Karyomorphological, molecular and morphological evidence for a new species, Centaurea mengenensis (Asteraceae), from Turkey.

A new Centaurea species, C. mengenensis Uysal & Şirin, is described and illustrated from Mengen district, Anatolia, based on morphological and molecular data. To identify its taxonomical position within Centaurea, the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) = gene region of the new species was amplified and sequenced. The new species belongs in Centaurea subg. Centaurea as shown by both morphological and molecular data. Its diagnostic characters are presented, including an updated key to related species distributed in Turkey. Additionally, the geographic distribution of the new species, as well as of its relatives, is mapped. The chromosome number of C. mengenensis is 2n = 2x = 18 and its achene surface ornamentation is irregularly sulcate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]