Poa bactriana subsp. drobovii Tzvelev, Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast.
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: 2.3Poa bactriana subsp. droboviiTzvelev, Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 10: 96. 1973. ≡ Poa drobovii (Tzvelev) Cerep., Sosud. Rast. SSSR 375. 1981. = Poa glabriflora fo. albida Ovcz., Izv. Tadzh. Bazy Akad. Nauk. SSSR 1 (1): 14. 1933. Type specimen. Uzbekistan, In montium Kuhitang, supra pegum Chodshe-i-fil, in regione subalpinum, 27 Jun 1931, S. A. Nevski 464 (lectotype, here designated: K [K 000789568]; isolectotype: TAD? {n. v.}. Type. Tajikistan • Pamir, praticulum in fontibus fl. Tachta-Korum ad trajectum Tachta-Korum, ca. 4,450 m, 31 Jul 1958, N. Tzvelev 1017 (holotype: LE 01223898 [image!]). Description. Perennials; hermaphroditic; root-ball shallow, roots very fine; tufts tiny, with bulbs; bulbs often lacking a persistent tunic of old sheaths, inner bracts indurate for 3–5 (– 6) mm, purple. Culms 4–19 (– 23) cm tall. Leaves mostly basal; flag-leaf blades 0.5–2.5 3 cm long. Panicles 0.6–4 (– 5) cm long, compact (loosely compact in flowering), narrow, strongly anthocyanic, with 12–30 (– 50) spikelets; branches short, smooth or sparsely scabrous. Spikelets 3–4 mm long, small, compact; lemmas 2–3.2 mm long, weakly keeled, smooth or sparsely scaberulous, glabrous (rarely with scanty short hairs on the keel and between the veins - possibly hybrids); palea keels scaberulous. Flowers bisexual; anthers (0.3 –) 0.5–1.5 mm long. Caryopsis ca. 1.5 mm long. Clade code: Aa. Distribution and ecology. Afghanistan, India (NW), Iran, Tajikistan, Turkey (east), Uzbekistan. Loose sandy to clayey, sometimes stony, soils on upper mountain meadows and alpine slopes at 3,000 –4,300 (– 5,000) m; in Turkey, 3,000 –3,300 m. Conservation status. None. Comments. RJS studied a series of 48 specimens (K and US) of Poa bactriana s. l., along with dozens of additional online images. Unlike P. bulbosa and P. sinaica, P. bactriana has smooth or sometimes scabrous, glabrous lemmas that are a bit weakly keeled. The three forms of P. bactriana sometimes treated as species appear to vary mainly along elevation gradients and among habitats, exhibiting differences in habit, height, bulb length and induration, upper leaf-blade length, panicle length, openness, branch scabrosity, and number of spikelets. In Turkey, we found normal and bulbiferous specimens to be common along the eastern slope of Süphan Dağ between 3,100 and 3,300 m elevation. Although Kavousi et al. (2015) did not recognize the “ drobovii ” form in Iran, we confirm one specimen from Iran as typical subsp. drobovii. The presence of some hairs on the lemmas of Aybüke et al. 1041 (p. p.) and 1044 - b in some bulbiferous individuals is suggestive of hybridization with P. sinaica. The P. sinaica population vouchered by Soreng et al. 8129, from Erciyes Dağ, Kayseri, at approximately 2,445 m elevation, is similar in its tiny-tufted habit [plants mostly 5–7 (– 9) cm tall, plants with at least some lemma pubescence, but the adjacent sample of 8130 has a glabrous form (“ - a ”), 5–15 cm tall, = P. sinaica var. glabrescens Feinbrun], but the plants all exhibit tunics of old, straw-colored leaf sheaths and prominent and decurrent ligules (plants in this population may be so short due to a long history of heavy grazing pressure from sheep). In the ITS - ETS tree (Figs 2, 3), 1044 - b * is in a clade (PP = 1) with two samples from Turkey determined as P. sinaica var. sinaica (Soreng et al. 8129-3) and P. sinaica var. vivipara (Gillespie et al. 10314, also from Kayseri), five from Iran as P. sinaica and P. bulbosa var. vivipara, and one normal-flowered specimen (Gauba 1660 IRAN 21237, duplicate US- 2304026). The Gauba specimen, from mountains northwest of Tehran, Iran, was determined as P. bactriana subsp. glabriflora (cited by Bor 1970, and verified by RJS), the taxon accepted, and the voucher was included as one of nine Iranian specimens cited by Kavousi et al. (2015). Archibald 2960 (K) agrees perfectly with subsp. drobovii (identified by Bor, due to one slightly open inflorescence in anthesis, as P. zaprjagajevii). However, Archibald 2962 (E, K) is taller (28 cm) with longer bulbs (6.5 mm) and is here identified as subsp. glabriflora var. glabriflora. Both of the latter specimens are normal-flowered, but this demonstrates the difficulty of separating these taxa. A remaining syntype of P. glabriflora fo. albida (Tajikistan, Zeravschan, Laudan pass, 13 Aug 1931, S. A. Nikitin 1012: TAD? {n. v.}), has not been seen and might apply to subsp. glabriflora or subsp. drobovii. Determining bulbiferous specimens to species is challenging, and we have not been able to verify bulbiferous vouchers from Iran other than the Type of subsp. glabriflora var. tzveleviana. Representative specimens. Turkey. Prov. Bitlis (Distr. Adilcevaz, Mount Süphan, ESE slope, 3,100 m, loose volcanic silt, 38 ° 55 ' 24 " N, 42 ° 51 ' 54 " E, to 3,200 –3,300 m, 38 ° 55 ' 22 " N, 42 ° 51 ' 29.30 " E, 8 Aug 2023, Aybüke et al. 1035 NAKU (glabrous); 1036 NAKU (glabrous); 1041 - a NAKU (all scantily short pubescent on 3 veins), 1044 (glabrous) NAKU; 1044 - a US (1 scantily short pubescent sample); 1044 - b * US (1 bulbiferous sample, regrown from a bulb as RJS 9595 US). Afghanistan. (Koelz 12730 US). India. (Pensi La, Zaskar, Koelz 5910 US). Iran. Khuzenstan Prov. (Zagros Mts., Kuhrang Co., Bakhtiari, Zardeh-Kuh {the highest mt. in Iran, reaching 4,265 m, 32 ° 21 ' 52 " N, 50 ° 4 ' 39 " E}, above the Kurang Valley, NE facing slope in stony clay, immediately below extensive snowfields, 5 Aug 1966, Archibald 2960 K [image! and In person]).
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225788766
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