Taxonomic revision of the genus Scabiosa L. sensu lato distributed in Turkey

The aim of this study was the taxonomic revision of the genus Scabiosa L., which is represented by 38 taxa (2 suspicious records and 2 known from the Aegean islands) in the Flora of Turkey. The revision was carried out in two steps using morphological and numerical studies. Samples of the Scabiosa taxa were collected across Turkey during field studies that were carried out between the years 2015-2021. Morphological studies were carried out on national and international herbarium samples that were collected and examined during the field studies. Numerical analyses were performed using a total of 92 characters, of which 44 were non-metric and 48 were metric. A dendrogram was obtained using UPGMA. Non-metric Multidimensional Scaling (NMDS) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were performed on non-metric and metric characters, respectively, using the software Past v4.06b which revealed the phenetic relationship between the species. Morphologically, it was found that the Turkish representatives of the genus Scabiosa can be grouped under 3 genera (Scabiosa L., Sixalix Raf. and Lomelosia Raf.). From results of the numerical studies, it was determined that non-metric data were more useful than metric data in separating the taxa. Additionally, the genera Scabiosa and Lomelosia were clearly separated, but the taxon within the genus Sixalix was evaluated to be within the genus Scabiosa. As a result of this thesis study, a new taxon was registered to the genus Scabiosa, lectotypes were determined for the taxa Scabiosa lucida and L. brachiata, and the status of L. pseudograminifolia was changed. In addition, 7 taxa became synonyms. Thus, the number of taxa belonging to the genus Scabiosa distributed in Turkey was determined as 11, of which 1 is endemic, the number of taxa belonging to the genus Sixalix was determined as 1, and the number of taxa belonging to the genus Lomelosia was determined as 22, of which 7 are endemic. It is expected that this study will contribute to the Illustrated Flora of Turkey and will shed light on future studies.