Canarian volcanic summit sparse herbland vegetation on pumic tallus screes
Violetea cheiranthifoliae Voggenreiter ex Mucina in Mucina et al. 2016
Violetea cheiranthifoliae Voggenreiter ex Mucina in Mucina et al. 2016
vio01 | These are open low-scrub and herb-rich open communities of the scree-like habitats of young lava flows at high altitudes of Pico de Teide (Teneriffe, Canary Islands) and structurally analogous to some puna vegetation types of the Andes. It is not a retamal (or any other scrub of the kind) and therefore, both ecologically and structurally this vegetation type should not be included in the Spartocytisetea supranubii. According to several authors (Rivas-Martínez et al. 2002a, 2011; Brullo et al. 2008) this vegetation should be classified as a part of the Canarian broom scrub of the Spartocytisetea supranubii or of the Canarian pine forests of the Cytiso-Pinetea. Both suggestions however lack both floristic as well as vegetation-structural logic. Herewith I validate the Voggenreiter's (1974: 165) invalid name and designate the Violetalia cheiranthifoliae Voggenreiter ex Mucina in Mucina et al. 2015 (see below) as the holotypus (hoc loco) of the Violetea cheiranthifoliae. The character species of this class are identical to those listed for the Violion cheiranthifoliae and Violetalia cheiranthifoliae (see below). This vegetation is neither forest (unlike the Cytiso-Pinetea), not retamal (unlike Spartinocytisetea supranubii). (L. Mucina) ASG does not support an independent class status of the Violetea cheiranthifoliae.