Rhynchospora galeana Naczi & Gerry Moore
-
Authority
Naczi, Robert F. C., et al. 2010.
, a new name for (Gale) Channell (Cyperaceae). Brittonia. 62 (1): 96-97. -
Family
Cyperaceae
-
Scientific Name
-
Discussion
Rhynchospora breviseta Palla inhabits Japan and Korea (Palla, 1909; Kükenthal, 1949- 1951). Some authors treat this taxon as a synonym of R. f oberi C. B. Clarke (Ohwi, 1953, 1965; Oh & Lee, 2002; Govaerts & Simpson, 2007). Others consider R. breviseta Palla a variety of R. faberi, R. faberi var. breviseta (Palla) Kük. (Kükenthal, 1949-1951; Im, 2000). Apparently, no authors since Palla (1909) have treated R. breviseta Palla as a species. The section to which R. breviseta and R. faberi belong, Rhynchospora sect. Rhyncho- spora (=R. sect. Albae C.B. Clarke), has not been revised since Kükenthal's monograph of the entire genus (Kükenthal, 1949-1951). Thus, an in-depth revision of sect. Rhynchospora may reveal the distinctiveness of R. breviseta Palla. For these reasons, we do not advocate proposing the conservation of R. breviseta (Gale) Channell over R. breviseta Palla. Rhynchospora galeana occurs in the south eastern U.S.A. and the Greater Antilles, specifically in western Cuba, Dominican Re- public, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico (Gale, 1944; Krai, 2002; Strong & Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005). This species inhabits moist savannas and open pinelands. Authors disagree on the taxonomy of Rhyn- chospora galeana. Channell (1956) and several more recent authors (e.g., Radford et al., 1968; Godfrey & Wooten, 1979; Clewell, 1985; Krai, 2002; Wunderlin & Hansen, 2003; Strong & Acevedo-Rodriguez, 2005; McMillan, 2007) treat R. galeana (as R. breviseta) as a species. A few others (Kükenthal, 1949-1951; Jiménez, 1966; Liogier, 1969; Thomas, 1992) treat this entity as did Gale (1944), as R. oligantha var. breviseta. Our morphometric analyses indicate that R. galeana is distinct from R. oligantha (Naczi & Knapp, unpubl. data). Gale (1944) and Strong and Acevedo-Rodriguez (2005) cite an isotype of R. oligantha var. breviseta from US. We have been unable to relocate this specimen, despite repeated attempts. We are pleased to honor the late Dr. Shirley Cross (1915-2008), née Gale, by naming Rhynchospora galeana. Gale's monograph (1944) is still the definitive reference on North American members of Rhynchospora subgenus Rhynchospora. In this work, she described, mapped, and illustrated with her own drawings 73 species (12 of which were new) and 16 varieties (4 new). It is most appropriate to commemorate her perceptive eye and enduring contributions to plant taxonomy by naming in her honor a taxon that she was the first to discern.