Panarctic Flora

Browse

343224 Puccinellia tenella (Lange) Holmb.

Geography: Circumpolar.

Notes: The two choices for type of the name Puccinellia tenella are: (1) Neotype (S): European Russia: Vaigach, "Sinus Ljamtschina", 19. Aug. 1907, leg. O. Ekstam (Sørensen 1953: 81). Sørensen found the original material to deviate significantly from the diagnosis and decided to designate a better fitting neotype. (2) Lectotype (UPS): European Russia: Vaigach, Cape Grebeni, 30-31. July 1879, leg. Kjellman and Lundström (Tzvelev 1976: 511). Choice (1) implies that P. tenella and P. langeana subsp. asiatica are different, choice (2) that they are synonymous. The question is whether Sørensen was justified in designating a neotype.

Puccinellia tenella s. str., according to choice (2) above, is fairly widespread in arctic Eurasia and the main doubts are about the assignment of the Beringian plants. Sørensen in Hultén (1950) reported subsp. asiatica from the Chukchi Peninsula and St. Lawrence Island (therefore 'ALA?' below) but he reported his subsp. alaskana (P. alaskana) from the other Bering Sea islands both south and north of St. Lawrence Island. Subspecies langeana has been reported from both western Alaska and East Chukotka. Are there really three sympatric, diploid taxa of this group in the Bering Sea area?

Higher Taxa