Gagea confusa A.Terracc., Boll. Soc. Orto Palermo

Tekşen, Mehtap & Erkul, Seher Karaman, 2015, The synopsis of the genus Gagea (Liliaceae) in Turkey, Phytotaxa 230 (1), pp. 101-129 : 118

Gagea confusa A.Terracc., Boll. Soc. Orto Palermo , 2, 3: 5 (1904)

= Gagea minimoides Pascher, Lotos 52: 125 (1904) = Gagea platyphyllos Pascher, Repert. , Spec. Nov Regni Veg. 2: 67 (1906).

Type (lectotype designated by Peruzzi & Tison 2004: 328): — IRAN. Persia borealis, in jugo Charson prope Kaswin, 1882, Pichler s.n. (Herb. Terracciano, NAP, isotypes in G!, K!).

Specimens seen: — TURKEY. Ağrı: Patnos, Top mountain, Kızkapan , wet slopes, 1750 m, 27 April 2007, H. 685 ( VANF!) ; Hakkari: Yüksekova, Esendere, on border, 1700–1800 m, 19 April 1979, A. Güner 1888 ( ANK!, HUB!) ; Vadinasor hill, 22 km NE of Yüksekova , 2300 m, 13 June 1977, J. Watson 5626 ( E!) ; Cilo mountain, 10 km W of Cilo hill, 12000 ft, 9 August 1954, Davis 24177 ( E!, K!) ; Van: Gürpınar, above Sapakonak village, meadows, 2536 m, 13 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2444 ( GAZI!), 2446 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; ibidem, 2547 m, 18 May 2013, M. Tekşen 2907 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Gürpınar, Yoldüştü village-Güzelsu, steppe, 2253 m, 13 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2454 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; gorge by bridge, c. 12 km W of Hoşap, Rix 1906 ( K!) ; Erciş, Altındere stud farm, meadows, 1780 m, 1 May 2006, O. Karabacak 4223 ( VANF!) ; Özalp, Yukarıbalçıklı village, Ziyaret , 2165 m, 19 April 1998, F. Özgökçe 5919 ( VANF!) ; Muradiye, 3 km to Görecek village , rocky shadows, 1800 m, 5 May 2002, O. Karabacak 2904 ( VANF!) ; Van: Başkale, Çaldıran village , S slopes Mustepe, steppe, 2150 m, 23 March 2006, D. Avlamaz 571 ( VANF!) .

Flowering time: — April–June(–August).

Habitat: — Rocky shadows, meadows, by melting snow patches on screes, steppe, 500–3660 m.

Distribution: — Irano-Turanian element. Turkey (East Anatolia), Iran, Iraq, Transcaucasia and North Caucasia ( Govaerts 2015).

Note: — Gagea confusa can be distinguished from all other Turkish species by having a flat, 4–7 mm wide and lanceolate basal leaf, numerous black bulbils enclosed by the same tunic, dark brown tunic and outer tepals wider than inner. It is very similar to G. minima , which has a wide distribution ranging from the Middle, East and North Europe, North Caucasia, and Western Russia ( Govaerts 2015), by appearance and the shape of lower leaf in particular. Although G. minima has 1–3 mm wide and linear basal leaf, G. confusa has 4–7 mm wide and lanceolate basal leaf.

Sect. Persicae (Levichev) Peruzzi, Atti Soc. Tosc. Sci. Nat., Mem., Serie B, 118: 24 (2011) ≡ Gagea sect. Stipitatae ser. Persicae Levichev, Bot. Zhurn. 75(2): 230 (1990)

Type: — G. gageoides (Zucc.) Vved. (= G. persica Boiss. ).

In Turkey, sect. Persicae is represented by just one species.