Cousinia boyerahmadica Rastegar, Attar & Mirtadzadini, 2018

Rastegar, Azad, Attar, Farideh & Mirtadzadini, Mansour, 2018, Novelties in Iranian Cousinia sect. Cynaroideae (Asteraceae, Cardueae): new taxa and taxonomic notes, Phytotaxa 343 (3), pp. 227-239 : 228-231

1. Cousinia boyerahmadica Rastegar, Attar & Mirtadzadini , sp. nov. ( Fig. 1 ).

Type: — IRAN. Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad: NW of Yasuj, 15 km NW of Patava, 10 km before Showliz village, 1850 m, 10 July 2015, Mirtadzadini 2901(holotype Herbarium Mirtadzadini, isotype TUH).

Monocarpic perennial plant. Stem up to 60 cm high, green-grayish, scarcely arachnoid-tomentose, branched from middle, continually winged, apically leafless. Leaves slightly white arachnoid-tomentose on lower side, nervation reticulate; basal leaves unknown; stem leaves ca. 6–12 × 2–6 cm, spatulate, attenuate toward base; upper leaves decreasing in size. Involucre ca. 4–5 cm in diam., ca. 80–90 flowered. Involucre spherical–conical, ca. 7–9 × 3–4 cm, almost glabrous; bracts ca. 70–80 in number, appendiculate; appendages triangular-hastate, with a prominent midrib, attenuated into a ca. 10 mm long spine, two fine spines along margin in outer bracts; outer bracts recurved-spread,; median bracts imbricate, basal part longer; inner bracts more or less membranous, exappendiculate, glabrous outside, terminating to a short spine. Receptacle bristles smooth. Corolla yellow, ca. 20 mm long; limb 11 mm; tube 9 mm, lobes 4–5 mm long. Anther tube milky to yellow, glabrous; apical anther appendages symmetric, abruptly terminated. Achenes ca. 3–4 × 1.5–2 mm, grayish, with distinct longitudinal yellowish ribs, slightly attenuate toward base, with inconspicuous dentate margin above.

Conservation status:—The extent of occurrence is less than 1 km 2, and the area of occupancy is ca. 8 km 2. Based on these data, C. boyerahmadica may be potentially assessed as Critically Endangered.

Etymology:—The specific epithet refers to the type locality in Prov. Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, SW Iran.

Phytochoria:—Irano-Turanian ( Zohary 1973, Takhtajan 1986).

Phenology:—Flowering, July–August; Fruiting, August–September.

Distribution:—Endemic to Iran ( Fig. 6 ).

Additional specimens examined:— IRAN. Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad: 10 km S of Margoon, 2220 m, 13 July 2013, Mirtadzadini (Herbarium Mirtadzadini).

Discussion:—The species is close to C. barbeyi Winkler (1892: 274) but differs from the latter by its larger involucre, yellow (vs. pink) flowers, and wider appendages of median phyllaries ( Table 1).The apical anther appendages of C. boyerahmadica and C. barbeyi are similar to each other ( Fig. 4a ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Holotype of Cousinia boyerahmadica.

FIGURE 4. The shape of apical anther appendages in some species of Cousinia sect. Cynaroideae. a. C. boyerahmadica. b. C. deluensis. c. C. barbeyi. d. C. bornmulleri. e. C. denaensis. f. C. farsistanica. g. C. pasargadensis. h. C. persepolitanus. i. C. masulehensis. j. C. canescens.

FIGURE 6. Distribution map of the new and newly reported taxa.