New cornflower species discovered in eastern Turkey

By Mustafa Gungor

IZMIR, Turkey (AA) - A new endemic cornflower species has been found in the Hekimhan district of the eastern province of Malatya.

Izmir-based Ege University said that as part of a project by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey, a cornflower was discovered and examined during work conducted on Yama Mountain in 2015.

Hasan Yildirim from the school’s biology department joined the examination, according to a statement.

Dr. Kuddisi Ertugrul, Dr. Tuna Uysal and Assoc. Dr. Emrah Sirin from Konya-based Selcuk University also evaluated the plant and concluded it was a new species.

The scientific name of the species is Centaurea Hekimhanensis Sirin & Yildirim. The Turkish name is Hekimhan Gokbasi.

After detailed field and laboratory studies, the discovery was published in the scientific journal Botanica Serbica.

The statement said there were around 206 cornflower species, including 123 endemics, citing Yildirim.

The discovery brings the endemic number to 124 and the number of species to 207, said Yildirim.