Rhaponticoides gokceoglui Çinbilgel, Eren & H. Duman, 2014

Çinbilgel, İlker, Eren, Özkan & Duman, Hayri, 2014, Rhaponticoides gokceoglui (Asteraceae), a striking new species from Turkey, Phytotaxa 170 (2), pp. 125-132 : 126-129

Rhaponticoides gokceoglui Çinbilgel, Eren & H. Duman , sp. nov. ( Rhaponticoides subsect. Rhaponticoides ) ( Figs. 1–3 )

Diagnosis: —Rhizomatous perennial, allied to R. wagenitziana and R. aytachii by its pinnatisect basal leaves, broadly ovoid involucre, pale-pink to pinkish-violet florets, and (sub)coriaceous, conspicuously longitudinally striate phyllaries with blackish-green lines. Rhaponticoides gokceoglui differs, however, from these species in its entirely leafy stem (leaves not mostly basal, upper part of stem leafless or with a few stem leaves as in R. wagenitziana and R. aytachii ), lacking a distinct appendage of phyllaries, ovate outer phyllaries, middle ones ovate-oblong to oblong with very narrow (up to 1 mm wide), entire or slightly undulate scarious margin (not with a distinct appendage or 2–5 mm broad entire, erose or irregularly lacerate scarious margin as in R. wagenitziana and R. aytachii ), and has inner phyllaries cucullate at apex only (not flat as in R. wagenitziana or not all phyllaries cucullate as in R. aytachii ).

Type: — TURKEY. C3 Antalya: İbradı, ascent to Melik Yayla above Başlar Village , Suçıkan mevkii, open Pinus nigra forest, limestone, 37°14’441” N, 31°24’305” E, alt. 1186 m a.s.l., 03 July 2011, Çinbilgel 8021 & Eren (holotype GAZI, isotypes AYDN, Herbarium of Akdeniz University ) .

Description: —Erect perennial herb, usually 1–2 m tall, arising from very thick rhizomes up to 3 cm in diam. Stem single or a few, divided above into one-capitulate branches, sometimes producing fairly small sterile capitula, relatively sturdy, densely leafy throughout, 0.5–0.7(–1) cm in diam at base, erect, sulcate, brownish; basal part and lower nodes with arachnoid to arachnoid-tomentose pubescence, decreasing upwards, upper part (including peduncles) glabrous. Basal leaves very few, withering before anthesis. Cauline leaves (10–)16–20(–24), firm, pinnatisect, petiolate, subglabrous to puberulent on veins of the upper surface, puberulent to weakly pilose on veins beneath. Lower leaves elliptic-ovate in outline, petiolate, (13.5–)15–20(–24) × (8–)9–12(–15) cm (incl. petiole) with (5–)6–7(–8) pairs of elliptic-lanceolate, serrate, terminal leflets 6–9 × 1.5–2.5 cm, obovate to lanceolate, lateral leaflets 4–9 × 1–2.5 cm, lanceolate, in 2 or 3 pairs decurrent along rachis. Upper cauline leaves resembling the lower ones but sessile, decreazing in size upwards, apex acute, with a distinct mucro ca. 1 mm long. Capitula up to 40 mm long. Involucre broadly ovoid to almost spherical (15–)18–22(–25) × (9–)11–20(–24) mm, glabrous. Phyllaries multiseriate, (sub)coriaceous, yellowish-brown, becoming dark-brown apically, conspicuously longitudinally striate with blackish-green lines. Outer phyllaries ovate, 5–10 × 3–7 mm, middle phyllaries ovate-oblong to oblong, 12–19 × 6–7.5 mm, both without a distinct appendage, with a very narrow scarious margin up to 1 mm wide; margin entire to slightly undulate. Inner phyllaries oblong, 19–24 mm × 3–5 mm, cucullate at apex with a scarious margin ca. 1.5 mm long; margin entire, flat to slighly undulate. Florets pale pink to pinkish-violet, (15–)18–20(–22) mm long, distinctly 5-veined, marginal ones radiant, sterile; corolla lobes filiform up to 7 mm long; anther tube of fertile florets pinkish-violet, exserted. Achenes asymmetrically subcylindrical-truncate, 6–8(–9) × (2.5–) 3–4 mm, pale cream to pale brown, transversally wrinkled in the upper part, smooth towards base. Pappus multiseriate, (6.5–)7–9(–10) mm long, finely scabridulous, yellowish becoming pale brown.

Additional specimens (paratypes): —Type locality, 1289 m, 02 July 2010, Çinbilgel 7029 ( Herbarium of Akdeniz University ); type locality, 1178 m, 08 June 2011, Çinbilgel 7962 (Herbarium of Akdeniz University) .

Distribution and site conditions: — Rhaponticoides gokceoglui is so far known only from Suçıkan mevkii above Başlar Village in the western part of the central Taurus. It is a distinct east Mediterranean mountain plant that grows on limestone in open Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana forest. As a local endemic of Isaurian Taurus, it has a very narrow elevational range (1100–1300 m). Rhaponticoides gokceoglui appears to be a heliophilous plant that is not well adapted to growth in closed forest communities. It seems that like most of the other Rhaponticoides species in Turkey, R. gokceoglui is probably unable to tolerate much shade and hardly tolerates the low soil pH since the plants are mostly found on partly or fully open forest clearings. Apart from Pinus nigra subsp. pallasiana , associated species include Cedrus libani , Salvia tomentosa , Piptatherum holciforme var. holciforme , Cynoglottis chetikiana subsp. paphlagonica , Laser trilobum , Sanguisorba minor subsp. muricata , Euphorbia kotschyana , Cicer isauricum , Teucrium polium , T. chamaedrys subsp. chamaedrys , Haplophyllum buxbaumii subsp. buxbaumii , Veronica cuneifolia subsp. cuneifolia , Campanula involucrata , Dactylis glomerata subsp. hispanica , Crepis reuterana subsp. reuterana , Ononis spinosa subsp. leiosperma , Stachys cretica subsp. anatolica , Doronicum orientale , Potentilla recta , Clinopodium vulgare subsp. vulgare , Origanum saccatum , Origanum minutiflorum , Sideritis condensata , Caucalis platycarpos , Hordeum bulbosum , Galium verum subsp. verum , Herniaria incana , Trifolium campestre , Acanthus hirsutus , Nepeta cadmea , Cynoglossum montanum , Picnomon acarna , Torilis arvensis subsp. elongata , Picris pauciflora , Scabiosa micrantha , Prunella laciniata , Achillea nobilis subsp. neilreichii , Crucianella macrostachya , Anthemis pauciloba var. pauciloba , and Verbascum glomerulosum .

The geographical distribution of Rhaponticoides gokceoglui , R. wagenitziana and R. aytachii are mapped as shown in Fig. 4 . According to the this map, R. wagenitziana displays a northern distribution, whereas the other two species seem to be geographically isolated from R. wagenitziana , being western representatives of Rhaponticoides subsect. Rhaponticoides .

Phenology:— Rhaponticoides gokceoglui flowers in mid-June to early July, when the first fruiting specimens were collected.

Conservation status: —In July 2011, while collecting more material of Rhaponticoides gokceoglui , we observed around 1000 individuals in flower or fruit. This relatively high number may contribute to survival of the species for a long time. Because of its very showy capitula, local people are collecting this plant at flowering time. Hence, we recommend placing R. gokceoglui in the IUCN category, “Critically Endengared (CR)” ( IUCN 2012), because it is known only from one locality and an area of occupancy is estimated to be less than 10 km 2 (Criterion B2ab).

Etymology: —The new species is named in honour of Prof. Dr. Mustafa Gökceoğlu, Akdeniz University (Antalya, Turkey), a distinguished plant ecologist. We dedicate not only the new species but also the paper on the occasion of his retirement from academic duties.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habit of Rhaponticoides gokceoglui in its type locality. Photograph by İlker Çinbilgel.

FIGURE 2. Capitulum of Rhaponticoides gokceoglui.

FIGURE 3. Indumentum of lower stem nodes of Rhaponticoides gokceoglui.

FIGURE 4. Distributions of Rhaponticoides gokceoglui (*), R. wagenitziana (●) and R. aytachii (○).