Gundelia siirtica Fırat, 2019

Firat, Mehmet, 2019, Gundelia siirtica (Asteraceae), a new lactiferous species from Siirt (south-eastern Anatolia), Phytotaxa 394 (4), pp. 276-284 : 277-281

Gundelia siirtica Fırat , sp. nov. ( Figs. 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 )

Type: — TURKEY. C 8 Siirt: Kurtalan District, 12 km from Kurtalan to Batman, farmland, near fields, 750 m, 37°54′54″ N, 41°32′12″ E, 7 May 2017, M. Fırat 33721 (holotype VANF, isotypes ANK, HUB and Herb. M. Fırat).

Description: —Perennial lactiferous herb with a branched stem 30‒50 cm, glabrous. Leaves coriaceous; alternate, pinnatisect or pinnatipartite, spiny; both sides more or less glabrous (sparse short ±arachnoid hairs only on or along veins). Synflorescences normally 3–10, globose to ovoid, 20‒50 mm long and 20‒35 mm in diameter (excluding bracts), consisting of 15–50 cephaloids. Synflorescence glabrous (very rarely ±arachnoid when young). Bracts spiny, normaly exceeding cephaloids, with a strong terminal spine and 3‒6 lateral spines, Cephaloid (in middle of synflorescence) of (6–)7 flowers. Flowers campanulate to widely spreading, corolla externally pink to purplish-maroon; internally white or rarely light pink, 7‒8 mm long; central flowers are usually shorter than lateral ones. Cephaloids pistachiocoloured, squamulose, ±hairy. Fruit complex (disseminule) normally obconical, brownish or rarely grey, 12–17 mm long (without spines), 7‒11 mm in diameter (when ripe) in upper part; central and lateral flowers surrounded by spines originated from the involucels, spines of central flowers 4–7 mm, of lateral flowers 1.5–5 mm, obtained from 25 fruit of average weight 0.2551 g (when ripe).

Phenology: —Flowering from April to May and fruiting from June to July.

Etymology: —The species epithet is derived from the name of Siirt Province where type material was collected.

Distribution:— Gundelia siirtica is endemic to Siirt Province of Turkey. According to the grid system (Davis 1965), the new species falls specifically within the C8 square ( Fig. 1 ). It is an element of the Irano-Turanian floristic region.

Habitat and ecology: — Gundelia siirtica grows in farmland, near fields at c. 500–750 m, with other plants such as: Lens orientalis , Notobasis syriaca , Trifolium hybridum , Vicia sativa , Neslia apiculata , Brassica nigra , Bromus sp. , Galium sp. A steppe element.

Ethnobotanical usage:— Gundelia siirtica is cooked as stew or egg-vegetable; obtained gum is chewed.

Vernacular name: — Gundelia siirtica is called “Kereng” by the local people of Siirt Province.

Red list assessment: —The distribution area of Gundelia siirtica is less than 50 km 2. The species was collected from three localities, in which ca. 10,000 individuals were counted. Much consumed by the local people; some anthropogenic or grazing effects were observed on the population. Based on the above data and observations, the IUCN (2016) red list category for G. siirtica is suggested as “Critically Endangered” (CR), B1b (i,ii,iii,v).

Other specimens examined:— Gundelia siirtica (paratypes). TURKEY. C8 Siirt: Kurtalan Province, 12 km from Kurtalan to Batman, farmland, near fields, 749 m, 37°54′54″ N, 41°32′12″ E, 29 July 2017, M. Fırat 33876, 33877 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) (in fruit) ; C8 Siirt: Kurtalan Province, 25 km from Kurtalan to Batman, farmland, near fields, 593 m, 37°57′32″ N, 41°22′23″ E, 7 May 2017, M. Fırat 33720 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) (in flower) ; C8 Siirt: 13 km from Ziyaret to Siirt, farmland, near fields, 691 m, 38°06′42″ N, 41°43′13″ E, 6 May 2017, M. Fırat 33722 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) (in flower) ; ibid., 4 June 2017, M. Fırat 33769 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat ) (in fruit). Gundelia mesopotamica . TURKEY. C8 Mardin: 2‒3 km from Mardin to Nusaybin ( Nisêbîn ), eroded slopes, aride steppe, 807 m, 37°17′36″ N, 40°46′20″ E, 8 May 2017, M. Fırat 33725 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) ; C8 Mardin: from Ömerli to Mardin, rocky area, 1030 m, 37°21′38″ N, 40°51′07″ E, 8 May 2017, M. Fırat 33726 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) ; C7 Diyarbakır, 27 km from Diyarbakır to Karacadağ mountain nearly Kaynax (Kaynak) village , volcanic soil and rocky areas, 1093 m, 37°45′55″ N, 39°37′55″ E, 11 May 2017, M. Fırat 33752 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) ; C7 Diyarbakır, 20 km from Diyarbakır to Karacadağ mountain , volcanic soil and rocky areas, 892 m, 37°52′34″ N, 39°56′04″ E, 11 May 2017, M. Fırat 33753 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) ; C7 Diyarbakır, 37 km from Diyarbakır to Silvan , rocky areas, 674 m, 38°18′57″ N, 41°18′09″ E, 5 June 2017, M. Fırat 33804 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) ; C7 Şanlıurfa, 50 km from Şanlıurfa to Hilvan , rocky areas, 784 m, 37°28′55″ N, 38°55′07″ E, 4 June 2017, M. Fırat 33791 ( VANF and Herb. M. Fırat) .

Taxonomic relationships:— Gundelia siirtica differs from all Gundelia species in its indumentum, synflorescence, colour of corolla and fruit complex (disseminule). The species is morphologically close to the species group with cephaloid (in the middle of the synflorescence) of 6 flowers. While examining the other species described, it was observed that the new species is most closely similar to G. armeniaca in Armenia and G. mesopotamica in Anatolia. However, it differs from these both by the following features ( Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Gundelia siirtica (triangles), Gundelia mesopotamica (squares), and Gundelia armeniaca (star).

FIGURE 2. Gundelia siirtica. A. habitat; B, C. habit; D. basal leaves; E, F, G, H. synflorescence.

FIGURE 3. Gundelia siirtica. A. synflorescence in early fruits (individual with six fruits); B. synflorescence in early fruits (individual with seven fruits); C. detail of a cephaloid compound in early fruits (individual with six fruits); D. detail of a cephaloid compound in early fruits (individual with seven fruits); E, F. detail of a cephaloid compound with seven flowers; G, H. detail of a cephaloid compound with six flowers.

FIGURE 4. A, B. Gundelia siirtica; C, D. Gundelia mesopotamica; E, F. Gundelia armeniaca (reproduced from Nersesyan 2014). A, C, E. habit; B, D, F. synflorescence (in flowers).

FIGURE 5. Variability of ripe disseminules:A. Gundelia siirtica, B. Gundelia mesopotamica; ripe disseminules and detail of the cephaloid compound: C. Gundelia siirtica, D. Gundelia mesopotamica.