Rhynchospora gollmeri Boeckeler

Rhynchospora gollmeri Boeckeler View in CoL , Linnaea 37: 556. 1873.

Neotype (designated here):— VENEZUELA. Anzoátegui: Distrito Freites, cerro Peonía, above Los Pajaritos, 31 airline km NE of Bergantín and N of Mundo Nuevo, Serranía de Turimiquire , 10°06’N 64°06’W, elev. ca. 1700 m, slopes upper ridges and top of mountain, 2–3 Dec 1981, G. Davidse & A.C. González 19831 ( MO!, NY) GoogleMaps .

Figure 1 View FIGURE 1 , G–K.

Perennial, caespitose, rhizomes short often with vertical stolons. Culms erect to recurved, flexible to slightly rigid, cylindrical, canaliculate, smooth, 12–50 (–66) cm long, 0.4–0.7 mm long. Leaves flexible, filiform, subcylindrical, canaliculate, 0.5 mm wide and up to 40 cm long, scabrous on distal margins. Inflorescence terminal and 1–2 lateral, remote, long peduncled, bracts exceeding subtending inflorescence, fascicles of 2–5 spikelets; terminal inflorescence a simple anthela with 2 fascicles of 4–7 (–18) spikelets. Spikelets lanceolate, 3.7–5 × 0.7–1.7 mm, 2–4-flowered, with 1–2 achenes, scales brown, broadly oval, keeled, mucronate. Perianth bristles 6, reaching the middle of the achene to the tip of the stylopodium, antrorsely scabrous, often barbed at the base. Bilobate stigma. Stamen 1–3; Achene usually brown, rarely dark brown, ellipsoid, biconvex, 1.5–1.9 × 0.9–1.2 mm, transversely rugose, with 15–17 transverse rugae, subapically constricted; stylopodium triangular to compressed tongue-shaped, white to brown, apex acute, margins smooth, (0.4–) 0.5–0.6 (–0.9) mm long and 0.5–0.8 mm wide at the base; stipe 0.2–0.4 mm long.

Geographical distribution: —The species is disjunct between Venezuela and southeastern and southern Brazil.

Habitat:—In Venezuela, occurs in open marsh and rocky areas on the slopes and ridges of the mountains, and cloud forest at elevations between 1700 and 2350 m. In Brazil, occurs in wetlands and peatlands; it is associated with cold regions on high fields between 800 and 2000 m elevation.

Phenology:—Collected with fruits between October and April.

IUCN classification:—Least Concern (LC) [Extent of occurrence: (LC); Area of occupancy: (LC)].

Note:—When comparing specimens collected in Venezuela with those in southern Brazil (see Table 2 View TABLE 2 ), we observed that the differences are very subtle. Mostly, these differences are related to the number of spikelets in the inflorescence, color of achene and relative size of perigonial bristles. In our view, these features are variable and may have different states in the same individual, or between individuals of the same population. In addition, there is a very large overlap between the different vegetative characteristics of the materials from Brazil and Venezuela. Therefore, in this first analysis, morphological data did not allow us to separate the material from southern and southeastern Brazil as a distinct species.

This research found just eight collections of this species in Venezuela. Steyermark (1957) treats R. gollmeri as a rare species, originally collected around Caracas (probably in the 1850s), and apparently there were no records of new collections in Venezuela until 1945. In Brazil, however, the species is relatively common in bogs in Campos de altitude of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul. In wetlands with thick Sphagnum , it may have vertical stolons (P. Weber 298) and longer, sometimes prostrate culms, and only a few leaves, making it more difficult to see. In wetlands without Sphagnum , it usually has shorter stems and a higher number of leaves. Its only record for the southeast region of Brazil is in Rio de Janeiro, in Itatiaia at 2000 m elevation.

This is a species associated with cold, damp weather, probably restricted to high elevations. It is believed that this disjunct distribution of the taxon is related to the topography and climate features of South America. The central part of Brazil consists mainly of plains and plateaus at 600–1650 m, with a long dry season, which is probably a limiting factor for the occurrence of the species in central Brazil.

This disjunction of populations may have occurred by vicariance or long-distance dispersal. In the case of vicariance, groups of species of different families would be expected to become relict in the same areas and have similar distribution, but this has not been detected to date. Thus, the second possibility is more likely; this process may have taken place by long-distance dispersal of the fruits, which has possibly occurred through migratory birds that inhabit these similar environments in the two countries.

In addition, Steyermark (1957) erroneously treats Rhynchospora tenerrima Boeckeler as a synonym of R. gollmeri , both having been published in the same work. Later, Thomas (1998) clarifies the issue by treating R. tenerrima Boeckeler as a synonym of R. tepuiana Steyermark.

Neotypification proved to be necessary because the only material originally indicated in the protologue, J. Gollmer s.n, from Caracas in the Federal District, which was at B and was destroyed. Therefore, we have chosen as the neotype a collection also from Venezuela (G. Davidse & A.C. González 19831), which was collected about 280 km east of where Julius Gollmer collected the original type.

Selected material: — BRAZIL. Paraná: Campina Grande do Sul, Estrada rio Taquary –border, 11 Nov 1960, G. Hatschbach 7478 (MBM) ; Palmas, Santo Agostinho , 6 Dec 1971, G. Hatschbach 28300 (MBM) ; Rio de Janeiro: Itatiaia, Lagoa da Lapa , elev. 2000m, 5 Feb 1970, T. Koyama et al. 13668 (CTES, NY) ; Rio Grande do Sul: Cambará do Sul, Faxinal , Dec 1983, M. Sobral & J.R. Stehmann 2654, (ICN) ; Cambará do Sul, canyon Fortaleza , 29°4’3.36”S 49°57’54.88”W, elev. 1026m, 13 Apr 2013, P. Weber & G. Hassemer 358 (FLOR) GoogleMaps ; São José dos Ausentes, canyon Monte Negro , 28°36’53.47”S 49°47’47.40”W, elev. 1344m, 12 Apr 2013, P. Weber & G. Hassemer 342 (FLOR) GoogleMaps ; Santa Catarina: Água Doce, Campos de Palmas , 26°36’ S; 51°45’ W, elev. 1200–1300m, 5 Dec 1964, L.B. Smith & Reitz 13656 ( HBR) GoogleMaps ; Bom Jardim da Serra , headwaters of Rio Capivari, 17 Dec 1971, L.B. Smith et al. 15858 (HBR) ; Bom Jardim da Serra , Top of Serra do Rio do Rastro, 28°23’31.1”S 49°32’56.4”W, elev. 1411m, 12 Apr 2013, P. Weber & G. Hassemer 307 (FLOR) GoogleMaps ; Bom Jardim da Serra , Top of Morro da Igreja, 28°07’36.6”S 49°28’51.2”W, elev. 1796m, 11 Apr 2013, P. Weber & G. Hassemer 296 (FLOR), 298 (FLOR), 299 (FLOR) GoogleMaps ; Bom Retiro, Campo dos Padres , 23 Jan 1957, L.B. Smith & Reitz 10332 ( HBR, MO) ; Curitibanos , elev. 1200–1250m, 6 Dec 1956, L.B. Smith & R. Klein 8382 (HBR) ; Matos Costa , elev. 1200m, 9 Dec 1962, R. Klein 3613 (HBR) ; Porto União , elev. 1200m, 20 Dec 1956, L.B. Smith & Reitz 8912 (HBR) ; Porto União , Fazenda Frei Rogério, elev. 750m, 18 Dec 1956, L.B. Smith & Reitz 8701 (HBR) ; São Joaquim , elev. 1200m, 16 Jan 1957, L.B. Smith & Reitz 10116 (HBR) ; Urubici , Campo dos Padres, 27°59’29”S 49°19’42”W, elev. 1421m, 28 Apr 2006, A. Zanin et al. 1099A (FLOR) GoogleMaps ; Urubici , 28°07’13.8”S 49°28’45.3”W, elev. 1766m, 11 Apr 2013, P. Weber & G. Hassemer 304 (FLOR) GoogleMaps ; 306 (FLOR); VENEZUELA:

Anzoátegui: Distrito Freites , 10°06’N 64°06’W, elev. 1700m, 2 Dec 1981, G. Davidse & A.C. González 19831 (MO, NY) GoogleMaps ; Distrito Libertad , 10°04’30”N 64°11’W, elev. 2000–2350m, 28 Nov 1981, G. Davidse & A.C. González 19616 (MO) GoogleMaps .