Poa nephelochloides (Roshev.) Soreng, Cabi & L.J. Gillespie, 2018

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 : 83

Poa nephelochloides (Roshev.) Soreng, Cabi & L.J. Gillespie comb. nov.

Eremopoa nephelochloides Roshev., in Köie, M., Beitr. Fl. Sudwest Iran I. Danish Sci. Invest. Iran In K. Jessen & R. Sparck. (Eds) Danish Sci. Invest. Iran, pt. 4: 50. 1945. Eremopoa persica var. nephelochloides Roshev., nom. inval. as syn. of E. nephelochloides .

Type.

Iran. 60 km north of Dizful, 3 May 1937, M. Köie 475 (lectotype, here designated: C [C10016935 image!]; isolectotype: LE).

Distribution.

Iran (Zagros Mts.).

Notes.

Due to its sterile whorls of branches, this species seems very close to Poa millii and P. attalica , but may be a derivative of P. persica since it has longer anthers than the previous taxa. Roshevits cited two gatherings of Köie: "Kechwar, 700 m (3 May 1937; no. 475). Chah-Bazan, 500 m" (Kechvar is about 60 km north of Dizful). The specimen at C has the same date and collection number as Roshevits cited and was annotated by Roshevits as this taxon; we select it as the lectotype. The anthers are ca. 1.1-1.2 mm as measured from the C photo and other characters seem to match P. attalica . The anther length is given as 1.5 mm in Roshevits’ diagnosis. The specimen clearly has the hyaline lemma apices of P. persica s.l. (in contrast to P. diaphora ). However, these features are also present in the type of E. capillaris (= P. millii ). Poa attalica has shorter anthers, ca. 0.8 to 1 mm, on the type (anthers not described by Scholz 1980 or Mill 1985). Poa nephelochloides and P. attalica may represent the same species, diagnosed as different from P. persica by sterile branches and from Nephelochloa orientalis Boiss. by glabrous lemmas ( P. nephelochloides has pubescent lemmas). However, Poa nephelochloides and P. attalica are geographically isolated by over 1500 km and have different anther lengths.