Poa speluncarum J.R. Edm., Fl. Turkey & E. Aegean Isl. 9: 623. 473. 1985.

Gillespie, Lynn J., Soreng, Robert John, Cabi, Evren & Amiri, Neda, 2018, Phylogeny and taxonomic synopsis of Poa subgenus Pseudopoa (including Eremopoa and Lindbergella) (Poaceae, Poeae, Poinae), PhytoKeys 111, pp. 69-102 : 87

Poa speluncarum J.R. Edm., Fl. Turkey & E. Aegean Isl. 9: 623. 473. 1985.

Type.

Turkey. C4, Konya, distr. Ermenek, Kamis Dere between Ermenek and Oyuklu Dag., floor of caverns, 1400-1500 m, 14 Aug 1949, P. H. Davis 16180 (holotype: K! [K000641325]; isotype: E! [E00367874]).

Distribution.

Turkey (central Taurus Mts.).

Notes.

Poa speluncarum was described by Edmondson (1985) as an annual species of Poa sect. Ochlopoa Asch. & Graebn (≡ Poa sect. Micrantherae Stapf. Type: Poa annua ). Our investigation found it to be a feeble, stooling perennial with sparsely scabrous panicle branches, uppermost sheaths closed up to half their length, spikelets sparsely scaberulous, mostly 1-flowered, the distal-most ones frequently 2(-3) flowered, anthers 1.1-1.7 mm, caryopsis 1.7-1.8 mm long, hilum 0.3 mm long and grain adherent to the palea. DNA data have clearly placed it in the Poa clade that includes Eremopoa species (E clade), either as sister to P. attalica (nuclear data) or as sister to P. attalica + P. sintenisii (plastid data). The species is odd in subgenus Pseudopoa for its perennial habit (albeit weak) and more closed sheaths, and in Poa generally by its mostly uniflorous spikelets. It is a very rare species that lives in the backs of shallow, moist, cool caves in the Taurus Mts., along with other cave endemics.