Valerianella eriocarpa Desv. (Medit., Macaronesia) – A rare and much decreasing, formerly more or less naturalized weed of arable land. Already known at the beginning of the 19th century (Durand 1899) and documented from several, widely scattered locations, predominantly in Wallonia. For instance in Comblain-au-Pont (at least between 1870 and 1926), Vierset-Barse (1908-1933), Tihange (1869-1891), … Much rarer in Flanders. Apparently last seen as an agricultural weed in Sainte-Marie-sur-Semois in 1954.
Valerianella eriocarpa was recently reported as a grain alien from the port area of Izegem (Verloove & Vandenberghe 1997). This record eventually proved to be erroneous. The collection belongs to a peculiar race of native Valerianella dentata, var. eriosperma (Wallr.) Janchen (syn.: V. dentata subsp. eriosperma (Wallr.) Holub). This is a rather distinct but insufficiently known taxon (possibly not native in Belgium) and is often given specific rank (Valerianella mixta Dufr.) (see for instance Hadac & Chrtek 1968). Characters of fruiting calyx are like in Valerianella dentata (3-toothed, confluent with the apex of the fruit) but the fruit is larger and densely covered by curved hairs. See photos below.
V. eriocarpa V. dentata V. dentata V. rimosa
var. eriosperma
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Selected literature
Durand T. (1899) Phanérogames. In: De Wildeman E. & Durand T., Prodrome de la flore belge. A. Castaigne Editeur, Bruxelles: 1112 p.
Hadač E. & Chrtek J. (1968) Valerianella mixta (L.) Dufr. v Československu. Preslia 40: 301-303.
Pearman D.A. & Edwards B. (2002) Valerianella eriocarpa Desv. in Dorset, and a reassessment of its status as a presumed introduction in Britain. Watsonia 24(1): 81-89.
Pearman D.A. & Edwards B. (2007) Valerianella eriocarpa Desv. as a presumed native in Britain- an update. Watsonia 26(3): 387.
Pratt E. (2002) Valerianella eriocarpa in Dorset (v.c. 9). BSBI News 91: 36-37.
Verloove F. & Vandenberghe C. (1997) Nieuwe en interessante voederadventieven in België en aangrenzend Nederland, hoofdzakelijk in 1996. Dumortiera 68: 13-26.