Hesperis oznur-duraniae A. Duran 2024, sp. nova
Creators: name: Duran, Ahmet
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Magnoliopsida
Brassicales
Brassicaceae
Hesperis
Hesperis oznur-Duraniae

description: Hesperis oznur-duraniae A.Duran sp. nova (Figs. 2–6).
Type:— TURKEY. B8 Bingöl: between Bingöl-Elazığ, 25th km, after passing Yolçatı village, 1700 m, 38º57'07''N, 40º17'05''E, 08 June 2002, open Quercus forest, A.Duran 5903 (holotype HUB, isotypes ANK, GAZI).
Diagnosis: Hesperis oznur-duraniae is similar to H. kitiana P.H.Davis, but mainly differs from the latter species in its perennial life form (not biennial), mostly simple and glandular hairs on margins of lower cauline leaves (not mostly bifurcate hairs), pedicels elongating to 12–20 mm after anthesis (not elongating to 20–30 mm after anthesis), sepals 7.5–10 mm long (not 4–5.5 mm), petals spathulate, 16–20 mm long (not narrowly linear-spathulate, 15–16 mm), limp obovate, 7–9 x 3–4 mm (not narrowly obovate, 5–6 x 1.5–1.8 mm), claw ±equal to sepals (not strongly exerted from sepals), and outer filaments 4–4.5 mm long (not 2–2.6 mm long). Hesperis oznur-duraniae is morphologically similar to H. hedgei P.H.Davis & Kit Tan. It differs from H. hedgei because it has margins of leaves covered mostly with simple and glandular hairs (not simple, bifurcate and a few subsessile glandular hairs), sepals pinkish to violet, 7.5–10 mm long (not greenish to rose-lilac, 3–3.5 mm long), petals pinkish to violet, 16–20 mm long (not lavender, 9–12 mm long), claw 9–11 mm long, ±equal to sepals (not 4.3–5.3 mm long, exerted from sepals), and siliquae narrowing towards to the apex (not having the same width throughout the whole lenght).
Description: Perennial herb. Roots thickened taproot, 3.5–8 mm diam. Stem erect, 25–57 cm tall, greenish, solitary or 2–6, branched in upper part, ±terete, smooth to slightly sulcate, 2–5 mm diam. below, retrorsely hispid pilose, mostly with long simple and short glandular hairs below, long simple, short glandular and a few bifurcate hairs above; long simple hairs c. 1.6 mm long. Leaves crowded at bottom and middle part; basal leaves narrowly oblong-lanceolate, or oblanceolate, 7–10 x 0.8–1.5 cm (incl. petiole), mostly entire or subentire or rarely slightly remotely dendiculate or coarsely and patently tooted; petiole (2–) 3–5 cm long, lamina of radical leaves attenuated into petiole at base, ±obtuse, all with main midrib conspicuous, with indumentum of sparsely glandular, simple and a few bifurcate hairs; cauline leaves diminishing towards inflorescence, with glandular, simple and a few bifurcate hairs; middle cauline leaves very narrowly oblong to lanceolate, petiolate to sessile, attenuated into petiole, entire, subentire, remotely denticulate or tooted, ± acute; margins of lower and middle cauline leaves with mostly glandular and simple hairs; upper cauline leaves linear-oblong to lanceolate, sessile, entire, subentire, remotely dendiculate, ± acute. Inflorescence ± pyramidal, a raceme or lax panicle, branches broadly ascending to erect, 15–30 x 12–28 cm, all flowers ebracteate. Pedicels ascending, slender and gradually swollen towards calyx, 8–10 mm long at anthesis, elongating to 12–20 mm at most in fruit, sparsely covered with mostly simple and glandular hairs, rarely only glandular, or simple, glandular and a few bifurcate hairs. Sepals pinkish to violet, oblong to ovate, partly or entirely deciduous, with 7–10 viens, 7.5–10 x 1–2 mm, with glandular, simple, bifurcate hairs, and especially long hairs on tips, with membranous margins, inner sepals strongly saccate. Petals spathulate, 16–20 mm long, pinkish to violet, veins darker purple; limb obovate, ±tapering gradually into the claw, 7–9 x 3–4 mm, obtuse, horizontal to ascending; claw 9–11 x c. 1.5 mm, ±equal to sepal. Outer filaments not dilated at base, 4–4.5 mm long, inner filaments dilated at base, 6–7 mm long, glabrous, whitish; anthers all fertile, linear, 2.2–3 mm long, greenish, basifixed. Stigma with two obtuse, decurrent carpidial lobes. Ovary glabrous. Fruiting pedicels delicate below and c. 0.5 mm diam., gradually thickened towards fruit and c. 1 mm diam. Siliquae 25–100 x 1.5–2.5, terete, indehiscent, torulose, ±straight, ascending to erect, glabrous, greenish to yellowish or somewhat purplish, narrowing towards to the apex; valves slightly broader than septum; septum membranous at seed, spongiose elsewhere, with invisible median veins. Seeds dark brown, 3–3.8 x 1.2–1.6 mm, 1–11 per fruit.
Phenology: — Hesperis oznur-duraniae can be found flowering in May, and fruiting in June.
Paratype: — TURKEY. B8 Bingöl: between Bingöl-Elazığ, 25th km, after passing Yolçatı village, 1700 m, 38º57’13’’N, 40º16’93’’E, 27 May 2000, open Quercus forest, A.Duran 5191 (HUB).
Eponymy: —This species is named in honor of my wife, Öznur Duran. The Turkish name of the new species was suggested as “ narin akşamyıldızı ” (Menemen et al. 2016).
Distribution and biogeography:— Hesperis oznur-duraniae is restricted to Eastern Anatolia and belongs to the Irano-Turanian floristic element. It is endemic for Turkey, and known only from one locality in Yolçatı village (Bingöl province). The specimens of H. oznur-duraniae were collected in Bingöl where the species appears to be scarce and local. It is predicted that this species may have a wider distribution in the Quercus forests around Bingöl province. However, in the floristic researches carried out around Bingöl, this species has not been collected from a different locality yet (Sinan & Behçet 2014, Kılıç & Yıldırımlı 2014, Behçet et al. 2017). The distribution of Hesperis oznur-duraniae, and H. kitiana in Turkey is shown in Fig. 1.
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list category: —This species is distributed in the Eastern Anatolia region within the borders of Bingöl province where Hesperis oznur-duraniae seems to be rare. It is known in only type locality and this area is smaller than 3 km 2 (criteria B1). The area is located near Yolçatı village. The habitat of this species is under the influence of intense anthropogenic degradation. Factors such as cutting of the forest, fires, agriculture, constructing new roads and overgrazing, and their effects are leading to a reduction in the number of plants (criteria A). The number of mature individual members of the population is approximately 65 (criteria C1). Therefore, it should be considered as Critically Endangered (CR) according to IUCN Red List Criteria (IUCN 2022).
Seed morphology:— The seed coats of Hesperis oznur-duraniae and H. kitiana were studied by SEM and found to differ in surface details. The seed surface ornamentation in H. oznur-duraniae is ±shallow reticulate-verruculate (Fig. 4); the reticulum wall is thin (4–4.5 μm) with traverse verruculate-rugulose and polygonal shape with mostly inconspicuous corners. The shape of the seed is elliptic to oblong (A.Duran 5523). The seed surface ornamentation in H. kitiana is reticulate-verrucate; the reticulum wall is thick (9–9.6 μm), with undulations traversing the interspaces, and it is polygonal in shape. The shape of the seed is oblong (A.Duran 5522). Hesperis oznur-duraniae has a thinner reticulum wall than H. kitiana, and its surface ornamentions are shalowly verruculate (Fig. 4).
description: Published as part of Duran, Ahmet, 2024, Hesperis oznur-duraniae (Brassicaceae), a new species from the East Anatolia region, Turkey, pp. 46-58 in Phytotaxa 664 (1) on pages 48-52, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.664.1.4, http://zenodo.org/record/14518828