Centaurea iranshahrii Wagenitz & Esfandiari (1983: 137) emend. Negaresh & Rahiminejad (2015b: 56)

Negaresh, Kazem & Rahiminejad, Mohammad Reza, 2018, A revision of Centaurea sect. Cynaroides (Asteraceae, Cardueae-Centaureinae), Phytotaxa 363 (1), pp. 448-450 : 448-450

17. Centaurea iranshahrii Wagenitz & Esfandiari (1983: 137) emend. Negaresh & Rahiminejad (2015b: 56) . Type:—

IRAN. Prov. Lurestan: Malavi, 650 m, 24 May 1973, Iranshahr & Moussavi 39618 (holotype GOET!, isotype IRAN) .

( Figs. 37–39 )

Centaurea elymaitica Mozaffarian (2006: 109) . Type:— IRAN. Prov. Ilam: Chenarbashi, old road to Darre Shahr , close to Khoshghadam village , protected forest, 1132 m, Mozaffarian 86999 (holotype TARI!).

Biennial herbs, usually green throughout, with a large and strong taproot, 50–150 cm tall; collar of fibrous petiolar remains present at stem base. Stem erect to ascending, several 2 to 8, green, branched from median to upper parts, with divaricated branches, 5–10 mm in diam. at base, cylindrical, with thick brownish striations, glabrous, sometimes upper part ± loosely covered with arachnoid hairs. Leaves coriaceous, papyraceous (on drying), in juvenile phase scabrous with loosely arachnoid hairs, and covered with sessile punctate glands, in mature phase subglabrous and scabrous in margins, with elevated nerves. Basal leaves very large, petiolate, broadly lanceolate to oblong or broadly elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, 35–70 × 8–20 cm, sometimes lyrate; terminal segment very larger, oblong or oblong-lanceolate; lateral segments smaller, few, in 2–3 pairs, ± falcate, oblong or elongated triangular, repand-dentate or entire at margin, acute or acuminate at apex. Lower cauline leaves petiolate, simple, broadly lanceolate or oblong-lanceolate, rarely oblanceolate or elliptic-lanceolate, 14–40 × 8–15 cm, repand-dentate or entire, acute or acuminate at apex. Median cauline leaves sessile, simple, lanceolate or lanceolate-elliptic, narrowed toward base, 12–30 × 6–14 cm, winged or broadly decurrent, up to 60 mm along stem, entire or denticulate, acuminate at apex. Upper cauline leaves increasingly smaller, sessile, narrowly oblong or narrowly lanceolate to linear, 3–15 × 0.5–8 cm, broadly decurrent, up to 40 mm along stem, sometimes not decurrent, entire, acuminate or mucronate at apex. Capitula numerous, arranged in a dichasium or loose panicle, with short peduncles. Involucres ovoid, (20–) 25–30 mm long, 12–15 mm wide (excluding cilia). Phyllaries multiseriate, imbricate, coriaceous, green, glabrous, loosely floccose at margins. Appendages rigid, concealing part of phyllaries only, elongate triangular, gradually narrowed into a spine, usually reflexed, yellowish or purplish or straw-coloured, sometimes pale green, 2–3 mm wide at base (excluding cilia); cilia 4–6 on each side, 2–5 mm long. Outer appendages 6–10 mm long, spine slightly longer than or equal to adjacent cilia. Median appendages (10–)12–20(–22) mm long, spine strongly longer than adjacent cilia. Inner appendages small, rounded or with a short spine, irregularly dentate. Flowers yellow; central florets hermaphroditic, 28–30 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes 6–7 mm long; peripheral florets sterile, slightly shorter than central ones, numerous (10–15 in each capitulum) and conspicuous, finely dissected, not radiant, 27–30 cm long, 3–6-lobed, limb lobes linear. Achenes oblong, 4–6 mm long, 1.8–2.2 mm wide, pale brown or grayish, loosely hairy; insertion areole lateral, ca. 0.5 mm long. Pappus persistent, multiseriate, scabrous, whitish, 7–9 mm long, bristles of inner rows slightly shorter than others.

Taxonomic and distribution remarks:— Centaurea iranshahrii is endemic to Ilam, Kermanshah and Lurestan Provinces, SW to W Iran ( Negaresh & Rahiminejad 2015b) ( Fig. 40 ). It is an Irano-Turanian element, and grows on fallow fields, roadsides, rupicolous, grassland, shrub land, stony calcareous or rocky mountain slopes, low to mid-montane zone, at elevations of 100–2100 m ( Negaresh & Rahiminejad 2015b) ( Fig. 41 ). The wide range of elevations for this species showed that this species can grow in different climates ( Negaresh & Rahiminejad 2015b). The color and status of appendages and the number of capitula are very variable in this species ( Negaresh & Rahiminejad 2015b). Recently, Mozaffarian (2006) described Centaurea elymatica as a new species for Flora of Iran but Negaresh & Rahiminejad (2015b) showed that it must be placed to the synonymy of C. iranshahrii .

Centaurea iranshahrii approaches to the species of C. sect. Microlophus ( Cassini 1826b: 137) Candolle (1838: 567), especially C. behen Linnaeus (1753: 914) in the habit and indumentum of stem and leaves. But, it would be isolated from this section by its capitula arranged in a dichasium (vs. solitary at end of stems and branches), phyllaries with significantly ciliate and prolonged appendages (vs. phyllaries acute at apex, or with a short to long spine). It closely resembles C. gudrunensis and C. geluenis in the habit.

Chromosome numbers: —Unknown.

Selected specimens examined:— IRAN. Prov. Lurestan: Pol Dokhtar, Pol Dokhtar mountains, rocky slopes, 690–720 m, 13 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 19808 ( HUI!, herb. Negaresh !); Negaresh & Asadbegy 45546 ( FUMH!); Pol Dokhtar toward Mamolan , Malavi village , mountains opposite of river, locus classicus, 730 m, 13 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 19809 ( HUI!, herb. Negaresh !); W Khorram Abad , 1750 m, s.c. 1948 ( HLK!: two sheets); Khorram Abad , Sefid Kuh , 2100 m, 23 June 1999, Veiskarami 23715 ( TUH!: two sheets). Prov. Ilam: Abdanan , 2–3 km from Abdanan to Dinar Kuh , 780 m, 13 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 105 (herb. Negaresh !); ca. 23 km south-east of Dehloran , near Mousiyan , along the margin of the Deurej river , ca. 100 m, 5 May 1992, Akhani 8553 (Hb. Akhani!); 12 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 106 (herb. Negaresh !); Chenarbashi , 3 km after Khoshghadam village , 1240 m, 14 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 19810 ( HUI!, herb. Negaresh !); Abdanan , 7 km from Abdanan to Dinar Kuh , 13 km to Dinar Kuh , 950 m, Negaresh & Asadbegy 107 (herb. Negaresh !); Negaresh & Asadbegy 108 (herb. Negaresh !); Abdanan toward Darre Shahr , 8–10 km to Darre Shahr , 1200–1300 m, 13 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 109 (herb. Negaresh !); Chenarbashi , after Khoshghadam village , 33° 25′ 30.306″ N, 46° 54′ 13.536″ E, 1200–1250 m, 28 May 2015, Negaresh & Asadbegy 20092 ( HUI!, herb. Negaresh!); Darre Shahr toward Abdanan, 5 km from Darre Shahr, 33° 5′ 48.23″ N, 47° 20′ 2.89″ E, 1110–1120 m, 29 May 2015, Negaresh & Asadbegy 20090 ( HUI!, HSB!); Negaresh & Asadbegy 160 (herb. Negaresh!); Abdanan toward Dinar Kuh, 10–12 km to Dinar Kuh, 32° 57′ 11.98″ N, 47° 20′ 40.002″ E, 1250–1300 m, 29 May 2015, Negaresh & Asadbegy 20091 ( HUI!); Negaresh & Asadbegy 162 (herb. Negaresh!); Negaresh & Asadbegy 163 (herb. Negaresh!); Darre Shahr toward Abdanan, 18 km to Abdanan, 33° 4′ 3.72″ N, 47° 19′ 6.6″ E, 1675–1680 m, 29 May 2015, Negaresh & Asadbegy 160 (herb. Negaresh!). Prov. Kermanshah: Gilan-e Gharb toward Sumar, 620–640 m, 1 km to Charm Sork village , 12 April 2014, Negaresh & Asadbegy 20093 ( HUI!, herb. Negaresh!) .

Figures

FIGURE 37. Centaurea iranshahrii Wagenitz & Esfandiari (Iranshahr & Moussavi 39618, GOET).

FIGURE 38. Centaurea iranshahrii Wagenitz & Esfandiari (Negaresh & Asadbegy 19809, HUI, from typus, locus classicus). A and B. close up of immature involucres. C and D. habit. Scale A = 2 cm, B = 1 cm, C–D = 15 cm.

FIGURE 39. Centaurea iranshahrii Wagenitz & Esfandiari (Negaresh & Asadbegy 19809, HUI, from typus, locus classicus). A. close up of involucres. B. basal leaves. C. taproot. Scale A = 1 cm, B = 15 cm.

FIGURE 40. Distribution of Centaurea iranshahrii.

FIGURE 41. Centaurea iranshahrii Wagenitz & Esfandiari. A–D. different habitats.