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| Ferula mikraskythiana Mátis, A.Z.Szabó & L.Bartha |
Abstract
The genus Eriosynaphe had a peculiar taxonomic history by having been considered also as member of the genus Johrenia in addition to originally having been established in Ferula. It has traditionally been regarded as monotypic and no previous molecular study examined its phylogenetic position. Based on sequences of the nrDNA ITS region, here we show that Eriosynaphe is ‘deeply’ nested in one of the well supported and repeatedly recognised clades of Ferula, thus arguing for its return to the genus Ferula. Additionally, a new species, Ferula mikraskythiana endemic to the Dobrogea region of southeastern Romania is described in the present paper. This species, with its overall habit and mericarp structure, closely resembles Eriosynaphe longifolia though it differs from the latter by its much larger stature, the morphology of the leaf terminal lobes and a distinct phenology. Moreover, F. mikraskythiana is a narrow endemic to a region beyond (westward to) the wide distribution range of E. longifolia.
Keywords: Dobrogea, morphology, new species, nrDNA ITS, phylogeny, taxonomy, Umbelliferae, Eudicots
Ferula mikraskythiana Mátis, A.Z.Szabó & L.Bartha, sp. nov.
Etymology:— The specific epithet refers to the ancient Greek name Mikrá Skythia (Μικρὰ Σκυθία) of the historical region Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia, where this species was found. This area, situated between the lower Danube River and the Black Sea, roughly corresponds to what is known today as Dobruja, a region shared by Romania and Bulgaria (Romanian: Dobrogea; Bulgarian: Добруджа, Dobrudža). This is in contrast to the presumably related E. longifolia, distributed along the historical region known as Great Scythia (the Pontic-Caspian steppe of Ukraine, southern Russia, and western Kazakhstan).
Attila Mátis, Anna Szabó, Dmitry Lyskov, Gábor Sramkó, Thomas Kuhn, Alexandru S. Bădărău and László Bartha. 2017. Validating the Systematic Placement of Eriosynaphe in the Genus Ferula (Apiaceae: Scandiceae: Ferulinae) Linked with the Description of Ferula mikraskythiana sp. nov. from Romania. Phytotaxa. 298(3); 239–252. DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.298.3.3
Discovery! New plant species in Romania | BirdLife https://shar.es/1RGW5n
