Gagea vanensis M.Tekşen

Tekşen, Mehtap & Erkul, Seher Karaman, 2015, The synopsis of the genus Gagea (Liliaceae) in Turkey, Phytotaxa 230 (1), pp. 101-129 : 125

Gagea vanensis M.Tekşen & S. Karaman, Phytotaxa 188(5): 251 (2015)

Type: — TURKEY. Van. Gürpınar, Işıkpınar to Hacıköy, around the pond, 2154 m, steppe, 13 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2460 & S. Karaman (holotype GAZI! isotypes ANK!, HUB!).

Specimens seen: — TURKEY. Van: Güzelsu-Üçgen village, 3 km beyond Hoşap, steppe, 2056 m, 11 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2413 & S. Karaman ( GAZI, AKSU!) ; Güzelsu, 8 km from Hoşap to Van, steppe, 1960 m, 14 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2483 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; ibidem, 18 May 2013, M. Tekşen 2909 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Van-Başkale, 12 to Hoşap, around of Zernek dam, steppe, 1979 m, 10 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2392 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) .

Flowering time: — May.

Habitat: — Rocky and stony places, rocky shadows, by melting snow patches on screes, steppe, 1960–2056 m.

Distribution: — Endemic to Turkey (East Anatolia). Irano-Turanian element.

IUCN category: — Vulnerable, VU B2ab (i, ii, iv).

Note: — Gagea vanensis is distinct from other species in Turkey by having mostly a single basal leaf, roundish and solid in cross section. It is similar to G. ova Stapf (1885: 16) species group: G. stipitata Merckl. ex Bunge (1851: 512) , G. absurda (Levichev 1990: 665) , G. kunawurensis ( Royle 1839: 388) Greuter (1970: 155) , G. × turanica (Levichev 1990: 663) , and G. rubinae ( Ali 2006: 45) . The main differences rely on the features of vegetative bulbils (number, arrangement, shape, sculpture, and color in mature age) and the color of tepals ( Tekşen & Karaman Erkul 2015).