Gagea chlorantha (M.Bieb.) Schult. & Schult.f.

Tekşen, Mehtap & Erkul, Seher Karaman, 2015, The synopsis of the genus Gagea (Liliaceae) in Turkey, Phytotaxa 230 (1), pp. 101-129 : 123

Gagea chlorantha (M.Bieb.) Schult. & Schult.f. in Roem. & Schult., Syst. Veg. 7: 551 (1829)

≡ Ornithogalum chloranthum M.Bieb., Fl. Taur. -Caucas. 2: 264 (1808) ≡ Stellaster chloranthus (M.Bieb.) Kuntze, Revis. General. Pl. 2: 715 (1891) ≡ Hornungia chlorantha (M.Bieb.) Rouy in Rouy & Fouc., Fl. France 12: 381 (1910 = Gagea aurea K.Koch, Linnaea 22: 229 (1849) = Gagea damascena Boiss. & Gaill. Diagn. Pl. Orient. ser. 2, 4: 105 (1859) ≡ Stellaster damascenus (Boiss. & Gaill.) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 715 (1891) ≡ Hornungia damascena (Boiss. & Gaill.) Rouy in Rouy & Fouc., Fl. France 12: 381 (1910) = Gagea cespitosa Hausskn. ex Boiss., Fl. Orient. 5(1): 209 (1882) = Gagea monticola Payne ex Boiss., Fl. Orient. 5(1): 209 (1882) = Gagea caucasica Stapf, Denkschr. Akad. Wiss. , Wien. Math.-Naturwiss. Kl. 50(1): 15 (1885) = Gagea grey-wilsonii Rech.f., Pl. Syst. Evol. 153: 290 (1986).

Type (lectotype designated by Rix 1984: 316 as the holotype): — USSR: in promontorii Caucasici septentrionalis campestribus apricis, in hortis circa oppidum Kisljariensi, Marschali von Bieberstein s.n. ( LE!).

Specimens seen: — TURKEY. Adıyaman: Kahta, Karakuş- Ebu-Sadık , steppe, 600–800 m, 1 April 2002, I. Eker 121 ( GAZI!) ; Elazığ: Maden, SE des Signals Davedüzü , 11 March 1940, J. Romieux s.n. ( G!) ; Gaziantep: District Gaziantep, Osmaniye road, Dülükbaba ruins, rocky slopes, 1113 m, 13 March 2013, M. Tekşen 2892 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Merkez, Osmaniye road, Dülükbaba ruins, rocky places, 1110 m, 22 March 2011, M. Tekşen 2746 & S. Karaman ( AKSU!) ; Islahiye, 2 km E of Kaccağız village, Büyükkapuz mountain slopes, steppe, 780 m, 24 February 2006, Ş. Ç. 81 ( VANF!) ; Şanlıurfa: Merkez, Siverek, Direkli village hills, stony places, steppe, 737 m, 21 March 2011, M. Tekşen 2736 & S. Karaman ( GAZI!) .

Flowering time: — February–April.

Habitat: — Steppe, stony and rocky places, 500–1600 m.

Distribution: — Irano-Turanian element. Turkey (East Anatolia), North Caucasia, Transcaucasia, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Cyprus.

Note: — Gagea chlorantha is clearly different from other species by a neck up to 5.5 mm as well as alternate and linear cauline leaves. Although the presence of G. chlorantha was quoted by Rix (1984), Zarrei et al. (2007) excluded this species from the country. On the contrary, the results of field studies and examination on the herbarium samples confirmed the occurrence of G. chlorantha in Turkey. This species is close to G. sivasica . While G. sivasica prefers gypsum-bearing areas, G. chlorantha grows on calcareous lands. Although the length of the neck is 0.5–4.5 cm in G. sivasica , it is 1 cm at maximum in G. chlorantha ( Hamzaoğlu et al. 2008) .