Iris pseudocaucasica, Grossheim, 1916

Firat, Mehmet & Ramezani, Adel, 2024, Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica (Iridaceae), a new subspecies from Tabriz province (Iran) belonging to subgenus Scorpiris, Phytotaxa 652 (2), pp. 157-164 : 162-163

Key to Iris pseudocaucasica subspecies

1. Plants taller than 15 cm; flowers copper-coloured or reddish purple........................................................................ subsp. koyuncui

- Plants up to 14 cm tall; flowers yellowish to violet ...........................................................................................................................2

2. Flowers yellow, yellowish-green or pale bluish with shades of yellow; claw of the falls 2.0–2.5 × 1.6–1.8 cm; style branches 3.0– 3.7 cm long; stamen filaments 0.9–1.2 cm long..................................................................................... subsp. pseudocaucasica

- Flowers violet-blue to deep violet; claw of the falls 2.3–3.6 cm long × 2–3 cm wide; style branches 4–4.7 cm long; stamen filaments 1.3–1.8 cm long ............................................................................................................................................. subsp. iranica

Taxonomic relationships: — Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica belongs to subgenus Scorpiris , section Juno . With the newly described subspecies, the number of Iranian Iris taxa amounts to 27, 13 belonging to subgenus Scorpiris section Juno .

Iris pseudocaucasica (s.l.) cataphylls are larger, broad, distinct and pinkish, and clearly longer than the bulb tunics. Cataphylls appear the same in all three subspecies. Morphologically, the three subspecies are easily distinguished from each other.At first, Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. koyuncui is distinguished by its tall height, whereas I. pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica and I. pseudocaucasica subsp. pseudocaucasica are shorter in height. The colour and measurements of flower pieces in all three subspecies is different enough from each other to warrant easy recognition, and no intermediate forms were observed among them. I. pseudocaucasica subsp. koyuncui altitude and habitat differ significantly from the other subspecies. Additional diagnostic characters among I. pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica and the related I. pseudocaucasica subsp. pseudocaucasica and I. pseudocaucasica subsp. koyuncui are provided in Table 1 .

Other specimens examined:— Iris pseudocaucasica subsp koyuncui . TURKEY. C10 Hakkâri: Şemdinli district, Bayazdağ Mountains (Cîyayê Spî), from Cîyayê Spî to Bêsele (Aktütün), Surunus region, rocky steppe oak openings, 1607 m elevation, 37°21′52″ N, 44°27′01″ E, coll. 27 April 2011, M. Fırat 27308 (holotype VANF!, isotypes NGBB!, ANK!, Herb. M. Fırat!); Şemdinli district, from Haruna pass to Şapatan pass, Sêvaxale region, rocky and oak openings, 1662 m elevation, 37°22′47″ N, 44°31′58″ E, 30 April 2006, M. Fırat 9871 (Herb. M. Fırat!). — Iris pseudocaucasica subsp pseudocaucasica AZERBAIJAN. [Lerik Rayon], Prov. Baku, distr. Lenkoran (Talysh), Zuvant, inter Orant et Dygja, in declivibus siccis, 24 April 1915, [in flower], A. Grossheim s.n. (LE01010450!, isolectotype). TURKEY. B 9 Van: from Hoşap to Başkale, Güzeldere pass, screes and in rocky mountain steppe, 2653 m elevation, 38°11′41″ N, 43°54′29″ E, 1 June 2006, M. Fırat 9912 (Herb. M. Fırat!); Van: Çuh pass, Hoşap to Başkale, ca 3000 m elevation, Rix 1961 (K!); C9 Siirt: Şirvan district, blow Akyamaç village, 950 m elevation, Güner 1602 (HUB!); near Demirkapı, 950 m elevation, Güner 1627 (HUB!); Pervari district, Ozin region, 2000 m elevation, 22 May 2011, M. Fırat 28315 (Herb. M. Fırat!).

Conclusion: According to Grossheim (1916), Iris pseudocaucasica (described from Talysh, Azerbaijan) has flowers pale bluish with different shades of yellow colour and markedly broad wings. Boltekov & Govaerts (2017) synonymised that species to I. caucasica f. coerulescens Grossh. , considering that both the flower colour and the presence of wide lateral wings on the falls claw are variable characters. However, in our opinion this is a too broad taxonomic perspective that does not match the geographical distribution of morphological variation we have observed in Turkey and southern surrounding countries. Therefore, we follow a more analytic treatment of the morphological complexes of I. caucasica and I. pseudocaucasica as separate species growing in the mountains of Iran, Iraq, Transcaucasia and Turkey, and also recognising several biological entities in each of them at subspecies rank, as accepted by most of Middle East floras (see Güner 2021, Wendelbo & Mathew 1975) and databases (i.e. POWO 2024; https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/438997-1). In those territories, we recognise at least three subsecies for I. pseudocaucasica easily differentiated by flower colour and size of pieces, of which subsp. iranica is described as new. In the past, widely circunscribed taxa were published under few names following wholesale taxonomic perspective, but today scientists have re-evaluated many populations and have separated them under different taxonomic ranks.