Centaurea haradjianii Wagenitz (1960: 479)

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

14. Centaurea haradjianii Wagenitz (1960: 479) . Type:— TURKEY. C6 Hatay: Mont Amanus, présdu village d’Egbez (Ekbes), 450–600 m, 1906, Haradjian 615 (holotype G!: two sheets comprising one specimen, E!, K!, W!). ( Fig. 31 )

Biennial plants, whole plant usually green, 70–100 cm tall; collar of fibrous petiolar remains present at stem base. Stem erect, always simple, ca. 5 mm in diam. at base, cylindrical, with thin reddish or greenish striations, sparesly leafy throughout, lower part purplish and covered with sparsely hirsute-articulate hairs, others densely covered with grayish-tomentose hairs. Leaves stiff, papyraceous (on drying), undivided, with prominent nerves, sparsely covered with hirsute-articulate hairs, denser along midrib and veins. Basal leaves withered at anthesis. Lower cauline leaves large, with a long petiole (13–20 cm), cordate, 24–38 × (8–) 10–12 cm, serrulate or cartilagineously denticulate, acute at apex. Median cauline leaves petiolate, lanceolate, 6–18 × 2–5 cm, not decurrent, entire, narrowed toward base, acute at apex. Upper cauline leaves much smaller, sessile, narrowly lanceolate to linear, sometimes bract-like, 3–5 × 0.3–0.8 cm, not decurrent, entire, mucronate at apex. Capitula several, 3–10, arranged in a raceme (30–40 cm long), subsessile or with up to 2 cm peduncles, sometimes lowest ones with peduncles up to 9 cm long. Involucres ovoid, 25–32 × 17–25 mm. Phyllaries multiseriate, greenish-yellow, imbricate, coriaceous, smooth, densely lanate-tomentose. Appendages rigid-chartaceous, concealing part of phyllaries only, not decurrent, dark brown or brown, triangular to lanceolate, 4–4.5 mm wide at base (excluding cilia); cilia whitish, membranous, erect, 7–9 on each side, 4–4.5 mm long; spines narrowly triangular, 5–13 mm long, longer than adjacent cilia. Outer phyllaries broadly triangular, 2.5–3 × 3–4 mm, appendages 6–10 × 10–12 mm (including cilia and spine). Median phyllaries broadly lanceolate, 10–15 × 6–7 mm, appendages 14–16 × 10–11 mm (including cilia and spine). Inner phyllaries narrowly lanceolate, ca. 18 × 3–5 mm, appendages 11–12 × 5–6 mm (including cilia and spine), sometimes lacerate. Flowers pink in vivo, purple in sicco; central florets hermaphroditic, 28–30 mm long, corolla 15–16 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes ± 6 mm long, style longer than corolla, stigma exserted part from corolla; peripheral florets sterile, equal to or sometimes slightly longer than central ones, numerous (15–20 in each capitulum) and conspicuous, distinctly dissected, slightly radiant, 5-lobed, limb lobes narrowly lanceolate, ± 13 mm long. Achenes oblong, ca. 5 mm long, brown, glabrescent. Pappus double, persistent, multiseriate, scabrous, brown or whitish, ca. 10 mm long, bristles of inner rows much shorter than others, ca. 2 mm long.

Taxonomic and distribution remarks: — Centaurea haradjianii is endemic to Hatay and Gaziantep Provinces, S Turkey ( Fig. 30 ). It is an Irano-Turanian element, and grows on clay slopes, Quercus or Pinus forest, and low-montane zone, at elevations of 450– 600 m. Centaurea haradjianii is similar to C. doddsii in the length of stem, indumentum of stem and leaves, shape of involucres and color of flowers, and also in the sympatric occurrence of both species in Amanus Mountains. However , it differs from C. doddsii by its median cauline leaves petiolate, lanceolate, 6–18 × 2–5 cm, not decurrent, narrowed toward base (vs. sessile, or with short petiole, sometimes with auricles at base, oblanceolate or lanceolate, broadly decurrent along petiole, (10–)17–30 × 5–8 cm), capitula arranged in a raceme (30–40 cm long), subsessile or with up to 2 cm peduncles, sometimes lowest ones with peduncles up to 9 cm long (vs. capitula arranged in a spike or raceme, lowest ones sessile, upper ones subsessile or with a peduncle up to 2 cm), involucres 25–32 × 17–25 mm (vs. 30–35 × 28–30 mm), appendages concealing part of phyllaries only, dark brown or brown (vs. totally concealing phyllaries, straw-coloured or pale brown), cilia 4–4.5 mm (vs. (2–) 4–8 mm) long, spines erect, 5–13 mm long (vs. squarrose or reflexed, 8–17 mm long), and also peripheral florets equal to or sometimes slightly longer than central ones, distinctly dissected, slightly radiant, limb lobes narrowly lanceolate, ± 13 mm long (vs. slightly shorter than central ones, finely dissected, not radiant, limb lobes linear, ca. 6 mm long).

Chromosome numbers: —Unknown.

Selected specimens examined:— TURKEY. C6 Gaziantep: Fevzipaşa to Sakcagözü , 560 m, Huber-Morath 11947 (Hb. Hub. - Mor.!)

Figures

FIGURE 30. Distribution of Centaurea gudrunensis (circles), C. haradjianii (squares), and C. haussknechtii (triangles).

FIGURE 31. Centaurea haradjianii Wagenitz (Haradjian 615, E). A. habit. B. close up of capitule. C. phyllaries. Scale B = 1 cm.