Madrono, Vol. 54, No. 2, pp. 172-174, 2007 A NEW SUBSPECIES AND NEW COMBINATION IN FRANGULA PURSHIANA (RHAMNACEAE) FROM THE SIERRA NEVADA, PLUMAS COUNTY, CALIFORNIA John O. Sawyer Department of Biological Sciences, Humboldt State University, Areata, CA 95521 [email protected] Stephen W. Edwards CA Regional Parks Botanic Garden, Tilden Regional Park, Berkeley, 94708 [email protected] Abstract WedescribeFrangulapurshiana(DC.)Coopersubsp. ultramaficaJ. O. Sawyer&S.W. Edwards,an endemic to the Sierra Nevada in Plumas National Forest, and compare it with other subspecies ofF. piirshicma. Wediscuss the use ofthe generic names Frangula and Rhamnusin the California flora. We also make a new combination Frangula purshiana (DC.) Cooper subsp. annonifolia (Greene) J. O. Sawyer & S. W. Edwards. Key Words: Frangula, Plumas County, Rlunumis, Rhamnaceae, serpentine. Frangula purshiana (DC.) Cooper subsp. ultra- Type: USA, CA, Plumas County,WT 25N R7W maficaJ. O. Sawyer& S.W. Edwards, subsp. nov. sect. 11. Lat. N 40.04343 Long. 121.1W5971. (Fig. 1). Elev. 1572 m. Plumas National Forest. of Frutex plerumque minor quain 2 m altus; rami Forest Service Road 26N22F ca.0.6 km (1 mile) alterni flexiles sine squamis hibernaculorum, SWfromtheintersectionof26N22Fand26N22at cortice cinerea; rainuli virides vel cinerei vel Deadwood Saddle east of Red Hill. Hillside of obscure brunnei, profuse pubescentes; folia de- serpentinized peridotite in open, mixed forest. 2 cidua vel semidecidua, prope gemmas terminales August 2004. /. P. Smith & J. O. Sawver 11,990 congesta; petiolus 5-15 min longus; lamina cor- (HOLOTYPE: HSC; Isotypes: CAS, JEPS, MO, iacea, 50 100 mm longa, late oblonga vel ovalis RSA) vel obovata, basi obtusa vel decrescenti, apice late Parcitypes: USA, CA, Plumas County, Plumas oblongo saepe emarginato, margine integro vel National Forest.WT 26N R7W sect. 33. Lat. N parum serrulato et plerumque undulato, pagina 40.05929 Long. 121.20166. Elev. 823 m. ca. superiore in vivo glaucescenti vel glauca obceram 4.8 km S of Caribou along the Caribou Road ex caeruleo vel viridi cineream, papillata, sparse (Forest Service Road 27N26). Serpentine seep. 12 vel manifeste pubescenti vel velutina, pagina September 2004. /. P. Smith & J. O. Scnwer inferiore pallide viridi venis prominentibus, venis 12,044 (HSCW); T 24N R8W sect. 4m. Long. N 1 et 2 valde, 3 modice pubescentibus; inflor- 39.912 LNat. 121.09165. Elev. 1402 (4600 ft), escentia umbella axillaris; flos bisexualis; fructus ca. 6.4 of Spanish Ranch near Bean Hill off putaminibus 3, in maturitate niger. Forest Service Road 25N17. Douglas-fir-ponder- Shrub generally less than 2 m; hrcmclies alter- osa pine forest. 13 September 2004. /. P. Smith & nate, flexible, terminal bud scales lacking; bark J. O. Scnwer 12,055 (HSC);WT 23N R6W sect. 21. ash gray; twigs green to ash gray or dull brown, Lat. N 39.83402 Long. 121.30822. Elev. m profusely pubescent; leaves deciduous or semi- 1572 (5400 ft). Duplicates to be distributed. deciduous, clustered near terminal buds; petiole Miller described Frangula in 1754, and early 5-15 mm; blade coriaceous, 50-100 mm, broadly botanists of the California flora used both oblong, oval to obovate; base obtuse or tapered; Frangula (Gray 1849) and Rhamnus (Brewer tip broadly oblong, often emarginate; margin and Watson 1880). Weberbauer (1895) consid- entire to slightly serrulate and commonly wavy; ered Frangula a subgenus of Rhamnus. Wolf adaxial surface, when fresh, glaucescent to (1938) in his classic treatment of Rhamnus in glaucous from a bluish or greenish gray wax, North America recognized two spe—cies in Cali- papillate, and sparsely to markedly pubescent or fornia in the subgenus Eurhamnus R. alnifolia velvety; abaxial surface light pale green with and R. er—oeea, and three species in the subgenus prominent veins, 1" and 2 veins very pubescent, Frangula R. ealifornica, R. rubra, and R. 3 veins moderately so; inflorescence an axillary purshiana, based on the presence or lack of umbel; flower bisexual; fruit 3-stoned, black at winter bud scales, thorns, type of inflorescence, maturity. sexuality, number of petals, and style length 2007] SAWYER AND EDWARDS: FRANGULA PURSHIANA SUBSP. ULTRAMAFICA 173 Fig. 1. Photograph ofFraugulapiirsJuaiia subsp. iiltraniafica at the Red Hill occurrence by J. Sawyer differences. Bolmgren and Oxelman (2004) in- and Wilken 2006), and Quereus vaeeiuiifolia vestigated the generic limits of Rluuuuus using Kellogg. Coffee berry plants become more nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence tech- common at higher elevations. Other habitats niques. Their results showed species assigned to include seeps, rocky streambeds; open Pseudot- subgenus Franguki to be monophyletic and suga nienziesii Pinus ponderosa forests and Are- distinct from the rest of RJunuuus. The treatment tostaphylospatula chaparral. We recommend the in the forthcomingrevision ofTlieJcpson Manual name ''ultramafica," since plants grow on ultra- (Sawyer 1993) will accept Frangula and Rhainnus mafic substrates, and ''Caribou coffee berry," (J. Sawyer personal communication). since it grows near the mining town ofCaribou. Fraugula puvshiana subsp. ultrania/ica (Fig. 1) Over a decade ago, Edwards (1990) first appears to be restricted to the Feather River discussed this plant from the Red Hill area, and complex (Alexander et al. 2007) of serpentinized compared it with other Frangula that grow in the peridotite and associated mafic and ultramafic northern Sierra Nevada. Its firm, bluish or substrates near Bucks Lake. The largest occur- greenish-grayish leaves are suggestive of ever- rence is on the North Fork of the Feather River green Frangula ealiforniea (Eschsch.) A. Gray near Red Hill north of Serpentine Canyon and subsp. tonientella (Benth.) Kartesz & Gandhi, but State Route 70. The road to the top of Red Hill they are broader and larger. Its leaves are (1935 m) passes through open, mixed forests of deciduous as in Frangula rubra (E. Greene) V. Abies concolor (Gordon & Glend.) Lindley, A. Grub., but it is most like F. purshiana (DC.) magnifica A. Murray bis, Calocedrus decurreus Cooper with large, broad leaves and fruits with & (Torrey) Florin, PinusJeffreyi Grev. Half., P. three stones. lanihertiana Douglas, Quereus chrysolepis Liebm., Another subspecies occurring in the northern and Pseudotsuga nienziesii (Mirbel) Franco. Sierra Nevada is Frangula purshiana (DC.) Shrubs scattered with the new coffee berry Cooper subsp. annonifolia (E. Greene) J. O. include Arctostapliylos nevadensis A. Gray, A. Sawyer & S. W. Edwards comb. nov. Based on patula E. Greene, an unusual form of Ceauothus Rhainnus anonaefolia E. Greene, Pittonia 3: 16. cuneatus (Hook.) Nutt. (Edwards 1990; Fross 1896. Mountains of Placer County, California, MADRONO 174 [Vol. 54 where it was collected by A. M. Carpenter in western North America. Oxford University Press, 1892. Synonymy: Rhamnus purshiana DC. var. New York, NY. anonaefolia (E. Greene) Jepson Man. Fl. PI. BOLMGREN, K. AND B. OxELMAN. 2004. Genericlimits Calif, p. 614. 1925. Greene used Anona P. Miller in Rhamnus L. s.l. (RhaDnmNaAceae) inferred from as the basis ofthe epithet ofhis new species. That nuclear and chloroplast sequence phyloge- sneacmoendhaosrtshiongcerapbheiecn rceoprrleaccteidonb,ybAansneodnaonL.thAe BrewnPieoelrsy.,peTWta.axlaoHen..a53Sn(e2dc)o:Sn.3d8W3a(-tr3es9v0oi.sne.d)1e8d8i0t.ioBno.taGneyo.loVgoilc.al1 |i Article 60 ofthe International Code ofBotanical Survey ofCalifornia. J. Wilson & Son, University Nomenclature (Greuter et al. 2000), recommends Press, Cambridge, MA. replacing "ae" with "i" as compounding forms, Edwards, S. W. 1990. The Caribou coffee berry: resulting in the spelling "annonifolia." a preliminary study of an unusual Rhamnus from ; i Plumas County. Four Seasons 8(4): 37-45. Key to Frangula purshiana taxa Fross, D. and D. Wilken. 2006. Ceanothus. Timber Press, Portland, OR. j 1. Upper blade surface, when fresh, glaucescent Gray, A. 1849. Genera florae Americae boreali- to glaucous from a bluish or greenish gray orientalis illustrata. Volume 2: plate 178. G.P. j wax, with papillae, and sparsely to markedly Putnam, New York, NY. j pubescent or velvety Greuter, W., J. McNeil, F. Barrie, H. Burdet, V. ; F. purshiana ssp. iiltranuifica Demoulin, T. Filgueiras, D. Nicolson, p. ; r Upper blade surface, when fresh, bright green, SiLVA, J. E. Skog, p. Trehane, j. Turland, lacking a wax, papillae, and glabrous to ANDD. Hawksworth. 2000. Internationalcodeof sparsely pubescent botanical nomenclature (St. Louis Code). Regnum 2. Blade base tapering; plants inland Vegetabile 138. Koeltz Scientific Books, Konig- F. purshiana ssp. annonifolia stein. i 2' Blade base rounded or heart-shaped; plants Miller, P. 1754. The gardeners dictionary. 4th coastal F. purshiana ssp.purshsiana edition. A 1969 reprint with an introduction by j I W.T. Stearn. Verlag von J. Cramer, Lehre, Acknowledgments Germany. DtWBiieesolWtnsrseihacpeftoprt,rr-heHaiPconmliwkpauertm,MeoavasDJirinaksNgmtaertGtishiaciotrsPnl.apBaalonSptdemaFrino.ftirosherWt's,stet,hcMeaoftlno.sLsroattHrthiuihoncsautndigrkevehsevJciraRseimuwapegtnsgiageonensBdr..- WSaewbyemCPerapalr.nbi,uaf9auo3lJre.:1nr-iO,ha9.i4Pag2rh1.e9esi9r1ns38,.p9J5l.B.aRenChrRt.kashemalHnomeifayncc,aCkecaCamleAieaaf.eno(.ren(xPiecpade...)p.t3U9nTCi3hev-aee4nr2osJ7tiehtipuynssAo)o.n.f j;;,i Engler and K. Prantl (eds.). Die natiirlichen help in the field. Pflanzenfamilien. Vol. 3. No. 5. Verlag von Will- Literature Cited helm Engelmann, Leipzig, Germany. Wolf, C. B. 1938. The North American species of Alexander, E., R. Coleman, T. Keeler-Wolf, and Rhamnus. Botanical Series No. 1. Rancho Santa S. Harrison. 2007. Serpentine geoecology of Ana Botanic Garden, Claremont, CA.