Viola curtisiae, a new rank for a poorly understood species, with notes on V. hederacea subsp. seppeltiana

摘要

Viola hederacea subsp. curtisiae has till now been a poorly understood taxon, represented by very few specimens from near Mount Field, Tasmania. Field and glasshouse observations of a Viola found on the Mount Baw Baw plateau, Victoria, showed that it matches the protologue of V. hederacea subsp. curtisiae. Field observations at the type locality in Tasmania confirm this. Viola hederacea subsp. curtisiae and V. hederacea subsp. hederacea co-occur with no intermediates, indicating that species rank is preferable for the former; it is here recombined as V. curtisiae (L.G.Adams) K.R.Thiele, and shown to have a broader distribution, including in Tasmania, than previously recognised. Viola hederacea subsp. seppeltiana is discussed, and determined to be more closely related to V. sieberiana than it is to V. hederacea. Accordingly, there are now no recognised subspecies in V. hederacea.