Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 79 (1): e125 https://doi.org/10.3989/ajbm.2612 ISSN-L: 0211-1322 Short note Dracocephalum ruyschiana (Lamiaceae): first record for Spain Moisès GUARDIOLA BUFI Unitat de Botànica, Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia, Facultat de Biociències, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), 08193 Bellaterra Correspondence: guardiola.moises@gmail.com https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5572-540X Abstract. Dracocephalum ruyschiana L. is an Eurasian continental spe- Resumen. Dracocephalum ruyschiana L. es una especie Euroasiática cies with a fragmented distribution extending from the boreal regions to continental con una distribución fragmentada que se extiende desde las the Asian steppes and European mountains. In the Pyrenees it is only regiones boreales hasta las estepas asiáticas y montañas europeas. En los known from three locations in France, but two of them have not been Pirineos solo se conoce de tres localidades en Francia, pero dos de ellas rediscovered in modern times, and there are no citations in Spain or no han sido redescubiertas en tiempos modernos, y no hay citaciones en Andorra. In summer 2021 a population was found in the Val d’Aran España o Andorra. En el verano de 2021 se encontró una población en el (Catalan Pyrenees, Spain). A complete description is presented, and valle de Aran (Pirineos Catalanes, España). Se presenta una descripción an identification key is included as an amendment for their taxonomic completa y una clave de identificación como enmienda al tratamiento ta- treatment in Flora iberica. Its current Pyrenean distribution, habitat and phenology are also reported. The conservation status is evaluated under xonómico de Flora iberica. Se aporta información sobre la distribución the IUCN regional and national levels. actual en el Pirineo, el hábitat y fenología. Se evalúa el estado de conser- vación siguiendo los criterios UICN a escala regional y estatal. Keywords. Dracocephalum ruyschiana, Flora iberica, Iberian Penin- sula, Pyrenees, taxonomy. Palabras clave. Dracocephalum ruyschiana, Flora iberica, Península Ibérica, Pirineos, taxonomía. How to cite this article: Guardiola Bufi M. 2022. Dracocephalum ruyschiana (Lamiaceae): first record for Spain. Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 79: e125. https://doi.org/10.3989/ajbm.2612 Title in Spanish: Dracocephalum ruyschiana (Lamiaceae): primer registro para España. Associate Editor: Carlos Aedo. Received: 15 October 2021; accepted: 5 November 2021; published online: 2 September 2022. Dracocephalum ruyschiana L. is an Eurasian continen- Tela Botanica (https://www.tela-botanica.org), D. ruyschi- tal species with a fragmented distribution extending from ana is only reported in Hautes-Pyrénées as “Présence”. the boreal regions to the steppes and European mountains However, according to SIFlore (http://siflore.fcbn.fr, Just (GBIF Secretariat 2021; POWO 2021). In Europe is a rare & al. 2015) the species is confirmed with only one observa- species but widely extended, mainly distributed in the cen- tion after the year 2000 in Haute-Garonne, but in Hautes- tral part of the continent but extends northwards to Norway Pyrénées there are no modern observations, and the only and Sweden and southwards to Alps, Dinaric Alps, Car- reported observation is from Dulac (1886). Moreover, pathians and Pyrenees (Heywood 1972; GBIF Secretariat, according to the Atlas of the flora of the Pyrenees (http:// 2021). It is considered a relict species that migrated from www.atlasflorapyrenaea.eu), there is another locality in the the Russian and Asian steppes to Europe during the warm Lutor valley (commune of Cauterets) reported by Dulac and dry interglacial periods (Lazarević & al. 2009). In the (1867). Finally, Leblond & Gourvil (2012) indicated that Pyrenees it is only known in France, but it has never been in the Pyrenees, D. ruyschiana is a relict species with cur- reported in Spain or Andorra (Heywood 1972; Morales rently only one locality confirmed and with two historical 2010). In the French Pyrenees, the species is known since localities not found in modern times. the 19th Century (Dulac 1867), and it is reported from the With these data, D. ruyschiana was assessed as Endan- departments of Haute-Garonne (commune of Casaus de gered (EN D) in the Midi-Pyrénées (Corriol 2013) and Larbost) and Hautes-Pyrénées (communes of Lus e Sent vulnerable (VU) in the whole Pyrenees (Reteau, 2019). Sauvaire and Cauterets) in the Midi-Pyrénées region, but The species was also included in the Appendix I of the the current distribution and status is unclear. According to Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Copyright: © 2022 CSIC. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License. 2 Guardiola Bufi Natural Habitats (Bern Convention), and was assessed as schiana (Bubani 1897; Coste 1906; Heywood 1972; Li & Least Concern (LC) in the European Red List of Vascu- Hedge 1994; Morales 2010; Schischkin 1976). lar Plants (Bilz 2011) but it is considered threatened in its extremes of distribution, like Norway (Vulnerable VU Identification key A4(a,c); Henriksen & Hilmo 2015) or most of the southern In order to add Dracocephalum ruyschiana to the iden- European mountain ranges: Endangered in the Carpathians tification key of the genus in Flora iberica (Morales 2010) (Witkowski & al. 2003), Endangered EN B2ab(iii) in Italy and thereby facilitating further identification an identifica- (Rossi & al. 2013), Critically Endangered CR B2ab(iii); tion key is provided to distinguish between these two spe- C2b in Serbia (Lazarević & al. 2009), and also in some cies: regions of the Alps: Vulnerable A3c; B2ab(iii) in the north side of the Swiss Alps (Bornand & al. 2019) and Possibly 1. Steam hairy, with short and long hairs; leaves pinna- extinct CR(PE) in the south side of the Swiss Alps (Bor- tipartite, as well as undivided, aristate; bracts pinnati- nand & al. 2019). partite, aristate; flowers ca. 4 cm .... 1. D. austriacum – Steam glabrous or shortly hairy; leaves and bracts In July 2021, during the field work of the project “Hab- linear to lanceolate, undivided, non-aristate; flowers itat cartography of Catalonia, 3rd version (CHC25v3) 2,1–2,8 cm ...................................... 2. D. ruyschiana 1:25:000 scale” a population of Dracocephalum ruyschi- ana was found out in the Val d’Aran county (Lleida prov- Morphology.—The descriptive terminology follows Mo- ince), central Pyrenees, Catalonia (Spain), in the Artiga rales (2010) and Heywood (1972) and is based on the de Lin valley (Vielha e Mijaran), and it becomes the first collected material in the Aran Valley (BC 983298, BC record of this species in Spain. Some specimens from this 983299). population were collected on 2 and 18 July 2021 and de- Perennial, suffruticose, up to 50 cm (Fig. 1a). Stems ± posited to BC herbarium (BC 983298, BC 983299) to carry woody at the base, erect, with short hairs, retrorse or applied. out a morphological study. Leaves sessile or subsessile, 14–50 × 1–4 mm, linear to lan- The taxonomic identification was made using Europe- ceolate, obtuse, ± revolute, with marked midrib, short hairy an floras and other territories with the presence of D. ruy- on margin, the reduced axillary shoots with narrower leaves Fig. 1. Dracocephalum ruyschiana in the Artiga de Lin valley: a, habit; b-c, floriferous steams, glabrous or with short hairs, with simple leaves and bracts; d, detail of the calyx [photos: M. Guardiola]. Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 79 (1): e125. https://doi.org/10.3989/ajbm.2612 Short note 3 Fig. 2. Distribution map of Dracocephalum ruyschiana in the Pyrenees: a, map showing the broad situation of the species in the Pyrenees (red square); b, detailed map of the species distribution in the Pyrennes. Black and grey lines represent the border between France and Spain; grey lines represent the limits of autonomous communities in Spain and regions in France; yellow polygons represent the limits of the municipalities with known populations of D. ruyschiana; red square represents the 1x1 km UTM square where the new population was found. (Fig. 1b, c). Inflorescence 3.5–6 cm, formed by verticil- lation of D. ruyschiana is located in the Central Pyrenees of lasters ± close, the lower sometimes distant, with 4-6 flow- Catalonia, Artiga de Lin valley, between the Tuc de Pomèro ers each. Bracts ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, ± acuminate, peak and the Barranc dera Ribèra (Val d’Aran county, Lleida 11–30 mm, with marked midrib, ciliated at margins; bracte- province), 31T CH1127 (ETRS89), 1700–1900 m (Fig. 2), oles ovate-lanceolate or lanceolate, ± acuminate, 4–10 mm on a hillside oriented to the south-east (Fig. 3a). This new (Fig. 1c). Flowers with pedicel of 1–2 mm. Calyx 7–12 mm, population is located more than 10 km far from its nearest tubular, densely pubescent; upper center tooth 5–7 × 3 mm, population in the French commune of Casaus de Larbost. broad, rounded on top, acuminate, densely pubescent, upper The new population of Dracocephalum ruyschiana oc- lateral teeth and lower teeth 5-6 × 1 mm, fine, acute, densely curs in a very restricted area, about less than 20.000 m2, pubescent, all reticulated (Fig. 1d). Corolla 21–28 mm, ± in a transition zone between acidic sandstones and lutites, conical, violet-blue color, pubescent outside, lanate within and calcareous marbles. At the lower-flat zones at the bot- only on upper lip; upper lip 5–7 cm, lower lip with 3 lobes, tom of the valley, there are mesophile silicicolous grass- the central one larger, whitish with blue spots in the mid- lands of the montane and subalpine belts of the Pyrenees dle. Stamens included (but some exerted in preserved spec- (habitat CORINE 35.122+; see Carreras & al. 2016), and in imens), inserted more than 10 mm above base of corolla; ± the steep slopes of the south-east hillside there are meso- hairy filaments specially at the base; anthers with cottony phile deep soil Festuca spadicea L. grasslands (CORINE hairs, with the theca separated at the base, connivent. Stigma 36.3312) and subalpine calcicolous semi-dry grasslands bifid with equal branches. Núcules c. 3 mm, dark brown. with Festuca spadicea L. and Rhaponticum centauroides Distribution and habitat.—Meso-xerophile grasslands of the (L.) O.Bolòs of the sunny slopes of the Pyrenees (CORINE subalpine stage, 1700–1900 m. From Russia and Mongolia 34.32613+) clumpered with rock outcrops. Dracocephalum to central Europe extending locally northwards to Norway ruyschiana is restricted to the borders of rock outcrops, in and southwards to mountain ranges of Europe (Alps, Dinar- a thin zone with deep soils but where the subalpine mes- ic Alps, Carpathians and Pyrenees). In Spain the new popu- ophile grasslands are not dense (Fig. 3b, c). The species Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 79 (1): e125. https://doi.org/10.3989/ajbm.2612 4 Guardiola Bufi Fig. 3. Habitat of Dracocephalum ruyschiana: a, the species occurs on a steep slope oriented to south-west in a narrow zone between rocky habitats and dense subalpine mesophile grasslands; b, individuals appeared isolated or clumped nearby rock outcrops; c, the species prefers zones with low coverture of Gramineae and avoid the dominant dense tallgrass grasslands [photos: M. Guardiola]. grows together with Anthericum liliago L., Asphodelus correction (IUCN 2012b) to the IUCN criteria, the category albus Mill., Aster alpinus L., Carduus defloratus subsp. is downlisted to VU° D1+2 because the recolonisation from argemone (Pourr. ex Lam.) O. Bolòs & Vigo, Centaurea the neighbouring French populations is possible. nigra L., Clinopodium alpinum (L.) Kuntze, Crepis pyr- There are currently no major impacts for the newly dis- enaica (L.) Greuter, Cruciata glabra Ehrend., Dianthus covered population and no signs of damaged individuals, hyssopifolius L., Festuca spadicea L., Galium verum L., population decline or fluctuations, neither indication of re- Geranium sanguineum L., Globularia nudicaulis L., Hip- duction in geographic range were detected. But as Leblond pocrepis comosa L., Hypericum richeri Vill., Iris latifolia & Gourvil (2012), vegetation closure or encroachment, (Mill.) Voss, Laserpitium latifolium L., Laserpitium siler harvesting and isolation are the main threats for the French L., Phyteuma orbiculare subsp. anglicum (Rich. Schulz) P. Pyrenees plant populations. The new population occurs in Fourn., Potentilla neumaniana Rchb., Potentilla rupestris a narrow zone between rocky habitats and a dense subal- L., Rhaponticum centauroides (L.) O.Bolòs, Rosa penduli- pine mesophile grassland, and nor individuals have been na L., Scabiosa columbaria L., Sedum rupestre L., Stachys seen inside the dense grassland neither in rocky soils. The alopecuros (L.) Benth., Stachys officinalis (L.) Trevis., species occurs near the Artiga de Lin refuge, and some Stachys recta L. and Thymus ovatus Mill. hiking trails pass by near the population, so harvesting by Phenology.—According to field observations, the species hikers or botanical collectors is a potential threat due to blooms between June and July. the attractiveness of the flowers. Finally, problems due to Conservation status.—To evaluate the vulnerability of Dra- isolation could be important because the new population cocephalum ruyschiana, the IUCN (2012a) methodology has less than 250 individuals, is restricted to an area of less was applied. Considering the Spanish Pyrenees, the species than 20.000 m2 and the nearest population is located fur- is restricted to one location included in one 1×1 km, with a ther away than 10 km. population of less than 250 mature individuals (although a precise prospection should be done in the future). With this ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS data, D. ruyschiana should be assessed as “Endangered” EN The discovery of this population of Dracocephalum ruyschiana D (IUCN 2012a). However, applying a regional and national was done during the field work of the project “Habitat cartography of Anales del Jardín Botánico de Madrid 79 (1): e125. https://doi.org/10.3989/ajbm.2612 Short note 5 Catalonia, 3rd version (CHC25v3) 1:25:000 scale” financed by the IUCN. 2012b. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria Departament de Territori i Sostenibilitat de la Generalitat de Catalunya. at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. 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