Allium hoshabicum Fırat, 2017

Firat, Mehmet, 2017, Allium hoshabicum a new species of A. sect. Codonoprasum (Amaryllidaceae) from Van (Turkey), Phytotaxa 312 (1), pp. 129-134 : 130-133

Allium hoshabicum Fırat sp. nov. ( Figs. 2–4 )

Diagnosis: — Allium hoshabicum resembles Allium huber-morathii , but it clearly differs by its bulb ovoid, 10‒14 × 8‒10 mm; outer tunics split into strips; inner tunics white; scape 7‒14 cm tall; leaves 0.5‒1.0 mm wide; inflorescence lax, subglobose, 5‒10(‒18)-flowered; ovary cylindrical-ovoid, stipitate.

Type: — TURKEY. B9 Van: Hoşab (Güzeldere) province, Güzeldere passage, steppe and meadow, 38°10′28″ N, 43°55′44″ E, 2791 m elevation, 21 July 2012, M. Fırat 28979 (holotype: VANF!; isotypes: ANK!, HUB!, Herb. M. Fırat!) .

Description: — Bulb ovoid, 10‒14 × 8‒10 mm; outer tunics blackish grey, split into strips, inner tunics membranaceous, white. Scape 7‒14 cm tall, purplish, cylindrical, glabrous, erect, simple, covered by leaf sheaths for 1/2 to 2/3 of its length. Leaves two, green, slightly scabrous; blade 4‒10 cm long, 0.5‒1.0 mm wide, cylindrical. Spathe persistent, shorter than or at most as long as the inflorescence, with two usually unequal, divaricate valves, the larger 5‒6-nerved and 12‒20 mm long, the smaller 4‒5-nerved and 10‒12 mm long. Inflorescence lax, subglobose, 5‒10(‒18)-flowered; pedicels 5‒15 mm long, flexuous, unequal. Perigon campanulate; tepals equal, 3.5‒4.0 mm long, 1.5‒2.0 mm wide pink, oblong, rounded at apex, midrib dark purplish pink. Stamens exserted; filaments simple, white, unequal. Anthers yellow, ovate-elliptical, rounded at apex. Ovary 2.0‒2.2 × 1.0‒ 1.5 mm, greenish-yellow, cylindrical-ovoid, smooth, stipitate. Style 3‒6 mm long, white. Capsule trivalvate, green, subglobose to obovoid.

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

Etymology: —The specific epithet is derived from the name of the Hoşab (Van /Gürpınar) province, where the type material was collected.

Distribution:— Allium hoshabicum is endemic to Hoşab Province (Van /Gürpınar), Turkey. It is an element of the Irano-Turanian floristic region ( Fig. 1 ).

Vernacular name: — Allium hoshabicum is called “Sîrmoke” in Kurdish by the local people of Hoşab Province.

Habitat and ecology:— Allium hoshabicum grows in a dry steppe and meadow, at ca. 2700–2800 m elevation, with other interesting plants such as Thymus fallax Fischer & Meyer (1854: 33) , Poa bulbosa Linnaeus (1753: 70) , Astragalus hirticalyx Boiss, & Kotschy in Boissier (1873: 380), Erigeron daenensis Vierhapper (1906: 514) , Allium anacoleum Handel-Mazzetti (1914: 17) , Allium microspathum Ekberg (1969: 20) and Helichrysum graveolens Sweet (1826: 223) .

Red list assessment: —The distribution area of Allium hoshabicum is smaller than 10.000 km 2. The species is known from one locality, in which ca. 2000 individuals were counted. Some anthropogenic or grazing effects were observed on the population. Based on the above data, the IUCN (2012) red list category for Allium hoshabicum is suggested as “Vulnerable” [VU B1ab(i,ii,iii)].

Taxonomic relationships:— Allium hoshabicum is morphologically distinct from all other Turkish Allium species. Its closest relative appears to be Allium huber-morathii , from which the new species differs by many remarkable morphological differences ( Table 1), and also by a different allopatric distribution. Allium hoshabicum is a narrow endemic from Van, district of Gürpınar, where it occurs in dry steppes and meadows, at ca. 2700‒2800 m elevation. Conversely, Allium huber-morathii is endemic to Ankara, Çankırı and Kütahya, growing in forests of Pinus , and dry meadows, between 1000‒1400 m elevation.

In some extent, A. hoshabicum is also related to A. armenum Boiss. & Kotschy in Boissier (1882: 254), a species widely distributed through eastern Turkey, but connections are weaker. Allium armenum shows a quite different, smaller bulb (8‒10 mm diam.), with outer tunics membranous and not split into strips; stamens are slightly exerted, with anthers purple when mature; the ovary is almost globose, not stipitate; and the fruits are also almost globose and larger (3.8–4.5 mm).

Allium hoshabicum belongs to Allium sect. Codonoprasum (Rchb.) W.D.J.Koch according to Flora of Turkey ( Koyuncu 2012, Fırat 2014, Koçyiğit et al. 2014, Koçyiğit et al. 2016). This group nowadays comprises 58 species, with the addition of Allium hoshabicum .

Other specimens examined:— Allium hoshabicum . TURKEY. B9 Van: Hoşap (Güzeldere) province, Güzeldere passage, steppe and meadow, 38°10′28″ N, 43°55′44″ E, 2791 m a.s.l., 22 July 2012, M. Fırat 27722 (Herb. M. Fırat!). Ibidem, 20 September 2015, M. Fırat 32629 (Herb. M. Fırat!). Allium huber-morathii . TURKEY.A4 Ankara: between Gerede and Ankara, near Alyarma passage, forest of Pinus , dry meadow, 1400 m, 10 July 1976, Carle & Loh 76-257 (holotype, TUB!); A4 Ankara: 3 km from Ankara to Kizilcahamam, 1060‒1120 m, Huber-Morath 144l8 (ANK!); A4 Çankiri: 20 km from Kursunlu to Korgun, 1400 m, A. & T. Baytop (ISTE 35308!); B2 Kütahya: Murat mountain, A. Baytop (ISTE 35708!).

Figures

FIGURE 1. Distribution map of Allium hoshabicum (triangle) and the closely related A. huber-morathii (squares) in Turkey.

FIGURE 2. Allium hoshabicum. A‒C) flowers and inflorescence; D) stipitate ovary.

FIGURE 3. Allium hoshabicum. A‒C) habit; D) habitat.

FIGURE 4. Allium hoshabicum. A‒D) bulb, showing the outer and inner tunics.