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| Allium nathaliae Seregin sp. nova (sect. Allium) http://www.flora.crimea.ua/luk/Allium-nathaliae.html |
Summary
Allium nathaliae Seregin sp. nova (sect. Allium), an endemic plant of the Crimean Mountains is described in the paper. This species with acute perianth segments which are curved outwards was formerly accounted for the Crimea as A. multiflorum auct., A. rudbaricum auct., and A. erubescens auct.. A. nathaliae differs from A. erubescens C. Koch, a related species, showing leaves distinctly arching outwards and densely scabrid on the margin; longer bracteoles; outer bulb tunics becoming fibrous during ontogenesis and producing usually a long neck at the apex; rather large bulblets and some other characters. I have named the new species after Nathalya K. Shvedtchikova, curator of Caucasian and Crimean Sectors of MW Herbarium. Busсh collected in Tepe-Kermen (Western Crimea) a variety with remarkable spirally structured leaves, a deviation for the section Allium, which is very consistent in all four specimens of type collection (A. nathaliae var. tepekermensis Seregin var. nova).
Problems of the taxonomy of A. erubescens C. Koch are discussed. According to GROSSHEIM (1940), this species seemed to be a widely distributed and locally common plant in Caucasus. Studying Grossheim’s material in LE made me sure, that he used only one unreliable character for delimitation of A. erubescens and A. rotundum L. s. l. in Caucasus. As a result, I can not firmly separate from A. rotundum s. l. almost two thirds of A. erubescens sensu Grossh. collected mainly in Daghestan (NE Caucasus). Typical A. erubescens grows in Azerbaydzhan and Northern Iran. Daghestanian plants of A. erubescens sensu Grossh. which I am concerning to be a part of A. rotundum s. l. nonetheless slightly differ from the latter species, but these characters are of poor importance for the taxonomy of the section Allium. Taxonomic citations for A. erubescens C. Koch, A. nathaliae Seregin sp. nova, A. rotundum L. s. l., and A. jajlae Vved. are given in this paper. Treating of the names A. brevicuspis Boiss. and A. rudbaricum Boiss. et Buhse as synonyms of A. erubescens is a provisional solution, because Koch’s type of A. erubescens [B] was probably destroyed. The best solution during the absence of the A. erubescens type is to follow BOISSIER (1882), who united this species with A. rudbaricum. A. erubescens C. Koch should be excluded from the Crimean (and European) flora. Numerous records of A. erubescens from Daghestan and adjacent territories refer to A. rotundum s. l. or probably to a separate (undescribed?) taxon.
Keywords: Alliaceae, Allium, new taxa, taxonomy, endemics, Crimea, Caucasus
Results
Allium nathaliae Seregin sp. nova, an endemic of the Crimean Mountains, differs from the related A. erubescens C. Koch with several distinct characters. A. erubescens should be excluded from the Crimean (and European) flora. Typical A. erubescens is growing in Azerbaydzhan and Northern Iran, although the implementation of the names A. erubescens, A. brevicuspis, and A. rudbaricum is an intricate question. Numerous records of A. erubescens from Daghestan and adjacent territories refer to A. rotundum L. s. l. or probably to a separate (undescribed?) taxon.
Alexey P. Seregin. 2004. Allium nathaliae (Alliaceae), a new species from the Crimea (Ukraine, Europe), and taxonomic notes on the related species A. erubescens C. Koch. Wulfenia 11 (2004): 15–28
