taxonID	type	description	language	source
03E3972AF721220CFF5D9823FCAAE850.taxon	description	Illustrations: — Figure 1; also Figure 78 in Rahn (1974). Phenology: — Flowering August – January, fruiting September – February. Habitat and distribution: — Occurs in rather dry grasslands in southern Paraguay, northeastern Argentina (Chaco, Corrientes, Formosa, Misiones and Santa Fe) and southern Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) (Figure 3). Conservation status: — Near Threatened (NT). This species has a rather restricted distribution, and it is not very frequent. Furthermore, it does not appear to thrive in disturbed habitats, as the known collections of this species are from natural grasslands. Although probably not currently threatened with extinction, the destruction of the natural grasslands in Corrientes, Argentina and in southern Paraguay would certainly endanger the survival of this species. It may already be regionally threatened in Brazil, as it is known from only two localities there (Giruá and Santa Maria), and has not been collected there since 1975. We recommend further studies of the populations of this species to allow for better understanding of its distribution, conservation status and intraspecific variation.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF721220CFF5D9823FCAAE850.taxon	discussion	Discussion: — Plantago napiformis, previously classified as a subspecies of P. tomentosa de Lamarck (1791: 340), is however morphologically more similar to P. catharinea Decaisne (1852: 726) than to P. tomentosa; P. napiformis can be distinguished from these two species by its roots, caudex, leaves and seeds (Table 2), and by ecology. The distribution of P. napiformis and P. catharinea do not overlap, as the latter is restricted to coastal vegetation (“ restingas ”) in southern Brazil. As previously treated (Rahn 1964, 1974, 1995), the circumscription of P. tomentosa included plants with both rugose and reticulate seeds, and with both slender and wide trichomes. This situation made it impossible to correctly identify specimens of P. napiformis using identification keys such as those in Rahn (1966) and Hefler et al. (2011). The rugose seeds and the unusually slender type G trichomes are defining of P. tomentosa, as no other species in section Virginica have either of these characteristics; in contrast, P. napiformis has reticulate seeds and stiff and wide type G trichomes, as do many other representatives of section Virginica. Based on its morphology, and also on environmental differences, we consider that P. napiformis warrants species rank.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF723220FFF5D9989FB13EEB4.taxon	description	Illustration: — Figure 2. Phenology: — Flowering June – March, fruiting December – March. Habitat and distribution: — Known only from two very restricted, considerably disjunct areas: high-elevation rocky bogs at 2100 – 2500 m asl in Serra do Itatiaia, southeastern Brazil, and wet grasslands around Lagoa Dourada, 790 – 840 m asl, in Parque Estadual de Vila Velha, Ponta Grossa, Paraná state, southern Brazil (Figure 3). Conservation status: — Endangered (EN – B 2 a, b [iii]). Plantago pretoana is a very rare and restricted species, being known from only two markedly disjunct areas. The only two collections of this species from Lagoa Dourada are from 1914 and 1978; recent (January 2015) collection efforts around Lagoa Dourada by GH were unsuccessful. It is possible that the population of P. pretoana around Lagoa Dourada may be in decline due to habitat loss, as the grasslands there are gradually being substituted by shrubby vegetation, notably by the advance of Mimosa pigra von Linné (1755: 13 – 14) (Fabaceae), a notoriously problematic invasive plant species (Braithwaite et al. 1989). The protection of southern Brazil grasslands is an urgent matter that needs to be discussed widely among scientists and Brazilian politicians, due to the increasing loss of biodiversity in these habitats.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF723220FFF5D9989FB13EEB4.taxon	discussion	Discussion: — Plantago pretoana was described by Rahn (1964) as a subspecies of P. australis, together with other species and subspecies in section Virginica with wide, antrorse trichomes on the scape. Later, in his treatise on the section Virginica, Rahn (1974) adopted a narrower circumscription for P. australis, including only plants without a taproot, which resulted in his acceptance of P. buchtienii Pilger (1913: 251 – 252), P. dielsiana Pilger (1928: 107 – 108), P. orbignyana Steinheil ex Decaisne (1852: 704) (with 4 subspecies), P. pachyneura von Steudel (1849: 406), P. subnuda Pilger (1912: 260) and P. truncata von Chamisso & von Schlechtendal (1826: 170 – 171) as distinct species. Therefore, Rahn kept P. pretoana as a subspecies of P. australis, as it doesn’t have a taproot. In his new definition (Rahn 1974), P. australis was to have many secondary fibrous roots but not a taproot, and almost always a short and rather inconspicuous caudex, but seldom, although always in P. australis subsp. pretoana, a long and thickened (to 11 × 3 cm) rhizome. Although Rahn (1964, 1974) described P. australis subsp. pretoana as having 1 - seeded pyxidia, he admitted that he had probably not seen well-formed seeds. Indeed, in the material we observed, we found that plants of this species are normally 3 - seeded, and 1 - seeded pyxidia, although not rare, do not seem to contain a well-formed seed. It is important to note that the specimen illustrated in the Figure 36 in Rahn (1974) [L. B. Smith et al. 7712, HBR] is not P. pretoana (Hassemer et al. 2015 a); the identity of this specimen is still unknown, it might belong to an undescribed species, but more material is necessary to resolve this question. Contrary to Rahn (1974), we found that P. pretoana does not occur in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina states, as the specimens from there attributed to this species [B. Rambo 34589, S and B. Rambo 51492, HBR] were shown to be P. australis subsp. australis, except for L. B. Smith et al. 7712 [HBR] (see above). Our revision of the material of P. pretoana (actually most of these specimens, originating from Serra do Itatiaia, were previously identified as P. dielsiana; see Hassemer et al. 2015 a) confirms that these specimens constitute a distinct species, forming a morphologically, geographically, and ecologically well-defined group.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF7222201FF5D9C23FD54E8C0.taxon	description	Illustration: — Figure 28 in Rahn (1974). Phenology: — Poorly known; probably October – January (based on the few known collections). Habitat and distribution: — Apparently restricted to the high summits of Serra dos Órgãos, 2000 – 2250 m asl, in Rio de Janeiro state, southeastern Brazil (Figure 3). Conservation status: — Data Deficient (DD). Distribution data about this subspecies is still deficient, as it has never been included in identification keys to Plantago in Brazil. This subspecies appears to be restricted to Serra dos Órgãos, thus warranting a threatened status, but more studies are necessary to clarify the distribution, conservation status and ecology of this poorly-understood subspecies.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF7222201FF5D9C23FD54E8C0.taxon	discussion	Discussion: — Rahn (1974), while making this combination, admitted that “ It is with some hesitation that I have included all the material cited above in the same subspecies ”, as he greatly expanded the distribution of former P. bicallosa var. angustifolia, in attributing to it five collections (at HBR herbarium) from Santa Catarina state, southern Brazil. GH examined all these specimens, and concluded that they actually belong to P. australis subsp. hirtella. That would explain why Hefler et al. (2011) proposed the synonymisation of this subspecies under P. australis subsp. australis (see more details about this misunderstanding under P. australis subsp. hirtella). However, the examination of the lectotype (A. F. M. Glaziou 16360, C), and of high-resolution images of the isotype at K and of another collection attributed to this subspecies by Rahn (1974) from Serra dos Órgãos (E. H. G. Ule 136, R) has convinced us that these specimens are indeed distinct from other P. australis subspecies (Table 3). This, in addition to the very controversial synonymisation by Hefler et al. (2011), who did not see any collections from Rio de Janeiro, including the type, has led us to propose here the revalidation of this subspecies. This poorly-understood species needs further study to elucidate its morphology, distribution, conservation status, ecology and phylogenetic relationships with other P. australis subspecies.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF72D2201FF5D9A6DFC51EF80.taxon	description	Illustration: — Figure 29 in Rahn (1974). Phenology: — Mainly September – February. Habitat and distribution: — Uruguay, Argentina (except southern Patagonia), southern Bolivia and southern Brazil. It occurs in open (unforested) areas, on rather moist soils, generally not far from rivers, canals or lakes, from sea-level to 3450 m asl (Rahn 1974). Previously known in Brazil only from Rio Grande do Sul state (Rahn 1974, 1995), this study expands the distribution of this subspecies northwards to Santa Catarina state, as we found collections of this subspecies which originated from five municipalities there: Alfredo Wagner, Bom Jardim da Serra, Grão Pará, Lauro Müller and Urubici. Conservation status: — Least Concern (LC). This subspecies has a rather large distribution and is very frequent, especially in Argentina.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF72D2201FF5D9A6DFC51EF80.taxon	discussion	Discussion: — We noticed that the authors of two synonyms of this subspecies are commonly subject to some confusion in the literature and also online databases. Plantago candollei Rapin (Daniel Rapin) is commonly erroneously presented as P. candollei Raf. (Constantine Samuel Rafinesque), and P. durvillei Delile ex Fisch. & C. A. Mey. (Carl Anton von Meyer) is often erroneously presented as P. durvillei Delile ex Fisch. & G. Mey. (Georg Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer) or as P. durvillei Delile ex Steud. (Ernst Gottlieb von Steudel).	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF72D2200FF5D9FE9FB13EC98.taxon	description	Illustration: — Figure 31 in Rahn (1974). Phenology: — In Arizona and Mexico mainly June – August; in Central America, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru throughout the year; in Bolivia and northwestern Argentina January – March, and in northeastern Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil mainly November – December (Rahn 1974). This subspecies may flower throughout the year throughout its wide range, although flowering seems to be concentrated during spring in southern South America. Habitat and distribution: — This subspecies occurs from southwestern USA (Arizona) to northern Argentina and Uruguay through Mexico, Central America, the Andes and southern Brazil (Rahn 1974), from sea level to 3000 m asl, but is absent from tropical lowlands. Its original habitat was most probably natural clearings in subtropical forests (Rahn 1974). However, this subspecies has now a very broad ecological range, also occurring in high-altitude grasslands, coastal vegetation, and especially in disturbed habitats as a ruderal plant. This is the most widespread species or subspecies in Plantago section Virginica, and also the only one that tolerates some shading. Conservation status: — Least Concern (LC). This subspecies is very frequent, and has a very large distribution and a relatively broad ecological range, including ruderal habitats.	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
03E3972AF72D2200FF5D9FE9FB13EC98.taxon	discussion	Discussion: — The taxonomic situation of Plantago australis subsp. hirtella has been the subject of a recent yet quite significant (considering its continental distribution) misunderstanding. In their taxonomic revision of Plantago in the South region of Brazil, Hefler et al. (2011) affirmed that Luteyn et al. (1999) had synonymised P. australis subsp. hirtella under P. australis subsp. australis, and they further synonymised P. australis subsp. angustifolia also under P. australis subsp. australis. However, a careful reading of Luteyn et al. (1999) makes it clear that they did not propose any taxonomic changes, as they merely list the subspecies of P. australis that occur in the páramos (Andean high-elevation grasslands). Personal communication (March 2015) with James Luteyn confirmed that Luteyn et al. (1999) did not propose any synonymisation in P. australis. Despite this, the taxonomic changes proposed by Hefler et al. (2011) have been broadly accepted, and were followed, for instance, by important plant catalogues such as the Argentine “ Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares del Cono Sur ” (http: // www 2. darwin. edu. ar / proyectos / floraargentina / fa. htm) and the Brazilian “ Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil ” (http: // www. floradobrasil. jbrj. gov. br). The careful examination of a great number of collections, in addition to field work and a thorough bibliographic revision have convinced us that P. australis subsp. australis and P. australis subsp. hirtella are distinct, and can be separated by their morphology, distribution and ecology; we thus agree with Rahn (1964, 1966, 1974, 1975, 1979, 1995, 1999) in recognising these two subspecies. It is evident that even though Rahn worked extensively on P. australis, it is still poorly resolved at the species level, as Rahn himself admitted (Rahn 1966, 1974). However, the synonymisation of P. australis subsp. hirtella under P. australis subsp. australis, in addition to being a misunderstanding as explained above, is a clear regression in the understanding of this species complex. To solve this notoriously confusing species complex it will probably be necessary, in addition to examining material from throughout its vast distribution range (which was not done by Hefler et al. 2011), to employ molecular phylogenetic techniques. To date we consider that the available knowledge supports the recognition of both P. australis subsp. australis and P. australis subsp. hirtella. In addition to the information presented by Rahn (1974), we found two more morphological characters that can be used to separate these two subspecies: the width of the secondary cord-like roots, and the distribution of the trichomes on the scape (Table 3).	en	Hassemer, Gustavo, Trevisan, Rafael, Meudt, Heidi M., Rønsted, Nina (2015): Taxonomic novelties in Plantago section Virginica (Plantaginaceae) and an updated identification key. Phytotaxa 221 (3): 226-246, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.221.3.2
