Acta Botanica 2-2016 - za web.indd ACTA BOT. CROAT. 75 (2), 2016 213 Acta Bot. Croat. 75 (2), 213–216, 2016 CODEN: ABCRA 25 DOI: 10.1515/botcro-2016-0033 ISSN 0365-0588 eISSN 1847-8476 Short communication Cardamine fi alae Fritsch (Brassicaceae) a new species in Croatian fl ora Mara Vukojević1, Ivana Vitasović Kosić2, Antun Alegro3, Dmitar Lakušić4, Sandro Bogdanović2* 1 Croatian Botanical Society, Rooseveltov trg 6, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 2 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Agricultural Botany, Svetošimunska cesta 25, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 3 University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany, Marulićev trg 20, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia 4 Botanical Institute and Garden, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade, Takovska 43, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia Abstract – During a fl oristic survey of the northern slopes of Matokit Mountain in the surroundings of Vrgo- rac in central Dalmatia, a peculiar population of Cardamine belonging to the C. maritima complex was found. Because of its morphology, general habit, type of leaves and fruits, the collected plants were recognized as C. fi alae hitherto know only from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Morphologically, C. fi alae is similar to the Serbian endemic C. serbica with which it shares following characteristics: auricules at the base of lower cauline leaves, stem and rosette leaves bipinnate, margin of leafl ets serrate with hairy main stem and sepals, although it differs in having bigger petals and sepals, longer fi laments and 1–2 lateral stems. C. fi alae grows on lower altitudes in rocky ground within the vegetation of forest fringes of the sub-Mediterranean zone. This is the fi rst report of the endemic species C. fi alae in Croatian fl ora. Key words: Cardamine maritima complex, Dalmatia, fl ora, Matokit Mountain, taxonomy, Vrgorac * Corresponding author, e-mail: sbogdanovic@agr.hr Introduction The genus Cardamine L. is one of the largest in the family Brassicaceae and consists of approximately 200 spe- cies of annual to perennial herbs distributed on all conti- nents except for mainland Antarctica (Kučera et al. 2005, 2010). In the European fl ora the genus is represented by ca. 54 species (Lihova and Marhold 2006), while in the Croa- tian fl ora 26 taxa are currently known (Kučera and Marhold 2006, Kučera et al. 2010, Nikolić 2015). An interesting group of the amphi-Adriatic plants is the Cardamine mari- tima complex that has been studied recently from morpho- logical and phylogenetic points of view (Kučera et al. 2008, 2010). This complex has a diversity centre in the Balkan Peninsula and extends with one species beyond the Adriat- ic. The complex includes seven endemic species with very restricted distributions, six of which occur in the Balkan peninsula (C. maritima Port. ex DC., C. adriatica Jar. Ku- čera, Lihová & Marhold, C. serbica Pančić, C. fi alae Frit- sch, C. montenegrina Jar. Kučera, Lihová & Marhold and C. rupestris (O.E. Schulz) K. Malý) and one species on the Apennine peninsula (C. monteluccii Brilli-Catt. & Gubelli- ni). Within this complex an annual to biennial species has been described from Klobuk in Bosnia and Herzegovina and named C. fi alae by Fritsch (1897). In the past, some authors treated this taxon at different taxonomic levels, mainly at infraspecifi c level. Trinajstić (1976) considered it a subspecies of C. maritima and Sagorski (1911) a variety of C. maritima, but modern phylogenetic combined with morphological studies have shown that this taxon merits being treated as an independent species (Kučera et al. 2008, 2010). Hitherto, C. fi alae has been known only from three localities in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Klobuk, Ružići and Grude (Fritsch 1897, Beck Mannagetta 1903, Kučera et al. 2008, 2010), which are only about 10 km north-east of the present localities. In April 2013 and 2015, during fl oristic mapping of Ma- tokit Mountain (Vukojević 2011, Vukojević and Vitasović Kosić 2012) in the vicinity of Vrgorac in central Dalmatia, ten kilometres aerial distance from the locus classicus (Klo- buk in Herzegovina), a population of C. maritima complex was found, and identifi ed as C. fi alae. This species is not listed in the plant identifi cation handbook of Croatia (Domac 2002) or in the Flora Croatica Database (Nikolić 2015). The Euro+Med Plantbase (Marhold 2011) note the occurrence and distribution of this species only for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the endemic C. fi alae has not been previously recorded in Croatia, it should be treated as a new species of the Croatian vascular fl ora. VUKOJEVIĆ M., VITASOVIĆ KOSIĆ I., ALEGRO A., LAKUŠIĆ D., BOGDANOVIĆ S. 214 ACTA BOT. CROAT. 75 (2), 2016 Materials and methods Field research was carried out on Matokit Mountain and in the surroundings of the city of Vrgorac in central Dalma- tia (Fig. 1). The whole researched area has about 53 square km and belongs to the belt of sub-Mediterranean deciduous forest of downy oak (Quercus pubescens Willd.) belonging to the alliance Querco-Carpinion orientalis Horvatić 1939. The terrain elevation throughout the whole area is from 300–830 m a.s.l. The climate is a combination of sub-Med- iterranean and continental climate, with an average annual temperature of 14.3 °C and 1720 mm of average annual precipitation measured in the period of 1981–2010 for the city of Vrgorac (Vukojević 2011). Identifi cation of C. fi alae regarding its morphology, general habit, shape of leaves and fruits, was done accord- ing to the identifi cation key for C. maritima complex pro- posed by Kučera et al. (2010). The morphological descrip- tion presented here follows Beck Mannagetta (1903), Tri najstić (1976), Šilić (1990), Akeroyd and Marhold (1993), Kučera et al. (2010) and additional authors’ obser- vations. Herbarium vouchers of collected plants are digi- tized and deposited in the herbarium ZAGR; images are ac- cessible through Virtual Herbarium ZAGR (Bogdanović 2015). Type specimens of C. fi alae (lectotype and isotypes form GZU and W) were also consulted and compared with Croatian populations (abbreviations are according to Thiers 2015). Results and discussion Cardamine fi alae Fritsch, Österr. Bot. Z. 47: 44 (1897) Synonyms – C. maritima Port. ex DC. subsp. fi alae (Fritsch) Trinajstić, Suppl. Fl. Anal. Jugosl. 4: 8 (1976); C. maritima Port. ex DC. var. fi alae (Fritsch) Sagorski, Österr. Bot. Z. 61: 18 (1911). Lectotype was designated by Kučera et al. (2010) in WU herbarium. Morphological description – C. fi alae is an overwinter annual or rarely biennial plant, 12–30(50) cm high, whole plant is hairy. Stems are erect and branched, on lower part usually purple-violet. Rosette and stem leaves are bipin- nate, with serrate margin of leafl ets, petiole of stem leaves auriculate. Sepals hairy, winged, mucronate, 2 longer (5.1–) 5.4–8.3(–9.5) mm long. Petals white, glabrous, (11.7–) 12.8–17.9(–19.7) mm long, with long ungues, limb obovate to obcordate. Siliqua linear, glabrous, fl at, light brown when ripe, 40–55 (–60) mm long, 1.4–2.0(–2.5) mm wide, with 10–12 (–15) mm long beak, siliqua pedicel 10–15 (–20) mm long. Seeds 4, brown, 5 mm long and ca 1.5 mm wide (Figs. 2A–E). Flowering time is from April to May. Cardamine fi alae can possibly be confused with other members of the C. maritima complex. It differs from typi- cal C. maritima in having auricules on the base of stem leaves, denser indumentum and bigger fl owers (Figs. 2C, D). Morphologically it is more similar to Serbian endemic C. serbica with which it shares the following characteris- tics: auricules at the base of lower cauline leaves (Fig. 2D), stem and rosette leaves bipinnate (Fig. 2B), margin of leaf- lets serrate with hairy main stem and sepals, but it differs in having bigger petals and sepals (Fig. 2C), longer fi laments and only 1–2 lateral stems. Habitat and ecology – C. fi alae grows in limestone rocky ground within degraded forests of downy oak (Q. pu- bescens) and oriental hornbeam (Carpinus orientalis Mill.) in the sub-Mediterranean zone. It grows individually or in scattered groups on dry and shallow humose soils among rocks. On Matokit Mountain it grows on lower altitudes in rocky ground within the vegetation of forest fringes and secondarily also in ruderal places, in arable fi elds (Fig. 2F), on shady screes and very rarely in rock crevices. These are relatively open microhabitats not overgrown by other plants. Such semi-natural habitats and their conditions are particularly suitable for seeds to spread. When the fi rst pop- ulation of C. fi alae was recorded in early April, the plants Fig. 1. Present distribution of Cardamine fi alae Fritsch in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. CARDAMINE FIALAE IN CROATIA ACTA BOT. CROAT. 75 (2), 2016 215 were already in fl ower and some of the specimens were even producing fruits. This can be considered an early fl ow- ering time as the literature indicates it starts fl owering in April or May, lasting until July or August (Beck Mannaget- ta 1903, Šilić 1990). This endemic species can be classifi ed as an Illyrian-Adriatic fl oristic element according to the classifi cation of Horvatić (1963a, b) and Horvatić et al. (1967–1968). Distribution in Croatia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina – In April 2013 a population of C. fi alae was found on the northern slope of Matokit Mountain in Turića dočići be- tween a forest fringe and an arable fi eld, and is the biggest among all known populations. Afterwards, in May and June 2015 it was found at another eight localities within different habitats, as follows. The three localities in Bosnia and Her- zegovina are taken from Kučera et al. 2008 (Fig. 1): 1. Vrgorac, northern slope of Matokit Mountain, Turića dočići, between forest fringe and arable fi eld, represen- tative population about 500 plants, 350 m a.s.l., 14.04.2013, 43°14’5.17’’ N, 17°19’19.83’’ E, 2. Vrgorac, Prapatnice, Vegari, Popriki dolac, on rocks in the forest, about 50 plants, 339 m a.s.l., 07.06.2015, 43°13’56.16’’ N, 17°19’39.04’’ E, 3. Vrgorac, Prapatnice, Velika njiva, on deeper soil, very near rocks in the forest, about 20 plants, 319 m a.s.l., 06.06.2015, 43°13’54.29’’ N, 17°20’0.51’’ E, 4. Vrgorac, Prapatnice – Stilja, put Vukmira, on bare rocks of the forest edge, about 20 plants, 371 m a.s.l., 03.06.2015, 43°14’8.32’’ N, 17°19’4.74’’ E, 5. Vrgorac, on the entry of the village Gornje Kašče, on bare rocks (without soil) of the oriental hornbeam forest edge, about 20 plants, 465 m a.s.l., 20.05.2015, 43°15’7.43’’ N, 17°19’56.25’’ E, 6. Vrgorac, Mijaca, within the walls of former barns on shallow soil, about 50 plants, 565 m a.s.l., 27.05.2015, 43°17’11.24’’ N, 17°18’44.17’’ E, 7. Vrgorac, on the way to Mijaca, near the road, on rocks of the forest edge, about 10 plants, 704 m a.s.l., 27.05.2015, 43°17’19.92’’ N,17°18’9.24’’ E, 8. Vrgorac, hilly area Orah, on the way to Kućerina, on rocks of rocky pastures, about 20 plants, 317 m a.s.l., 19.05.2015, 43°14’20.47’’ N,17°24’15.62’’ E, 9. Razdolje, transition to the southern side of the mountain trail toward Ravča, bare rocks, about 10 plants, 830 m a.s.l., 30.05.2015, 43°13’14.94’’ N, 17°18’40.88’’ E. Conservation status – According to the standards of IUCN (2014) the endemic C. fi alae should be classifi ed in the category of Vulnerable (VU) species, the criterion D2 being adopted. In April 2013 and May 2015, in all, approxi- mately 900 mature individuals were counted within the complete range of the species including Croatian and Bos- nian and Herzegovinian locations. The threat status is based on number of mature individuals, which is below 1000, as well as on the area of occupancy (AOO) which is less than 20 km2, while extent of occurrence (EOO) is less than 90 km2. There are potential threats to the habitats (human im- pacts in agriculture, fi res and forest managements) and fur- ther studies need to be conducted in order to monitor the population size of C. fi alae. As a rare endemic species, C. fi alae should be protected by law and included in the na- tional Red list of Croatia. Conclusion – The area of Dalmatian Zagora e.g. Vrgo- rac and Matokit Mountain belongs among regions that have been poorly botanically explored. All Croatian localities of C. fi alae were found close to the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina (near the locus classicus) and potentially new localities of C. fi alae could be expected within similar habi- tats in this region. The newly recorded Adriatic endemic species has very delimited distribution range, and the fi nd- ing of C. fi alae is a valuable contribution to the Croatian fl ora. Acknowledgements We are grateful to curators of herbaria GZU and W for the examination of type material of Cardamine fi alae. Thanks to Martina Temunović, Ph.D. (University of Za- greb, Faculty of Forestry), for preparation of distribution map. Fig. 2. Cardamine fi alae Fritsch: a) habitus, b) stem bipinnate leaf, c) fl owers, d) auricule, e) fruits and seeds, f) habitat (forest fringe) in Turića dočići (photos by M. Vukojević). 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