Centaurea salmasensis Ranjbar & Heydari, 2016

Ranjbar, Massoud & Heydari, Razayeh, 2016, A taxonomic contribution to yellow-flowered members of Centaurea sect. Phaeopappus (Asteraceae) in Iran, Phytotaxa 277 (2), pp. 182-190 : 186-189

2. Centaurea salmasensis Ranjbar & Heydari , sp. nov. Fig. 1 .

Diagnosis:—The new species is closest to Centaurea tabriziana in habit, achene size and colour of flowers, but it differs from the latter in having leaves loosely floccose-tomentose or subglabrous (vs. densely floccose-tomentose), base of upper stem leaves not decurrent (vs. decurrent), median cauline leaves segments 6–15 pairs (vs. 3–4 pairs), median appendages 6–14 mm (vs. 15–22 mm) long, cilia brownish coloured (vs. dark brown coloured), phyllary spines 4–6 mm (vs. 7–10 mm) long, outer phyllaries 3–4 × 3–5 mm (vs. 4–10 × 3–8 mm).

Type:— IRAN. Prov. Azarbaijan-e Gharbi [West Azerbaijan], Salmas, Alibolagh village, 38°12 ʹ 7 ʺ N, 44°46 ʹ 13 ʺ E, 2080 m, 24 June 2012, Ranjbar 29832 ( BASU!, holotype).

Perennial with woody rhizome, 41 cm tall; collum covered with abundant brown fibrous remains of petioles of previous year. Stem erect, often branched above, sometimes branched in median to upper parts, cylindrical, rigid, 2–4 mm in diam. at base, loosely floccose-tomentose. Leaves almost pinnatisect or pinnatipartite, loosely floccose-tomentose. Basal and lower leaves distinctly large, 23–27 cm long, with a long petiole (6–8 cm long), pinnatisect, segments in (6–)10 pairs, narrowly lanceolate or lanceolate-linear or narrowly elliptic, 2–8 mm wide, sometimes falcate-curvate, mucronate at apex. Median stem leaves decurrent, 10–17 cm long, pinnatisect, segments in 3–4 pairs, lanceolate-linear or linear, 1.5–3 mm wide, mucronate at apex. Terminal segment of median and upper stem leaves 5–7 cm long, 5–10 mm wide. Upper stem leaves sessile, 6–12 cm long, simple, linear or linear-lanceolate, 1–10 mm wide, sometimes undivided, mucronate, usually longer than capitule. Capitule 2–4, solitary at end of branches; involucres oblong, 20–25 × 25–30 mm. Phyllaries multiseriate, imbricate, coriaceous, greenish, smooth and glabrous. Outer phyllaries ovate-oblong, 3–4 × 3–5 mm; appendages 8–13 × 6–10 mm (cilia and spine included). Median phyllaries oblong, 6–14 × 5–10 mm; appendages 6–14 × 5–10 mm (cilia and spine included). Inner phyllaries oblong or oblong-lanceolate, 18–20 × 2–4 mm, sometimes striate; appendages 3–5 × 1–3 mm (cilia and spine included). Appendages concealing a major part of phyllaries, triangular or long-triangular, membranous-coriaceous, brown or dark brown in central part or completely brown, sometimes shortly decurrent on crenate margins, innermost lacerate; cilia brownish coloured, narrowly triangular, distinct, sometimes subreflexed, numerous, 5–20 on each side, 1–5 mm long; spine sometimes slender, brownish, 4–6 mm long, much longer than nearest cilia. Flowers yellow; central florets hermaphrodite, 28–33 mm long, corolla 11–14 mm long, 5-lobed, lobes acute and ± equal, ca. 6 mm long; peripheral florets sterile, finely dissected, not radiant, 4-lobed, limb lobes linear, 4–5 mm long. Pappus multiseriate, persistent, scabrous, brownish or purplish, 15–16 mm long.

Etymology: —The species is named after the city of Salmas in W Azerbaijan Province where the new species was found.

Distribution, ecology, climat and habitat:— Centaurea salmasensis occurs in mountains in Kuzehrash, Salmas, W Azerbaijan province in W Iran. This species is an Irano-Turanian element. It grows above 2000 m sea level. Salmas has a harsh continental climate with cold, snowy winters and warm, dry summers. Rainfall occurs mostly during the spring and autumn. The rain falls mostly in the winter, with relatively little rain in the summer. The climate is classified as Dsa by the Köppen-Geiger system. The average annual temperature is 10.5 °C. The rainfall averages 388 mm.

Relationships:— Centaurea salmasensis is characterized with an apex of median and upper stem leaves mucronate, appendages straw-coloured or brown. It is similar to C. tabriziana in colour of flowers and achene size, but differs in some important characters (see Table 1).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Holotype of Centaurea salmasensis Ranjbar & Heydari (Ranjbar 29832, BASU). A. Habit; B. Inflorescence; C & D. Outer phyllaries; E & F. Median phyllaries; G. Inner phyllary; H. Corolla. Scale bars:A = 2 cm, B = 2 cm, C = 1 cm.