Plantago zoellneriana Hassemer

Plantago zoellneriana Hassemer View in CoL , nom. et stat. nov.

Replaced synonym: — P. sericea subsp. araucana Rahn (1983: 339–341)

Type: — CHILE. MAULE: Linares: Tal von Longaví, bei einem Ort: La Balsa , ca. 1200 m, 29 December 1969, O. Zöllner 3687 (holotype C-10016663 ! [ Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ]) .

Illustrations: —Fig. 13 in Rahn (1983).

Photographs: — Fig. 2 View FIGURE 2 ; Fig. 12 View FIGURE 12 in Rahn (1983); Fig. 23A in Murillo (2012).

Distribution and habitat: —Endemic to central Chile ( Rahn 1983), distributed “de la provincia de Curicó a la provincia del Bío Bío entre los 35° a 37° S ” ( Murillo 2012). See maps: Fig. 11 View FIGURE 11 in Rahn (1983) and Fig. 23B in Murillo (2012). According to information annotated on herbarium specimens, P. zoellneriana occurs in rocky open environments.

Notes: — Plantago sericea subsp. araucana was described by Rahn (1983) as differing from P. sericea subsp. sericea by the much shorter stems, slightly zygomorphic corolla, and corolla lobes equalling the length of the sepals. In fact, as previously circumscribed, P. sericea subsp. araucana was the only taxon within P. sericea having zygomorphic corollas; all other subspecies and varieties of P. sericea have actinomorphic corollas ( Rahn 1981, 1983). Our examination of herbarium specimens of all subspecies and varieties within P. sericea has convinced us that P. sericea subsp. araucana cannot be included in the circumscription of this species, due to the different corolla architecture. Since P. araucana Rahn (1996: 197) has already been used as a new name for Littorella australis Grisebach ex Bentham & Hooker (1876: 1225) , a new name is required for the transfer of P. sericea subsp. araucana to species rank. We therefore propose the new name P. zoellneriana , in honour of the collector of the type of the species, the German / Chilean botanist Otto Zöllner Schorr (*1909–†2007), a distinguished botanist and expert on the Chilean flora ( Marticorena 2008).

Additional specimens examined: — CHILE. BIOBÍO: Ñuble : El Roble, 750 m, 2 February 1929, E. Barros 3128 (CONC-134098) ; Atacalco , 640 m, 24 November 1944, A. Pfister 852 (CONC-6594) ; Valle del Diguillín, Fundo Cipreses , ca. 800 m, 7 December 1945, A. Pfister s.n. (CONC-4932) ; CONCEPCIÓN: October 1896, F. Neger s.n. (C, paratype) . MAULE: en la Laguna Maule, 2000 m, 20 December 1969, O. Zöllner 5956 (C, paratype) .