More New Astragali from Turkey

Nine new species of Astragalus representing four sections of the genus are described from central, south and east Anatolia and illustrated.


INTRODUCTION
The third volume of Flora of Turkey and the East Aegean Islands, which dealt entirely with the Leguminosae, was published in 1970 (Davis 1970) with the accounts of various sections of Astragalus prepared by D. Chamberlain and V. Matthews. Since then much new herbarium material of Astragalus from Turkey and adjacent areas had accumulated. An additional 12 taxa will be included in the Supplement volume (now in preparation); in this paper a further nine new species are described based on recent study. All specimens cited have been seen and are deposited in the herbaria as indicated. TAXONOMY

Section Hypoglottis
Astragalus hartvigii Kit Tan, sp. nov. Fig. lA Ab A. hypoglottide L. , cujus A. purpureus Lam. synonymus est, habitu naniore, florum partibus omnibus minoribus et praecipue calycis dentibus tubo plus quam 4-plo brevioribus differt. Semiprocumbent to ascending, shortlycaulescent perennial with a muchbranched woody caudex; stems herbaceous, 2-4 cm long. Leaves imparipinnate, (0.5-) 1-3 cm long; stipules ovate, 3-5 mm long, connate into sheath below; leaflets 5-9-paired, obovate to broadly elliptic, 2-5 x 1-2 mm, with spreading or adpressed, white, simple hairs on both surfaces or subglabrous, obtuse. Peduncles 3-10 cm long. Flowers subsessile, 5-10 in a contracted ovoid spike. Bracts narrowly ovate to lanceolate, 4-5 mm long. Bracteoles absent. Calyx tubular, 5.8-6.2 mm long, not inflated in flower or fruit although tube splitting at maturity, with black and white, spreading, simple hairs on teeth and tube or tube with white hairs only; teeth linear-triangular, 1-1.5 mm long. Standard stenonychioid, 10 mm long, 5 mm wide at broadest part, tawny blue, glabrous, emarginate; wings and keel a darker lilac, expanded limb 5 mm and 4 mm long respectively, keel  Southwestern Anatolian endemic. East Mediterranean (mountain) element. The 16 Turkish species referred to Sect. H ypoglottis Bunge occur mainly in northeastern and eastern Anatolia. Astragalus scholerianus Bornm. is the exception and is still known only from the type gathering in central Anatolia (B3 Konya); this has no close allies within the section. Astragalus hartvigii is thus the first southwestern Anatolian (Lycian) representative and we are more likely to find its affinities among species occurring in southern Europe, perhaps in the Balkans, rather than in the east of Turkey. When the Mediterranean and central European taxa were examined, the closest ally seemed to be the taxon refered to in all Floras as A. purpureus Lam. This is a species with a fairly wide distribution, mainly in the mountain ranges of southern Europe from northern Spain and southwestern France to Jugoslavia and Albania. It differs from A. hartvigii by its taller stems (10-40 cm long) and larger leaves (4-8 cm long), flowers (calyx 8-10 mm long, standard ca. 18 mm long) and legumes (10-15 mm long). Generally, the calyx teeth are ca. Ih_ 2 h as long as the tube; specimens from the limestone mountains in the Tyrol, however, have much shorter calyx teeth, less than Ih as long as the tube.
The correct name for A . purpureus Lam. (1784) is almost certainly A. hypoglottis L. (Mantissa altera 274, 1771). C. C. Lacaita gives a full and interesting account concerning the identity of this problematical species in Nuovo Giorn. Bot. Ital. , n. ser. 19(3):309-326 (1912) and also in J. Bot. 50:217-229 (1912). It is surprising that this paper has not merited wider attention as all recent Floras still refer to the taxon as A. purpureus Lam.

Section
Delimiting some sections in Astragalus is always a problem. Leaflet indumentum is generally considered to be a key character in Astragalus, with the genus conveniently split on the basis of simple versus bifurcate leaflet hairs. Practically all Turkish species fall into one category or the other. Yet, in facies A. stridii (with simple ± basifixed hairs) could well be fitted into Sect. Onobrychium Boiss., which differs from Sect. Stereothrix in having leaflets with bifurcate hairs. The shape of the standard and length of the calyx teeth also point to a position in Sect. Malacothrix Bunge; this section is very closely related to Sect. Stereothrix but differs mainly in calyx characters.
This and the preceding species are named after their joint collectors Prof. Arne Strid and Dr. Per Hartvig at the Botanical Laboratory, University of Copenhagen.
The specific epithet honors Dr. Robert R . Mill, stalwart assistant on the Flora of Turkey, who has always kindly helped us with our Latin translations.
East Anatolia. Irano-Turanian element. It was found locally abundant at <;aldiran (where it formed showy clumps 11/2 ft tall) and is likely to occur in northwestern Iran. Amongst the Turkish species it is closest to A. xylobasis Freyn & Bornm. (Sect. Onobrychium) which differs by smaller leaves with 4-S pairs of leaflets, S-8 cm-long peduncles, 100lS-flowered spike with purple, not deep magenta flowers, legumes with a short curved beak and covered by conspicuously white hairs.
Astragalus eliasianus is also allied to another new species described in this paper, A. kitianus Sorger (quod vide), which also has legumes with hairs arising from tubercles but is much smaller in leaf and floral parts and is .easily distinguished by its jet-black legumes half as large.
The kind assistance of Dr. Thomas S. Elias, who is commemorated by this species, is gratefully acknowledged in this paper.
Endemic to south (central) Anatolia. East Mediterranean element. This specimen was cited under A. acmonotrichus Fenzl in Flora a/Turkey 3:225 (1970) but it differs in several important respects as given in the diagnosis. In A. acmonotrichus, the calyx is much longer (8-10 mm with 2-3 mm-Iong teeth) and with sparsely distributed, long black and white bifurcate hairs. The inflorescence is 15-20-flowered and elongates in fruit, the bracts are lanceolate and 4-6 mm long. Although the standard was described as _rounded, all material examined has a shallow apical notch.
Let you, dear bemused reader, feel honoured at being 'given' an Astragalus, the latest in a very long line of over 1500 springing from southwest Asia.