Nine new species of Australian Nicotiana (Solanaceae)
Author
Bruhl, Jeremy J.
Author
Andrew, Damien D.
Author
Palsson, Ruth
Author
Jobson, Richard W.
Author
Taseski, Guy M.
Author
Samuel, Rosabelle
text
Australian Systematic Botany
2023
2023-07-07
36
3
167
205
http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/sb23001
journal article
295738
10.1071/SB23001
e7223c67-ed37-4d87-8f2d-b949ff711207
1446-5701
11122967
Nicotiana latzii
M.W.Chase, R.W.Jobson & Christenh.
,
sp. nov.
(
Fig. 15
.)
Type
:
Queensland
:
5 km
east of
Ethabuka Station Homestead
,
85 m
, 23°51′151″S, 138°30′50″E,
14 Oct. 2005
,
Latz 21442
(holo:
NT
A0110082
!)
.
Diagnosis
Nicotiana latzii
is closely related (
Fig. 1
a
) and in morphology similar to
N. latifolia
and
N. sessilifolia
, but it lacks the broadly winged petiole and auriculate leaf base and has a shorter floral tube than do these two species. It is also similar to
N. simulans
N.T.Burb.
in floral features, but has a much shorter petiole or wing.
Erect, herbaceous, annual
herbs
, forming a minimal rosette, but with numerous large leaves in the basal portion of the stems, the main stem with major branches in the lower half of the inflorescence but only a few small ones in the upper half.
Leaves
with narrowly winged petioles to nearly sessile, the wing 1.0–
1.5 cm
wide, bullate, blades 8.2–12.8 ×
1.5–4.8 cm
(including petiole), broadly ovate to lanceolate, the apex blunt to acute in the basal leaves, becoming acuminate in those higher up; upper leaf base gently attenuate, many slightly auriculate basally, margins entire, undulate, often basally bullate, uppermost leaves sessile often with a narrowly auriculate base.
Vestiture
composed of dense, gland-topped short hairs and longer multicellular, non-glandular hairs on all surfaces, in some cases the longer multicellular hairs on leaf margins with 1–2 branches.
Inflorescence bracts
sessile, linear lanceolate, ~
0.5–2.3 cm
long, the apex acuminate.
Calyx
1.4–1.6 ×
0.2 cm
, one lobe slightly longer and one shorter than the others, the tips acuminate, slightly flaring to clasping, slightly wider and longer in fruit, extending
0.5 cm
beyond and surrounding the capsule; the calyx slightly enlarging at maturity.
Flowers
white, outwardly to upward facing, upper part of the floral tube
0.2 cm
longer than the lower.
Corolla tube
2.0–
2.5 cm
long (from tip of the calyx), slightly longer on the upper side of the flower,
0.2 cm
in diameter, with no throat cup, the
limb
1.6–1.8 cm
across, the lobes slightly cleft, cleft
0.1 cm
deep, sinus
0.7 cm
deep, lobes
0.6 cm
long; four
stamens
near throat of the floral tube in two pairs, didynamous, the lower pair
0.1 cm
longer than the upper pair, and the fifth ~
0.7 cm
deeper in the tube.
Fruit
a capsule splitting in four lobes,
0.9–1.1 cm
long at maturity.
Fig. 10.
Nicotiana gibbosa
based on living plants cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, grown from seeds associated with the holotype
Andrew 240 & Bruhl
, Long Point area past Hillgrove, Oxley Wild Rivers NP, New South Wales, vouchered as
Chase & Christenhusz 21007
(K). Painted by Deborah Lambkin.
Fig. 11.
Nicotiana gibbosa
based on living plants cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, grown from seeds associated with the holotype
Andrew 240 & Bruhl
(NSW), Long Point area past Hillgrove, Oxley Wild Rivers NP, New South Wales. Drawn by Deborah Lambkin from living plants vouchered as
Chase & Christenhusz 21007
(K). (
a
) Flower, side view. (
b
) Floral limb, face-on. (
c
) Carpel, style and stigma. (
d
)
Corolla
split open to show stamen positions. (
e
) Capsule at maturity. (
f
) Capsule with calyx removed. (
g
) Stem leaf. (
h
) Pubescence on leaf margin. (
i
) Pubescence leaf surface, showing pustulate hairs. (
j
) Pubescence on upper stem. (
k
) Pubescence on lower stem. (
l
) Habit. Scale bars: 2.0 cm (
a–f
); 6.0 cm (
g
); 5.0 mm (
h–k
); plant in (
l
) is 148 cm tall.
Fig. 12. Habitat of
Nicotiana gibbosa
at Long Point, New South Wales, eucalypt shrubby to layered open forest, low closed forest ecotone after heavy rain following a fire the previous year. Photograph by Jeremy Bruhl.
Distribution
Thus far known only from north-central western
Queensland
between
Ethabuka
and Glenormiston Stations.
Habitat and ecology
Occurring in open sites, sometimes on the edges of a wetland.
Phenology
Collected in flower in October.
Etymology
Named for Peter
K
.
Latz
, who has extensively studied the flora of the central portion of
Australia
for more than 40 years, contributing his voluminous collections to the
Northern Territory
Herbarium (
NT
) in
Alice Springs
and elsewhere.
He
collected the
holotype
and another specimen of this species on one of his trips to the
Ethabuka Station
in the far west of
Queensland
.
Fig. 13.
Nicotiana forsteri
based on living plants cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, grown from seeds associated with
Forster 41986
(BRI AQ0837934), Woroon National Park, west-south-west of Windera, Queensland. Drawn by Deborah Lambkin, vouchered as
Chase & Christenhusz 18030
(K). (
a
) Floral limb, face-on. (
b
) Flower, side view. (
c
)
Corolla
split open to show positions of stamens. (
d
) Carpel, style and stigma. (
e
) Mature capsule. (
f
) Mature capsule with calyx removed. (
g
) Stem leaf. (
h
) Pubescence on pedicel. (
i
) Pubescence on upper stem. (
j
) Pubescence on lower stem. (
k
) Pubescence on leaf margin. (
l
) Pubescence on leaf surface showing pustulate hairs. (
m
) Habit. Scale bars: 1.0 cm (
a–f
,
h–l
); 6.0 cm; plant in (
m
) is 123 cm tall.
Fig. 14. Map of the distributions of
Nicotiana megalosiphon
(green circles),
N. latifolia
(red circles),
N. sessilifolia
(blue circles),
N. gibbosa
(rose-purple circles),
N. praecipitis
(orange circle) and
N. bungonia
(aqua circle). Created by Maarten Christenhusz from data downloaded from the Australasian Virtual Herbarium website.
Chromosome number
Unlike the other members of the
N. simulans
complex, which are all
n
= 20,
N. latzii
is
n
= 18 (
M
.
W
. Chase and
F
. Nollet, unpubl. data).
Notes
Collections of this species could be confused with
N. simulans
,
N. latifolia
or
N. sessilifolia
. The type specimen was originally identified by Latz as
N. megalosiphon
subsp.
sessilifolia
, from which it clearly differs in leaf shape and smaller flower (2.0–2.5
v
. 3.8–5.0 cm). In addition to the collections at the Ethabuka Station by Latz, this species has been collected by
R
.
W
. Jobson east of the Glenormiston Homestead ~
100 km
north-east of Ethabuka. The
holotype
is represented in the phylogenetic analysis (
Fig. 1
a
) by a secondary specimen grown from viable seeds removed from
Latz 21442
and vouchered as
Chase & Christenhusz 18074
(
BRI
). The other accession (
Fig. 1
a
) is
Chase & Christenhusz 18124
(
NSW
;
BRI
), a secondary voucher grown from seeds associated with
Jobson 3235
(
NSW
).
Specimens examined
QUEENSLAND
.
14 km
east of
Ethabuka Homestead
,
Gypsum Hill
,
23.8492°S
,
138.6128°E
,
15 Oct. 2005
,
Latz
21474
(
NT
A0110202
!);
anabranch of the
Georgina River, Donohue
Highway
,
24 km
east of
Glenormiston Homestead
, swampy roadside vegetation,
160 m
,
22°53′43″S
,
139°2′21″E
,
30 Sep. 2016
,
Jobson 3235
(
NSW
)
.