Crocus rifatozdemiri Erol, 2024

Şik, Levent, Yazici, Ceyda, Mollman, Rachel Rose, Harpke, Doerte, Kaleli, Bilge Saadet, Çiftçi, Almila & Erol, Osman, 2024, A new autumn-flowering Crocus (Iridaceae) from Türkiye: C. rifatozdemiri sp. nov., Phytotaxa 665 (1), pp. 13-24 : 20

Crocus rifatozdemiri Erol spec. nov.

C. rifatozdemiri is similar to C. kofudagensis , from which it is distinguished by its longer anthers, and a generally much taller stigma with longer stigma branches and higher branching point, acuminate to mucronate segment tips and longer tunic neck.

Type:— TÜRKIYE. Muğla: Dalaman: Darıyeri : Mount Çal , under Pinus nigra , 1264 m a.s.l. 23 October 2023, O. Erol, L. Şık, B. Elmas, R. Mollman (holotype ISTF 41806 !, isotype: NGBB 015850 !)

Corm 10–27 [mean 17.27 ± 3.59] × 11–20(–22) [mean 15.37 ± 2.51] mm in diameter, subglobose to slightly depressed with a flattened base; tunic silky, finely reticular at apex, more or less parallel fibrilled below; tunic neck (8–)13– 45(–60) [mean 24.10 ± 10.62] mm, made up of fibers extending from the main tunic; basal rings absent; Cataphylls (3–)4–6, acute, white to cream colored sometimes with a salmon tint, drying to orange or pink, with brown tips. Leaves (4–)6–12(–18), tips usually appearing after, but sometimes during, flowering, glabrous or with short scattered trichomes on margins, keel or underside of arm; up to 2 mm wide; white line on upper surface 0.1 to 0.2 of leaf width; Prophyll present. Bract and bracteole thinly membranous, silvery white, apex acute; subequal or bracteole conspicuously shorter than bract; perigon tube creamy white, sometimes with greenish tint; flowers 1–4; usually white with cream to yellowish base, rarely pale lilac or fading to bluish lilac following anthesis; perianth segments obovate to elliptic, length-to-width ratio of 2.25–4.5 [mean 3.20 ± 0.28], apex acuminate to mucronate, inner segments 24–45 [mean 34.12 ± 4.21] × 6–18 [mean 10.54 ± 2.16] mm, shorter and narrower than outer 27–49 [mean 38.77 ± 5.20] × 9–19 [mean 12.78 ± 2.16] mm; throat cream colored with sparse trichomes clustered around base of filament; filaments 3–8 [mean 4.76 ± 1.03] mm, white to cream or yellowish, glabrous; anthers 13–17(–20) [mean 15.32 ± 2.14] mm, yellow; connective colorless; style much longer than anthers, rarely almost equal, (16–)20–37 [mean 26.60 ± 4.36] mm long from the base of the filament to the apex, apex slightly expanded, sometimes with small lobes or fringed, white, rarely cream, usually branching from above the tip of the anther, less commonly from the upper half of the anther, into three bright red branches 6–18 [mean 11.14 ± 2.51] mm in length, branches upright to spreading; capsule and seeds not observed ( Figure 4 ).

Etymology: The species is named in honor of Rıfat Özdemir (pharmacist, physics teacher, amateur botanist) who discovered and alerted us to the type locality of this new taxon.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Illustration of C. rifatozdemiri Erol sp. nov. A. Habit of three individuals showing variation in size and tepal shape, B. Detail of flower, C. detail of leaf showing anatomical cross section. Original drawing by Rachel Mollman.