Erginia (Asteraceae: Cichorieae: Crepidinae), a new genus accommodating Chondrilla spinosa, an orphan species of localized distribution in Southeastern Anatolia

Authors

• MURAT ERDEM GÜZELFollow
• KAMİL COŞKUNÇELEBİFollow
• SERDAR MAKBULFollow
• MUTLU GÜLTEPEFollow
• ZEYNEPNUR ALEMDAĞFollow
• NORBERT KILIANFollow

Abstract

The new genus Erginia is established to accommodate Chondrilla spinosa, a species of previously uncertain systematic placement, with a highly localized distribution in Southeastern Anatolia (Türkiye) on alpine screes along two mountain ridges. Although there has been general agreement that the species is a member of the subtribe Crepidinae in its wider sense, including the Chondrillinae, its placement in Chondrilla is based on the superficial resemblance of its achene features, which also do not match any other known genus, and no molecular phylogenetic analysis had clarified its sister group. In this study, we produce additional micro- and macromorphological as well as palynological data and employ molecular phylogenetic analyses to ascertain the relationship of the species. The phylogenetic trees, one based on nrDNA ITS and the other on plastid DNA markers, show that the species is not a member of the clade comprising Chondrilla and related genera but is nested in a polytomy among other Crepidinae genera, without indicating a relationship to any of them. Together with the micro- and macromorphological evidence, this supports the conclusion that the species represents an orphan lineage within Crepidinae, best recognized as a genus of its own. Based on our field observations, the conservation status of Erginia spinosa is assessed as Endangered (EN) due to its very restricted distribution.

Author ORCID Identifier

MURAT GÜZEL: 0000-0002-7923-7443

KAMİL COŞKUNÇELEBİ: 0000-0001-5713-6628

SERDAR MAKBUL: 0000-0001-8798-0926

MUTLU GÜLTEPE: 0000-0001-8992-4389

ZEYNEPNUR ALEMDAĞ: 0009-0006-3515-938X

NORBERT KILIAN: 0000-0003-0890-4373

DOI

10.55730/1300-008X.2911

Keywords

Chondrilla clade, cpDNA, endemism, nrDNA ITS, molecular phylogeny, Türkiye

First Page

367

Last Page

376

Publisher

The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

GÜZEL, M. E, COŞKUNÇELEBİ, K, MAKBUL, S, GÜLTEPE, M, ALEMDAĞ, Z, & KILIAN, N (2026). Erginia (Asteraceae: Cichorieae: Crepidinae), a new genus accommodating Chondrilla spinosa, an orphan species of localized distribution in Southeastern Anatolia. Turkish Journal of Botany 50 (4): 367-376. https://doi.org/10.55730/1300-008X.2911