identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
6AD8FD899F50579D88331C0124FBDA88.text	6AD8FD899F50579D88331C0124FBDA88.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Allium erimomeli Nikolopoulos, Kit Tan, Duchoslav & Trigas 2026	<div><p>Allium erimomeli Nikolopoulos, Kit Tan, Duchoslav &amp; Trigas sp. nov.</p><p>Figs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 A, B; Table 1</p><p>Type</p><p>GREECE – Kiklades • <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=24.242&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=36.786" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 24.242/lat 36.786)">Antimilos island</a>, eastern slope of the island, along the path from the beach to the crater of the main peak, rocky slopes with sparse phrygana, on volcanic substrate; 36°47’09.60”N, 24°14’31.20”E; 330 m a. s. l.; 15 May 2025; Trigas, Apostolidis &amp; Mavrogianni 7014; holotype: ACA; isotype: ATH .</p><p>Diagnosis</p><p>Allium erimomeli is closely related to A. occultum but differs in the colour of inner bulb tunics (whitish, rarely tinged with purple vs purple), leaves (4–6, semicylindrical, 0.8–1.5 mm wide vs 2–4, subcylindrical to terete, 0.3–0.8 mm wide), length of pedicels (9–12 mm long, 1.5–2.5 × the length of the perigon vs 3–7 mm long, 0.7–1.5 × the length of the perigon), ovary (green, ± smooth, 3 - lobed vs whitish, yellowish orange at the apex, papillose, 6 - lobed), and ploidy level (hexaploid vs tetraploid).</p><p>Description</p><p>Bulb ovoid to narrowly ovoid, 11–15 × 7–8 mm, sometimes with shortly stalked, whitish purple bulblets at the base; outer tunics brown to greyish brown, coriaceous, forming a neck 1.2-2 cm long along the scape; inner tunics whitish or rarely tinged with purple, membranous. Scape 9.0– 15.5 cm long, 0.6–0.9 mm in diameter, green or purplish, glabrous, erect, covered by leaf sheaths for 1 / 3–1 / 2 of its length. Leaves 4–6, glabrous, slightly papillose to denticulate at margins, semicylindrical, 17.5–29.8 mm long, 0.8–1.5 mm wide. Spathe persistent, glabrous, valves 2, opposite, unequal, slightly longer than the inflorescence to shorter, the longer valve 1.5–2.3 cm long, 7 - nerved, the shorter 0.8–1.5 cm long, 5 - nerved, whitish green with purplish nerves. Inflorescence hemispheric, with 3–9 (– 11) flowers; pedicels unequal, 9–12 mm long, 1.5–2.5 × the length of the perigon, whitish to pale pink, pruinose. Perigon campanulate; tepals unequal, pinkish white, with green-purple midrib, the outer 4.2–5.0 × 1.8–2.2 mm, ovoid-elliptic, concave, rounded at apex, the inner 4.7–5.5 × 1.8–2.0 mm, oblong-elliptic, acute at apex. Stamens slightly exserted from perigon; filaments white, 4 mm long, connate at base into an annulus ca 1 mm high; anthers 0.5–0.8 × 0.3–0.5 mm, cream, oblong, rounded at apex. Ovary 3 - lobed, obovoid to cylindrical, 2.8–3.2 mm long and 1.8–2 mm wide, green, ± smooth. Style white, 0.8-1.0 mm long. Capsule obovoid to subglobose, 3.5–4.8 × 4.0–5.0 mm. Seeds black, 3.1–3.5 × 1.6–1.8 mm.</p><p>Distribution and ecology</p><p>Allium erimomeli is a narrow endemic of the western Kiklades, currently known only from the islands of Milos and Antimilos (South Aegean, Greece) (Fig. 2). On Antimilos, the species occurs on SE-facing rocky slopes composed of volcanic substrate, at an altitude of ca 330 m a. s. l., within open phrygana vegetation characterized by sparse plant cover and dominated by Genista acanthoclada DC., Sarcopoterium spinosum (L.) Spach, and Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav. On Milos, A. erimomeli was found in coastal phrygana on sandy ground near sea level. Associated species include Anthemis rigida subsp. runemarkii Biel &amp; Kit Tan, Hymenonema graecum (L.) DC., Paronychia macrosepala Boiss., Plantago cretica L., P. weldenii Rchb., Filago gallica L., and Valantia hispida L.</p><p>Phenology</p><p>The flowering period of A. erimomeli begins in mid-May and extends into June, with fruiting completed in July. New leaves emerge in autumn following the first rains and wither prior to the onset of flowering.</p><p>Etymology</p><p>The specific epithet is the genitive of the geographical noun “ Erimomilos / Erimomelos ”, a local / alternative name for Antimilos Island, where the species occurs and from where the type material was collected. The island’s name is derived from the Greek elements erimos (ἔρημος, “ desert ”) and Melos (the island of Milos), thus referring to Antimilos as the “ deserted Milos ”.</p><p>Preliminary IUCN conservation assessment</p><p>Allium erimomeli is currently known from two distinct, yet highly localized subpopulations, on Antimilos and at Cape Vani on Milos. The area of occupancy (AOO) is estimated at 8 km 2. With only two known localities, the extent of occurrence (EOO) cannot be reliably calculated as a minimum convex polygon; therefore, following IUCN guidance, the EOO was set equal to the AOO.</p><p>The Antimilos subpopulation is estimated to comprise fewer than 100 individuals, confined to an open rocky slope with sparse vegetation, surrounded by denser phrygana formations. Additional occurrences on Antimilos cannot be ruled out, as much of the island has not been thoroughly surveyed and include extensive inaccessible terrain. The island is uninhabited, and no direct human impacts have been recorded at the locality. However, a free-ranging goat population (often referred to as Capra hircus subsp. pictus) is present. Although no signs of herbivory have been observed on A. erimomeli, the occasional consumption of its aerial parts may occur during periods of low forage availability, potentially reducing sexual reproductive success. Antimilos is included in the Natura 2000 network as an SCI (GR 4220007).</p><p>The Milos subpopulation at Cape Vani is smaller, with fewer than 50 individuals. Given the long-standing floristic exploration of Milos, the existence of additional localities on the island appears unlikely. Cape Vani is relatively remote and currently subject to limited direct disturbance; nevertheless, the area was historically affected by manganese mining and associated infrastructure (excavation, spoil deposition, access routes, and coastal loading facilities) during 1886–1928, which likely resulted in local habitat loss and substrate alteration, with potential long-term legacy effects on the continuity of suitable habitat. The Cape Vani locality lies within the Natura 2000 site GR 4220020.</p><p>Due to its very small population size (&lt;250 individuals), A. erimomeli is classified as Endangered (EN) under IUCN criterion D.</p><p>Additional specimen examined</p><p>GREECE – Kiklades • Milos island, <a href="https://tb.plazi.org/GgServer/search?materialsCitation.longitude=24.333334&amp;materialsCitation.latitude=36.75" title="Search Plazi for locations around (long 24.333334/lat 36.75)">near Cap Vani</a>, phrygana on sandy ground; 36°45’N, 24°20’E; 15 m a. s. l.; 14 May 2025; Kit Tan &amp; G. Vold 33358; C, UPA .</p><p>Karyology</p><p>Allium erimomeli exhibits a hexaploid chromosome complement of 2 n = 6 x = 48 (Fig. 3 A), consisting of mostly metacentric and submetacetric chromosomes, along with two sets of acrocentric chromosomes. Only two acrocentric SAT chromosomes, bearing small, spherical satellites on the short arm, were observed.</p><p>Genome size estimation</p><p>Flow cytometric analyses of four individuals of A. erimomeli from Antimilos Island revealed cytotype-uniform DNA-hexaploids after calibration with chromosome counts. The estimated 2 C value of A. erimomeli ranged from 45.7 to 46.7 pg, with the mean value (± SD) of 46.2 (± 0.4) pg, and with mean 1 C x value of 7.7 pg.</p><p>Five individuals of A. occultum from Skyros Island were found to be DNA-tetraploids after calibration with chromosome counts (Fig. 3 B), with a 2 C value of 37.7 pg for one individual, corresponding to a 1 C x value of 9.4 pg. Five individuals of A. pilosum from Milos Island were found to be DNA-diploid after calibration with chromosome counts, with a 2 C value of 26.5 pg for one individual, corresponding to a 1 C x value of 13.3 pg.</p><p>Leaf anatomy</p><p>The leaf cross-section of A. erimomeli has a subcylindrical outline, characterized by five prominent ribs on the abaxial surface, while the adaxial surface is flat to slightly concave (Fig. 4). The epidermis is composed of small cells, except along the ribs where the cells are occasionally larger and is covered by a thin cuticle. Numerous sunken stomata are distributed around the entire leaf perimeter. The palisade tissue is regular and compact, arranged in two layers of large, elongated, cylindrical cells, while the inner layer has smaller cells. The spongy tissue is formed by small or large sub-orbicular cells interspersed with many air spaces in the central mesophyll. A total of 14 vascular bundles is present, ten positioned abaxially (four larger and six smaller), and four smaller ones occur adaxially (Fig. 4).</p><p>Phylogenetic relationships</p><p>To reveal the phylogenetic position of A. erimomeli, the nrITS region was sequenced, incorporating ten newly sequenced accessions (four of A. erimomeli, three of A. occultum, and three of A. pilosum), alongside sequences from 25 Allium species retrieved from GenBank. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analyses yielded congruent, well-resolved topologies; the Maximum likelihood tree is presented in Fig. 5. All accessions of A. erimomeli formed a strongly supported clade (PP = 1.00, BS = 97 %), which is sister to the strongly supported clade comprising accessions of A. occultum (PP = 1.00, BS = 94 %). Together, these two species form moderately supported clade (PP = 1.00, BS = 81 %) in polytomy with other two strongly supported clades – A. lesbiacum clade and A. nebulosum clade. These three clades together form strongly supported clade (PP = 1.00, BS = 100 %) that is sister to the clade formed by members of the A. flavum complex ( A. flavum L., A. garganicum Brullo, Pavone, Salmeri &amp; Terrasi). Allium pilosum forms a strongly supported clade (PP = 1.00, BS = 100 %) sister to the A. rhodopeum clade. The analysed ITS alignment was 663 bp in length. Compared with the other analysed species, the A. erimomeli accessions shared the most polymorphic sites with the sister species, A. occultum . However, the two species differed at eight SNP positions. Considering the intraspecific sequence variability, five variable positions within A. erimomeli were detected (Suppl. material 2). These consisted of three positions (107, 428, and 481) with ambiguous nucleotide bases in some samples, and two substitutions (position 38: T / C and positions 138–140: GC- / AGC).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6AD8FD899F50579D88331C0124FBDA88	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Plazi	Nikolopoulos, Iasonas;Tan, Kit;Kobrlová, Lucie;Adamakis, Ioannis-Dimosthenis S.;Bareka, Pepy;Duchoslav, Martin;Trigas, Panayiotis	Nikolopoulos, Iasonas, Tan, Kit, Kobrlová, Lucie, Adamakis, Ioannis-Dimosthenis S., Bareka, Pepy, Duchoslav, Martin, Trigas, Panayiotis (2026): Allium erimomeli, a new hexaploid species of A. sect. Codonoprasum (Amaryllidaceae) from Milos and Antimilos Islands (Kiklades, Greece). Plant Ecology and Evolution 159 (3): 470-482, DOI: 10.5091/plecevo.189916
