A nomenclatural revision of the Santolina chamaecyparissus species complex is presented. A detailed survey of original material for all names applied to members of the complex was performed, and 28 names are newly typified. The current usage of the names S. villosa and S. ericoides, relating to some Spanish and French populations, is discussed. The name S. villosa is applied to a taxon endemic to Spain, whereas S. ericoides is applied to those Spanish and French populations often traditionally referred to S. villosa. Keywords Anthemideae; Linnaeus; Mediterranean Basin; Miller; taxonomy ■ NOMENCLATURE OF THE SANTOLINA CHAMAECYPARISSUS COMPLEX Here we treat in detail all the names that have been previously applied to members of the Santolina chamaecyparissus complex. The treatment is organized alphabetically by
Santolina is a plant genus of dwarf aromatic shrubs that includes about 26 species native to the western Mediterranean Basin. In Corsica and Sardinia, two of the main islands of the Mediterranean, Santolina corsica (tetraploid) and S. insularis (hexaploid) are reported. Along with the cultivated pentaploid S. chamaecyparissus, these species form a group of taxa that is hard to distinguish only by morphology. Molecular (using ITS, trnH-psbA, trnL-trnF, trnQ-rps16, rps15-ycf1, psbM-trnD, and trnS-trnG), cypsela morpho-colorimetric, morphometric, and niche similarity analyses were conducted to investigate the diversity of plants belonging to this species group. Our results confute the current taxonomic hypothesis and suggest considering S. corsica and S. insularis as a single species. Moreover, molecular and morphometric results highlight the strong affinity between S. chamaecyparissus and the Santolina populations endemic to Corsica and Sardinia. Finally, the populations from south-western Sardinia, due to their high differentiation in the studied plastid markers and the different climatic niche with respect to all the other populations, could be considered as an evolutionary significant unit.
Santolina is a clear example of a genus lying in an alpha‐taxonomic status, with species accepted only based on qualitative morphological descriptions. In particular, taxonomic issues still need to be resolved for Santolina populations from southern France and north‐eastern Spain, and so, we carried out an integrative taxonomic study involving morphometrics, cypsela morphometrics, niche overlap, and phylogenetic analysis based on six plastid markers (trnH‐psbA, trnL‐trnF, trnQ‐rps16, rps15‐ycf1, psbM‐trnD, and trnS‐trnG). Our results revealed that the current taxonomic circumscription is not adequate. In particular, the Santolina populations at the foothills of eastern Pyrenees, previously included in the variability of Santolina benthamiana, have to be considered as a distinct species, namely, Santolina intricata. In addition, despite their high phylogenetic relatedness, S. benthamiana s.str. and Santolina ericoides can still be considered as distinct species due to clear morphological and ecological differentiation. Finally, we demonstrated that three different subspecies can be recognized in Santolina decumbens, a species endemic to Provence. For one of these subspecies, due to its extremely restricted distribution range, conservation issues are pointed out.
The genus Santolina (Asteraceae, Anthemideae) includes 26 species of aromatic evergreen shrubs endemic to the western Mediterranean Basin. Santolina is widely used as ornamental plant, in xerigardening, and in ethnobotany. The Santolina chamaecyparissus complex, including about half of the known species diversity, has been properly investigated on systematic and taxonomic grounds only recently, and a complete morphometric study is still missing. Here we provide a morphometric characterization and comparison of all the 14 species of this complex, using both univariate and multivariate analyses. Our results suggest that species of this complex can be distinguished using combinations of quantitative and qualitative character-states, mostly related to the leaf morphology. The analysis of S. villosa, a tetraploid/hexaploid Spanish endemic, showed that the two cytotypes cannot be safely identified based on morphology. Coupling this evidence with available phylogenetic information, we conclude that there is no reason to split the two cytotypes of S. villosa in two distinct taxa. An identification key for all the species of the complex is presented.
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