In the 1800s, several botanists suggested new names for this species, including German botanist Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel whose name Plantago triantha Spreng. has been used for this species since its publication in late 1824.[4][2][3] However David Mabberley and colleagues published evidence an article in 2020[11] and in a book in 2022[12] showing that Plantago brownii F.Dietr. is an earlier replacement name that was published in 1820 by Friedrich Dietrich.[13] Therefore, P. brownii F.Dietr. is the correct name as it has priority over P. triantha Spreng.
The specific epithettriantha means 'three-flowered',[14] whereas the epithet brownii honours Robert Brown, who published the original description of this species.[13]
Description
Plantago brownii plants are rosettes with a primary root up to 1 cm thick, with up to 65 angular-obovate leaves, and with short (<3 mm long), concealed leaf axillary hairs in the basal rosette. The leaves are 1-3 veined, 0.5-9 cm long (including petiole) and up to 1.7 cm wide, not punctate, usually glabrous on both surfaces, and sometimes with isolated hairs. The leaf has an acute apex, and its edges are smooth or with 2–6 small teeth. The petiole is usually distinguishable from the leaf lamina, and up to 7 cm long. Each rosette plant has 4–42 erect inflorescences which can be up to 12 cm long. The scapes are ribbed and hairy with patent hairs. The spikes are globose with 1–8 densely crowded flowers. Each flower has a bract that is ovate to very broadly ovate and glabrous (or sometimes with a few hairs at the apex). The calyx is 2.6–3.9 mm long, 1.4–3.5 mm wide, mostly glabrous but sometimes with a few hairs on the margins or midrib. The corolla tube is 1.9–3.3 mm long, corolla lobes 1.0–1.8 mm long, stamen filaments 2.1–4.7 mm long, anthers 1.0–1.7 mm long, and style 2.3–5.4 mm long and densely hairy. The ovary is 0.9–1.8 mm long, with 7–10 ovules. The fruit is a dry, dehiscent capsule with circumsessile dehiscence, usually ellipsoid to globose, widest at or above middle, 2.1–4.0 mm long and 0.9–3.2 mm wide. Each capsule has 3-10 uniform brown seeds 0.9–1.8 mm long of various shapes.[4]
Plantago brownii has flowers and fruits from November to February.[4]
The chromosome number of Plantago brownii is n=12.[15]
Close up of leaves and flower, Auckland Island
Rosettes forming a compact matt
Te Papa herbarium specimen collected by Frederick Chapman in the Auckland Islands in 1890
Distribution and habitat
Plantago brownii plants in coastal, rocky salt spray habitat on Auckland Island
In the Auckland Islands, it is found on the main Auckland Island, Enderby Island and Ocean Island,[4] and has also been reported on Rose Island. Enderby Island, P. triantha can form large, dense "lawns" near the coast.[18]
Plantago brownii is a halophyte[19] that can form patches or dense turf on coastal rocks and soil in the salt spray zone near the high tide mark, from 0-20 m above sea level (rarely up to 200m elevation).[4] It can be a dominant plant in the herbfields of such habitats in Tasmania.[20]
Plantago brownii was not included in other phylogenetic studies of the New Zealand species using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs)[22] nor those focusing on Plantago species throughout the world using whole chloroplast genomes or standard DNA sequencing markers.[23][24]
Seed composition
The seeds of Plantago brownii have low levels of mucilage and very low water absorption capacity, but very high in protein content, over 30% (w/w).[25]
Conservation status
The species is listed as At Risk - Naturally Uncommon in the most recent assessment (2017–2018) of the New Zealand Threatened Classification for plants, as it was in 2009 and 2012. It also has the qualifiers "RR" (Range Restricted) and "SO" (Secure Overseas).[26]
Prior to the eradication of feral goats on the Auckland Islands, Plantago brownii was one of about 50 native plants that were found in the rumens of feral goats.[27] Remains of P. brownii were not found in the stomachs of feral pigs, which are still present on Auckland Island.[27]
References
^Lange, Peter J. de; Rolfe, Jeremy R.; Barkla, John W.; Courtney, Shannel P.; Champion, Paul D.; Perrie, Leon R.; Beadel, Sarah M.; Ford, Kerry A.; Breitwieser, Ilse; Schönberger, Ines; Hindmarsh-Walls, Rowan (2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017"(PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 46. OCLC1041649797.
^Mabberley, D. J.; Moore, D. T.; Wajer, Jacek (2022). The Robert Brown handbook: A guide to the life and work of Robert Brown (1773-1858), Scottish botanist. Glashütten: Koeltz Botanical Books. ISBN978-3-946583-37-0.
^Packer, John G. (1993). Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). "Triantha". Flora of North America North of Mexico [Online]. Vol. 26. New York and Oxford. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
^Godley, Eric John (1 January 1985). "A visit to the Auckland Islands in the summer of 1962–63". Tuatara. 28: 1–13.
^ abBrown, M. J. (1991). "A synopsis of the genus Plantago L. in Tasmania". Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania. 124 (2): 65–74. doi:10.26749/rstpp.124.2.65.
^S, Harris; Brothers, N.; Coates, F.; Edgar, G. J.; Last, P. R.; Richardson, A. M. M.; Wells, P. (1983). "The biological significance of a coastline in the roaring forties latitudes". Tasmanian Wilderness - World Heritage: 123–128.
^Meudt, Heidi (1 February 2011). "Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism Data Reveal a History of Auto- and Allopolyploidy in New Zealand Endemic Species of Plantago (Plantaginaceae): New Perspectives on a Taxonomically Challenging Group". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 172 (2): 220–237. doi:10.1086/657657. S2CID85402923.
^Lange, Peter J. de; Rolfe, Jeremy R.; Barkla, John W.; Courtney, Shannel P.; Champion, Paul D.; Perrie, Leon R.; Beadel, Sarah M.; Ford, Kerry A.; Breitwieser, Ilse; Schönberger, Ines; Hindmarsh-Walls, Rowan (May 2018). "Conservation status of New Zealand indigenous vascular plants, 2017"(PDF). New Zealand Threat Classification Series. 22: 1–86. OCLC1041649797.
^ abChimera, C.; Coleman, M. C.; Parkes, J. P. (1995). "Diet of feral goats and feral pigs on Auckland Island, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Ecology. 19 (2): 203–207.
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