Bellevalia behcetii Pınar, Eroğlu & Fidan, 2016

Pinar, Süleyman Mesut, Eroğlu, Hüseyin & Fidan, Mehmet, 2016, Bellevalia behcetii sp. nov. (Asparagaceae): a new species from South Eastern Anatolia, Turkey, Phytotaxa 270 (2), pp. 127-136 : 129-134

Bellevalia behcetii Pınar, Eroğlu & Fidan , sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–3 )

Type: — TURKEY. C 9 Şırnak: Balveren, Gavur Mountain (Ermeni Mountain), around of Yamyam Cave, 37°30ʹ02ʺN, 42°32ʹ51ʺE, oakland yards, stony-rocky slopes, 1780 m, 26 April 2015, M.Pınar 5563 (holotype VANF!, isotypes GAZI!, ANK!).

Bulb globose to ovoid-globose, up to 1.5 cm in diameter, outer tunic coriaceous and brownish, inner tunic papery and light straw-coloured. Leaves (3–)4–5(–6), flat, linear oblanceolate, longer than scape, 5–15 × 0.3–0.7 cm, dark green, spirally flexous, patent to slightly erecto-patent; margins smooth or ± scaberulous. Scape one, 5–8 cm long, green. Raceme oblong-ellipsoid at flowering time, cylindrical at fruiting time; (1–) 2–3 cm long, elongating to c. 4 cm in fruiting time, rachis pale green to bluish-green; bracts entire, 0.5 mm, bluish, triangular to oblong; flower arrangement alternate and spiral; pedicels as long as perigone or shorter, distinctly recurved, up to 3 mm long in flowering time; patent to erecto-patent and up to 5 mm at fruiting time; flowers (8–)12–35, 4–6 mm long, obconical-oblong to tubularcampanulate; perigone blue-violet to indigo in bud and early flowering, changing to pale brown to ash-grey brown in mature stage; tube 3–5 mm long; lobes pale brown to brown at the apex, 1–1.5 mm long, incurved, subequal, broadly ovate to elliptic-ovate; stamens reaching the apex of lobes and visible at the mouth of the flower, basally not connate; filaments attached just below the base of perigone lobes, as long as anthers, anther yellowish, 1–1.5 × 1 mm. Capsule triquetrous, broadly ovate to orbicular, 5–7 mm in diameter, 3–5 mm long; valves thin, elliptic, retuse at apex, dehiscent, persistent. Seeds are blackish, shiny, ovate-oblong to subglobose, 1.8–2.1 × 1.5–1.7 mm, ornamentation is reticulate-foveate. Pollen grains are monads, monosulcate, subprolate ( P: 36,34 ± 2.75, E: 25.11 ± 1.79 P / E: 1.45), tectum perforate, and the ornamentation is reticulate.

Distribution and Ecology: — Bellevalia behcetii is endemic to Balveren district in Şırnak, South Eastern Anatolia. It grows in oak schrub yards, stony-rocky slopes, at elevations between 1700 m and 1800 m. It is an element belonging to the Irano-Turanian floristic region. This species is also found in areas hosting Astragalus angustiflorus K.Koch subsp. angustiflorus , Grammosciadium macrodon Boiss. , Microthlaspi perfoliatum (L.) F.K.Mey., Gagea villosa (M.Bieb.) Sweet var. hermonis Dafni & Heyn , Ranunculus damascenus Boiss. & Gaill.

Etymology: —The new species is named in honour of the Turkish botanist Lütfi Behçet (Bingöl University).

Phenology:—Flowering occurs from March to April.

Conservation status:— Bellevalia behcetii is classified as ‘Vulnerable’, VU (D1), based on the IUCN criteria ( IUCN, 2014). Indeed, the only known population of this species occurs in a restricted area (the estimated area of occupancy is c. 0.25 km 2) (criterion D), and the number of mature individuals was less than 1000 (approximately 700 individuals were observed in total) (criterion D1).

Karyology:—Basic chromosome number of the genus Bellevalia is x = 4. The karyological study of the new species Bellevalia behcetii revealed a diploid karyotype with 2n = 2x = 8 chromosomes ( Fig. 2 ). Bellevalia paradoxa is reported either as a diploid with 2 n = 2 x = 8, or tetraploid with 2 n = 4 x =16 and, in some cases, with extra Bchromosomes in different populations ( Johnson 2003). Also, B. koyuncui is reported as 2n = 2 x = 8 + 2B ( Karabacak et al. 2015).

Morphometric analysis:—The morphometric results concerning the comparison among B. behcetii , B. paradoxa ( Fischer & Meyer 1835: 30) Boissier (1882: 308) and B. koyuncui are given in Table 2. Results of PCA are given in Fig. 4 . Accordingly, the first two components account for a total of 77.8 % of the variance. Each species is clearly separated from others ( Fig 4 ). Bellevalia paradoxa is characterized by longer scapes, wider leaves, and longer pedicel in flower; these characters are also separating it from B. behcetii along component 1. The most distinctive variables with the highest eigenvalues are flower number, bulb diameter, leaf length, scape length (positively correlated characters), and leaf number (negatively correlated characters) ( Fig 4 ). BD and LL overlapped on projections of variables ( Fig. 4–B ). Both morphological studies and statistical analyses clearly show that the populations attributed to the new species have their own distinctive features (such as qualitative flower and leaves features and some of the size depended leaf, scape, raceme, flower, and pedicel features).

Taxonomic relationships:— Bellevalia behcetii seems to be closely related to B. paradoxa , which occurs in the Transcaucasia area from Iran to Russia. However, B. behcetii also differs from B. paradoxa by having narrower leaves, 0.3–0.7 cm (not 2–20 cm) wide, shorter scape [5–8 (–10) cm, not 8–45 cm long], shorter raceme at flowering time [1–2(–3) cm, not up to 8 cm long], and fruiting time (up to 4 cm, not up to 12 cm long) and shorter pedicel during flowering (up to 3 mm, not 3–8 mm long), and fruiting (c. 5 mm, not up to 14 mm long), perigone shape (obconical–oblong to tubular–campanulate, not urceolate), flowers pale brown to ash-grey brown in mature stage (not dark dull violet-brown or violet-blue). A more detailed comparison of morphological characters of the related taxa B. behcetii and B. paradoxa is shown in Table 1. Also, B. behcetii shows general aspect similar to B. koyuncui . Whereas, B. behcetii is easily distinguished from B. koyuncui for its flexuous leaves, shorter scape, mostly oblong-ellipsoid and shorter raceme at flowering time, fewer flower, shorter pedicel during flowering and fruiting time, blue violet to indigo in flowering bud and changing from pale brown to ash-grey brown and longer perigone ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Bellevalia behcetii sp. nov. (A) general habitus in nature, (B) detail of inflorescence, (C) capsule, (D) seeds, (E) iconography: habit (a), capsule (b), flower (c), stamens position in the flower (d), ovary (e).

FIGURE 2. Bellevalia behcetii: SEM photographs of pollen grain and pollen surface (A–B. equatorial view, C. ornamentation), SEM photographs of seed and seed surface (D. general view, E–F. surface) and somatic chromosomes (G).

FIGURE 3. Distribution maps of Bellevalia behcetii sp. nov. (*), B. paradoxa (■) and B. koyuncui (□).

FIGURE 4. Scatter plots of B. behcetii, B.koyuncui, and B. paradoxa (A) and projections of variables (B) along PC1 and PC2.Abbreviated characters in B are described in Table 2.

FIGURE 5. A–B. Bellevalia behcetii, C–D. B. paradoxa, E–F. B. koyuncui (photos by SM Pınar).