Lysimachia savranii Başköse & A.Keskin

Başköse, İsa, Keskin, Ali & Gurbanov, Kamal, 2016, Lysimachia savranii (Primulaceae), a new species from the eastern Taurus in Turkey, Phytotaxa 267 (3), pp. 228-232 : 228-231

Lysimachia savranii Başköse & A.Keskin sp. nov. ( Figs. 1 & 2 )

Lysimachia savranii is similar to L. serpyllifolia and L. nemorum in life form (perennial), habitat (calceraceus, rocky limestone slopes and stacks), fruit type (capsule), corolla shape (rotate) and colour (yellow), but can be distinguished by a short stock with absent rhizome, procumbent habit, subsessile or shortly petiolate leaves with uniform shape, lanceolate calyx lobes with acute apex, corolla diameter (15–20 mm), larger capsules (4–6 mm).

Type:–– TURKEY. Adana: Karaisalı district, Kızıldağ Plateau , north side of Susuz Mountain, Koyun Kırkacağı mevkii, 1500–1550 m, 37º 24’ 34’’N – 35º 04’ 34’’E, 18 June 2014, A. Savran, İ. Başköse, K. Gurbanov, and A. Keskin 1071 (holotype ANK! , Isotype ANK! and Nigde University Herbarium!).

Plants perennial, 15–30 cm tall. Rhizome woody and vertical. Stem herbaceous, ascending-erect, caespitose, lateral branched in the middle below; quadrangular, sometimes slightly winged below side; stem green, sometimes lower parts purplish, and glabrous. Leaves simple, opposite, sessile, green; blades 5–20 mm long, 5–10 mm vide, narrowly ovate, ovate–lanceolate to lanceolate, rarely obovate, orbicular or elliptic in basal leaves with few; apex acute, obtuse, margin denticulate-serrulate; both surface of blades glabrous. Inflorescence axillary. Flowers pedicellate, oppositely borne 2 in the axis of leaves, rarely 1; pedicel 5 cm long, in fruit up to 7 cm long, filiform, sometimes slightly angulate, pedicel conspicuously longer than leaves, reflexed. Calyx 5-lobed, lobes 5–7 mm long, 1–2.5 mm vide, green, lanceolate, apex acute, margin scarious, denticulateserrulate, midrib prominent. Corolla yellow, rotate, united 5 or rarely 4 lobes, 15–20 mm in diameter; lobes 9–12 mm long, ovate or obovate, apex obtuse, margin entire; tube very short, up to 0.5 mm, dark yellow or orange. Stamens 5, 3–7 mm, antipetalous, connate basally into a ca. 0.5 mm high ring, located two teeth between stamens base; filaments cylindric, 1.2–4.5 mm long, 0.10–0.25 mm vide, in the early stages (in the bud) shorter than anthers, at maturity long; anthers yellow, 1.5–2.5 mm long, 0.30–0.90 mm vide, ovate-lanceolate, base cordate, 2-thecous and opening by vertical slits. Ovary 1, up to 8.5 mm long; stigma sessile; style long, 6–7 mm, cylindric and deciduous; ovary superior, globose and glabrous; placentation free—central. Fruit capsule, globose, 4–6 mm in diameter, dehiscing with 5 valves, many-seeded. Seeds triangular, ca. 2 × 1 mm, rugose or verruculate.

Etymology:—The new species is named in honour of the Turkish botanist Ahmet Savran who was the advisor of the author’s master’s degree in Nigde University.

Taxonomic relationships:— Lysimachia savranii belongs to L. section Lerrouxia Caball. (1935) from tribe Lysimachieae . It shows close relationships with L. nemorum Linnaeus (1753: 148) and especially L. serpyllifolia Schreb. However , L. savranii can be easily distinct from L. nemorum for its branched stems, sessile to subsessile leaves, flowers with pedicels longer than leaves. With respect to L. serpyllifolia , L. savranii is usually bearing two flowers per node (not just one), has longer petioles (5–7 vs. 1–2 mm) and larger capsules (4–6 vs. ca. 3 mm).

Habitat and Ecology:—Although most Lysimachia species occur in different habitats such as streamside, marshy ground, wet places, near water and in ditches, in shade and in forest, volcanic soil, macchia, roadsides ( Leblebici, 1978), the new species is found only in calcareous habitats and rocky limestone slopes. This feature is shared with its taxonomically closest realtives, L. serpyllifolia and L. nemorum L. in Europe. Lysimachia savranii is known only from the type locality, which is forming a limestone “island” surrounded by serpentine substrates. It occurs together with species such as Abies cilicica (Ant. & Kotschy) Carrière , Sedum album L., Euphorbia kotschyana Fenzl , Asphodeline damascena Baker , Achillea biebersteinii Afan. , Coronilla varia L., Erodium cicutarium (L.) L’Hér., and Physalis alkekengi L.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Habitus of Lysimachia savranii.

FIGURE 2. Leaf, flower, fruit, and seed characteristics of Lysimachia savranii (A—habitus, B—corolla, B’—petal C—stamen, D—calyx, D’—calyx lobe, E—pistil, F—capsule, G—seed, H—leaf).