Gagea Salisbury 1806
Creators: name: Zarrei, Mehdi
name: Wilkin, Paul
name: Chase, Mark W.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2011
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Plantae
Tracheophyta
Liliopsida
Liliales
Liliaceae
Gagea

description: Diagnostic key to the representative species of Gagea in Iran
A diagnostic key is presented below based on morphological characters. However, in several cases the outline of transverse sections of the radical leaves has been utilized for better separation of species in the relevant couplets of the key.
1a. Radical leaf flattened or grass-like, triquetrous in transverse section outline .............................................................. 2
1b. Radical leaf terete, semicircular, circular, sinuate, or pentagonal in transverse section ............................................... 7
2a. Tunics leathery, dark in color; tepals acute to obtuse at the tip..................................................................................... 3
2b. Tunics fibrous to reticulate, grey in color; tepals long-acuminate at the tip ................................................................. 6
3a. Tepals 5–8 mm long; inflorescence branches flexuous-geniculate ....................................................... G. dschungarica
3b. Tepals 9–15(–18) mm long; inflorescence branches not flexuous-geniculate .............................................................. 4
4a. Radical leaves 2–4 mm broad; pedicels hairy ................................................................................................. G. chanae
4b. Radical leaves more than 4 mm broad, rarely narrower; pedicels glabrous ................................................................. 5
5a. Radical leaves hooded at the apex, abruptly narrowing into a narrow tip; plant of open woods and scrublands; usually growing in shade; radical leaf and bracts glaucous............................................................................................ G. lutea
5b. Radical leaves not hooded, gradually tapering towards apex; plant of open alpine habitats, usually growing near melting snow; radical and cauline leaves dark green in colour ........................................................................... G. confusa
6a. Peduncles 1–1.5 cm long, inserted to pedicels at soil level, longest pedicels always longer than the peduncle, restricted to northeastern Iran ......................................................................................................................... G. vegeta
6b. Peduncles 4–8 cm long, inserted on stem above soil level, pedicels all shorter than the peduncle, restricted to northwestern Iran .............................................................................................................................................. G. commutata
7a. Bulbils present in axils of cauline leaves and bracts ..................................................................................................... 8
7b. Bulbils absent (from axils of cauline leaves and bracts)............................................................................................. 12
8a. Bulbils present in axils of lower cauline leaves, bracts without bulbils........................................................................ 9
8b. Bulbils present in axils of lower cauline leaves as well as of bracts............................................................................ 10
9a. Inflorescence umbel-like; tepals (9–)12–15(18) mm long; radical leaves 1–3 mm broad, linear.................... G. villosa
9b. Inflorescence cymose; tepals 6–7 mm long; radical leaves 0.4–0.6 mm broad, filiform ................................ G. tenera
10a. Bulbils in clusters in the axils of cauline leaves and bracts; tepals 4–7 mm; radical leaf usually absent ..................... .................................................................................................................................................................. G. gageoides
10b. Bulbils solitary in the axils of cauline leaves and bracts; tepals longer than 10 mm; radical leaf usually present ....... ................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
11a. Inflorescence umbel-like; cauline leaves whorled and bracteate; tepal apices acuminate .............................. G. bergii
11b. Inflorescence cymose; cauline leaves alternate; tepal apices acute ........................................................... G. bulbifera
12a. Radical leaf hollow, fistulous .................................................................................................................................... 13
12b. Radical leaf terete, semicircular, circular or pentagonal in transverse section ......................................................... 14
13a. Inflorescence cymose ............................................................................................................................ G. chomutovae
13b. Inflorescence umbel-like ............................................................................................................................ G. fragifera
14a. Tepal apices long-acuminate ..................................................................................................................................... 15
14b. Tepal apices obtuse or acute....................................................................................................................................... 21
15a. Inflorescence compound and umbel-like ................................................................................................... G. calcicola
15b. Inflorescence simple and umbel-like ........................................................................................................................ 16
16a. Bulb tunic with distinct, elongate neck (> 20 mm) ................................................................................................... 17
16b. Bulb tunic with short, indistinct neck (<20 mm) ..................................................................................................... 18
17a. Radical leaf indumentum puberulent, bulbs solitary ..................................................................................... G. robusta
17b. Radical leaf glabrous or with scabrid indumentum, bulbs clustered, rarely solitary ..................................................... ............................................................................................................................ G. reticulata (including G. tenuifolia)
18a. Radical leaf indumentum puberulent .................................................................................................... G. graminifolia
18b. Radical leaf glabrous or with scabrid indumentum................................................................................................... 19
19a. Tunic with short neck (up to 15 mm) ........................................................................................................... G. setifolia
19b. Tunic with no neck .................................................................................................................................................... 20
20a. Style to 6 mm long; base of peduncle usually yellow, plant of sandy areas ............................................. G. anonyma
20b. Style more than 6 mm long; base of peduncle usually not yellow, plant of wet areas................................................... ................................................................................................................ G. alexeenkoana (including G. caroli -kochii)
21a. Bulb tunic leathery, dark in color; bulbils present under tunics ............................................................................... 22
21b. Bulb tunic fibrous to fibrous-reticulate, grey in color; bulbils absent ...................................................................... 25
22a. Inflorescence umbel-like; pedicels often covered with long villous hairs (hairs longer than 1.0 mm) ........................ ................................................................................................................................................................................... 23
22b. Inflorescence cymose; pedicels glabrous or covered with hairs <1.0 mm long....................................................... 24
23a. Cord-like roots entwining bulbs ....................................................................................................................... G. dubia
23b. Cord-like roots absent .................................................................................................................................... G. villosa
24a. Lower cauline leaves broadly lanceolate, flattened, differentiated from radical leaves in shape and width ................. ........................................................................................................................................................................ G. tenera
24b. Lower cauline leaves filiform or narrowly lanceolate, not differentiated from the radical leaves ................................ ............................................................................................................................................................. G. kunawurensis
25a. Inflorescence 1(–3)-flowered; tepals apically purple; plants of high elevations (above 2500 m) ................................ .................................................................................................................................................................... G. uliginosa
25b. Inflorescence multi-flowered; tepals lacking purple apices, plants of lower elevations (less the 2000 m, except G. exilis).......................................................................................................................................................................... 26
26a. Ovary pyriform, with a conspicuous stipe at the base............................................................................................... 27 26b. Ovary ovoid, without a distinct stipe ........................................................................................................................ 29
27a. Tepals 5–7 mm long ......................................................................................................................................... G. exilis 27b. Tepals 10–15 mm long .............................................................................................................................................. 28
28a. Plant 3–8 cm tall....................................................................................................................................... G. wendelboi 28b. Plant 10–20 cm tall........................................................................................................................................ G. iranica
29a. Bulbs not entwining with cord-like roots, tunics not separating into fibres............................................ G. chlorantha 29b. Bulbs entwining with cord-like roots, tunics readily separating into fibres ............................................................. 30
30a. Tepals 9–12 mm long ................................................................................................................................ G. afghanica 30b. Tepals 6–9 mm long ......................................................................................................................................... G. olgae
description: Published as part of Zarrei, Mehdi, Wilkin, Paul & Chase, Mark W., 2011, Gagea Salisb. (Liliaceae) in Iran: an updated species checklist, pp. 33-43 in Phytotaxa 15 on pages 34-36, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.15.1.5, http://zenodo.org/record/4906927