A new species and a record for the genus Centaurea (Asteraceae, Cardueae–Centaureinae) from Iran

5 May 2015

Negaresh, Kazem; Rahiminejad, Mohammad Reza

A new species, Centaurea rahiminejadii Negaresh (Asteraceae) in sect. Cynaroides Boiss. ex Walp., is described and illustrated from Kermanshah Province, West Iran. It is morphologically similar to Centaurea regia Boiss. subsp. regia. Diagnostic morphological characters from closely related taxa are discussed and presented. Ecology, habitat and conservation status of the new species are also given. In addition, Centaurea regia subsp. cynarocephala (Wagenitz) Wagenitz is reported as a new record to the flora of Iran. Finally, the geographical distribution of the new species and its closely related species is presented and mapped.

10.1111/njb.00856