Phytoneuron [electronic resource]

Spellenberg, R. and W. Anderson. 2010. New flowering plant records for the north of Mexico. Phytoneuron 2010-22: 1-3.

NEW FLOWERING PLANT RECORDS FOR THE NORTH OF MEXICO

Richard Spellenberg

Department of Biology

New Mexico State University

Las Cruces, NM 88003

Wynn Anderson

Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens

University of Texas at El Paso

El Paso, TX 79968

ABSTRACT

Adenophyllum porophyllum (Cav.) Hemsl. var. porophyllum is reported for Chihuahua, its
presence there overlooked in a recent revision. Adenophyllum wrightii A. Gray var. wrightii is
reported from two new locations, confirming a single century old record for Chihuahua. Astragalus
ervoides Hook. & Arn. var. maysillesii Barneby is reported as a new record for Chihuaha. Oxytropis
lambertii Pursh var. bigelovii A. Gray and Corydalis micrantha (Englem.) Gray subsp. micrantha are
reported as a new records for Mexico. Agastache pallidiflora (Heller) Rydb. subsp. pallidiflora var.
gilensis R. Sanders is reported as a first record for the species for Chihuahua and as a first record for
the variety for Mexico.
KEY WORDS: New records, Mexico. Chihuahua, Sierra Madre Occidental, flowering plants

While exploring the scenic regions of the Sierra Madre Occidental of western Chihuahua,
primarily for photographic purposes, we occasionally collected botanical specimens of plants that we
did not know, that were of interest for ongoing research by us or others, or were in groups that are
either under-collected or inherently difficult. Among those collections were a few that are of general
interest for floristic work in Mexico. We present those records here.

ASTERACEAE

Adenophyllum porophyllum (Cav.) Hemsl. var. porophylliim. ! 'Ibhuahua, Mpio de Madera, 18 air
km due W of Madera on road to El Agua Amarilla, E side of Rio Sirupa 0.6 km E of bridge,
29°11'00.7"N, 108°19'27.8"W; elev. 1435 m, open grassy area with many Asteraceae, rocky, with
Querais chihuahuensis and O. oblongifolia. Heads rayless; flowers yellow uanii, plants sporadic
among other annual and perennial herbs, not common; 28 Sep 2007, R. Spellenberg and W. Anderson
13862 (CIIDIR MEXU, NMC, UC).

Confirms presence in Chihuahua. John Strother kindly confirmed our identification and noted that he

inadvertently omitted an earlier Chihuahua record from his citations of specimens for Dyssodia
prophylla (Cav.) Cav. subsp. porophylla var. porophylla in his revision of Dyssodia (Strother 1969).
He later recognized this group of Dyssodia in the genus Adenophyllum (Strother 1986).

Adenophyllum wrightii A. Gray var. wrightii Mpio. de Madera, 15 km S of Nicolas Bravo. 1.6 km
N of junction with Chih. Hwy. 10 to San Jose de Babicora, 29°11'14.6"N, 107°52'28.9"W; elev.
2230 m, in silty igneous sandy gi r\ J in sm ill diam Hi it passes un lei hi dm a in -eim-open area in

Juniperus deppeana, Pinus latifolia, Querela arizonica woods, with Bidens odorata, B. lemmonii (?),
Schkuhria, Cosmos, Muhlenbergia minutissima, and sparse Bouteloua hirsute and B. gracilis. Plants
erect; rays yellow; restricted to ca. 4x5 m area; 28 Sep 2007, R. Spellenberg and W. Anderson 13S47
(CIIDIR, MEXU, NMC, UC); Mpio. de Temosachi, on Chih. Hwy 10 2 km NE of junction with

Spellenberg and Anderson:

Chih. Hwy 10 to Madera (ca. at La Concha) and Matachic 29°07'50.1"N, 1G7°54'09.6"W.,
29°11'14.6"N, 107°52'28.9"W, elev. 2230 m, rocky hills with Pinus, Juniperus, Quercus. Plant
common in gravel of roadside, in low vegetated areas along road, and standing alone, ungrazed, in
heavily overgrazed pasture; plants erect; rays yellow; 28 Sep 2007, R. Spellenberg and W. Anderson
13848 (BRIT, MEXU, NMC, UC).

Confirms presence for Chihuahua: These seem to be the first collections in 120 years for this taxon in
Mexico. It apparently was not encountered during a rather thorough survey of the Cuenca de la
Laguna Babicora (Estrada C. et al 1997), an area which includes the location of the first record cited.
Strother (1969) reported it for Chihuahua from a single Pringle collection near Cd. Guerrero in 1887
(as Dyssodia neomexicana (Gray) Rob. var. neomexicand), somewhat south of our records. We
found the species to be weedy at the second site and completely avoided by cattle in a very heavily
grazed pasture. These records and observations, along with several locations discovered within the
same general period in New Mexico, convinced conservationists in New Mexico that the species did
not require protection (http://nmrareplants.unm.edu).

FABACEAE

Astragalus ervoules Hook. & Arn. var. maysillesii Barneby. Chihuahua, Mpio.Bocoyna, along
road into Valle de los Monjes, ca. 5 km SE of Creel, 27°43'43"N, 107°35'11.8" W; open gray
igneous rock with patches of thin soil, with pine, elev. 2345 m. Stems decumbent-ascending, petals
white, the keels tinged with dull purple, stipe, if present, 0.10-0.15 mm long, pod 2-celled, dark
brown-black at maturity; 27 Aug 2004, R. Spellenberg 13480 (CFNL, NMC).

Apparent first record for Chihuahua for species. Barneby (1964) mapped the variety from

approximately 300 km to the south, from southwestern Durango, where it is common. We have noted
the taxon at several sites within ill!-* legion in ( hihuahuj. The var. ervoldes, apparently less
frequently seen, is from Sinaloa and Jalisco. We thank E. Estrada with help in identification of this
species to variety.

Oxytropis lambertii Pursh var. bigelovii A. Gray. Chihuahua, Mpio. Progresso, vicinity of
Yepomera, ca. 8 km S of junction of Madera - Pena Blanca road, 107°50'W, 27°02'N, elev. 1820 m.
On whitish soil road bank and in field nearby: 19 .Tun 1993. Spellenberg, Brouittet, and Ulaszek
11910 (BRY, CIIDIR MEXU, MT, NMC).

Apparent first record for Mexico; the species was not recorded for the country in Barneby (1952) nor
in Welsh (2001).

LAMIACEAE

Agastache paMiiBflora (Heiler) Rydb. subsp. paMidifiora var. gilensis R. Sanders. Chihuahua,
Mpio. de Madera, 3 road km NE of small rancho called "La Tahlita," 32 rd km SW of Rio Sirupa, ca.
45 air km. SSW of Madera, 28°55'45.1"N, 108°22'23.4"W; elev. 1755 m, N-facing slope in Quercus
arizonica, Arbutus arizonica, pine woods, with Cupressus in canyon bottom. Corolla rose-pink,
calyx green, tipped with pink; 28 Sep 2008, R. Spellenberg and W. Anderson 14023 (CIIDIR NMC).

Apparent first record for species foi ( Inhujhua lii st record for variety from Mexico. Sanders (1987,
fig. 87) mapped only one record of this species for Mexico, that of var. havardii (A Gray) Sanders
from nw Coahuila. Var. gilensis is otherwise know ; n from western New Mexico and southeastern
Arizona.

Spellenberg and Anderson:

PAPAVERACEAE

Corydalis micrantha (Eiiglem } Gray subsp micrtmtha Chihuahua. Mpio. Guerrero, Chih. Hwy 25
1 km S of Rancho Blanco, 56 km N of Creel, 30 km S of jet with Mex. Hwy 16, 28°08'33.9"N,
107°29'24.3"W, elev. 2220 m; gravelly road bank in open woodland with Juniperus deppeana,
Quercus grisea, Finns, Arctostaphylos. Corolla dull pale yellowish, the upper lip burnished rusty
orange adaxially; 5 Sep 2008, R. Spellenberg and W. Anderson 14012 (BRIT, CIIDIR MEXU, NMC,
NY).

Apparent first record for Mexico. Neither Ownbey (1947) nor Stern (1997) recorded the species
outside the central and south-central United States. The specimens key to this variety easily, the
flower color matching that given in Ownbey except for the presence of a rusty orange blush on the
upper petal of the flowers.

LITERATURE CITED

Barneby, RC. 1952. A revision of the North American species of Oxytropis DC. Proc. Calif. Acad.

Sci. 27: 117-312.
Barneby, R.C. 1964. Atlas of North American Astragalus. Mem. N. Y. Bot. Gard 13: 1-1188.
Estrada C, A. E., R. Spellenberg and T. Lebgue. 1997. Flora vascular de la Laguna de Babicora,

Chihuahua, Mexico. Sida 17: 809-827.
Ownbey, G.B. 1947. Monograph of the North America species of Corydalis. Ann. Missouri Bot.

Gard 34: 187-260.
Stern, K.R 1997, Corydalis, pp. 348-357 in Flora of North America Ed. Comm., Flora of North

America, Vol. 3, Oxford Univ. Press, NY.
Strother, J.L. 1969. Systematics of Dyssodia Cavanilles (Compositae: Tageteae). Univ. Calif. Pub.

Bot. 48: 1-88.
Strother, J.L. 1986. Renovation of Dyssodia (Compositae: Tageteae). Sida 11: 371-378.
Welsh, S.L. 2001. Revision of North American species of Oxytropis de Candolle (Leguminosae). E.

P. S., Inc., Orem, Utah.