Iranoaster Kaz. Osaloo, Farhani & Mozaff., 2018

Farhani, Tayyebeh, Kazempour-Osaloo, Shahrokh, Zare-Maivan, Hassan & Mozaffarian, Valiollah, 2018, Evolutionary history of the tribe Astereae in the Flora Iranica area: Systematic implications, Phytotaxa 379 (1), pp. 95-117 : 113

Iranoaster Kaz. Osaloo, Farhani & Mozaff. , gen. nov.

Type:— Iranoaster bachtiaricus (Mozaff.) Kaz. Osaloo, Farhani & Mozaff.

Perennial, shortly strigose. Stems 5–20 cm high; rootstock thick, woody, many, leafy, crispate-pubescent. Leaves heteromorphous, linear-spathulate, ovate or elliptic-spathulate, sessile or attenuate at base and shortly petiolate, acute at apex or rotundate, somewhat mucronulate, entire, glabrous above, shortly crispate-hairy below, 2–10 × 10–16 mm. Capitule solitary, radiate, 16 mm in diameter. Involucre 6 × 8 mm; phyllaries 3–5-seriate, narrowly membranous, hairy at margin and very finely purple. Ray flowers 10–16, purple or whitish-pink, at least 4 times longer than hermaphrodite flowers, basal tube 2–5 mm long; ligules 5–6 × 2–3.5 mm, spirally revolute. Disc flowers 5–6 mm, yellow. Achenes (immature) 2.5 mm long, linear to obovate, whitish-sericeous. Pappus 1-seriate, scabrous, 5 mm long.

Etymology.—The name Iranoaster was chosen in the honor of Iran, a rich biodiversity region in SW Asia.