Matthiola iranica Zeraatkar, Mahmoodi, F.Ghahrem. & Maassoumi, 2016

Mahmoodi, Mohammad, Zeraatkar, Amin, Ghahremaninejad, Farrokh & Maassoumi, Ali-Asghar, 2016, A new species of Matthiola (Brassicaceae, Anchonieae) from Iran, Phytotaxa 261 (2), pp. 194-198 : 195-197

Matthiola iranica Zeraatkar, Mahmoodi, F.Ghahrem. & Maassoumi sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 )

Type:— IRAN. Zanjan province. Zanjan: Zanjan-Dandi road, 4 km befor Ghezel-Ozan river, 36°31’48.9000”N, 47°52’07.1760”E, 1450 m, 29 May 2014, Mahmoodi 100455 (holotype T!, isotye TARI!).

Diagnosis:—Perennial stoloniferous herb. Multicellular glands abnsent. Leaves mostly basal, spatulate (not linear to narrowly spatulate). Blade elliptic to broadly elliptic, sometimes obovate, entire (not mostly dentate). Racemes 6–15- flowered (not with 1–5, rarely up to 10-flowers). Pedicel up to 10 (not 1–2) mm. Flower 2–3.4 (not 1.8–2.4) cm long. Lateral nectarines two (not four), without Stipule-like glands at the base of petioles and pedicels. Silique 6.5–20 × 0.3– 0.4 (not 6–15 × 0.2–0.3) cm, oblong (not rhombic) in cross section. Seeds oblong (not ovate), 3–4 (not 2) mm long.

Description:—Perennial stoloniferous herb. Stems up to 38 cm high, usually many- stemmed, covered with dendritic hairs. Leaves predominantly basal, especially in fruit, 5–14.5 × 1.4–3 cm, mostly conduplicate, spatulate; blade elliptic to wide elliptic, sometimes obovate, (3–)5–8.5 × 1.4–3 cm, obtuse at apex, entire, densely covered with greenish dendritic hairs, central vein obviously whitish, tapering into a petiole; petiole 2–8 cm long, 1–2 mm broad. Racemes up to 14 cm long, 6–15 flowered. Flower 2–3.4 cm long; pedicel 2–6 mm long, elongating to 10 mm in fruit, straight, covered with dendritic hairs. Sepals green, lanceolate, 11–13 mm long, 3 mm broad, outside covered with appressed dendritic hairs, glabrous inside, acute, with hyaline margin 0.25–0.5 mm broad, outer sepals gibbous at base, inner sepals flattened. Petals glabrous, dingy yellowish, turning dark or pale brownish when dried, 2.5–2.6 cm long, 3 mm broad, glabrous, more and less linear-oblong, clearly undulate, outward rolled at apex in flowering material, margins revolute when dried; claw linear, l0 mm long, 1–2 mm broad. Stamens glabrous, filament linear; median filament pairs 10–11 mm long, narrowly unilaterally winged to the half of the stamen, lateral filament pairs 6–7 mm long, wingless; anthers sagittate, 4 mm long. Lateral nectar glands two, surrounding the base of lateral stamens, crenate, of the same colour with gynoecium. Style 5–6 mm long. Silique linear, 6.5–20 cm long, 3–4 mm wide, narrowly undulate in margin, oblong in transverse section, covered with dendritic hairs, more densely in the upper part of silique; valves clearly 1-veined; Stigma 1–2 mm long, 2-lobed, elongated, often terminating to capitate and fleshy lobes as broad as or narrower than the silique. Seeds 24–42 per silique, oblong, brownish, 3–4 mm long, 2 mm broad, narrowly winged.

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

Etymology: — Matthiola iranica is named after Iran, the name of the country to which it is obviously endemic.

Taxonomical remarks: — Matthiola iranica is morphologically closely related to M. farinosa Bunge ex Boissier (1867: 150) . Based on overall morphology, M. iranica and M. farinosa share such characters as conduplicate leaves, undulate petals, capitate and fleshy stigma, winged median filament pairs, undulate margins of silique. Nevertheless, M. iranica differs from the later considerably, particularly in margin, shape and size of leaves, presence of stolons, number of flowers in raceme, length of pedicels, size of corolla (largest in Iranian Matthiola ), size of fruit and seed and nectar glands ( Fig.1 ). Important differences between these species are presented in Table 1. In M. iranica the inflorescences have several flowers, but in fruit the plant does not keep all these flowers, i.e. only one or rarely two flowers develop to a mature fruit. Because the inflorescence of this plant has no leaves and the upper part of the inflorescence along with most flowers gradually falls, almost all leaves are basal in fruit ( Fig. 1A ).

Additional specimens examined (paratypes): — IRAN. Zanjan province: Zanjan, 50 km on the Zanjan-Dandi road, toward Kaltakeh village, 1.5 km after Haji-Bache village , 36°35’9.78”N, 47° 58’ 11.2794”E, 1908 m, 1 May 2013, Mahmoodi 99568 ( T!, TARI!) ; Zanjan, 45 km on the Zanjan-Dandi road, between Gowjeh Qaya and Gholtugh villages, 36°30’27.5400”N, 48°05’24.9000”E, 1902 m, 30 June 2014, Mahmoodi 100456 ( T!, TARI!) ; Zanjan, Zanjan-Dandi road, 4 km before Ghezel-Ozan river, 36°31’48.9000”N, 47°52’07.1760”E, 1450 m, 25 May 2015, Mahmoodi 100458, ( T!, TARI!). Zanjan, 50 km on the Zanjan-Dandi road, toward Kaltakeh village , 1.5 km after Haji-Bache village , 36°35’9.78”N, 47° 58’ 11.2794”E, 1908 m, 25 May 2015, Mahmoodi 100457 ( T!, TARI!). Zanjan, Zanjan-Dandi road, toward Kaltakeh village , 1.5 km after Haji-Bach village , 36°35’9.78”N, 47° 58’ 11.2794”E, 1908 m, 19 June 2015, Zeraatkar 12841 ( T!)

Figures

FIGURE 1. Matthoila iranica—A–B habit of an individual: A: in fruiting stage; B: in flowering stage; C: stolon; D: leaves; E: habitat, F: flower—Photographs taken at the type locality, 29 June 2014 (A, 100455 TARI, T), 1 May 2013 (B & F, 99568 TARI, T), and 25 May 2015 (C, D & E, 100457 TARI, T), by M. Mahmoodi.