Euphorbia talassica (E. sect. Esula, Euphorbiaceae), a New Species of Leafy Spurges from the Western Tian-Shan

Abstract

A species of Euphorbia sect. Esula (Euphorbiaceae) from the Western Tian-Shan, Central Asia, is described as new to science. Euphorbia talassica sp. nova occurs in the Talas Mountain Range in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, and falls into E. ser. Andrachnoides because of its relatively short and broad leaves. Euphorbia talassica is most similar to E. irgisensis, from which it differs by having a slender and spreading rootstock (vs. a vertical taproot), and incrassate (vs. thin) leaves. The new species also grows at much higher elevations. Euphorbia ser. Andrachnoides is overviewed for Central Asia and adjacent areas, with seven species discussed and mapped.

Alien Plants of Kyrgyzstan: The First Complete Inventory, Distributions and Main Patterns

“…The family-level classification lows APG IV [68]. Published occurrences are supported by references to the latest Altogether, 3927 species were listed as native or alien to Kyrgyzstan in the latest checklist [31], with additions from recent floristic records [50,51,53,54,59,60] and new species descriptions [61,62], although some species were recently removed from the list due to clarifications of synonymy or attribution [52,54,63,64]. We expect that the actual vascular plant diversity may reach 4000 species in the future because of the constant flow of new field records, on-going synanthropisation and taxonomic research on apomictic plants [64][65][66][67].…”