Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica Firat & Ramezani, subsp. nov.
Creators: name: Firat, Mehmet
name: Ramezani, Adel
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Asparagales
Iridaceae
Iris
Iris pseudocaucasica
Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica fırat &amp; ramezani

description: Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica Fırat & Ramezani subsp. nov. (Figs. 2‒4)
Diagnosis: —The new subsp. iranica clearly differs from subsp. pseudocaucasica in its flower colour violet-blue to deep violet (vs. yellow to pale bluish with different shades of yellow), the bigger claw of the falls 2.3–3.6 × 2–3 cm (vs. 2.0–2.5 × 1.6–1.8 cm) and style branches 4–4.7 cm long (vs 3.0– 3.7 cm long), and the stamen filaments 1.3–1.6 cm long (vs. 0.9–1.2 cm long); subsp. iranica also resembles subsp. koyuncui, but it clearly differs by its height 7‒10 cm (vs. 15‒30 cm), its flower colour violet-blue to violet (vs. purple to coppery, translucent, fading to brownish-purple or rust coloured).
Type: — IRAN. Azarbaijan region: Tabriz city, Miyaneh district, Bozghoosh Mountains, high mountain steppe, screes and in rocky mountain, 3000 m elevation, 37°45′34″ N, 47°25′58″ E, coll. 16 May 2021, Ramezani & M. Fırat 35615 (holotype VANF; isotypes Herb. M. Fırat).
Description: — Plant 7–10 cm tall at anthesis. Bulb 3–5 × 1–3 cm, ovoid to elongate-ovoid; tunics brown to dark brown, papery, storage roots fleshy, not swollen. Leaves 3–6, linear-lanceolate, ± fully developed at flowering time, 5–13 cm long, 1.5–3.8 cm broad at base, usually strongly falcate, glabrous, canaliculate, prominently and closely nerved, rather glossy green above, grey-green beneath with conspicuous, white, smooth margins. Stem 3–7 cm tall, 1–3-flowered, unbranched, usually short and mostly below ground at flowering time, but sometimes longer and with internodes evident, elongating somewhat in the fruiting stage. Bracts subequal, tightly sheathing perianth tube, lower half straw-coloured, upper half green; outer bract 2.6–6.0 × 0.4–1.8 cm, lanceolate, green, membranous at margins, acuminate, slightly carinate; inner bract 2.6–5.9 × 0.3–1.7 cm, ovate or lanceolate, membranous in lower half and on margins, acute or acuminate, carinate. Flower violet-blue to deep violet. Perianth tube 3.0– 5.5 cm long. Falls (outer perianth segments) 3.2–5.5 cm long, claw (haft) winged, 2.3–3.6 cm long, 2–3 cm broad, lamina (blade) lingulate, 1.4–2.1 × 1.0– 1.1 cm, crest prominent, undulate, yellow, surrounded by a narrow to ovate yellow zone, white-edged, and on the midrib to claw below, a band of yellow, 2–3 mm wide, with brownish dotting either side. Standards (inner perianth segments) patent or reflexed, 1.1–1.9 cm long, 0.3–0.5 cm broad, oblanceolate, entire, acute or ± trilobed with middle lobe acute and lateral lobes rounded and much shorter. Style branches 4.0– 4.7 cm long, elliptic-oblong with the lobes 0.9–1.1 cm long, 0.4–0.8 cm broad; stigma emarginate, bilobed or obreniform. Stamens glabrous, 2.6–3.1 cm long; anthers 1.3–1.5 cm long; filaments 1.3–1.6 cm long. Capsule ellipsoid, 3.5–3.8 cm long, with long beak; seeds 0.4–0.6 cm long, subglobose with a narrow wing at one end, reddish-brown, non-arillate.
Phenology: —Flowering in May.
Etymology: —The subspecific epithet is derived from Iran, the name of the country where type material was collected.
Distribution:— Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica is endemic to Bozghoosh Mountains, Iran. It is an element of the Irano-Turanian floristic region (Fig. 1). However, further research is needed to check the identity of populations identified as subsp. pseudocaucasica.
Vernacular name: Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica is called “Noroouz Gülü” in Azerbaijani by the local people of Miyaneh district.
Habitat and ecology:— Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica grows in high mountain steppe, screes and in rocky mountain habitats, at ca 3000 m elevation, with other interesting plants such as Campanula stevenii Bieberstein (1819: 138), Allium subakaka Razifard & Zarre (2011: 358) and Corydalis verticillaris Candolle (1821: 114).
Red list assessment: —The distribution area of Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica was less than 100 km 2 (approximately 10–20 km 2). The species was collected from two localities, where ca 400 individuals were counted. Since the natural habitat include high mountain steppe, some anthropogenic or grazing effects were observed on the population. Based on the above data, the IUCN (2014) red list category for Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica is suggested as “Critically Endangered”, (CR), B1ab(i,ii,iii)+2ab(i,ii,iii).
description: Published as part of Firat, Mehmet & Ramezani, Adel, 2024, Iris pseudocaucasica subsp. iranica (Iridaceae), a new subspecies from Tabriz province (Iran) belonging to subgenus Scorpiris, pp. 157-164 in Phytotaxa 652 (2) on pages 158-162, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.652.2.8, http://zenodo.org/record/13216679