Centaurea stapfiana (Hand.-Mazz.) Wagenitz, 1963

Ranjbar, Massoud & Negaresh, Kazem, 2013, A revision of Centaurea sect. Phaeopappus (Asteraceae, Cardueae), Phytotaxa 123 (1), pp. 1-40 : 36

14. Centaurea stapfiana (Hand.-Mazz.) Wagenitz (1963: 186). Fig. 17 .

Basionym: Phaeopappus stapfianus Handel-Mazzetti (1913: 447) . Chrysopappus stapfianus (Hand.-Mazz.) Takhtajan (1938: 276). Type: TURKEY. Kurdistania: Mardin, in declivibus saxosis, in vineis, 13 July 1888, Sintenis 1295 (lectotype WU!, designated by Wagenitz 1963: 186, isolectotypes B!: two sheets, E!: two sheets, G!: three sheets, GOET!: two sheets, JE!: two sheets, K!: two sheets, LD!: three sheets, M!, P!, S!, WU!: two sheets, Z+ZT!, photo BASU!).

Perennial plants, usually completely grayish, with woody base, 20–40 cm tall; collum covered with abundant brown fibrous remains of petioles of previous year. Stems several, branched in upper part, with short and equal branches, whitish, ca. 2 mm in diam. at the base, densely floccose-tomentose. Leaves firm, undivided, narrowly lanceolate or narrowly oblong or lanceolate-linear, ± densely floccose-tomentose. Lower cauline leaves withered at flowering time. Median and upper cauline leaves sessile, simple, 4–12 × 0.5–1.3 cm, broadly decurrent, something 32 mm the whole internode, acute or acuminate at apex, margin scabrous, uppermost longer than capitula. Capitula several, arranged in a raceme; involucres cylindrical, narrowed at base, 25–35 × 11–15 mm. Phyllaries multiseriate, yellowish, imbricate, shiny, with thin longitudinal nerves, densely tomentose; appendages almost concealing basal part of phyllaries, triangular, strawy, with a narrow hyaline border, entire or irregularly denticulate, ending in a mucro l–2(–3) mm long. Outer phyllaries ovateoblong, 1.8–3 × ca. 3 mm; median phyllaries oblong, 10–12 × 4.5–5 mm; inner phyllaries oblong-linear, 17– 23 × 2–3 mm. Flowers yellow; central florets hermaphrodite, ca. 30 mm long, corolla 15–17 mm long, 5- lobed, limb lobe linear, ca. 5 mm long; peripheral florets sterile, finely dissected, not radiant. Mature achenes unknown; pappus multiseriate, persistent, brownish, 19–24 mm long, scabrous, simple, inner row not differentiated.

Taxonomic and distributional remarks: — Centaurea stapfiana is endemic to E Turkey. It is an Irano- Turanian element known only from the mid-montane zone ( Wagenitz 1975). Centaurea stapfiana occurs on stony slopes on calcareous soils, at elevations of 900–1000 m. It is a very distinct species without close relatives.

Chromosome numbers: — Uysal et al. (2009) reported the chromosome number 2 n = 2 x = 18 for C. stapfiana collected from Turkey, Diyarbakır, 20 km from Diyarbakır towards Yeşilköy, Kendal Hills. This is the only chromosome count for C. stapfiana .

Selected specimens examined:— TURKEY. Kurdistania : Mardin, in declivibus saxosis, in vineis, 13 July 1888, Sintenis 1295 (WU!, B!, E!, G!, GOET!, JE!, K!, LD!, M!, P!, S!, WU!, Z+ ZT!). B7 Malatya: Arga (Akçadağ) to Malatya, Post 66 (E!). Diyarbakir: between Arghana (Ergani) and Kalender Han , 1000 m, Handel-Mazzetti 2643 (paratype WU!). B8 (?) Korky to Ziaret, B. Post 615 (E!). C8 Mardin: Mardin, July 1896, G. Post s.n. (E!). B7 Elaziğ: Midway between Maden-Alacakaya , 1030 m, 10 August 2001, Reeves et al. 2211 (E!) .

Figures

FIGURE 17. Centaurea stapfiana (Hand.-Mazz.) Wagenitz (Sintenis 1295, B).