Convolvulus eremophilus Boiss. & Buhse, Nouv. Mem . Soc. Imp. Naturalises Moscou 12: 148. 1860. (Boissier and Buhse 1860: 148).

Wood, John R. I., Williams, Bethany R. M., Mitchell, Thomas C., Carine, Mark A., Harris, David J. & Scotland, Robert W., 2015, A foundation monograph of Convolvulus L. (Convolvulaceae), PhytoKeys 51, pp. 1-282 : 147-148

125. Convolvulus eremophilus Boiss. & Buhse, Nouv. Mem. Soc. Imp. Naturalises Moscou 12: 148. 1860. (Boissier and Buhse 1860: 148). Figure 16, t. 8-16

Convolvulus erinaceus C.A.Mey., Verz. Pfl. Casp. Meer 102. 1831, nom. illeg., non Convolvulus erinaceus Ledeb. (1831). ( Meyer 1831: 102). Type. AZERBAIJAN, between Baku and Sallian, near Eszek Caravanserai, C.A. Meyer s.n. (LE, not seen).

Convolvulus korolkowii Regel & Schmahl., Trudy Imp. S.-Petersburgsk. Bot. Sada 6: 338. 1879. ( Regel 1879: 338). Type. UZBEKISTAN, Chiwa (Khiva), Korolkow s.n. (holotype LE!).

Convolvulus dorycnium var. turcomanicu s Kuntze, Trudy Imp. S.-Peterburgsk. Bot. Sada 10: 221. 1887. ( Kuntze 1887: 221). Type. TURKMENISTAN, 5/1886, O. Kuntze s.n. (holotype LE!).

Convolvulus turcomanicus (Kuntze) Petrov, Byull. Moskovsk. Obshch. Isp. Prir., Otd. Biol., n.ser., 44: 136. 1935. ( Petrov 1935: 136). Type. Based on Convolvulus dorycnium var. turcomanicu s Kuntze

Convolvulus spinosus var. kermanensis Bornm., Beih. Bot. Centralbl. 61: 82. 1941. ( Bornmüller 1941: 82). Type. IRAN, Kerman, Bornmüller 3886 (holotype B; isotypes K!, P!, W!).

Convolvulus spinosus var. subinermis Parsa, Kew Bull. 3: 213. 1948. ( Parsa 1948: 213). Type. IRAN, Kerman, Bornmüller 3886 (holotype K!; isotypes B, P!, W!).

Convolvulus erinaceus var. kermanensis (Bornm.) Sa’ad, Meded. Bot. Mus. Herb. Rijks Univ. Utrecht 281: 96. 1967. ( Sa’ad 1967: 96). Type. Based on Convolvulus spinosus var. kermanensis Bornm.

Convolvulus longipedunculatus Podlech, Mitt. Bot. Staatssamml. München 17: 483. 1981. ( Podlech 1981: 483). Type. AFGHANISTAN, Ghorat, Podlech 21799 (holotype M!).

Type.

IRAN, Kashan, Buhse 1463 (holotype G; isotypes K!, P!).

Description.

Undershrub from a thickened woody rootstock to 60 cm with rigid (but not spiny) branches spreading widely at almost a right angle and forming an en twined mass; stems and leaves pubescent with spreading hairs. Leaves sessile, 0.5-5.5 × 0.1-0.9 cm, linear to oblong, acute, margin entire to undulate, pubescent, merging upwards into the bracts. Flowers pedunculate, solitary or in 2-3-flowered cymes; bracts 3-20 × 0.5-2.5 mm, suborbicular to broadly ovate; peduncles 0.8-5.5 cm, straight, rigid, usually arising at 90° to the stem; bracteoles 2-3 mm, filiform; pedicels 0-1 mm, often at an angle from the peduncle; outer sepals 4-5 × 2 mm, ovate, acute with mucronate apex, pilose, pubescent or, rarely, glabrous on the abaxial surface, sometimes glabrescent in fruit; inner sepals similar but less hairy and commonly convex; corolla 1.1-1.8 cm, white or purplish-flushed, somewhat undulate but not lobed, midpetaline bands pubescent; ovary glabrous to hirsute, style glabrous; style divided 5-6 mm above base; capsule glabrous or with a few apical hairs, seeds hirsute. [ Petrov 1935: 138 (plate under Convolvulus turcomanicus ); Sa’ad 1967: 94; Nowroozi 2002: 43 (plate), 101 (map); Breckle and Rafiqpoor 2010: 415 (photo as Convolvulus korolkowii )]

Distribution.

Turkmenistan (Litwinov 1641, 1654; Sintensis 330, 487, Smirnova 13436, Androsov & Bubyir s.n. [4/6/1912]); Uzbekistan (Rodin & Arkadyev 243); Kazakhstan (Kudishchov s.n. [14/7/1928], Rodin et al. 476, Popetsky s.n. [26/3/1932]), Azerbaijan, Afghanistan (Hedge & Wendelbo 3569, 3839, 8407, Neubauer 4253, Rechinger 34194); Iran (Schmidt 6091, 6275, Bunge s.n. [8/1/1858], Renz & Iranshahr s.n. [8/7/1974], Rechinger 1285, 1313, 46317, 51477, 53682, 55800, 57447). In sandy deserts; abundant in Turkmenistan and parts of northern Iran and Afghanistan.

Notes.

We are proposing a broad concept of this ill-defined species. It is characterised by the presence of spreading hairs at least on the lower part of the stem, acute to mucronate sepals and straight rigid peduncles arising at 80-90° to the branch. The types of Convolvulus eremophilus , Convolvulus korolkowii and Convolvulus turcomanicus have a glabrous ovary while that of Convolvulus longipedunculatus is hirsute. However this is hardly discrete as specimens with ovaries having a few hairs (Hedge & Wendelbo 3569, Rechinger 46317, 51447, Schmidt 6275) occur as well as plants with a densely hairy ovary (Rechinger 55800, Neubauer 4253, Schmidt 6091). Sa’ad separated what she considered Convolvulus eremophilus (Aellen & Scharif 5318E, Moussouri & Tehrani 30693E mostly from Kashan) from Convolvulus korolkowii by its suborbicular, not linear bracts. This is a difficult character as bracts are often not present and in any case there are specimens whose bracts are elongate in form, such as Hedge & Wendelbo 3839 identified as Convolvulus eremophilus by Sa’ad. Convolvulus turcomanicus was separated by its glabrous apiculate sepals. Apiculate sepals are common even on specimens with pubescent sepals while glabrous and pubescent sepals are sometimes found on the same plant. It seems glabrescence is common as the plant ages. There is also considerable variation in corolla size but most corollas are about 12-15 mm long. Despite these differences all specimens have a common facies and the different variations do not correlate well with each other or show any very distinct geographical patterning. Many specimens are in any case difficult to evaluate as bracts, corollas and capsules are often wanting.