Centaurea goksivriensis, Bona, Mehmet, 2015

Bona, Mehmet, 2015, Centaurea goksivriensis (Asteraceae), a new species from Turkey, Phytotaxa 203 (1), pp. 63-68 : 64-65

Centaurea goksivriensis M. Bona, sp. nova ( Fig. 1 ).

Type:— TURKEY. Prov. Hatay ; Samandağ, Teknepinar, Musa Mountain , Göksivri Hill , 1200 m, 22.06.2014, M. Bona (holotype ISTE 102727 !) .

Diagnosis: — Centaurea goksivriensis differs from C. antiochia var. antiochia in its biennial life form (vs. perennial), stems subglabrous above, villous and scabrous below (vs. hirsute or sparsely tomentose to subglabrous), leaves lyrate with a large terminal segment (vs. interruptedly pinnatifid or pinnatisect), slightly arachnoid and scabrous with multiseriate hairs (vs. with scattered short hairs, glabrescent), appendages large, almost totally concealing the basal part of phyllaries (vs. small). Centaurea goksivriensis differs from C. carduiformis in its stems subglabrous above, villous and scabrous below (vs. hispid or arachnoid-tomentose), leaves lyrate with a large terminal segment (vs. 1–2- pinnatisect), appendages large, almost totally concealing the basal part of phyllaries (vs. small), flowers blackish-purple (vs. pink-purple or whitish). Centaurea goksivriensis also differs from C. urvillei subsp. armata in its biennial life form (vs. perennial), stems subglabrous above, villous and scabrous below (vs. slightly arachnoid to distinctly tomentose), flowers blackish-purple (vs. pink-purple or whitish).

Description: —Biennial herb, with taproot, stem erect 20–30 cm long, branched from near base, one-headed at the end of each branch, subglabrous above, scabrous with multiseriate septate hairs below. Leaves slightly arachnoid and scabrous with multiseriate septate hairs; basal leaves 10–15 cm long, lyrate with 4–6 or more, slightly pinnatifid segments, terminal segment larger, segments very rarely simple, usually terminated with a mucro; middle leaves few, small, pinnatifid with one pair of lateral segments and larger, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate terminal segment, rarely almost simple; upper part of stem almost leafless. Involucre solitary at the end of the branch, 15–25 × 16–20 mm, ovoid to spherical. Phyllaries multiseriate, green, often purple-spotted in central part. Appendages large, almost totally concealing basal part of phyllaries, brownish, triangular, 3–5 mm broad, decurrent, (5–)6–9(–11) cilia (1–5 mm) on each side, ending in a spine that is 20–25 mm, patent, firm; subglabrous or setose. Flowers blackish-purple, marginal non-radiant. Achene straw-coloured, ovate, 4–6 mm long. Pappus biseriate; inner row 1–2 mm long, straw-coloured, outer row 6–6.5 mm, purple. Receptacle with long hairs. Flowering in June–July.

Etymology: —The specific epithet is derived from Göksivri Hills in Amanos Mountains in Hatay Province of Turkey, where the new species was discovered.

IUCN Conservation Assessment: —Following the criteria established by IUCN ( IUCN 2003), an initial assessment of Critically Endangered (CR) (criteria B2a, B2biii) is proposed for this new taxon. This species occurs only in Musa Mountain, in the southeast of Hatay Province at 1200 m, and its area of occupancy (AOO) is less than 10 km 2. In addition, the quality of the habitat is under serious threat because of newly opened nickel mines in the vicinity, the nearby hydroelectric dam under construction, and to some extent repeated forest fires in recent years.

Relationships: — Centaurea goksivriensis belongs to C. sect. Acrocentron , which includes taxa that are biennials or perennials with a taproot; stems branched above with few medium-sized capitula; leaves mostly lyrate, non-decurrent; involucre oblong-ovoid to subglobose; appendages triangular and ciliate, decurrent with a ciliate margin, usually ending in a spine; flowers pink, purple, blackish-purple, whitish, yellow or orange, marginal florets often radiant; achenes medium-sized; pappus scabrous, inner row shorter than outer row ( Wagenitz 1975, Kaya & Vural 2007). The new species is morphologically close to C. antiochia var. antiochia , C. carduiformis , and C. urvillei subsp. armata . These four taxa are compared in Table 1.

Additional Specimens Examined: — TURKEY. Prov. Hatay; Samandað, Teknepýnar, Musa Mountain, Göksivri

Hill, 13.07.2003, M. Bona (ISTE 93297) & 13.06.2004, M. Bona (ISTE 93296).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Centaurea goksivriensis M. Bona (illustrated by Gülnur Ekşi).