Lucilebutina González-Toral, Sanna, Nava, Fern.Prieto & Cires (Boiss.) 2025

Lucilebutina González-Toral, Sanna, Nava, Fern.Prieto & Cires , gen. nov.

Etymology:—This name honours Lucile Butini (1822–1849), wife of Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810–1885), who suddenly died on 8th of July 1849 while accompanying him and Georges François Reuter (1805–1872) on an expedition through North African and South Spain. She died due to “choleric fevers” in the Andalusian city of Granada, type location of the type species of this new genus, Laserpitium longiradium , which was first described by Boissier in 1845.

≡ Laserpitium longiradium Boiss., Voy. Bot. Espagne 2: 734. (1845)

Type:— Lucilebutina longiradia (Boiss.) González-Toral, Sanna, Nava, Fern.Prieto & Cires , comb. nov.

Description: —Robust or very robust perennial polycarpic hemicryptophyte herbs. Rhizomatous plants with thick stump with ribbon-shaped paper-like foliage rests. Well-developed erect stems, either short to very long (2)8–130(200) cm striate stems or medium to long stems, (20)40–60(130) cm, with12–25 uneven yellowish ribs and green grooves. Large basal leaves of 20–60(80) cm with either glaucous with stomata or green without stomata leaf upperside. Basal leaves 2–3(4) pinnatisect with suborbicular leaflets with terminal divisions that almost result in 3 leaflets and with irregular teeth. Glaucous or light green leaves underside with densely or scarcely pubescent nerves. Compound umbels. Hermaphroditic terminal umbels with (8)9–18(34) rays, sometimes accrescent, of (3)4–16(20) cm length either striate glabrous and without ribs, or presenting 4–6(8) smooth, hairy or papillose ribs. Secondary umbels functionally male. Scabrid pedicels with uneven papillae that may be flat or present 10–12 deep grooves. (0)1–6(12) deciduous linearlanceolate, acute apex or filiform bracts, sometimes with a white edge. Terminal umbels bracts tend to fall, although 1 bract may persist. Bracts more persistent in lateral umbels. Persistent bracteoles in variable number, (5)9–11, which can be filiform or triangular with acute apex. Actinomorphic flowers with large divided stylopodium and 5 ivorian-white homogeneous notched petals, rarely pinkish, with a velvelt-like shine. Red anthers, rarely almost black, with a length of 0.5–0.9 mm. 5 stamens, long styles 1.5–3(3.3) mm long either erect or curved reflexed during fructification. Scabrid elliptic schizocarpic fruits 5.0 -7.0 mm long and slightly compressed dorsally. Mericarps with 5 hairless inconspicuous primary ribs, with 6 or 11 vittae. Secondary ribs forming wings: 2 dorsal ( 0.5–1.9 mm) and 2 lateral subequal wings ( 0.7–2.5 mm).

Diagnosis:—This new genus can be distingued from Thapsia s.s. by the leaf morphology, which present well-developed leaf-sheaths and no leaves semicircular terminal divisions. Flowers also allow distinguishing these two genera, as Thapsia taxa present yellow entire petals and Lucilebutina species have ivorian-white flowers, rarely pinkish, with notched petals and a large stylopodium. Lucilebutina species present of striations or ribs in the stems, which are not present Thapsia s.s. taxa as these have smooth stems, and deciduous bracts; which are rarely present in Thapsia s.s. Thapsia scabra is the most similar Thapsia s.s. however, its upper leaves are so reduced to well-developed leaf-sheaths and its white flowers with woolly ovaries and very hairy petals without notches. Lucilebutina and Laserpitium s.s. also present morphological divergences as the latter has larger numbers of rays of terminal umbels with larger persistent bracts and its leaf morphology can be very variable even within the same species (e. g. L. gallicum ) and when basal leaves present divisions, these are not deep enough to result in the characteristic 3 leaflets of the Lucilebutina species (see Table 6 and Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 for more details).

Distribution area:—Mountainous systems of the northern and central Iberian Peninsula (Galician Massif, Cantabrian Mountains, Basque Mountains, Central System, Iberian System) towards the Subbaetic System, Sierra Nevada (Granda, South Iberian Peninsula), Pyrenees and South West France (Massif Central).

Ecology and habitat: —Limestone substrates of mountain pastures, moorlands, Abies alba Mill. (1756) forest and high-mountain Quercus forests of the North, Central and South Iberian Peninsula (e. g. Quercus ilex L. (1753) and Quercus faginea Lam. (1785)) . Taxa can be found at heights ranging from 400–2450 m.a.s.l.

comb. nov. versus the Iberian Thapsia s.s. Linnaeus (1753: 261) and Laserpitium s.s. Linnaeus (1753: 248) taxa.