| Plantago picta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Plantago picta observed near East Cape, North Island, New Zealand in 2011 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Lamiales |
| Family: | Plantaginaceae |
| Genus: | Plantago |
| Species: | P. picta |
| Binomial name | |
| Plantago picta | |
| Synonyms | |
Plantago picta is a species offlowering plant in the familyPlantaginaceae that is endemic toNew Zealand.William Colenso describedP. picta in 1890. Plants of this species ofplantain areperennial with a rosette habit, leaves widest above the middle, up to 5 ellipsoid seeds per capsule, and bracts with hairs along the edges but otherwise glabrous. Its conservation status is At Risk – Naturally Uncommon.
Plantago picta Colenso is in the plant familyPlantaginaceae.[3][4] New Zealand botanistWilliam Colenso describedP. picta in 1890.[5][1]
The type material was collected by H. Hill on "Island near Gable End Foreland", North Island, New Zealand.[1] Thelectotype was designated byHeidi Meudt and is housed at the herbarium (WELT) of theMuseum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa[6] with an isolectotype at the herbarium (K) of theRoyal Botanical Gardens, Kew.[5][7]
Plantago picta is morphologically most similar toP. spathulata,P. raoullii andP. udicola.[5]P. picta andP. spathulata were once considered subspecies.[2]
P. picta can be distinguished fromP. spathulata by the length of the hairs on the on bract edges (minute and 0.1–0.3 mm long vs. long and obvious and 0.3–1.1 mm long); the width of the darkened area on sepal (>50% vs. <50% total sepal width); and size classes of seeds (of two different size classes vs. of one uniform size).[5]
Plantago pictaE.Morris was described in 1901 and is an illegitimate name, since it was published afterP. picta Colenso, and is a synonym for aSouth American plant,P. patagonica.[8]
Plantago picta plants are smallrosettes with a primary root up to 13 mm thick, with up to 50 usually narrowly obovate or obovate leaves, and with visible, short (<15 mm long), rust-coloured leaf axillary hairs in the basal rosette. The leaves have 1–3 veins, are 10–93 mm long (includingpetiole) and up to 28 mm wide, notpunctate, usually glabrous or with patchy, isolated hairs or sparsely hairy on the upper surface, and usuallyglabrous or with isolated hairs on the midrib of the lower surface. The leaf usually has an obtuse apex, and its edges are smooth or wavy or with up to 10 minute or small teeth, and with isolated hairs or sparsely hairy especially near the teeth. The petiole is sometimes distinguishable from the leaf lamina, and up to 36 mm long. Each rosette plant has up to 21erectinflorescences which can be up to 210 mm long. Thescapes are smooth and sparsely to densely hairy. Thespikes are usually linear-ovoid with 5–30 densely crowded flowers. Each flower has 1 small bract that is ovate, broadly ovate or very broadly ovate and sparsely hairy along the edges. The calyx is 2.6–3.5 mm long, 1.8–3.8 mm wide, and sparsely hairy on the lobe edges. The corolla tube is 1.4–3.3 mm long, corolla lobes 1.3–2.2 mm long, stamen filaments 3.2–7.5 mm long, anthers 1.9–2.3 mm long, and style 2.7–6.3 mm long and densely hairy. The ovary is 0.8–2.1 mm long, with 4 or 5 ovules. The fruit is a dry, dehiscent capsule withcircumsessile dehiscence, usually ellipsoid, globose, anbular obovoid or broadly angular obovoid, widest at middle, 2.1–4.3 mm long and 1.6–3.0 mm wide. Each capsule has 2–5 rust, brown or dark brown seeds 0.7–2.3 mm long, of two size classes, usually ellipsoid, broadly ellipsoid or globose with rounded edges.[5]
Plantago picta flowers from December to January and fruits from December to March.[5]
The chromosome number ofPlantago picta is 2n=48.[9][10]
Plantago picta is a plantain that is endemic to the Gisborne region of theNorth Island ofNew Zealand.[5]
It grows on bare coastal cliffs made of sandstone or mudstone from 0–50 m above sea level.[5]
inphylogenetic analyses of Australasian species ofPlantago using standard DNA sequencing markers (nuclear ribosomal DNA,chloroplast DNA, andmitochondrial DNA regions)[11][12] andamplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs),[13]Plantago picta was moderately to strongly supported as being closely related to the mainland New Zealand speciesP. spathulata, P. raoulii andP. udicola.[11][13]
Similarly, the sole individual ofP. picta was closely related to individuals ofP. raoulii, P. spathulata andP. udicola in another phylogenetic study focusing onPlantago species throughout the world using whole chloroplast genomes.[14] Finally, the species was not included in another phylogenetic studies focusing on oceanic islandPlantago species using standard DNA sequencing markers.[15]
Plantago picta is listed as At Risk – Naturally Uncommon in the most recent assessment (2017–2018) of theNew Zealand Threatened Classification for plants.[16]
Media related toPlantago picta at Wikimedia Commons