Unveiling the diversity within Salvia caespitosa sensu lato (Lamiaceae): threeUnveiling the diversity within Salvia caespitosa sensu lato (Lamiaceae): three new “hidden” endemic species from Türkiyenew “hidden” endemic species from Türkiye
Turkish Journal of Botany, cilt.50, sa.4, ss.397-416, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus, TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 50 Sayı: 4
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.55730/1300-008x.2913
- Dergi Adı: Turkish Journal of Botany
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, Geobase, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM), Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Biomedical Reference Collection: Corporate Edition (EBSCO)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.397-416
- Uşak Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Documenting species, particularly those that are threatened or endangered, is fundamental to biodiversity conservation. However, many taxa remain scientifically unrecognized, being either undiscovered or unpublished. While some plants can be easily recognized as new species, other identifications are obscured by morphological, taxonomic, and nomenclatural complexity. Detecting cryptic or “hidden” species is therefore essential to understanding biodiversity and plant evolution. Our revisionary studies on Salvia demonstrate that the morphologically complex Salvia caespitosa is not a single species but instead comprises at least four distinct species, three with narrow distributions. This conclusion is supported by integrative evidence from extensive field studies, herbarium and nomenclatural work, laboratory analyses (e.g., morphological measurements and micromorphological studies), and molecular phylogenetic data. Our results indicate that S. caespitosa sensu stricto occurs on calcareous substrates in southern and southeastern Central Anatolia and the eastern Mediterranean, particularly along the Anatolian Diagonal. The newly described species are the geographically restricted S. antalyensis on limestone cliffs near Antalya, S. sivasensis of the gypsum-rich steppe around Sivas and Malatya, and S. karaeri from chalky steppe soils of the Ermenek-Karaman region. Diagnostic traits distinguishing these species include stem length, inflorescence height relative to leaf level, basal leaf morphology, terminal leaflet shape and size, leaf indumentum, and corolla and calyx characters. Lectotypification is provided for S. caespitosa and its synonym, S. pectinifolia. In addition, critical taxonomic evaluations are given for S. pachystachya and its synonym S. sintenisii, as these species are most similar to S. caespitosa. We also provide revised descriptions, an identification key, distributional data, ecological notes, and IUCN Red List assessments for S. caespitosa and the three new species. With the addition of these three species, the Turkish flora now comprises 110 species (including three hybrids) and 118 Salvia taxa, of which 66 are endemic.