Astragalus topalanense Behçet & İlçim sp. nov. (section Malacothrix Bunge) is described as a new species from Bingöl Province, East Anatolia in Turkey. The new species is similar to Astragalus macrouroides ., a species endemic to Turkey, and A. macrourus Fisch. & . The diagnostic characters and taxonomic comments on the species are presented. | Turkish Journal of Botany Turk J Bot (2016) 40: 74-80 © TÜBİTAK doi: Research Article Astragalus topalanense (Fabaceae), a new species from Turkey 1, 2 Ahmet İLÇİM *, Lütfi BEHÇET Department of Biology, Faculty of Science and Arts, Mustafa Kemal University, Antakya, Turkey 2 Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Bingöl University, Bingöl, Turkey 1 Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Astragalus topalanense Behçet & İlçim sp. nov. (section Malacothrix Bunge) is described as a new species from Bingöl Province, East Anatolia in Turkey. The new species is similar to Astragalus macrouroides ., a species endemic to Turkey, and A. macrourus Fisch. & . The diagnostic characters and taxonomic comments on the species are presented. Seed and pollen characteristics are investigated using light and scanning electron microscopy. Notes are also presented on its ecology. A distribution map of the new and related species is also provided. Key words: Astragalus, Malacothrix, taxonomy, flora, Turkey 1. Introduction In the Flora of Turkey, Fabaceae (Leguminosae) is one of the largest families in terms of species number, after Asteraceae (Vural et al., 2008). It includes annual or perennial plants, herbs, trees, and shrubs. Fabaceae is recognized by usually stipulate, bipinnate, simply pinnate, digitate, trifoliolate, or simple leaves; actinomorphic or zygomorphic, hypogynous or sometimes perigynous flowers; and legume or lomentum as fruits (Davis et al., 1970). The genus Astragalus L. (Fabaceae) is one of the largest genera of vascular plants, with 2500–3000 taxa and more than 250 sections (Karamian and Ranjbar 2005). The genus Astragalus belongs to the tribe Astragaleae of Papilionoideae in Fabaceae. It is distributed mainly in arid and semiarid mountainous regions of the northern hemisphere and South America. The genus is .
