Poa vaginata Pamp., Arch. Bot. (Forlì

13.Poa vaginataPamp., Arch. Bot. (Forlì) 12: 20. 1936. Type. Libya • Cirenaica, Uum-er-Rezem sud est de Barce U. esc-Suenia, 18 Apr 1934, R. Pampanini et R. Pichi Sermolli 1060 (lectotype, here designated: FI [FI 003616 (FI 003616. jpg image! of a mounted packet, and FI 003616 _ a. jpg, an image! with the packet opened shared with rjs]). Description. Perennial. Culms 10–25 cm tall, densely tufted, basal tuft 3–4.5 mm tall, with bulbous culm and shoot bases, enveloped by papery sheaths. Leaves mostly basal; leaf blades <1 mm wide, slender involute; ligules of basal leaves 3–5 mm long, deeply tripartite, strongly decurrent, slightly milky; ligules of culm leaves to 6 mm long. Panicles 2–3 cm long, contracted, emergent 0–8 cm from the upper sheath, branches smooth or nearly so. Glumes 3 - veined; lemmas keel and marginal veins sericate; callus glabrous. Anthers ca 1 mm long. 2 n = unknown. Clade code: unknown. Distribution and ecology. Libya. Forested red clay slopes. Conservation status. Endemic, rare, and in need of further study. Known only from the Type locality collections cited. Probably Vulnerable based on criteria B 1 / B 2 a and D 2 ab. Threats are development, logging, grazing, and the predictable loss of habitat due to climate change. No studies have been conducted to estimate population size, area occupied, or potential habitat area. Comments. No location or collections were cited in the original publication (Pampanini 1936). The FI lectotype 1060 was labeled Poa vaginata Pamp. n. s. Two other Pampanini specimens, 1024 and 1028 at FI, originally determined Poa bulbosa, were determined as P. vaginata by Scholz, but neither he nor Dobignard and Chatelain (2010) nor Maire (1955) saw 1060. The species was described as having short rhizomes, images of the lectotype and other original material at FI show no evidence of this. These specimens suggest the densely tufted plants were growing in reddish sandy soil. The ligules of basal and culm leaves are quite long, basal ligules deeply tripartite and broadly decurrent, like P. timoleontis (P. sinaica is also possible), and the lemmas are short sericate along the keel and marginal veins and otherwise glabrous, callus glabrous, the anthers are short (ca. 1 mm). Poa lehoueroui from Tunisia was also described as rhizomatous but differs in having webbed callus, long hairs along the keel and marginal veins, and non-decurrent ligules. Dobignard (Dobignard and Chatelain 2010) cited his own collection (AD 11763) of P. vaginata from Morocco but noted the leaves are soft and flat, contrary to the original description. However, this report was not accepted by Ibn Tattou (2014). Representative specimens. Libya. (Pampanini 1024 FI [FI 067254, image!]; 1028 FI [FI 0627255, image!] (RJS also in person at FI)).