Psephellus poluninii (Wagenitz) Wagenitz

Yousefi, Zohreh, Negaresh, Kazem & Kaya, Yusuf, 2021, A taxonomic study on Psephellus sect. Amblyopogon (Asteraceae, Cardueae- Centaureinae), Phytotaxa 494 (3), pp. 273-288 : 286

5. Psephellus poluninii (Wagenitz) Wagenitz in Wagenitz & Hellwig (2000: 37). ( Fig. 9 )

Centaurea poluninii Wagenitz (1974: 228) . Type :— TURKEY. B/ C9 Van: distr. Başkale , Ispiriz Da., 3300 m, screes, 31 July 1954, Davis & Pohinin 23765 (holotype E00394687 !, isotypes BM000996200 !, K000794268 !) .

Perennial plants, with stout woody rootstock forming a small cushion with numerous rosettes of leaves, stemless or nearly so, capitula hidden between leaves, whole plant usually grayish. Leaves petiolate, coriaceous, densely covered with appressed-grayish-tomentose hairs on both sides, pinnatisect, 2.5–6 cm long, segments in 5–10 pairs, smooth or minutely denticulate at margins, rounded or acute at apex; terminal segment larger than lateral ones, 5–12 mm wide, nearly orbicular; lateral segments oblong to nearly orbicular, 3–7 mm wide, decurrent along the rachis; rarely some leaves undivided, obovate. Capitula few, 2–4-cephalous, solitary on subsessile peduncles; involucres ovoid, 17–19 × 10–12 mm. Phyllaries multiseriate, coriaceous, imbricate, green, glabrous. Appendages rather large, concealing a major part of phyllaries, hyaline, whitish, light brown in central part, innermost entirely brown, broadly elliptic, 4–5 × 3–4 mm (excluding cilia), distinctly ciliate, never with a spine; cilia whitish, numerous, 8–12 on each side, 2–3 mm long. Flowers pink; central florets hermaphroditic, 20–22 mm long, corolla 9–11 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes 4–5 mm long, stigma slightly exserted from corolla; peripheral florets 20–23 mm long, equal than central ones, scarcely radiant, with staminodes, 4-lobed, limb lobes linear. Achenes oblong, 5–6 × 2.5–3 mm, brown, rounded at apex, glabrous; detachment area lateral, 0.3–0.5 mm long. Pappus lacking or very short (0.2–0.3 mm long).

Distribution: — Psephellus poluninii is a very rare endemic to Van Province, SE Turkey ( Fig. 10 ). It is only known from the type locality in Başkale.

Ecology: — Psephellus poluninii is an Irano-Turanian element, and grows on scree slopes in the high-montane zone, at elevations of ca. 3300 m.

Taxonomic notes: — Psephellus poluninii closely resembles P. karduchorum in its habit.

Figures

FIGURE 9. Psephellus poluninii (Wagenitz) Wagenitz (Davis & Pohinin 23765, E).

FIGURE 10. Distribution of Psephellus poluninii.