Neotrinia kurramica A. Sultan, M. Nobis & Amjad Khan, sp. nov.

Type.

Pakistan • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Upper Kurram Valley, Parachinar, Zerhan, Malakyar Tangai above Mulla Bagh, grassland on calcareous rocks, 33°56'47.4"N, 70°10'03.4"E, 2220 m, 6 May 2024, Amir Sultan, Amjad Khan & Murtaza Hussain s. n. (holotype RAW [barcode 103365], isotype KRA 00639009).

Description.

Plant perennial, densely tufted with numerous culms and vegetative shoots (Fig. 1). Culms 40–80 cm tall, with 2 nodes, nodes pilose or pubescent. Leaves of vegetative shoots: sheaths glabrous to sparsely and shortly pilose with white edge, scabrid at margins; ligules membranous, 2–3.5 mm long, acute to acuminate, apex shortly ciliate, and pubescent on the back; blades convolute, pale green, 20–55 cm long, 0.6–0.8 (– 1.0) mm in diameter, adaxial surface covered by dense and up to 0.15 mm long hairs (Fig. 3 f), while abaxial surface glabrous to minutely scabrous along the midrib. Cauline leaves: lower sheaths scabrous whereas the uppermost glabrous to minutely scabrous, the margins white and sparsely pubescent; ligules 3.5–8.5 mm long, acute or acuminate, at apex and the back shortly ciliate (Fig. 2 d); blades convolute, pale green, up to 25 cm long, adaxial surface densely covered by short hairs, while abaxial surface glabrous to minutely scabrid along the midrib and margins. Panicle 10–15 cm long, contracted, with (15 –) 29–41 spikelets, exserted (sometimes lower branches enclosed by sheath of upper cauline leaf), branches erect (basal branches often spreading), hirsute with up to 0.5 mm long hairs, lower ones in threes (apical branches single, paired or sometimes up to 4 branches per node), the lower ones up to 18 mm long (Fig. 2 c). Glumes subequal, pale green with hyaline membranous margins and at the top taper into a long hyaline tip, lower glume 14–15 mm long, three nerved, somewhat shorter than the upper glume, which is 5–7 nerved, lanceolate, 15–16 mm long, abaxially sparsely covered by scattered short prickles (Fig. 2 a). Floret (anthecium = callus + lemma) 9–10.5 mm long (including apical lobes of lemma), ca. 1 mm wide (Fig. 2 b). Callus 0.9–1.2 mm long, densely and long-pilose, hairs 0.5–1 mm long; peripheral ring 0.1–0.25 mm in diameter elliptic, scar circular (Fig. 3 c). Lemma pale green to purple, dorsal surface with elongated basal (long) cells, rounded silica bodies with adjacent cork cells and sparse and scattered hooks, prickles and ascending hairs 0.75–1 mm long (Fig. 3 a, b); apical lobes of lemma 0.6–1.0 mm long and covered by short hairs, the top of the lemma with 0.15–0.2 mm long hairs forming corolla (Figs 2 b, 3 e). Awn 50–70 mm long, unigeniculate; column 18–21 mm long, twisted, straw-coloured, covered by 0.2 mm long hairs, gradually decreasing in length towards geniculation; seta straight 30–50 mm long, hairs in lower part of seta 0.1–0.2 mm long, gradually decreasing in length towards apex. Palea equal to lemma in length, with a dorsal line of hairs and a ring of short hairs at the apex (Fig. 3 d). Anthers yellow, glabrous, 6 mm long, filaments ca. 1 mm long (Fig. 2 e). Lodicules 3, linear-lanceolate, 2–2.4 mm long, 0.3 mm wide. Ovary with 2 styles (Fig. 2 e). Caryopsis not seen.

Distribution and ecology.

Neotrinia kurramica is so far only known from the type locality in Upper Kurram, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province (Fig. 1), occurring at an elevation of about 2220 m. The population of N. kurramica was found growing along stony / gravelly slopes leading to the edges of a mountain stream. While these slopes are dominated by grasses, oak (Quercus baloot Griff.) forests dominate the hilltops above these slopes. Neotrinia kurramica grows in association with Isodon rugosus (Wall. ex Benth.) Codd, Duthiea oligostachya (Munro ex Aitch.) Stapf, Sophora mollis (Royle) Graham ex Baker, Piptatherum sp. and Cirsium falconeri (Hook. f.) Petr. It is expected to have a distribution in similar habitats of Upper Kurram valley. Further explorations in the area are needed, to determine its population size, distribution range and to evaluate conservation status of this new species.

Paratype.

Pakistan • Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Upper Kurram, Parachinar, Zerhan, Malakyar Tangay above Mulla Bagh, 22 May 2021, Amir Sultan, Asif Mehmood, Waqar Hassanain & Noor Ali Shah s. n. (RAW [barcode 101893]).

Etymology.

The name of the new species originates from Kurram Valley.

Similar species.

Neotrinia kurramica differs significantly from all the remaining species representing the genus by having awns 50–70 mm long vs. 5–12 or 16–21 mm long in N. splendens and N. chitralensis respectively (Table 1). The new species is slightly similar also to Achnatherum jacquemontii, however differs in having longer lemmas, longer glumes, longer awns, and completely different patterns of the lemma morphology sow-like vs. maize-like respectively (cf. Nobis et al. 2020).