Prangos munzurensis A.Duran, Lyskov & Paksoy, 2022

Lyskov, Dmitry, Duran, Ahmet, Paksoy, Mehmet Yavuz & Samigullin, Tahir, 2022, Prangos munzurensis (Apiaceae), a new species from East Anatolia, Turkey, Phytotaxa 560 (1), pp. 57-70 : 66-67

Prangos munzurensis A.Duran, Lyskov & Paksoy sp. nova ( Figs. 1–8 ).

Type : — TURKEY. B7 Tunceli: Ovacık, Munzur mountain, Karagöl vicinity, 39°25’11’’N 39°06’49’’E, 2400 m, limestone places, 06 August 2015, A. Duran 10735 & Paksoy (holotype: HUB, isotypes: MW barcodes MW0595757 , MW0595758 ) .

Prangos munzurensis is closely related to P. heyniae , P. abieticola , and P. denticulata . It differs from P. heyniae in leaves size (23–30 × 18–27 cm vs. 15–25 × 8–12 cm), number of rays (16–20 vs. 5–13), number of bracts (7–10 vs. 5–6) and its length (12–20 mm vs. 5–10 mm), hairiness of petals (puberulous vs. glabrous), length of ultimate leaf segments (10–30 mm vs. 2–3 mm), mericarps shape and size (elliptic or ovate, 11–15 × 5–7 mm vs. broadly ellipsoid to globular, 12–20 mm × 12–15 mm). Prangos munzurensis differs from P. abieticola in stem length (70–100 cm vs. 40–50 cm), ultimate leaf segments length (10–30 mm vs. 5–7 mm), number of rays (16–20 vs. 8–12), number of bracts (7–10 vs. 5–6), hairiness of petals (puberulous vs. glabrous), mericarps shape and size (elliptic or ovate, 11–15 × 5–7 mm vs. oblong to ellipsoid, 20–25 × 10–15 mm). Prangos munzurensis differs from P. denticulata in ultimate leaf segments length (10–30 mm vs. 7–12 mm), hairiness of petals (puberulous vs. glabrous), mericarps shape and size (elliptic or ovate, 11–15 × 5–7 mm vs. elliptic, 13–15 × 8 mm).

Polycarpic, herbaceous plants with thick taproot 30–35 mm ⌀. Stems erect, 70–100(–130) cm tall and up to c. 20 mm ⌀ at base, single or several, plump, angular, slightly ribbed, entirely scabrous, with branches directed from all nodes, covered with remains of petioles and sheaths. Basal leaves forming rosette; petioles up to 12 cm long, with developed sheaths at base, minutely scabrous; leaf blades 23–30 cm long, 18–27 cm wide, triangular or rhombic, 4–6 times pinnate, ±densely scabrous; primary leaf segments with petiolules up to 5 cm long; terminal lobes 1–3 cm long, 0.5–0.7 mm wide, close to filiform, acute. Stem leaves significantly smaller than basal ones, with narrow sheaths 15–17 mm long, 2–3 times pinnate, with subfiliform leaf lobes up to 5 cm long; terminal umbels up to 15 cm ⌀, with 16–20 thickened, scabrous, sometimes unequal rays 4–7 cm long; number of bracts 7–10, lanceolate-filiform, with white margins, scabridulous at base, up to 2 cm long. Umbellets up to 5 cm ⌀, consisting of 8–12 flowers with unequal pedicels slightly thickened, 9–13 mm long, terete, sparsely scabridulous; number of bracteoles 4–5, linear, entire, with white margins, up to 1 cm long. Calyx teeth obscure. Petals yellow, lanceolate, with narrow, long, declinate top, puberulous, up to 1.5 mm long. Mericarps elliptic or ovate ( Figs. 1–3 ), 11–15 × 5–7 mm; carpophore bifurcate to base; mericarps homomorphic, elliptic, glabrous; only primary ribs present; all ribs straight or slightly undulate, with entire margins, subequal, short protuberance at their base; furrows between ribs narrow, outgrowths absent; stylopods flat or slightly concave; commissure intermediate, exocarp consisting of small cells; mesocarp divided into outer “epimesocarp” and inner mesocarp; inner mesocarp divided into 5 parts, basal parts connected at base; “epimesocarp” consisting of parenchymatous, non-lignified cells; inner mesocarp layer consisting of parenchymatous cells with thickened pore walls; vascular bundles thin, situated in inner mesocarp layer; vittae thin, multiple, near endocarp forming cycle, vallecular and commissural vittae absent; rib of secretory ducts solitary; endocarp and seed coat consisting of small cells, hardly separated; endosperm with mushroom-like groove at commissural side.

Paratypes:— TURKEY. B7 Tunceli: Munzur Dağ, above Ovacık, 2300 m, 19 July 1957, Davis & Hedge 31400 ( W barcode W 1972-0007302 ). Tunceli: Ovacık , Munzur Mountain , Harami valley , 39°26’15’’N 39°16’33’’E, 1800– 1900 m, 09 June 2021, sloping limestone places , A. Duran 10811 & Paksoy ( HUB). Tunceli: Pülümür, Salördek village, Kadı waterfall vicinity, 39°22’33’’N 39°52’10’’E, 1600-1700 m, 05 June 2021, sloping limestone places , A. Duran 10812 & Paksoy ( HUB) .

Etymology:— The specific epithet refers to the type locality of the new species—the Munzur Mountains. The Turkish name of the new species was suggested as “munzur çakşırı” ( Menemen et al. 2016).

Phenology:— Flowering in June and July; fruiting in August and September.

Distribution and ecology:— The new species is endemic to the Munzur valley (Ovacık, Tunceli), east Anatolia ( Fig. 7 ). The Munzur Mountains are a botanically important area located between the provinces of Erzincan and Tunceli in East Anatolia in B7 grid square and are placed in the Irano-Turanian phytogeographic region ( Yıldırımlı 1995). The range of the Munzur mountains is one of the centers of plant endemism in Turkey and is located on the Anatolian diagonal ( Ekim et al. 2000). Several new species have been described from this region, including Aethionema munzurense Davis & Yıldırımlı in Davis (1988: 232), Tanacetum munzurdaghensis Yıldırımlı (1989: 39) , Cerasus erzincanica Yıldırımlı (1993: 115) , Pimpinella tunceliana Yıldırımlı (2010: 10) , Smyrniopsis munzurdaghensis Yıldırımlı (2010: 13) , Campanula ovacikensis Yıldırımlı (2010: 57) , Allium erzincanicum Özhatay & Kandemir (2014: 51) . The area is characterized by a wide range of landforms such as plateau and hills in an elevation ranging from 850 m to 3462 m above sea level. The major vegetation forms in the area are steppe, forest, mountain rocks and wetland types. Prangos munzurensis grows on dry, rocky limestone slopes.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list category:— Prangos munzurensis is known only from three sites of the Munzur Mountains that can be considered three locations according to IUCN (2019). Area of occupancy is smaller than 500 km 2. The Harami valley and Pülümür populations have been subjected to systematic overgrazing which lead to the reduction in the number of plants. The number of flowering individuals in each subpopulation is less than 130. Because of all these factors the species should be considered endangered (EN B2a,b) according to the IUCN Red List Criteria ( IUCN 2019).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Cross-sections of mericarp of Prangos munzurensis. ec = endocarp, ep = epimesocarp, en = endosperm, ex = exocarp, im = inner part of mesocarp, rod = rib oil duct, vb = vascular bundles, vi = ring of vittae.

FIGURE 2. General view of Prangos munzurensis: A—habitat of the type locality, B—mature fruits, C—leaf lobes.

FIGURE 3. Fruit morphology and bracts of Prangos munzurensis.

FIGURE 4. Representative specimen of Prangos munzurensis (isotype MW MW0595757).

FIGURE 5. Representative specimen of Prangos munzurensis (isotype MW MW0595758).

FIGURE 6. Bayesian analysis phylogenetic tree of nrITS nucleotide sequences. Posterior probability values and bootstrap values of maximum likelihood analysis are shown.

FIGURE 7. Distribution map of Prangos munzurensis (▲), P. heyniea (), P. abieticola (■) and P. denticulata (*).

FIGURE 8. General view of mature fruits: a—Prangos heyniae, b—P. munzurensis, c—P. denticulata, d—P. abieticola.