Teucrium-polium-ssp-capitatum_4

Description:

Teucrium polium L. subsp. capitatum (L.) Arcang., syn.: Chamaedrys polium (L.) Raf. Family: Lamiaceae Lindl.EN: felty germander, DE: Polei-GamanderSlo.: istrski vrednik (?), CHR.: pahuljasti dubaacDat.: June 21. 2010Lat.: 44.36527 Long.: 14.77982Code: Bot_0431/2010_IMG_0959Habitat: Dirt road side; calcareous, skeletal, low-nutrient ground, almost flat terrain; sunny, dry place; elevation 17 m (55 feet); average precipitations ~ 1.000 mm/year, average temperature 13-15 deg C, Sub-Mediterranean phytogeographical region. Substratum: soil. Place: Island Olib (26.1 km2); next to a path to from village Olib to the church Sv. Nikola about halfway to the church; Adriatic Sea, west Zadar archipelago, Croatia EC.Comment: Teucrium polium L. is a notoriously variable plant. Numerous descriptions of taxa on subspecies, varieties and forms are described in the literature and there exists quite a confusion on their naming (at least for an amateur botanist).If I follow the genus Teucrium key in Martini et al. (2007) (Ref.: 3.) (Slovenian flora) the clear result is Teucrium capitatum L.. This name is synonymized with Teucrium polium auct. but not with Teucrium polium L.. However, EuroMed PlantBase (Ref.: 7.) considers both names as valid current names on species level. If I follow the corresponding key in Domac (1994) (Ref. 4) (Croatian flora) the result is Teucrium polium L.. The name Teucrium capitatum L. is not present in this key and the same is true also for Flora Croatica Database (FDC)) (Ref.: 6). Both keys don't include taxa on lower taxonomic levels. Blamey & Grey-Wilson (2005) consider Teucrium capitatum as a subspecies of Teucrium polium namely Teucrium polium subsp. capitatum. Interestingly, if one compares distribution maps of either Teucrium capitatum or Teucrium polium in EuroMed - PlanBase (Ref.: 7.) or in GBIF (Ref.: 1.), he will find widely different information. I will follow Flora Croatica Database (FDC) (Ref.: 6.) and Blamey & Grey-Wilson (2005) and name this find Teucrium polium L. subsp. capitatum (L.) Arcang. Subspecies capitatum because the plants have flowers in compound heads. This determination seems correct since the first professional check list of the vascular plant species of the island Olib in Milovi et al. (2016) (Ref.:8) lists only one taxon in the genus Teucrium, that is Teucrium polium L. subsp. capitatum.Ref.:(1) GBIF - The Global Biodiversity Information Facility; Backbone Taxonomy. www.gbif.org/ (last accessed Oct. 20. 2021)(2) M. Milovi, S. Kovai, N. Jasprica & V. Stamenkovi, Contribution to the study of adriatic island flora: vascular plant species diversity in the Croatian island of Olib, Nat. Croat. (2016), 25:1, p25-54, Zagreb.(3) A. Martini et all., Mala Flora Slovenije (Flora of Slovenia - Key) (in Slovenian), Tehnina Zaloba Slovenije (2007), p 529. (4) R. Domac, Flora Hrvatske (Flora of Croatia) (in Croatian), kolska Knjiga, Zagreb (1994), p 290.(5) M. Blamey, C. Grey-Wilson, Wild Flowers of the Mediterranean, A & C Black, London (2005), p 390.(6) Flora Croatica Database (FCD), Department of Botany, Faculty of science, FER-ZPR, University of Zagreb (2004); hirc.botanic.hr/fcd (last accessed Oct. 10. 2021)(7) Euro-Med Plant Base - The information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity; www.emplantbase.org/home.html (last accessed Oct. 20. 2021)