Bellevalia iranica Alipour, Eker & Majidi, 2025

Alipour, Sajad, Majidi, Ramiar & Eker, İsmail, 2025, Bellevalia iranica (Asparagaceae, Scilloideae), a new species from Iran, Phytotaxa 697 (2), pp. 213-218 : 214-217

Bellevalia iranica Alipour, Eker & Majidi sp. nov. ( Figs. 1–2 )

Diagnosis:— Bellevalia iranica is similar to B. cyanopoda and B. shiraziana , but is distinguished from former species by flowers tubular-urceolate and without a narrow base, 7–12 × 4–6 mm (vs. tubular-campanulate and beaker with a narrow base, c. 9 × 2.5–3 mm), short pedicels (1–2 mm vs. 3–8 mm) and scape no elongating in fruit (vs. elongating to 30 cm), capsules oblate, 12–15 × 15–20 mm (vs. ovoid, 9–12 × 7–8 mm), length of leaves (10–13 cm vs. c. 25 cm), and raceme shape (cylindrical-ovoid vs. cylindrical with a rounded tip) as well as altitude (> 2500 m vs. ≤ 2500 m) and flowering period (Late March-April vs. May) characteristics. From latter species it differs by its flowers tubular-urceolate, 7–12 × 4–6 mm, white with green midrib (vs. tubular-campanulate, 5–7.5 × 3.5 mm, brown to olive-green, eventually dark blue), lobes 3–5 mm long, white with green midrib (vs. inner lobes 2 mm long, brown to dark blue, outer lobes pale lilac), longer pedicels (1–2 mm vs. 0.25 mm), raceme 10–20-flowered, 3–4 × 1.5–2 cm in flower (vs. 4–12-flowered, 2.7 × 0.5–0.8 cm), blackish-brown outer tunics (vs. cream to brown or pale gray), and number of leaves (4–5 vs. 3–4 per scape).

Type:— IRAN. Fars province: Kaftar village , N 30°27’43.0” E 52°45’55.8”, 2600–3300 m a.s.l., 27 March 2024, S. Alipour 11065 (holotype RANK!; isotypes RANK!) .

Paratypes:— IRAN. Fars province: Kaftar village, N 30°27’43.0” E 52°45’55.8”, 2600–3300 m a.s.l., 15 May 2024, S. Alipour 11066 (in fruit) ( RANK!).

Description:—Bulb ovoid, c. 4 × 2.5 – 2.7 cm, without offsets. Outer tunics papery, blackish-brown; inner tunics membranous, light brown. Leaves 4–5 per scape, declined, linear to linear-lanceolate, tapering at base, canaliculate, 10 – 13 × 0.5 – 1 cm, green but reddish at margin and on lower surface, prominent veined at the lower surface, glabrous, obtuse. Scape 1–2 per bulb, greenish to reddish, 9 – 11 cm long in flower, not elongating in fruit, shorter than leaves. Raceme 10–20-flowered, dense and compact, cylindrical-ovoid, 3 – 4 × 1.5–2 cm in flower, flower axis purplish, not or slightly elongating in fruit and fruiting raceme remaining dense and compact. Pedicels of flowers 1–2 mm long, shorter than perianth, bluish, patent to erecto-patent, not elongating in fruit. Flowers tubular-urceolate and without a narrow base, 7 – 12 × 4 – 6 mm, white with green midrib, and lower late flowers turn brown; lobes 3 – 5 mm long, shorter than tube, white with green midrib, recurved. Stamens uniseriate, filaments c. 2 mm long, white, broadly triangular, flattened, shortly connate at base, attached at base of lobes; anthers purple, 1.5 – 2 mm. Ovary green, ovoid to globoidovoid, 3.5–4.5 × 2.5–3 mm; style whitish, 2–3 mm long. Capsule oblate, emarginate, with strongly compressed valves, 12–15 × 15–20 mm. Seeds 2–3 × c. 2 mm, elliptical-globoid; surface smooth, black. Flowering in Late March–April and fruiting in May–June.

Eponymy:—The specific epithet of the new species is derived from Iran, where it grows.

Distribution and habitat:— Bellevalia iranica is only known from a restricted area in Kaftar village of Fars province. The plant’s habitat has been recorded from the slopes to the peaks of the Zagros Mountains. It has always been found at altitudes between 2500–3300 m above sea level, with no records below 2500 m. Its growth medium is soft soil under the melting snow of rocky slopes, and it becomes visible when the snow begins to melt. It has not been seen on flat plains. It grows in regions with heavy snowfall, cool summers and very cold winters. The new species is a plant belonging to the Irano-Turanian floristic region. according to the global floristic region designations of Takhtajan (1986).

Conservation assessment:—Less than 500 mature individuals were observed at the type locality (two locations) of Bellevalia iranica , which covers an area of less than 20 km 2. It is also likely to be found in similar habitats in the immediate vicinity. The natural habitat of the new species is away from agricultural and residential areas and no situation that would threaten the natural habitat has been observed. Therefore, based on the IUCN criteria, we assess the species as “Vulnarable (VU)” (Criteria D1; D2) due to its distribution restricted to two localities, area of occupancy (AOO), and number of mature individuals ( IUCN 2024).

Taxonomic relationships:—The Zagros Mountains, a large part of which is located within the borders of Iran, include Northern Iraq and a part of southeastern Türkiye. It is a long mountain range extending in the northwestsoutheast direction ( Alipour et al. 2024). Noorozi et al. (2020a) listed 3642 vascular plant species from the Zagros Mountains, 747 of which are Zagros endemics, located within the Irano-Anatolian biodiversity hotspot. They also suggested that the list of plant species of this mountain range is still incomplete, with approximately 7% more species awaiting discovery, including new species and records. The new Iranian endemic Bellevalia iranica is located at the Zagros mountain range.

The new species blooms earlier than the related species B. cyanopoda , even though it lives at a higher altitude. Two species are distinguished from each other by clear morphological characters such as shape and size of flowers, length of pedicels and scape in fruit, shape and size of capsules, length of leaves and raceme shape. The new species also differs from B. shiraziana in the colour of the outer tunic, the number of leaves, the number of flowers in the raceme and the size of the raceme, the short pedicels, the shape, colour and size of the flowers, the size and colour of the lobes. Detailed morphological differences are in Table 1 and Figs. 1–2 .

Figures

FIGURE 1. Bellevalia iranica. a: habit, b: habit-inflorescence, c: habit-infructescence.

FIGURE 2. Bellevalia iranica. A: habit, B: lateral view of flower, C: front view of flower, D: inner view of dissected flower with stamens and pistil, E: anthers, F: infructescence, G: capsule, H: seed.