Tordylium hasselquistiae Candolle (1830: 198)

Tordylium hasselquistiae Candolle (1830: 198) View in CoL .

Type: — SYRIA. Aleppo, Michaux G. ( holotype G [ G 00663693 photo!]).

= Pimpinella adiyamanensis Yıldırımlı & Kılıç (2019: 45) View in CoL , syn. nov.

Type: — TURKEY. Adıyaman: Between Koçali and Çelikhan Watery Valley , ( Quercus brantii forest, 1061–1120 m, 29 April 2018, Yıldırımlı 44185 with Kılıç ( holotype Yıldırımlı Otluk ( YO); isotypes GAZI, HUB, and YO).

Distribution and habitat:— Turkey (S-Anatolia, SE-Anatolia: Mesopotamian Anatolia); Syria (NW-Syria, Jbel Druze, W-Syrian Mountains). The species grows on calcareous rocky areas.

Phenology: —Flowering occurs in April–May, and fruiting in May–June.

Pimpinella tunceliana was first described by Yıldırım in 2010 based on specimens collected from Turkey, Tunceli, Ovacık, Munzur Mountain ( Figure 2A, C, D View FIGURE 2 ). The species was initially distinguished from P. aromatica Bieberstein (1808: 241) by its perennial (rather than biennial) growth habit, the presence of a fibrous collar (absent in P. aromatica ), longer basal leaves ( 25 cm vs. 10–15 cm), dentate (rather than serrate) leaflets, pinnate (rather than simple linear) cauline leaves, the presence of six bracts (compared to none), and 15–21 rays (as opposed to 5–10).

However, the original description of P. tunceliana was based on a fruitless specimen, leading to a misidentification within the Pimpinella genus. The absence of mature fruit is a critical limitation in Apiaceae taxonomy, as fruit morphology provides essential diagnostic characteristics. In particular, the number and structure of vittae are considered highly reliable for species delimitation within the family ( Abebe 1992).

A reevaluation of the protologue revealed that P. tunceliana was initially described as lacking bracteoles. However, upon examination of isotype specimens, the presence of bracteoles was confirmed ( Figure 2C View FIGURE 2 ). Moreover, P. tunceliana is found in the same locality as P. kotschyana , suggesting a taxonomic overlap. P. kotschyana has been recorded in B7 Tunceli, Nazımiye, approximately 3 km from Tunceli at the Pülümür-Nazımiye crossroads, whereas P. corymbosa Boissier (1844: 131) , a closely related species is distributed in B7 Tunceli, Ovacık, 16 km from Ovacık to Tunceli (Munzur Valley) ( Armağan 2020).

A comparative analysis ( Table 2) demonstrates that P. tunceliana shares key morphological traits with P. kotschyana , including plant height, the number of bracts, the number of rays, and basal leaf shape. Given these findings, P. tunceliana is here formally treated as a synonym of P. kotschyana .