Gagea alexeenkoana Miscz., Trudy Bot. Sada Imp.

Tekşen, Mehtap & Erkul, Seher Karaman, 2015, The synopsis of the genus Gagea (Liliaceae) in Turkey, Phytotaxa 230 (1), pp. 101-129 : 119-120

Gagea alexeenkoana Miscz., Trudy Bot. Sada Imp. Yur’evsk. Univ. 9(2): 76 (1908)

= Gagea alexeenkoana Miscz. var. minor Miscz., Trudy Bot. Sada Imp. Yur’evsk. Univ. 9 (2): 77 (1908). Type (lectotype designated by Davlianidze 1976: 39): — DAGESTAN. Kaltag, Tabassaran, supra p. Urgan in pratis alpinis seccis m. Dzhubu-dag, 20 May 1902, Alexeenko s.n. (LE!).

Specimens seen: — TURKEY. Aksaray: Taşpınar , fields, 1070 m, 30 March 2011, M. Tekşen 2759 & S. Karaman ( GAZI!) ; ibidem, 26 February 2013, M. Tekşen 2886 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Erzincan: Kemaliye-Safran hill, Munzur mountain , 900–1300 m, 6 April 1980, Ş. Yıldırımlı 2557 ( ANK!) ; Kars: Kağızman, Denizgölü village , 1300 m, 5 April 1980, O. Güneş 1502 ( HUB!) ; Kağızman, Paslı highways vicinity, 1650 m, 10 May 1981, O. Güneş 1808 ( HUB!) ; Kayseri: Sarız, Yalak, Binboğa mountain , Tekkekayası state, steppe, 1800–2000 m, 7 May 1991, Z. Aytaç 3699 & H. Duman ( GAZI!) ; Konya: S of Ayrancı, Üçharman to Çatgüzeller , 22 April 1976, A. Baytop 34662 ( E!) ; Ayrancı to Çatgüzeller, 20 km from Ayrancı , 22 April 1976, A. Baytop 34620 ( E!) ; Tunceli: Ovacık, Munzur mountain, Karagöl valley , 1300–1500 m, 6 May 1979, Ş. Yıldırımlı 1374 ( ANK!) ; Van: Hoşap-Van, 6.5 km beyond Hoşap , steppe, 1947 m, 27 April 2011, M. Tekşen 2791 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Hoşap-Van, 12 km beyond Hoşap , steppe, 1968 m, 27 April 2011, M. Tekşen 2795 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Gürpınar, above Hamurkesen village , steppe, 1965 m, 13 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2458 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Gürpınar, above Tutmaç village , steppe, 2160 m, 13 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2466 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Gürpınar, above Sapakonak village , meadows, 2536 m, 13 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2445 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; ibidem, 2547 m, 18 May 2013, M. Tekşen 2903 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Muradiye, above Ünseli village, S slopes of Akçadağ , steppe, 1747 m, 12 May 2010, M. Tekşen 2427 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) .

Flowering time: — April–May.

Habitat: — Steppe, arable fields, stony places, 1300–2000 m.

Distribution: — Irano-Turanian element. Turkey (Central, East and North-east Anatolia), North Caucasia, Transcaucasia, Iran ( Govaerts 2015).

Note: — Gagea alexeenkoana was given as a synonym of G. taurica Steven (1857: 83) by Rix (1984). Despite this, the latter author stated that the samples collected from Turkey have some features not associated with G. taurica (tepal length and shape, pedicel length, lower bract length, presence or absence of thickened roots) and expressed the need for further studies. As a result of the examination on the herbarium samples and field studies, it was concluded that G. taurica , which is widely found in the North Caucasia and Crimea, does not occur in Turkey. The samples formerly identified as G. taurica are actually to refer to G. commutata or G. alexeenkoana . In G. taurica , the strongly sclerified roots always enclose the bulb, the basal leaf is retroflexed at the tip, cauline and cauline leaves are hairy, tepals are hairy on the back, while in G. alexeenkoana the roots are not very thick and generally enclose the bulb gently, the basal leaf is erect and glaucous, and peduncle, cauline leaves, and back of the tepals are glabrous. Gagea alexeenkoana is close to G. commutata , but distinct by glabrous cauline leaves (hairy in G. commutata ) and short acuminate tepals 10–15 mm long (long acuminate and 15–28 mm long in G. commutata ). Levichev (2006) indicated G. alexeenkoana as spreading throughout East Anatolia. The collected samples were indeed identified as G. alexeenkoana . In light of these data, we confirm that G. alexeenkoana occurs in Turkey, and exclude G. taurica from the country.