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| Hieracium boratynskii Szeląg, in Szeląg, 2022. |
Hieracium boratynskii is a new, apomictic species described from the Karkonosze Mountains (Giant Mountains) in the Sudetes, SW Poland. It belongs to the H. canescens aggregate comprising taxa of presumably hybrid origin between H. schmidtii s. lat. and H. levicaule s. lat. The new species is illustrated with photos of the holotype and living plants; it is named in honour of Prof. Dr. Adam Boratyński.
Keywords: apomictic plant, Europe, Giant Mountains, Hieracium, Karkonosze Mountains, taxonomy
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| Holotype of Hieracium boratynskii (KRAM). |
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| Hieracium boratynskii in cultivation (synflorescence). |
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| Hieracium boratynskii in cultivation (rosette, capitulum) |
Hieracium boratynskii Szeląg, sp. nov.
Affinity:―Hieracium boratynskii is similar to H. canescens subsp. zobelianum from the Harz Mountains but differs in
its (1) glabrous or almost so upper surfaces of leaves, (2) peduncles with dense stellate hairs, and (3) involucres 11–12 mm
long with numerous glandular hairs.
Hieracium boratynskii may have originated as a result of hybridization between H. levicaule s. lat., which is widespread
in the Karkonosze Mountains, and the narrow-leaved H. schmidtii subsp. jovimontis (Zahn) Greuter (2007: 173). As no
diploid populations of these taxa are currently known in the Karkonosze Mountains, such a hybridization, if at all possible,
must be extremely rare. Otherwise, H. boratynskii is a relict taxon like many other hybridogenous, apomictic Hieracium
species endemic to these mountains.
Distribution and habitat:—Endemic to the Karkonosze Mountains in the Sudetes, known only from the type locality.
In 2017, the population of H. boratynskii comprised a few plants including three flowering ones. They were growing in
subalpine rocky grasslands amongst Pinus mugo, at 1350–1370 m a.s.l. As H. boratynskii is a very rare and endangered
species, its reintroduction is planned using plants cultivated in the garden.
Etymology:―The new species is named in honour of Prof. Dr. Adam Boratyński, Institute of Dendrology, Polish
Academy of Sciences, Kórnik, for his noteworthy contribution to the knowledge of trees and shrubs of the Sudetes (Boratyński
1991).
Zbigniew Szeląg. 2022. Hieracium boratynskii (Asteraceae), A New Species in the H. canescens aggregate from the Sudetes in Poland. Phytotaxa. 541(2); 209-212. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.541.2.11
