Onosma maculata (Boraginaceae), a remarkable new species from Iran

23 November 2014

almasi, maryam; Ranjbar, Massoud

Onosma maculata Ranjbar & Almasi, a new Boraginaceae species endemic to Iran, is described and illustrated. The new species belongs to section Onosma subsection Onosma. It is closely related to O. nervosa Riedl, but is easily distinguished by its spotted stem and peduncle (vs lack of spots), with leaves 14–23 cm long (vs leaves 4–12 cm long), with pedicel 5–15 mm long (vs pedicel 3–5 mm long), higher density of hairs (vs lower density of hair) and villous nutlet (vs glabrous nutlet). Moreover, meiotic chromosome number and behavior were studied in tow populations of new species. It is a diploid plant and possesses the chromosome number 2n = 2x = 16.

10.1111/njb.00614