| Montia vassilievii (Kuzen.) McNeill | |
| Publ. & Syn. | NcNeill, Canad. J. Bot. 53: 805 (1975). - Claytonia vassilievii Kuzen., Fl. URSS 6: 383, 880 (1936). Holotype (LE): Russian Far East: South Chukotka, the Anadyr area, the Rarytkin Range, Mount Irgunei, 18. Aug. 1933, leg. V. Vassiljev. - Montiastrum vassilievii (Kuzen.) Ö. Nilsson, Grana Palynol. 7: 355, 360 (1967). - Claytoniella vassilievii (Kuzen.) Jurtz., Bot. Zhurn. 57: 645 (1972). |
| Notes | Yurtsev (PAF proposal) accepted (within Claytoniella) C. bostockii, C. vassilievii with two subspecies, and a non-arctic Ola Plateau (Kolyma-Okhotsk divide) species which he proposed as C. kolymensis Jurtz. nom. nud., Probl. Bot. Geogr. Sev. Azii: 111-112 (1974). Claytoniella kolymensis has the lowest known chromosome number in the genus (2n = 40, Yurtsev and Zhukova 1972) and, according to Yurtsev, some characters in common with the Alaskan and Yukon Territory C. bostockii: pinkish petals, floriferous stems with several leaves (vs. one), and narrow basal part of leaves of creeping vegetative shoots. Probatova and Rudyka (1987) erroneously assigned this plant to C. vassilievii subsp. petrovskyi. Yurtsev: This [C. bostockii-vassilievii] is the only species of Claytoniella with distinctly petiolate leaves, petioles being twice as long as the oblanceolate blades. The most similar plant in northeastern Asia is the Ola Plateau C. kolymensis see above. Hultén (1973) noted that Petrovsky, having seen only the illustration of C. bostockii in Hultén (1968a), decided that it and C. vassilievii were one species. Elven and Murray: Hultén himself, having examined specimens from northeastern Asia and the southwestern Yukon Territory, decided that the names C. vassilievii and C. bostockii refer to one species. We share this view after comparing the same material as studied by Hultén (S) and additional material (ALA). As far as we can see, C. bostockii differs from C. vassilievii in size only. In most specimens, it is larger in all parts and therefore also with slightly more differentiated leaves (spathulate with an indistinct petiole). This is too little to merit rank as species. Miller (2003) synonymized Claytoniella vassilievii (material from both Wrangel Island and Anadyr) with Montia bostockii under the latter name. We agree. There is not much difference. But the species name "vassilievii" has priority (Claytonia vassilievii Kuzen. 1936) before "bostockii" (Claytonia bostockii A.E. Porsild 1951). |
| Chromosomes | (1) 18. - Europe (N), Far East (N), Greenland. - At least four reports. (2) 20. - Europe, Far East (N), Alaska, Greenland. - Numerous reports. |
| Geography | Amphi-Beringian. |
| Distribution | N = R AN = r D = R E = R WI = r CE = r CS = r [ key ] |
| Parent taxon | Montia L. |
| Child taxa |
Montia vassilievii subsp. petrovskyi (M. Grichuk & Jurtz.) Montia vassilievii subsp. vassilievii |
| PAF ID | 440202 |