Limonium silvestrei (Plumbaginaceae), a new agamospecies from southern Spain

Abstract

Limonium silvestrei Aparicio (Plumbaginaceae) is described and illustrated from the only known population located within an agricultural landscape in southern Spain. Based in the single A pollen/Cob stigma combination, male sterility, jumbled 3x karyotype and high seed set and germination, L. silvestrei should be regarded as a new agamospecies in Limonium. The number of long metacentric chromosomes observed in the karyotype of this species is in conflict with Erben's theory about the evolution in the genus. The discovery and characterisation of this species stresses the relevance of forest fragments of natural vegetation in agricultural landscapes as biodiversity reservoirs.