The Australian species Nicotiana walpa is newly described here from plants collected at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park in the Northern Territory, Australia, and illustrated from plants cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Its discovery, ecology, cytology and cultivation are discussed

Chase, M.W.

Christenhusz, M.J.M.

Dodsworth, Steven

Christenhusz, Maarten J. M.

Chase, Mark W.

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989. Nicotiana walpa.

Mark W. Chase

Steven Dodsworth

Maarten J. M. Christenhusz

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989. NICOTIANA WALPA

Birkbeck Institutional Research Online

BIROn - Birkbeck Institutional Research OnlineChase, M.W. and Dodsworth, Steven and Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2021) 989.Nicotiana walpa: Solanaceae. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 38 (3), pp. 298-308. ISSN 1355-4905.Downloaded from: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/54028/Usage Guidelines:Please refer to usage guidelines at https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/policies.html or alternativelycontact lib-eprints@bbk.ac.uk.989. NICOTIANA WALPASolanaceaeMark W. Chase, Steven Dodsworth andMaarten J. M. ChristenhuszIllustrations by Deborah LambkinSummary. The Australian species Nicotiana walpa is newly describedhere from plants collected at the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park inthe Northern Territory, Australia, and illustrated from plants cultivatedat the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Its discovery, ecology, cytology andcultivation are discussed.Our studies on the evolution of Australian species of Nicotianasection Suaveolentes, have taken us to many parts of the Aus-tralian outback. When visiting the Red Centre of Australia(Northern Territory) in August 2016, we were given permissionby several indigenous communities to collect Nicotiana speci-mens on their land. That year, the winter conditions for growthof these and other desert plants had been optimal, and we wereenthralled by the fabulous displays of wildflowers, the greenleaves contrasting beautifully with the terracotta-red sands.One of the highlights of our visits was exploring the sacredlands around Uluru, the famous landmark in the centre of Aus-tralia. The Park rangers kindly arranged contact with the localpeople and together with two knowledgeable women we wenton the hunt for native tobacco at Uluru. We had been expectingto find four species of Nicotiana in the Uluru-Kata Tjuta NationalPark: N. excelsior J. M. Black (Chase & Christenhusz, 2018a),N. gossei Domin (Chase & Christenhusz, 2018b), N. ingulba J.M. Black (Chase et al., 2021) and N. occidentalis subsp. obliqua(N. T. Burb.) M. W. Chase & Christenh. (Chase & Christen-husz, 2018c). We soon found flowering populations of all these,but to our surprise we encountered a fifth species (Plate 989),which we observed in many places growing around Kata Tjutaon the Valley of the Winds hiking trail. Kata Tjuta (a name thattranslates as ‘many heads’ and was previously known as MountOlga) lies about 50 km from the much better-known UluruCurtis’s Botanical Magazine 2021 vol. 38 (3): pp. 298–308© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazinepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.298 This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivsLicense, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use isnon-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.Plate 989 Nicotiana walpa deborah lambkin 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons LicenseFig. 1. Fields of pink mulla mulla Ptilotus exaltatus Nees (Amaranthaceae) near the sacreddomed rocks (bornhardts) at Kata-Tjuta. Photograph Maarten Christenhusz.(previously known as Ayer’s Rock), and both sites are visitedby thousands of tourists each year. Kata Tjuta is as impressiveas Uluru and an important sacred site for the local Anangupeople. These massive domed rocks or bornhardts (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kata_Tjuta) are composed of conglomer-ate sandstone, and the tallest is 546 m above the surroundingplain (186 m taller than Uluru). The Valley of the Winds trailcircumnavigates the site and offers impressive views of thismagnificent set of outcrops across the vast dune scape of theRed Centre that surrounds these isolated mountains. A secondtrail takes visitors into the head of Walpa Gorge, which liesbetween two of the individual bornhardts. Now that we havestudied the herbarium collections of most of the Australianherbaria, we have identified only three other specimens of thisspecies collected at Kata Tjuta. This surprises us because weobserved a population of more than 1000 individuals of thislarge species (more than a metre tall) immediately next to themain carpark for the Valley of the Winds trail, where the start© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazinepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 301 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons Licenseof the trail crosses over a small watercourse (Figs 2 and 3). Two,Lazarides & Palmer 101 and 522 (CANB), were collected at KataTjuta in 1988. We also observed this same species at the remoteand impressive Tnorala (formerly called Gosse’s Bluff), whereit was previously collected under the name N. gossei (Carr 2136 ,MEL, collected in June 1978). Situated about 200 km to thenortheast of Kata Tjuta in the lands of the Western Arrerntepeople, Tnorala is a highly eroded, 140-million-year-old meteorimpact crater that is still 5 km in diameter. Undoubtedly, N.walpa exists at other sites, but given the paucity of previouscollections it must only appear under a set of highly infrequentenvironmental conditions. We were very lucky to have beenpresent in one of these unusual years.The local national park rangers at Kata Tjuta told us they hadnever seen it before and were just as surprised about our find aswe were. We are therefore pleased to present this species hereas new to science.Notes. Nicotiana walpa would presumably be consideredsimilar on morphological grounds to N. simulans N.T.Burb.,but the two previous collections at Kata Tjuta mentioned abovewere found among the undetermined material in the nationalherbarium at Canberra (CANB). In two cases, this species hasbeen identified as N. gossei, which can be explained by thefact that in both species the petiole is winged with a slightlyauriculate base, but these auricles are much better developedin N. gossei. The two species are otherwise dissimilar. Nicotianawalpa is a member of a clade of species related to N. stenocarpaWheeler (Chase & Christenhusz, 2018d), along with severalother undescribed similar species (Chase et al., submitted). Weare still studying these other species to determine their rangesand distinguishing features, and they will be described later.Nicotiana walpa can be distinguished from the other speciesin this group by its habit, particularly the abruptly attenuateleaf bases, and vestiture with the large multicellular hairs on theupper stems and leaf margins. Its leaves are perhaps more dis-colorous than other species. It has a chromosome number ofn = 20, which so far has been the number found in all speciesof this clade.© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine302 published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons LicenseFig. 2. Plants of Nicotiana walpa growing under Melaleuca along the Valley of the Winds Trailat Kata-Tjuta. Photograph Maarten Christenhusz.© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazinepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 303 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons LicenseFig. 3. A plant of Nicotiana walpa growing atypically in a stream bed in full sun. PhotographMaarten Christenhusz.© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine304 published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons LicenseCultivation. Nicotiana walpa germinates poorly unlesstreated with an aqueous gibberellic acid solution (1 mg/ml)prior to sowing. In fact, we tried several times to germinate themwithout gibberellic acid, but not a single seed germinated. Seedsare sown on the surface of a nutrient-rich, well-aerated medium(a mix of compost and sand) and kept moist but not wetthroughout the growing season. They require good light andtemperatures above 20∘C. The plants are annuals, but numer-ous seeds are produced over the season. In nature, it appearsto persist for long periods in the soil seed bank and infre-quently germinates when some undiscovered set of conditionsoccurs. Flowers are self-compatible and regularly self-pollinate,producing fruits and seeds without insect visitation.Nicotiana walpa M.W.Chase, Dodsworth & Christenh., sp. nov. (Fig. 4).Type. AUSTRALIA. Northern Territory: Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park,Valley of the Winds trail, by bridge over a small creek near the carpark,partly under mulga, 25∘17′6′′S, 130∘43′36′′E, 600 m, August 15, 2016,Chase & Christenhusz 16116 (holotype K; isotypes NT, CANB).This new species is similar and related to Nicotiana stenocarpa Wheeler ingeneral habit, vestiture and flower morphology, but it differs in leaf shape,in particular the abruptly attenuate and discolourous lamina and moder-ately auriculate leaf bases, the latter causing it to be identified in the pastas N. gossei Domin, a species with much larger flowers and different silkyvestiture.Description. Erect, herbaceous, annual herbs, forming a rosette,but with numerous large leaves in the basal portion of the stems. Themain stem has some minor branching, but then from near the baseproducing a series of additional strong stems, eventually forming amulti-stemmed plant. Basal leaves in a rosette and, especially on the baseof the stems, with winged petioles up to c. 6 cm long, the wing 1.5–2.0 cmacross, blades 7.4–12.5× 15.2–17.4 cm, ovate, widest near the base,abruptly attenuate, the apex obtuse in the basal leaves to acuminatein those higher up, margins entire, undulating, ciliate, often stronglybullate, especially on the petiole and base, upper leaves sessile often witha somewhat auriculate base. Vestiture on the stem base and leaf marginscomposed of short and long hairs interspersed with long, multi-cellularhairs with a swollen base with a green inclusion, some with a small glan-dular head, the leaf veins below with long multicellular hairs, above withsparse short hairs, upper stems to the apices with short non-glandularhairs interspersed with longer, multicellular hairs, the pedicels withglandular hairs and multicellular spikey hairs, with a swollen persistent© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazinepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 305 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons LicenseFig. 4. Nicotiana walpa. A, corolla, face view, ×2 14; B, flower, ×2 14; C, corolla, opened out,×2 14; D, style and ovary, ×2 14; E, leaf, × 34; F, habit; G, fruit, with calyx, ×2 14; H, fruit, calyxremoved, ×2 14; I, leaf edge hairs, ×12; J, upper stem hairs, ×12; K, lower stem hairs, ×12; L,leaf margin, underside, ×12. Drawn by Deborah Lambkin from specimens cultivated at Kew.© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine306 published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons Licensebase cell. Inflorescence bracts sessile, linear lanceolate, c. 0.5–2.3 cmlong, the apex acuminate. Calyx 1.2–1.0× 0.2 cm, one slightly longer andone shorter, the tips acuminate, slightly flaring, 0.2–0.3 cm longer thanthe fruit. Corolla tube 2.2–3.5 cm long (from tip of the calyx), 0.20–0.25in diameter, with no throat cup, the limb 1.8–2.6 cm across, the lobesslightly cleft, 0.8–1.0 cm long; four stamens of the same length at thethroat of the floral tube and the fifth c. 5 mm deeper in the tube. Fruita dry capsule splitting in four lobes, surrounded by the persistent calyx,which is slightly longer and enlarged at maturity. Chromosome number:n = 20 (Chase et al., 2021b).Distribution. Australia. Northern Territory: it has been foundthus far only at Kata Tjuta and Tnorala, but presumably occurs at othersites between these two.Habitat and Ecology. In slightly shaded sites under mulga(Acacia aneura F.Muell. ex Benth.), usually along streams or other alluvialsites, occasionally in full sun, 600–720 m. Nicotiana walpa occurs inslightly acidic soils, which are typical of sandstone conglomerates likeKata Tjuta. Annual rainfall is about 300 mm per year, and only five daysper year are cloudy. These plants germinate after rains in the Australianwinter and flower in the following spring. When temperatures becometoo hot and water availability dwindles, the plants go to seed and die.Seeds can lie dormant in the seedbank until another favourable seasonoccurs. Summers are typically without rainfall and 30–35∘C, whereasmost of the annual rainfall is in the winter when the temperature canfall below 0∘C (http://www.bom.gov.au/), thanks to the generally highelevation of the Red Centre.Phenology. Flowering and fruiting from August to October in wetyears only.Etymology. In Pitjantjatjara, the language of the Anangu people,walpa means wind. It was therefore also given as the name of one of thegorges at Kata Tjuta, Walpa Gorge, a place associated with dreamtimelegends. The main trail at Kata Tjuta is the Valley of the Winds trail, sothis reference to the wind seems appropriate for this species.Additional Specimens Studied. Northern Territory: KataTjuta, along the Valley of the Winds Trail on the N side, under Acaciaaneura (mulga) by a small watercourse, 600 m, 25∘17′12′′S, 130∘44′53′′E,14 August 2016, Chase & Christenhusz 16105 (K, NT, CANB); Kata Tjuta,locally common in creek line in red alluvium with Acacia spp., Asteraceaespp., Lepidium sp., Erodium sp. and Rumex vesicarius, annual herb, 55 cmhigh some plants to 105 cm high; stems with a glandular pubescence;leaves in a basal rosette, discolorous, 25.3∘S, 130.7333∘E, 18 August1988, Lazarides & Palmer 522 (CANB); Gosses Bluff, c. 120 km W of AliceSprings, 26 June 1974, Carr 2136 (MEL); Tnorala (Gosses Bluff), inthe crater, along, but not in, small creek, mostly in shade under mulga(Acacia aneura), 200–300 plants, most without stem leaves, winged andweakly auriculate petioles, both glandular and eglandular hairs, a single© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazinepublished by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 307 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons Licenseflowering specimen seen, many with inflorescence partially eaten, 715 m,23∘49′3′′S, 132∘18′57′′E, 8 August 2016, Chase & Christenhusz 16 156(K, NT, CANB).REFERENCESChase, M.W. & Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2018a). Nicotiana excelsior . Cur-tis’s Botanical Magazine 35: 261–268.Chase, M.W. & Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2018b). Nicotiana gossei. Cur-tis’s Botanical Magazine 35: 269–277.Chase, M.W. & Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2018c). Nicotiana occidentalis sub-species obliqua. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 35: 295–303.Chase, M.W. & Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2018d). Nicotiana stenocarpa. Cur-tis’s Botanical Magazine 35: 318–327.Chase, M.W., Dodsworth, S. & Christenhusz, M.J.M. (2021). Nicotianaingulba. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine 38: 309–318.Chase, M.W., Samuel, R., Leitch, A.R., Conran, J.G., Nollet, F., Fletcher, P.,Jakob, A., Cauz-Santos, L.A., Vignolle, G., Dodsworth, S., Christenhusz,M.J.M., Buril, M.T. & Paun, O. Down, then up: non-parallel genome sizechanges and a descending chromosome series in a recent radiation ofAustralian allotetraploid plant species in Nicotiana section Suaveolentes(Solanaceae). Systematic Biology: submitted.© 2021 The Authors. Curtis’s Botanical Magazine308 published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 14678748, 2021, 3, Downloaded from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/curt.12396 by Test, Wiley Online Library on [19/09/2024]. See the Terms and Conditions (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions) on Wiley Online Library for rules of use; OA articles are governed by the applicable Creative Commons License

989. Nicotiana walpa: Solanaceae

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989. Nicotiana walpa: Solanaceae

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