Nepeta badachschanica Kudrjasch., Bot. Mater. Gerb. Inst. Bot. Zool. Akad. Nauk Uzbeksk. S.S.R.

Zhao, Yue, Chi, Jian-Cai, Chen, Ya-Ping, Liang, Cun-Zhu, Turginov, Orzimat T., Pulatov, Sardor O., Rakhmatov, Abdurashid A., Aromov, Tolmas B. & Xiang, Chun-Lei, 2022, Three new records of Lamiaceae from China and Uzbekistan, Phytotaxa 531 (2), pp. 111-111 : 111

Nepeta badachschanica Kudrjasch., Bot. Mater. Gerb. Inst. Bot. Zool. Akad. Nauk Uzbeksk. S.S.R. 9: 18. 1947.

Type: — Tajikistan, Pamir occidentalis. Inter fl. Jazgulem et Vancz, in viciniis pag. Chej-Chak, 1620 m, 29 September 1932, Lanina 1240 (holotype: LE!) .

Perennial herbs, 30–50 cm tall. Numerous stems, stout, almost branched from the base, 3–4 mm diameter, white pubescent; internodes 3–6 cm long. Leaves opposite, lamina almost round, at the base slightly heart-shaped, 1.5–3.5 cm long, margine dentate-crenate, abaxially strongly wrinkled, with depressed veins on both sides, densely white pubescent; petioles densely white pubescent, 1.2–4 cm long. Verticillasters with lower peduncles longer than 1 cm, the upper ones are only 0.3–0.5 cm long; floral leaves similar to stem leaves, lamina 7–8 mm long; petioles 5–6 mm long; the uppermost floral leaves are narrow, entire, lanceolate-linear, 5–6× 1 mm, sessile, white pubescent; the bracts are shorter than half of the calyx, densely pubescent, curved upward; verticillasters 8–15 mm in diameter at fruiting, consisting of 6–8 flowers. The calyx is tubular, two-lipped, almost sessile or on a very short peduncle with 13 veins; the upper lip is three-toothed; the lanceolate teeth are 2 times shorter than the tube, the lower lip is bipartite, the teeth are narrower, 1.5 times shorter than the upper ones. Flowering calyx 7–8 mm, fruiting calyx 9–10 mm, densely pubescent. Corolla 12–13 mm long; tube protrudes slightly from the calyx, expanding towards the pharynx. The upper lip of the corolla is two–lobed, oval, pubescent outside, the lower lobe is tripartite, the lateral lobes are semicircular, triangular, the middle lobe is much wider, not dissected along the edge ( Fig. 4 ).

Phenology: —Flowering from July to September, fruiting from September to October.

Distribution, habitat and ecology: — Uzbekistan and Tajikistan; new record for Uzbekistan, occurring in southern part Uzbekistan mountain, Babatag and Gissar ridge, mountain Tschulbair. This species grows in colored clays and fine-soil hillsides, 900–1600 m ( Tschukervanik 1987) ( Fig. 5 ).

Etymology: —The specific epithet “ badachschanica ” derived from Badakhshan, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous region in Tajikistan, the type locality of this species.

Common name (assigned here): — Badakhshon zufosi ( Uzbekistan name).

Taxonomic notes: —Morphologically, Nepeta badachschanica is obviously different from other Central Asia species by having numerous leafy axillary branches (vs. branches less) and general inflorescence paniculate (vs. less branched paniculate) ( Pojarkova 1954).

Conservation status in Uzbekistan: — Nepeta badachschanica Kudrjasch. is distributed in only two localities of southern Uzbekistan: the first population is in the mountain Babatag, the second population is in Gissar ridge, Tschulbair mountain. The distance between the populations is 50 km. In total, there are approximately more than 2,000 individuals in two populations. The populations are not declining; there are no current threats, and the species is very unlikely to become Extinct or Critically Endangered in a short time. Thus N. badachschanica should be classified as Least Concern (LC) based on the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria ( IUCN 2019).

Additional specimens examined: UZBEKISTAN: Surkhandarya , mountain Babatag, near village Kuruksai, 38°18’15.26”N, 68°16’29.09” E, 12 Jun. 2019, O . T . Turginov s.n. ( TASH!); Surkhandarya , South western Gissar , mountain Tschulbair, near village Sina, 38°23’19.13” N, 67°39’40.04” E, 24 May 2020, Pulatov et al. 604-619 ( TASH!) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Nepeta badachschanica. A. Plant; B. Peduncle; C. Adaxially leaves; D. Abaxially leaves; E. Flowers; F. Floral leaves. Photographed by O.T. Turginov

FIGURE 5. Distribution of Nepeta badachschanica.