Centaurea arifolia Boissier (1849: 112)

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

5. Centaurea arifolia Boissier (1849: 112) . Type:— TURKEY. In umbrosis sylvaticis regionum inferiorum montis Cassii (Akra Da.) in via inter Laodiceam (Latakia) et Suadieh, June 1846, Boissier s.n. (holotype G!: two sheets comprising one specimen, isotypes K!, P!: two sheets). ( Fig. 15 )

Biennial plants, with thickened taproot, whole plant usually green opaque, 100–200 cm tall; collar of fibrous petiolar remains present at stem base. Stem erect, simple, ca. 5 mm in diam. at base, cylindrical, with thick brownish striations, sparsely leafy throughout, subglabrous or sparsely to loosely covered with hirsute-articulate hairs, sometimes in upper part with loosely arachnoid hairs. Leaves thin, covered with hirsute-articulate hairs, denser along midrib and veins. Basal and lower cauline leaves with a long petiole (up to 25 cm), hastate, cordate or oblong, sometimes triangular-ovate, 15–40 × 5–15 cm, sometimes with 1–2 pairs of linear-lanceolate lateral segments, cartilaginously denticulate or serrulate, sometimes entire, acute or rounded at apex. Median and upper cauline leaves sessile, simple, lanceolate to linear, 5–12 × 0.5–2 cm, entire, sometimes remotely denticulate, acuminate at apex. Capitula several, arranged in a raceme, with short or long peduncles, sometimes with bracts similar to phyllaries with small stramineous in color or chaffy in texture appendages. Involucres ovoid or ovoid-cupuliform, truncate at base, 25–35 × (20–) 25– 35 mm. Phyllaries multiseriate, green in vivo, yellow-brownish in sicco, imbricate, coriaceous-scarious, glabrous. Appendages chartaceous-membranous, totally concealing phyllaries, narrowly decurrent, orbicular or suborbicular, brown to dark brown, sometimes blackish-purple, lighter toward margins, margin ± regularly fringed, fringes 2–4 mm long, appendage ending in a 2–5 mm spine. Outer phyllaries rectangular, 2–3 × 3–4 mm, appendages 7–9 × 10–13 mm (including fringes and spine). Median phyllaries lanceolate, 6–12 × 4–5 mm, appendages 14–18 × 14–18 mm (including fringes and spine). Inner phyllaries narrowly lanceolate to linear, membranous at margins, 15–18 × 3–5 mm, appendages ciliate or lacerate into spine. Flowers purple; central florets hermaphroditic, 25–26 mm long, limb 12–13 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes ca. 6 mm long; peripheral florets sterile, slightly shorter than central ones, numerous (15–20 in each capitulum) and conspicuous, finely dissected, not radiant, 4-lobed, limb lobes filiform, 4–5 mm long. Achenes lanceolate or oblong, 5–6.2 mm long, 2.5–3.5 wide, brown and smooth, rounded at apex, glabrous; insertion areole lateral, very small. Pappus double, persistent, multiseriate, scabrous, whitish to brown, or dark brown, nearly twice as long as achenes, 8–10 mm long, bristles of inner rows much shorter than others, ca. 2 mm long.

Nomenclatural note:— Wagenitz (1960) treated one sheet at the herbarium G as the lectotype and another as an isolectotype. In Flora of Turkey (1975), he mentioned only the holotype . But , our study showed that two sheets deposited at the herbarium G are really belonging to one specimen. Therefore, the lectotypification by Wagenitz (1960) should be rejected; since there is only one specimen of Kotschy s.n. at the herbarium G, it must be recognized as the holotype .

Taxonomic and distribution remarks: — Centaurea arifolia is distributed in S Turkey and NW Syria ( Fig. 14 ). It is an Irano-Turanian element, and found closely to the Cassius and Amanus Mountains in the border between Turkey and Syria. Centaurea arifolia grows in forests (more margin of Pinus forest) and fallow fields, at elevations of 400–1500 m. It can be related to several of the purple-flowering species of C. sect. Cynaroides such as: C. amanicola , C. haradjianii , C. gigantea and C. spicata , but easily distinguished from them by having thin leaves and fringed (not ciliate) appendages.

Chromosome numbers: —Koҫyigit & Bona (2013) reported the chromosome number 2 n = 2 x = 18 for Centaurea arifolia collected from Turkey, Hatay, Yayladaǧ, Kızılҫat. This is the only count for this taxon.

Selected specimens examined:— TURKEY. C5 /6 Hatay: nearr Ordu, 600 m, 8 June 1938, Dinsmore 20370 ( E!, G!, GB!) ; Yayladağ, N of Antakya, above Üçgedik village , ca. 450 m, 5 August 2001, Reeves et al. 2165 ( E!) ; E of Yayladağ, near Kizilçat village , 560 m, 4 August 2001, Reeves et al. 2157 ( E!) . SYRIA. Prov. Latakia: Cassius prope transitum ad Ain el Aramie, in regione pinif era, ca. 700 m, Samuelsson 5861 ( S!) ; Cassius, Ain el Aramie , 17 May 1933, Hafström 13-33571 ( S!) ; Hafström 13-33579 ( S!) ; 12 May 1932, s.c. 5532 ( P!) ; 1947, Louis s.n. ( P!) ; ouest de Karaksié, Détritus volcaniques et gabbros, 600–1000 m, 30 June 1932, Delbes s.n. ( HUJ!) ; Amanus, ascent to Achagi Zarkoun on the Karakisie side, Pinetum , 1500 m, 30 June 1932, Eig & Zohary 4848 ( HUJ!) ; Amanus, ascent to Achagi Zarkoun from the Karakisie side, Pinetum halepense, 800–1000 m, 30 June 1932, Eig & Zohary 12 ( HUJ!) .

Figures

FIGURE 14. Distribution of Centaurea amanicola (circles), C. arifolia (squares), and C. bavegehensis (triangles).

FIGURE 15. Centaurea arifolia Boissier (Boissier s.n., G). A. habit. B. capitula. C. basal leaves. Scale B = 1 cm, C = 2 cm.