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Australian Systematic Botany Australian Systematic Botany Society
Taxonomy, biogeography and evolution of plants
RESEARCH ARTICLE

Chloris circumfontinalis (Poaceae): a recently discovered species from the saline scalds surrounding artesian springs in north-eastern Australia

Patrick S. Fahey A C D , Roderick J. Fensham B C , Boris Laffineur B C and Lyn G. Cook C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Biosciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Vic. 3010, Australia.

B Queensland Herbarium, Department of Science, Information Technology and Innovation, Brisbane Botanic Gardens, Mount Coot-tha Road, Toowong, Qld 4066, Australia.

C School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Saint Lucia, Qld 4072, Australia.

D Corresponding author. Email: patrick.fahey@unimelb.edu.au

Australian Systematic Botany 32(3) 228-242 https://doi.org/10.1071/SB18017
Submitted: 30 Mar 2018  Accepted: 25 Feb 2019   Published: 5 June 2019

Abstract

The artesian springs of inland Australia are a unique habitat in what is otherwise an arid environment. They support a rich collection of endemic flora and fauna. Here, morphological and molecular data are employed to describe a new species, Chloris circumfontinalis Fahey & Fensham, endemic to artesian spring systems in central Queensland. A morphological ordination failed to distinguish this species from other Australian native flora, but the shape of the florets distinguishes it from the species with which it co-occurs. Phylogenies estimated from molecular data showed that the species represents a distinct lineage that may be sister to species of Chloris from outside Australia. Chloris circumfontinalis occurs only in the saline scalds that form around the springs, and population surveys at the two sites where it occurs indicated a threat status of Endangered under the IUCN Red List criteria.

Additional keywords: Chloridoideae, endangered plants, phylogeny.


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