Phelipanche coelestis (Reut.) Soják (1972: 130)

Piwowarczyk, Renata, Pedraja, Óscar Sánchez, Moral, Gonzalo Moreno, Fayvush, George, Zakaryan, Narine, Kartashyan, Nune & Aleksanyan, Alla, 2019, Holoparasitic Orobanchaceae (Cistanche, Diphelypaea, Orobanche, Phelipanche) in Armenia: distribution, habitats, host range and taxonomic problems, Phytotaxa 386 (1), pp. 1-106 : 27-28

3. Phelipanche coelestis (Reut.) Soják (1972: 130) . Type:— TURKEY (lectotype designated by Carlón et al. 2008: 44): Caria, 1843, C. Pinard (G-00147181 [herb. Prodr. G-DC]!). Basionym:— Phelypaea coelestis Reut. in Candolle (1847: 5). Homotypic synonym:— Orobanche coelestis (Reut.) Beck (1890: 114) ; Orobanche coelestis f. typica Beck (1890: 114) , nom. illeg. Fig. 14 .

Distribution: —Mainly in southern and southeastern parts (Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces), rarely in the central part, north of Lake Sevan (Gegharkunik province), and Mt Aragats (Aragatsotn province) ( Fig. 15).

General distribution: — Turkey, Caucasus and surrounding area.

Habitat: —Rocky, loamy slopes, steppe, roadsides, 1800‒2200 m.

Hosts: —Known with certainty only as parasitic on Rubiaceae and Caryophyllaceae species, e.g., Asperula glomerata (M. Bieb.) Griseb. , as well as Silene iberica M. Bieb. , S. spergulifolia (Willd.) M. Bieb. Need confirmation: Galium verum L. and S. noctiflora L. [syn. Elisanthe noctiflora (L.) Rupr.] ( Novopokrovskij & Tzvelev 1958, sub O. pulchella ) and the hosts mentioned by Beck (1930: 94, sub O. coelestis ).

Phenology: —Flowering (end May) June to July, fruiting July to August.

Conservation status: —Vulnerable (VU) – B 1 ab(iii) + 2 ab(iii) EOO is less than 20000 km 2,severely fragmented, existing at no more than 10 locations (6 locations in 4 floristic regions);AOO is less than 2000 km 2, severely fragmented, existing at no more than 10 locations. Populations are usually small, ca. 10 shoots. Three subpopulations grow in Arevik National Park, in the buffer zone of Sevan National Park and in Zangezur State Sanctuary. Limiting factors are restricted EOO and AOO, loss/degradation of habitats caused by the expansion of arable land, overgrazing and open mining.

Notes: —This species has often been confused with other Phelipanche species ( Piwowarczyk et al. 2017c), e.g., with P. pulchella (C.A. Mey.) Soják (1972: 140) , another Caucasian (Georgian) species that can be distinguished by the characteristics given in Piwowarczyk et al. (2017d, key and Table 1).

Specimens examined: — ARMENIA. Aragatsotn prov.: Aragats mountain, Ghazaravan, Kari lake climb road, 40º23’00”N, 44º15’38” E, 2080 m, 30 June 2005, pastures above the oakwood boundary, Medina et al. 2597 (MA-742261) ; Gegharkunik prov.: between Semyonovka and Tsovagyugh , rocky grasslands, on slope with southwestern exposure, 2005 m, 9 July 2015, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC) ; Syunik prov.: between Lichk and Van, road to Chgnavor Mt. , rocky, loamy slope, 39°02’33,6”N, 46°13’55,6”E, 1820 m, 17 July 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( ERCB, KTC); NE part of Arevik , rocky slope on roadside, 39°24’18,6”N, 45°54’09,4”E, 1890 m, 30 May 2016, R . Piwowarczyk ( KTC) ; between Kajaran and Tashtun pass, rocky and loamy slopes and roadsides, 39°08’18”N, 46°10’39”E, 2140 m, 3 June 2016, R . Piwowarczyk ( ERCB, KTC) ; Vayots Dzor prov.: between Goghtanik and Karmrashen , slope, roadside, 39°50’30”N, 45°29’10”E, 2105 m, 20 June 2017, R . Piwowarczyk ( ERCB, KTC) .

Figures

FIGURE 14. Phelipanche coelestis. A. Parasite attached to the roots of host-Silene iberica. B–F. Inflorescences. Photos by Renata Piwowarczyk.