A morphological and anatomical investigation about two rare and endemic Crocus taxa (Iridaceae) from Southern Anatolia

Abstract

The morphological and anatomical characteristics of Crocus reticulatus subsp. hittiticus and Crocus cancellatus subsp. lycius, which are under the danger of extinction, have been investigated. The distributions of the two endemic subspecies are limited in Turkey. The plant samples were collected from the South Anatolia Region. The subsp. hittiticus flowers in the early spring whereas subsp. lycius flowers in the autumn. Their corm tunics are coarsely reticulate-fibrous. The subsp. hittiticus has blackish anthers and purple striped outer segments. The subsp. lycius has flowers with very pale lilac coloured and veined. Also, the style of this subsp. is equal to their anthers. These morphological properties are characteristics for two the subspecies investigated. The transverse-sections of the root, stem and leaf parts of these subspecies have been examined and revealed. Their morphologic and anatomic structures are illustrated. The anatomic properties of the two subspecies have been determined to be similar to the anatomic properties of other species of the genus Crocus. Moreover, the crystal type on the organs of the subsp. lycius was investigated.