Rhaponticoides nuriae (Asteraceae), a stunning new species from Morocco

Abstract

Rhaponticoides nuriae is described as a species new to science. Its affinities within the genus are analyzed and discussed. The new species is obviously very different from the two described species in Morocco and can be easily distinguished from those species by its distinct appendage with a very wide scarious margin and by its longer achenes. According to analyses of sequenced nuclear markers ITS and ETS, the new species cannot be reduced to any of the existing Rhaponticoides species. This may suggest that the species is an early branch separated from the bulk of the genus. The conservation issue is considered since the plants occur in a very cultivated zone. Photographic illustrations of the new plant species and an updated key to the Rhaponticoides species in Morocco are also provided.