Bellevalia chrisii sp. nova (Asparagaceae): A new species from Eastern Anatolia, Turkey
14 January 2014
YILDIRIM, HASAN; Altıoğlu, Yusuf; Şahin, Bilal; Aslan, SerdarBellevalia chrisii Yıldırım & B.Şahin (Asparagaceae) is described and illustrated as a new species from Malatya province in Eastern Anatolia, Turkey. Diagnostic morphological characters, a full description and detailed illustrations are provided on the basis of the type specimen and observations of wild populations. It is morphologically similar to Bellevalia rixii and Bellevalia crassa but easily differs from both by more and wider leaves, the greater flowers number, the less dense fruiting raceme, the longer fruiting pedicel and shape of capsule. Moreover, it specially differs from Bellevalia crassa by crimson purple perigone and violaceous anther. Also it displays some similarities to Bellevalia glauca, although it can be easily distinguished with its morphological several features. In addition, conservation status, distribution map and notes on biogeography and ecology of the new species are given.