Veronica microtheca Boiss. & Balansa

Albach, Dirk C., 2025, From just a few to the most type-rich herbarium for Veronica L. (Plantaginaceae) - The effect of digitization of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle herbarium in Paris, Adansonia (3) 47 (7), pp. 47-130 : 66-67

Veronica microtheca Boiss. & Balansa in Boiss.

Diagnoses Plantarum Orientalum Novarum, ser. 2, 6: 131 ( Boissier 1859). — V. campylopoda var. microtheca (Boiss. & Balansa) Boiss , Flora Orientalis 4: 464 ( Boissier 1879).

TYPE CITATION. — Turkey, Usak: “Hab. in arvis otiosis prope Ouchak [= Usak] Phrygiae alt 910 metr. cl. Balansa. Fl. Maio”.

LECTOTYPE (designated here). — “B. Balansa, Pl. d’Orient, 1857. 1163. Veronica microtheca sp. nov. (Boiss.), Ouchak (Phrygie), à 910 m. d’alt., champs en friche. 26 mai.”, G[ G00768037* ].

ISOLECTOTYPES (designated here). — BP[ BP349127! ], CAS[ CAS5111 !*], DS[ DS444131 ], G[ G00768038* ], GOET[ GOET011123 !], JE[ JE00000097!* ], OXF!, P[ P03555936* , P03555937* , P03555938* , P03555939* , P03803269* , P03882894* , P03882903* , P04048981* ].

Nomenclatural note. Veronica microtheca is today considered a variety of V. campylopoda differing in smaller capsules and seeds and slightly different shape of the capsule lobes. Further, the collection by Balansa represents the westernmost locality for the species, which is significant given the variation in ploidy ( Albach et al. 2008) and its range from Western Turkey to Eastern China. It is likely that different, cryptic species are combined under the name V. campylopoda . The specimen in Geneva is chosen as lectotype since it contains a handwritten note by Balansa with the differentiating characters. There are an exceptional eight isolectotypes in P, four from the general herbarium, two from herbarium Drake, and two from Cosson (one via the herbarium Parceval-Grandmaison/ Moquin-Tandon).