Poa paryadrica Boiss., Asie Min., Bot.

5.Poa paryadricaBoiss., Asie Min., Bot. 2: 608. 1860. Type protologue. Asia Minor: Ponto australi: declivitate merid. jugi Paryadres verterum, {Giresun} inter pagos Lisdja et Kumbetkhan, vallibus alpinis et subalp., alt. 1918-2646 m., Tchichatscheff, Pl. As. Min. Exsicc. an. 1858, no. 613. ” (lectotype, here designated: G [G 00330302]). Description. Perennials; hermaphroditic; primary roots (thickest) 0.5–0.8 (– 1) mm diam.; tufts without stolons or rhizomes; dense, medium to large, green, not or slightly glaucous; tillers all or mostly intravaginal, prophylls elongated, ca. 5 cm long, scabrous keeled; bulbs absent. Culms 50–100 (– 110) cm tall, 2–2.5 (– 3.5) mm diam., terete, erect, moderately to highly robust, smooth or moderately scaberulous below nodes, with 2–3 nodes, 1–2 nodes exerted, lower nodes 1.5 to 2.5 mm diam. Leaf sheaths of lower culm and lateral shoot leaves keeled, fairly thick, without a wing, smooth or lightly to moderately scabrous especially about the keel, basal ones persistent, papery in age, basal most sheaths, bulb absent; flag - leaf sheaths 11–22 cm long, margins fused 45–50 % their length; throats and collars laterally often with a distinct dark, moderately scabrous, wedge shaped zone; ligules 1–2 (– 3.5) mm long, scarious to chartaceous, white or off-white, abaxially scabrous, upper margin distinctly asperous, sparsely ciliolate, apices truncate to irregularly erose, sometimes peaked in the middle; ligules of lower culm leaves and sterile shoots 0.5–1 mm, not noticeably decurrent; blades of upper culm 2.5–7 (– 10) cm long, decreasing in length up the culm, 3–4 mm wide, folded (sometimes some flat), moderately thick, firm, persistent in form, abaxially keels distally scabrous, surfaces smooth or lightly scabrous, margins scabrous, adaxially lightly to moderately scabrous costally and intercostal, apices prow-tipped, sometimes apiculate; sterile shoot blades 15–40 cm long, otherwise like the culm blades, 3–8 mm wide. Panicles 8–13 (– 15) cm long, erect, fairly strict, loosely to fairly tightly contracted, moderately congested with 50–80 (– ca 100) spikelets, peduncles 15–60 cm long, lowest internodes 2.5–4 (– 5.5) cm long; branches (1 –) 2–5 at lowest nodes; primary branches 1.5–3.5 (– 5.5) cm, with 5–9 (– 12) spikelets somewhat crowded in the distal 1 / 2, erect to ascending, slightly flexuous, sub-terete, or weakly to distinctly angled, moderately to densely scabrous mainly on the angles or all over; pedicels of lateral spikelets mostly 1–2 mm long, mostly less than 1 / 4 their spikelets in length. Spikelets 5–7 (– 8) mm long, broadly lanceolate, strongly compressed, usually violaceous; not bulbiferous; florets (2 –) 3–4 (– 5); rachilla internodes 1–1.5 (– 2) mm, sub densely muriculate, or with a few hooks; glumes unequal to subequal, slightly thinner and shinier than lemmas, keels and veins scabrous, surfaces distally lightly scabrous, margins scabrous, apices pointed, acute; lower glumes 3.2–4 (– 4.2) mm long, narrowly lanceolate, 1 - veined; upper glumes 3.8–4.2 (– 5.2) mm long, broader lanceolate, 3 – veined; callus glabrous; lemmas 4.5–6 (– 7) mm long, 5 - veined, broadly lanceolate, 5 - veined, violaceous, strongly keeled, subcoriaceous, glabrous, keels and marginal veins scaberulous, between veins densely muriculate, scaberulous distally, intermediate veins distinct to prominent, margins narrowly hyaline, edges distinctly scaberulous, apices acute, pointed; palea keels coarsely scabrous in the distal 1 / 3–2 / 3, with 10–40 hooks, between keels densely muriculate. Flowers bisexual; lodicules 0.9 mm long, broadly lanceolate, with a narrow lateral lobe, glabrous; anthers 2.3–3.5 mm long. Caryopses 3–3.2 mm long, green, laterally compressed, ventrally flat or with a shallow sulcus, adherent to the palea; hilum 0.5 mm long round. 2 n = unknown. Clade code: Php. Distribution and ecology. Armenia, Nakhchivan Autonomous Region, Turkey. High montane steppe grasslands to low alpine; in Turkey, 2,150 –2,700 m. Conservation status. None. Needs further study. Comments. Edmondson (1985, p. 486) listed P. iberica among “ Species doubtfully recorded ”, noting the dot in Grossheim’s map (1939, Carta no. 234). RJS initially identified some of his collections as Poa iberica from Turkey but then concluded these belonged to P. paryadrica. Then the plastid DNA showed them to be different. One syntype from the Type series of P. controversa at P [P 0237353] has broad leaves and belongs to P. paryadrica, whereas the others have narrower leaves like P. longifolia subsp. meyeri. This one specimen might account for P. iberica being mapped for Armenian Turkey. Poa iberica has extravaginal and intravaginal shoots; culms 70–150 cm tall, nodes 2.5–5 mm diam.; lower culm sheaths frequently with a slightly winged keel; leaf-blades 3–8 mm wide, flat, basal, and culm blades similar; panicles 10–15 cm long. Representative specimens. Turkey. Artvin (Davis et Hedge D 32538 E [E 00367779]). Bayburt (Soreng et al. 8960 *; 8962; 8963). Giresun (Type, G [G 00330302]; Soreng et al. 8913 - a *, b). Rize (Soreng et Guney 4205; (one syntype of P. controversa: Lazistan, Vallees de Djimil et de Khabakhor, Balansa s. n. P [P 0237353]). Armenia. Distr. Razden (mt. Alibeg, 2,200 –2,300 m, Vašák, B [B 100591279], G [G 0030865]). Nakhchivan Autonomous Region. (Karlagin 12274 K).