Muscari vanensis Uysal, 2022

Uysal, Tuna, Aksoy, Ahmet, Bozkurt, Meryem & Ertuğrul, Kuddisi, 2022, A new grape hyacinth from East Anatolia (Turkey) Muscari vanensis (subgenus Botryanthus), Phytotaxa 536 (1), pp. 53-71 : 55-59

Muscari vanensis Uysal sp. nov.

( Figs. 2 , 3 and 6 ) (Subgen. Botryanthus (Kunth) Rouy )

M. vanensis is partly similar to M. botryoides and at less with M. armeniacum , but the former differs in its dwarf appearance and patent leaves, shorter scape, densely globose-oblong raceme, globose urceolate and swollen fertile flowers ( Table 2 ).

Type:— TURKEY. B9 Van: Gevaş, Deveboynu Peninsula , southeastern slopes facing the lake, stony rocky openings, 1750 m, T. Uysal 4261 & A. Aksoy (Holo.: KNYA) .

Bulb 15–25 mm long, 15–20 mm wide, without bulblets; outer tunic papery, dark or blackish brown; inner cream or beige and with white dots over, membranous. Leaves (2–)4–5(–8), patent or erect-falcate, linear, 5–16 cm long, 1–4(–6) mm wide, usually longer than scape or rarely equal, canaliculate, apex subacute to acute, upper surface glaucous, outer shiny, without a median line and green and reddish suffused at margins. Scape 1 or 2, 4–8(–12) cm long, sometimes slightly flexuous and pale reddish upwards. Raceme ± ovoid-oblong, dense, rarely globose, 1−2.5 cm long, 0.8−1.5 cm wide in flower, with (10–)20–30(–40) flowers, slightly elongated in fruit. Sterile flowers mostly concolorous, globose or obconic to oblong, 1.2–1.5(–2) mm long, 1–1.4 mm wide; pedicels 0.1–0.5 mm long, white or ice blue. Fertile flowers 10–28, globose-urceolate to swollen ovoid-urceolate, 2.8–3(–3.2) mm long, 1.5–2(–2.2) mm wide, constricted distally, white or whitish lilac, ice blue, sky or pale blue; lobes whitish, minute, slightly recurved and having rarely longitutionally blue midvein in outer; pedicels pendulous, 1–3 mm in flower, 3–4(–5) mm in fruit. Stamens subuniseriate or biseriate, arising the middle of the tube; filaments 0.5–0.8 mm long, anthers 0.5–0.6 mm long, 0.4–0.5 mm wide, blackish purple. Gynoecium 2.3–2.7(–3.2) mm long, ovary 1.3–1.5(–2) mm long, 1.1–1.3(1.6) mm wide, ovoid, trigonous at ventral part, yellow or yellowish-green; style 1–1.2, whitish; stigma capitates and purple. Capsule 3–4 mm long, 4–5 mm wide, obcordate, somewhite compressed, with triangular valves. Seed subglobose, 1–1.2 mm long, 1 mm wide, bright black. Flowering in May.

Eponymy: —The name of the new species was given to the province of Van, which is a city with unique natural and historical beauties in our Eastern Anatolia Region in Turkey. The Turkish name of the new species is Van Sümbülü which name is suggested according to the guidelines of Menemen et al. (2016).

Distribution and ecology: — Muscari vanensis is a local endemic species restricted to the Gevaş district of Van, East Anatolia ( Turkey). It is a geophyte species of the Irano-Turanian phytogeographical region. It is specific to the calcareous soils (marble recrystallized limestone) at elevations between 1700 and 1750 m. It grows together with Acantholimon caryophyllaceum Boissier , Aethionema grandiflorum Boissier & Hohenacker , Alkanna orientalis (L.) Boissier, Artemisia vulgaris Linnaeus , Astragalus pinetorum Boissier , Astragalus zohrabi Bunge , Astracantha microcephala (Willd.) Podlech , Atraphaxis billardieri Jaubert & Spach , Campanula stevenii M. Bieb. subsp. beauverdiana (Fomin) Rech. f. & Schiman-Czeika, Cruciata laevipes Opiz , Daphne kurdica (Bornm.) Bornmüller , Fritillaria minuta Boissier & Noë , Gagea bulbifera (Pall.) Salisbury , Galium incanum Sm. subsp. elatius (Boiss.) Ehrendorfer , Holosteum umbellatum Linnaeus , Hypericum scabrum Linnaeus , Juniperus excelsa M. Bieberstein , Juniperus oxycedrus Linnaeus , Linum austriacum Linnaeus , Melica persica Kunth , Minuartia juniperina (L.) Maire & Petitmengin, Ononis spinosa L. subsp. leiosperma (Boiss.) Širjaev , Polygala anatolica Boissier & Heldreich , Puschkinia scilloides Adams , Ranunculus damascenus Boissier & Gaillardot , Salvia virgata Jacquin , Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl.

Karyology: —According to our counts, Muscari vanensis has a diploid chromosome number of 2n = 18 and its karyotype formula is 14 m + 2 sm+2 smsat ( Table 3 ). According to Lima De Faria (1980), the new species has 2 pairs of medium and 7 pairs of small chromosomes in its karyogram and from medium to small ones their chromosomes suddenly minimize and seven pairs small ones get by degrees shorter. ( Fig. 7 ). According to the indices used herein, it has both symmetric and asymmetric chromosomes ( Table 4 ; AI: 4.19, A 1: 0.24, A 2: 0.36, CV CL: 36.9 and CV CI: 11.37).

The conservational status: —According to our observations, the population area of Muscari vanensis is small and the number of mature individuals is less than 1000 in total. To reach a certain judgement with regards to the conservation status of the species, it is necessary to known whether the presence of other populations of M. vanensis might throughout the Deveboynu Peninsula or not. According to the herbarium records, it is thought that the new species may have a distribution between Altınsaç, Göründü and İnköyü villages and this partial distribution may be along a line of approximately 8–10 kilometers as the Bird’s Flight. However, the similarity of the records reported by different collectors and the similar altitudes given suggest that there may be a single location. During our field studies, the distribution of the species was not found between Altınsaç and Inköy, and the species could only be collected throughout a line which extent from calcerous slopes to Juniperus formations marked on the map ( Fig. 2 , B). In this situation, it is not possible to make very comprehensively an evaluation about the threat category of the species, merely it can be inferred that the distribution area of the species is less than an area of 5 square kilometers and it is known from a single locality. It is expressed that ‘Overgrazing’ is the major cause of soil degradation worldwide ( Oldemann et al. 1991) and may be resulted in the damage or even disappearance of a preferred plant or vegetation cover ( Bardgett et al. 1995). As mentioned above, the population of the new species is quite open to anthropogenic and grazing pressures, as it is located both close to the villages and on the slope facing the road connecting the villages. Therefore, we can suggest that the species might be potentially critically endangered (CR), but need more fieldwork to measure or estimate its actual conservation status.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Geographical distributions of M. vanensis (red circle), M. botryoides (green circle), M. armeniacum (blue square) (A) and populations of M. vanensis (B).

FIGURE 3. Muscari vanensis Uysal. Flowers (A), Habit (B, C, D, E), A view from the type locality (F), Capsule (G, H, I).

FIGURE 6. Capsules (A, D, G) and Cross-section of the capsules (B, C, E, F, H, I) of Muscari taxa. M. vanensis (A–C), M. armeniacum (D–F), M. botryoides (G–I).

FIGURE 7. Mitotic metaphase chromosomes, idiograms and karyograms of Muscari taxa. M. vanensis (A–C), M. armeniacum (D–I), M. botryoides (J–O).