Tragopogon anatolicus A.Duran, B.Doğan & Coşkunç., 2014

Dogan, Bekir, Duran, Ahmet, Gültepe, Mutlu, Öztürk, Meryem & Coşkunçelebi, Kamil, 2014, Tragopogon anatolicus (Asteraceae), a new species from east Turkey, Phytotaxa 167 (3), pp. 235-244 : 236-238

Tragopogon anatolicus A.Duran, B.Doğan & Coşkunç. , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 –3)

Type:— TURKEY. C10 Hakkari: Cilo Mountain , between Kırıkdağ and Cehennem streams, 1970 m a.s.l., 07.08.2009, A.Duran 8688 & B.Doğan (holotype: KNYA; isotypes: ANK, KTUB) .

Description: —Glabrous perennial, 65–80 cm tall, stems short-branched in upper part. Cauline leaves lanceolate or broadly lanceolate, midvein clear, 4–15 × 0.8–2 cm, margin flat. Peduncles not thickened below capitula. Involucre sparsely floccose at base. Phyllaries ca. 8, 10–12 × 2–3 mm in flower and 17–23 × 3–3.5 mm in fruit, lanceolate, equal to or shorter than flowers. Florets 15–25 per capitulum. Ligules 10–13 mm long; limb yellow, 6–8 mm long; tube glabrous, yellowish, 3–5 mm long. Achenes 13–19 mm long, whitish-fawn, slightly curved, gradually tapering towards the beak, with 5 longitudinal rows of remote scales, beak slender, ± equal to or slightly longer than achene, clavate at apex. Pappus 10–15 mm long, pale yellowish-brown, annulus hairy. Flowers in July, and fruits in July–August.

Distribution, ecology and conservation status: —The new species appears to be endemic to south-east Anatolia and belongs to the Irano-Turanian floristic element. Specimens were collected in Cilo Mountain (Hakkari province) where the species appears to be rare and local ( Fig. 2 ). Tragopogon anatolicus grows in calcareous stony places, with Centaurea aucheriana , Bupleurum falcatum subsp. polyphyllum , Chaerophyllum macrospermum , Prangos ferulacea , Prangos uloptera , Pimpinella tragium , Marrubium sp. , Tanacetum balsamita , Astragalus sp. , Galium sp. , Hedysarum sp. , Crepis sp. It is hitherto known from the type locality only, and its estimated area of occupancy is less than 5 km 2 with a population of less than 60 mature individuals. Because of habitat quality, population size and overgrazing, the new species should be assessed as ‘Endangered’ (EN) according to the IUCN Red List criteria ( IUCN 2001).

Additional specimens examined: — Tragopon buphthalmoides : A7 Gümüşhane: Karamusa , 1696 m, 08.07.2008, Coşkunçelebi & M.Gültepe 2 ( KTUB); A9 Ardahan:between Ardahan and Kars, 21.07.2009, Coşkunçelebi & M.Gültepe 77 ( KTUB); B6 Kayseri: between Sarız and Pınarbaşı , 1783 m, 22.07.2011, Coşkunçelebi & M.Gültepe 278 ( KTUB); B9 Van: between Erciş and Van, 1680 m, 09.06.2011, Coşkunçelebi & M.Gültepe 209 ( KTUB) .

Micromorphological properties: —SEM observations of the achenes, pollen grains and leaf lower surface of Tragopogon anatolicus and T. buphthalmoides are given in Figs. 4–6 . As seen in Fig. 4 , the periferal surface of both the annulus and beak are covered with micro-projections in T. buphthalmoides ( Fig. 4m,n ) but they are nearly smooth in T. anatolicus ( Fig. 4e,f ). On the other hand, the body of the achenes in both taxa consists of tetragonal or elliptic epidermal cells with smooth and convex periferal surface.

Pollen grains of T. anatolicus , studied from the holotype, are prolate-spheroidal, tricolporate ( Fig. 5a ); it is oblatespheroidal, tricolporate in T. buphthalmoides ( Fig. 5b ). This type of pollen grain is common in the genus Tragopogon ( Blackmore 1982) . Other palynological features determined in the present study are given in Table 1.

FIGURE 3. Type of Tragopogon anatolicus ( = holotype).

Under SEM, the leaf surface does not give sufficient evidence for separation of T. anatolicus ( Fig. 6a ) and T. buphthalmoides ( Fig. 6b ), but the peripheral surface of epidermal cells in T. anatolicus appears more smooth than that in T. buphthalmoides . Additionally, the shape and the boundaries of epidermal cells are more distinct in T. anatolicus .

Figures

FIGURE 1. General view of the type locality of Tragopogon anatolicus.

FIGURE 2. Distribution map of Tragopogon anatolicus (●) and T. buphthalmoides (■).

FIGURE 4. Scanning electron microscope images of achenes. Tragopogon anatolicus: A–D (50×), E–H (1000×); Tragopogon buphthalmoides: I–L (50×), M–P (1000×).

FIGURE 5. Scanning electron microscope images of pollen grains. Tragopogon anatolicus: A. Polar view. C. Surface ornamentation. Tragopogon buphthalmoides: B. Polar view. D. Surface ornamentation.

FIGURE 6. Characters of lower leaf surface under scanning electron microscope. A. Tragopogon anatolicus. B. Tragopogon buphthalmoides.