Author: آمنه غلامی 
Centaurea aucheri (DC.) Wagenitz
Parvin Salehi Shanjani, Leila Rasoulzadeh, Yaqub Iranmanesh, Hamzeh Ali Shirmardi, Hassan Jahanbazi and Mahmood Talebi
Natural Resources Gene Bank, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Uploaded at December 2023
Scientific editor: Hamideh Javadi
This Seed ID was supported by the Headquarters of Science and Technology of Medicinal Plants and Traditional Medicine
Seed Storage
The storage behavior of this species is orthodox (desiccation-tolerant seeds), dry to 15-20% eRH, and store at -20°C.
Germination requirements
The seeds of this species are not dormant. Sterilize seeds before placing them on wet germination paper. Place seeds for two weeks at 4 ºC to germinate uniformly. Then germinate under an alternating temperature regime of 15/20 ºC (the higher temperature for 16 hours in light and the lower one for eight hours in dark).
Morphology
Fruit type: Achene
Fruit shape: Subcylindric, somewhat four-angled in trans-section, apex truncate, pappus violet-brown, whitish at base, longer than the achene (2-4 times), outer bristles shorter than interior, scaly; hilum inferior. Surface glabrous, longitudinal furrowed, dull, pale brown
Fruit size: Length 6.55 to 8.99 mm, width 2 to 3.70 mm in an accession from Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad, Yasuj, with 1000 seed/fruit weight 25.2 g, which was collected and identified in 2017 by Yaqub Iranmanesh, Hamzeh Ali Shirmardi, Hassan Jahanbazi and Mahmood Talebi, and is stored in the Natural Resources Gene Bank of Iran with the accession number 46811.
1000 seed/ fruit weight: 14 to 38 g
Biological features
Life form: Subshrub, perennial. Stem erect, up to 50 cm height, tomentulose
Inflorescence, flower type, and pollination mechanism: Inflorescences solitary capitate, capitulum disciform; florets golden yellow, purple or white, outer florets filiform; inner florets tubular; involucre ovoid, involucral bracts multiseriate. Plant monoecious, cross-pollinated. Pollination is carried out by insects and wind
Time of flowering: Early spring
Time of fruit/seed ripening: Early spring
Fruit/seed dispersal methods: The agent of seed distribution is seed weight.
Geographical distribution: Iraq, Iran, and the Caucasus. Typus from West of Iran and animals.
Distribution in Iran: West, Northwest, Center. Mostly in provinces Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Tehran, Hamedan and Isfahan
Taxonomy
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Centaurea
Species: C. aucheri
Persian name: Golegandom-e Zagrosi
References and Links
Black, M. and Bewley, J.D. 2000. Seed technology and its biological basis. Sheffield Academic Press, 1-419 pp.
Bojňanský, V. and Fargašová, A. 2007. Atlas of seeds and fruits of central and East-European flora: the Carpathian Mountains region. Springer, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 1046 pp.
Ghahraman, A. Flore of Iran. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands with University of Tehran Publication. https://floraofiran.net/index.php.
Mozaffarian, V.A. 1998. Dictionary of Iranian plants names. Farhange Moaser Publisher, Tehran, 671 pp.
Mozaffarian, V.A. 2012. A Pictorial dictionary of botany. Farhange Moaser Publisher, Tehran, 1088 pp.
Mozaffarian, V., Ghahremaninejad, F., Narimisa, S., Kazempour-Osaloo, Sh., Jafari, E., Lotfi, E. Assadi, M. 2018. Flora of Iran, Asteraceae. Institute of Forests and Rangelands Press, Tehran, Iran, Publication No. 144, 1023 pp.
Ranjbar, M. and Negaresh, K. 2014. The genus Centaurea (Asteraceae, cardueae) in Iran: Two new species and a lectotypification. Edinburgh Journal of Botany, 71: 51-56.
Sharma, O.P. 2009. Plant taxonomy 2E. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi, 563 pp.
