Plantago sericea Ruiz & Pavón (1798: 51

Plantago sericea Ruiz & Pavón (1798: 51 View in CoL , tab. 79[b])

Type: — PERU. S.d., H. Ruiz L. & J.A. Pavón s.n. (lectotype [designated here] MA-815610 ! [ Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ]; isolectotypes MA-815609 !, MA-815611 !) .

Notes: —The protologue of P. sericea provided the following information on the type: “ HABITAT in Peruviae collibus altis aridis ad Tarmae oppidum, et prope Tarmatambo Castellum”; reference to illustrations was also made: tab. 79(b). In his treatment of Plantago series Sericeae Rahn (1978: 111) , Rahn (1981: 309) cited the type of P. sericea as “Type: Ruiz and Pav. (MA holotype, not seen; B, now lost, but photographs in C, F and UC extant; F, branch from MA; JE; isotypes)”. A photograph is kept at F (F-BN-14170) of the destroyed syntype that was at B before this herbarium was bombed in 1943. Furthermore, we were able to locate a syntype at JE (JE-00009650). Since there are three syntypes at MA (MA-815609, MA-815610 and MA-815611), all of which are in conformity with the morphological description and illustration in the protologue, Rahn’s indication of a “ holotype ” at MA can be taken only as the first step of a lectotypification (Art. 9.17). In the second step, MA-815610 ( Fig. 1 View FIGURE 1 ) is designated here as the lectotype of P. sericea ; this specimen is the most representative among the syntypes.

In her treatment of Plantago in Chile, Murillo (2012) indicated that P. sericea subsp. araucana is the only subspecies of P. sericea that occurs in Chile. However, this subspecies is here raised to a separate species (see below). Previously, Rahn (1981, 1983) indicated two collections of P. sericea subsp. sericans ( Pilger 1929: 80) Rahn (1978: 111) from northern Chile, without providing more detailed information on the provenance of these specimens. Our study of herbarium collections confirmed the occurrence of P. sericea in the Tarapacá and Arica y Parinacota regions, northern Chile.

Material examined from Chile: — CHILE. ARICA Y PARINACOTA: Arica: camino de Arica al Portezuelo de Chapiquiña, Km 96, 3450 m, 9 February 1964, C. Marticorena et al. 53 (CONC-47557); camino de Putre a Chucuyo, Km 4, 3750 m, 12 February 1964, C. Marticorena et al. 159 (CONC-47558); entre Putre y el portezuelo de Putre, 3600–4000 m, 16 April 1980, C. Villagrán et al. 2522 (CONC-53748); Parinacota: cerros frente a Putre, 3600 m, 21 March 1987, O. Matthei & R. Rodríguez 268 (CONC-106335); entre Belén y Murmuntani, 3320 m, 23 May 2000, E. Belmonte 20208 (CONC-148805); Putre, orilla de calle, 3500 m, 15 May 2007, C. Ávila s.n. (CONC-167744); Tacora-Humapalca-río Azufre, 4230 m, 12 August 2012, S. Teillier & J. Delaunoy 7732 (CONC-179691); TARAPACÁ: Iquique: Cord. Co. Columtusca, La Escalera, 4200 m, March 1926, E. Werdermann 1079 (CONC-56263); entre Pachica y Poroma, 3360 m, 2 April 1961, M. Ricardi et al. 424 (CONC-47562); camino de Huara a Cancosa, Km 91, 3850 m, 17 February 1964, C. Marticorena et al. 311 (CONC-47561).