytosociology:—The new species occurs in halophilous plant communities belonging to the class Salicornietea fruticosae, Ord. Limonietalia Br.-Bl. & O. Bolòs 1958,All. Lygeo sparti-Limonion angustebracteati, and grows together with e.g. Arthrocaulon macrostachyum (Moricand 1820: 2) Piirainen & G.Kadereit in Piirainen et al. (2017: 123), Limonium cossonianum Kuntze (1891: 395), L. delicatulum, Limonium tobarrense J.Moreno, Terrones, M. A.Alonso, Juan & M.B.Crespo in Moreno et al. (2016: 275), Salicornia fruticosa (Linnaeus 1753: 3) Linnaeus (1762: 5), Juncus maritimus Lamarck (1789: 264), Senecio auricula Bourg. ex Cosson (1852: 169), Elymus hispidus (Opiz in Berchtold 1836: 413) Melderis in Heywood (1978: 380) and Gypsophila tomentosa Linnaeus (1755: 11).
Bioclimatology:— Limonium admirabile is found in the Mesomediterranean Thermotype and semiarid and dry Ombrotypes (according to Rivas-Martínez et al. 2007).
Distribution:—The species is endemic to Albacete province (southeastern Spain), where two populations have been found to date (Fig. 4). The first one was located at the southeast of Albacete province, in the Saltmarsh of Cordovilla (38º 32’ 03’’ N, 01º 37’ 23’’ W, 514 m a.s.l.) and in Alboraj Lagoon (38º 35’ 01’’ N, 01º 39’ 09’’ W, 584 m a.s.l.), located at the municipality of Tobarra, although the species could not be found in other nearby saltmarshes like the Saltmarsh of Agramón. The second population was found at the southwestern areas of Albacete capital, where two different subpopulations were found, the first one in “El Vado”, close to “Urbanización Casas Viejas” (38º 58’ 16’’ N, 01º 56’ 45’’ W, 685 m a.s.l.) and the second one in “El Albaceal”, between “Urbanización Molino Ojos de San Jorge” and “Urbanización Riachuelos” (38º 56’ 05’’ N, 01º 58’ 01’’ W, 688 m a.s.l.). Both areas belong to the Mediterranean Central Iberian Province, Castilian Subprovince, namely to the Jumillano-Hellinense and Manchego Albaceteño districts of the Manchean sector (sensu Rivas-Martínez et al. 2007), to which Limonium admirabile should be considered as a narrow endemic.
Reproductive features:—All examined individuals of L. admirabile showed the pollen-stigma combination “B”, which corresponds to a self-incompatible type including pollen grains with finely reticulate exine and papillate stigma (see Erben 1979) (Fig. 5). Pollen irregularities were frequent and basically concerned shape and size. Together with typically trimorphic (3- and 4-colpate) and morphologically normal grains, other smaller and abnormally colpate grains (about 5–10%) occurred. According to the obtained data, L. admirabile may probably be an agamospermous species, although chromosome number counts, flow cytometric seed screen and an evaluation of pollen-stigma combination in natural populations are still needed to support this conclusion.
Conservation status:—For the population of Cordovilla, census data are available from 2016, where about 400– 600 reproductive individuals were counted, although no information about its temporal fluctuation is available. This taxon could be considered as a rare species in this landscape, appearing only occasionally in small patches, but it seems that this population will remain stable in the future because this landscape is protected by several protection entities (Cubero Rivera 2015). In contrast, the southwestern areas of Albacete capital have no protection status. This landscape were marshes in the past, but during 19 th and 20 th centuries they were drained and cultivated (López Bermúdez 1978), and posteriorly, partially urbanised. Consequently, only some small patches of suitable habitat remain in the present. Two small nuclei of L. admirabile have been found to date in this second population, but it is possible that new nuclei may appear in the vicinity. The first nucleus appears near to “Urbanización Casas Viejas”, and has around 10,000 − 15,000 individuals, while the second nucleus in “El Albaceal” has around 200,000 − 300,000 individuals. The survival of both nuclei is severely threatened by grazing and ploughing. Therefore, according to the available data, we suggest labelling L. admirabile as Endangered [EN B1ab(iii)+2ab(iii)] according to the IUCN (2012) categories. Nevertheless, it is recommended monitoring the evolution of these populations in the future to evaluate more accurately the conservation status of this newly described species.
description: Published as part of Moreno, Joaquín, Terrones, Alejandro, Alonso, María Ángeles, Juan, Ana & Crespo, Manuel B., 2018, Taxonomic revision of the Limonium latebracteatum group (Plumbaginaceae), with the description of a new species, pp. 41-57 in Phytotaxa 333 (1) on pages 45-47, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.333.1.3, http://zenodo.org/record/13723420