Vaccinium ashei J.M.Reade, Torreya

Vaccinium ashei J.M.Reade, Torreya View in CoL 31:71.1931. TYPE: U.S. A. FLORIDA. Okaloosa Co.:near Niceville ,in small swamp with titi,

Cyrilla etc., 26 Mar 1927, W. W.Ashes.n. (LECTOTYPE, designated here: GA accession #275541,barcode #259756, flowering branchlet

on sheet [lower element], Fig.12 View FIG .See also Fig. 13a–g View FIG for photographs of living plants illustrating diagnostic features of V.ashei .

Reade (1931) described the type of Vaccinium ashei as follows: “The type material collected by W. W. Ashe near Niceville, Okaloosa County, Fla., consisting of both flowers, March 26, 1927, and fruit June 2, 1929, from the same plant, is in the Ashe herbarium. Co-type specimens in fruit are being deposited in the herbarium of the University of Georgia and in the National herbarium.” The “Ashe herbarium” may be at NCU, but we have located no type material there. The only type material we have located is at GA. W. H. Camp annotated this specimen as “ ISOTYPES ” in 1942 and “ GA Herbarium Staff” annotated the specimen as isotype in 2017, but it is not clear if any of these individuals saw material that could be considered the holotype. Because the GA specimen constitutes the only type material that we have seen, and because there is no evidence of the existence of type material at the “Ashe herbarium,” whether that is NCU or a different herbarium, we have used the material on the sheet at GA for lectotypification. There are two elements on the sheet, one in flower and one in fruit, each collected at a distinct time and therefore each constituting a separate gathering; as such, these are syntypes. We designate the flowering specimen on the sheet as lectotype and presume that the date of collection is the date indicated in the protologue, although only the fruiting date of 8 June 1929 is indicated on this sheet. Reade did not annotate this specimen, but because GA is Reade’s herbarium, we presume that Reade saw it. We have not seen the specimen at US (presumably the “National herbarium” referenced by Reade) .

Description.— Data from Reade (1931) that differ from our observations are indicated in brackets. Shrubs, deciduous, usually clumped and multi-stemmed, not clonal or ( Camp 1945) clonal, 1.0–4.5[–6.0] (rarely –7, from Camp 1945) m t all, top-most branches often arched, distal portions drooping in fruit. Branchlets in situ green until ca. third or fourth year, older branchlets and stems gray to brown; eruptive periderm (split longitudinally and irregularly) common on third-year and older branchlets and stems. Current-year branchlets sparsely to densely white-puberulent, without stipitate glandular trichomes, trichomes in 2 narrow lines, straight to curved, 0.10–0.34 mm long; second-year branchlets glabrous or white-puberulent, glabrate, trichomes ± in lines and/or patches, often broken; outer vegetative bud scales 1.3–2.4 mm long, glabrous or occasionally puberulent. Leaves with petiole 0.5–2.2[–3.0] mm long, sulcate and/or margins narrowly winged to base, abaxially and adaxially pubescent, eglandular; leaf blade elliptic or narrowly elliptic to ovate or slightly obovate, often ± rhombic, (2.3–)3.4–7.9 × (0.9–)1.6–3.8[–4.3] cm, coriaceous, abaxial surface in situ dull, bluish green and glaucous, in sicco often pale tan-brown or brown, distinctly paler than adaxial surface, pubescent with white ± apically-oriented ± curved trichomes 0.32–0.50(–0.60) mm long borne along midvein at least from base to distal 1/3 and occasionally secondary veins, variously becoming less pubescent with age, sparsely to less often moderately stipitate-glandular along veins and occasionally on surface (stipitate-glandular trichomes 0.12–0.38 mm long, stipes usually not notably flattened, not notably flanged proximally, gland-heads orangish, reddish, or black, globose to ovoid), adaxial surface in situ bluish green and glaucescent, in sicco bluish green to brown to dark brown and glaucescent, glabrous except for ascending to erect ± curved eglandular trichomes along midvein, base cuneate to broadly cuneate, margins occasionally entire or usually crenulate-serrulate with each tooth tipped by a stipitate gland, sparsely to densely ciliate-pubescent at least proximally, narrowly revolute, tapering into petiole, apex [obtuse to] acute to slightly acuminate, sessile marginal glands present, 0.06–0.16 mm wide (width parallel to margin), marginal teeth (not including stipitate gland) when present oriented toward leaf apex with straight to outcurved outer edges and shallow and narrow to deep and broad sinuses. Inflorescences of axillary or pseudoterminal racemes, borne at most at several contiguous nodes along non-elongate or non-virgate distal portions of branchlets, 2- to 9-[to 10-]flowered, rachis 1–11 mm long, subtending bracts white often strongly flushed pink, obovate to subrotund, cucullate, glabrous (not stipitate-glandular), margins eciliate, pedicels glabrous, bracteoles white often strongly flushed pink, narrowly elliptic to narrowly rhombic, glabrous (not stipitate-glandular), margins eciliate. Flowers: emerging before leaves and continuing nearly to full leaf size; calyx hypanthium 0.6–2.3 × 1.3–3.3 mm, glabrous, with glaucescence on at least some hypanthia or (observed in sicco, extreme eastern part of range) rarely completely without; calyx limb 0.4–1.2 mm long; calyx lobes deltoid to ± hemispheric, 0.5–1.5 × 1.4–2.1 mm, with or without glaucescence, margins eciliate or slightly ciliate, apex acute to rounded; corolla white, occasionally tinged reddish [rarely striped with red], ± cylindrical, broadest in middle third, slightly constricted subapically, 6–10 × 3.5–6.5 mm, glabrous within and without, except often with sparse to dense short trichomes on inner lobes; stamens 6.4–8.0 mm long; filaments 2.6–4.4 mm, glabrous on surface, white-hirtellous marginally, trichomes to 0.70 mm long; anthers 3.8–4.9 mm long, thecae 1.5–2.0 mm long, tubules 2.1–3.0 mm long; style exserted, 8–10 mm long, glabrous. Fruits pastel green when immature turning pinkish pale green to wholly reddish, and black or purplish black at maturity, with or without glaucescence, subglobose, 8–16 mm diam., with sweet flavor; seeds ca. (20–) 23 to 44 in number, chestnut brown, 1.1–1.7 × 0.8–1.2 mm.

Distribution habitat, and floral phenology.— The natural geographic range of Vaccinium ashei is here considered to extend from extreme southeastern Louisiana east to extreme southeastern Georgia and extreme northeastern Florida. The natural habitats occur within the longleaf pine ( Pinus palustris Mill. ) ecosystem. Specimen labels yield the following habitat descriptors, generally ranging from moist or wet creek-sides and river margins to mesic pine-hardwood forests, mature pine forests, and dry pine-oak woodlands, margin of the Okefenokee Swamp, bottomland woods by creek, sandy seepage along river, edge of hammock above creek, moist woods on slope above creek, moist Magnolia -spruce pine woods, Magnolia -pine creek bottomland, ecotone of stream head, wooded strip around pond, roadcut bank near creek, roadsides, mesic to moist longleaf pine slopes, cut-over longleaf pine, flat open pineland, open pine-live oak-laurel oak woods, well-drained mixed woods, oak woods on sandy ridge, and very sandy pine-live oak-myrtle oak woods. Flowering occurs from late February to mid-April; fruiting occurs from early June to mid-August.

Chromosome number.— 2n=6 x =72 (hexaploid).