Centaurea regia var. purpurea, Negaresh, 2018

Negaresh, Kazem & Rahiminejad, Mohammad Reza, 2018, A revision of Centaurea sect. Cynaroides (Asteraceae, Cardueae-Centaureinae), Phytotaxa 363 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

Chromosome numbers: — Centaurea regia var. purpurea is a diploid taxon with the chromosome number of 2 n = 2 x = 18 ( Fig. 9E and Table 1). This is the first chromosome count for this variety. 29. Centaurea sclerolepis Boissier (1845: 136) . Type:— TURKEY. C7 Urfa in Mesopotamia inter Orfa (Urfa) and Suerek ( Siverek ), 4 June 1841, Kotschy 124 (holotype G!: three sheets comprising one specimen, isotype W!). ( Fig. 67 )

Biennial plants with thick fleshy taproot, whole plant usually green or pale green, 50–120 cm tall; collar of fibrous petiolar remains present at stem base. Stem erect, simple, 5–10 mm in diam. at base, cylindrical, yellowish, with yellow thick striation, densely leafy in lower to median parts, lower part glabrous or loosely tomentose, other parts loosely to densely cover with tomentose hairs. Leaves firm, loosely covered with tomentose hairs, more densely along midrib and veins. Basal and lower cauline leaves large, 18–30 cm long, petiolate, lyrate; terminal segment larger than lateral ones, broadly lanceolate to broadly ovate, ca. 10 × 3–4 cm, entire, acute at apex; lateral segments 2–4 pairs, narrowly lanceolate or triangular, smaller, 1–4.2 × 0.4–1.2 cm. Median cauline leaves sessile, lanceolate, 7–15 × 1–5 cm, broadly decurrent, up to 35 mm along stem, entire, acuminate at apex. Upper cauline leaves increasingly smaller, sessile, lanceolate or narrowly lanceolate, 4–12 × 1–3 cm, decurrent, up to 25 mm along stem, acuminate or cuspidate at apex. Capitula several, 3 to 6(–12), arranged in a raceme, peduncles 2–6(–12) cm long, sometimes subsessile, with bracts similar to phyllaries with small stramineous or chaffy appendages. Involucres ovoid-globose, 35–40 × 30–40 mm. Phyllaries multiseriate, greenish-yellow in sicco, imbricate, coriaceous-scarious, glabrous. Appendages large, totally concealing phyllaries, white, suborbicular to ovate, not decurrent, margin entire or rarely fringed in upper part, contracted into a 3–8(–10) mm spine. Outer phyllaries rectangular or oblong, 5–7 × 6–8 mm, appendages 9–15 × 10–12 mm (including spine). Median phyllaries oblong, 10–12 × ca. 8 mm, appendages 10–18 × 12–18 mm (including spine). Inner phyllaries narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate-linear, 15–22 × 3–7 mm, membranous at margins, appendages 3–6 × 8–11 mm (including spine). Flowers pink; central florets hermaphroditic, ca. 25 mm long, corolla ca. 12 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes ca. 4 mm long, style nearly equal to corolla, stigma exserted from corolla, up to 4 mm; peripheral florets sterile, slightly shorter than central ones, numerous (15–20 in each capitulum) and conspicuous, finely dissected, not radiant. Achenes oblong, 4–5 mm long, 2.2–3 mm wide, smooth, pale brown, whitish or bronze-silver, rounded at apex, glabrous; insertion areole lateral, yellowish, ca. 1 mm long. Pappus double, persistent, multiseriate, scabrous, brown, sometimes whitish, 8–10 mm long, bristles of inner rows much shorter than others, 1–1.5 mm long.

Taxonomic and distribution remarks: — Centaurea sclerolepis is endemic to Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Maraş and Urfa Provinces, S and SE Turkey ( Fig. 68 ). It is an Irano-Turanian element, and grows on rocky slopes, steppe and fallow fields, at elevations of 500–1000 m. Centaurea sclerolepis has a wide distribution in Turkey. It closely resembles C. kurdica in its habit.

Chromosome numbers: — Uysal et al. (2009) and Askoy et al. (2016) reported the same chromosome number 2 n = 2 x =18 for Centaurea sclerolepis .

Selected specimens examined:— TURKEY. Maraş (Kahramanmaraş): near Artschaköi (near Maraş), 11 July

1865, Haussknecht s.n. ( G!, JE!, W!). C7 Urfa (Şanlıurfa): Nimrud Da., Sintens s.n. ( B!) ; Halfeti, Karaotlak Köyü cevresi, 750 m, 28 July 1995, Dönmez 4721 ( E!) ; near Mermer, 25 July 1970, Baytop 18245 ( E!) . B8 Diyarbakir: Batman to Silvan, Regei 7156 ( EGE!) . C6 Gaziantep: 40 km S of Maraş, ca. 500 m, 26 Juy 1962, Zohary s.n. ( HUJ!) . Kurdistan region, 1840, Brant & Strangways s.n. ( K!) .

Figures

FIGURE 9. Somatic metaphases of Centaurea spp. A. Centaurea amadanensis subsp. amadanensis (2n = 18). B. C. amadanensis subsp. gymnoclada (2n = 18). C. C. nemecii (2n = 18). D. C. regia var. regia (2n = 18). E. C. regia var. purpurea. Scale A˗E = 2 μm.

FIGURE 67. Centaurea sclerolepis Boissier (Kotschy 124, G). A. involucres and phyllaries. B. median part of stem. C. lower part of stem, basal and lower cauline leaves. Scale A = 2 cm, C = 3 cm.

FIGURE 68. Distribution of Centaurea sclerolepis (circles), C. sennikoviana (squares), and C. shahuensis (triangles).