New localities of rare and noteworthy vascular plants in the Eastern Caucasus, Armenia, Northern Caspian and Central Asia

А. П. Лактионов, Sayagul G. Akhmedenova, Mikhail S. Knyazev, Ramazan A. Murtazaliev, Kobil A. Bobokalonov, Shoista Mubalieva, Sobirjon S. Abrorov, Denis G. Melnikov, Merine Sargsyan, Ivan Gabrielyan

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Naira Sargsyan, Arpine Achoyan, Vladimir E. Afanasyev, Dibir R. Murtazaliev, Kazhmurat Maksutovich Akhmedenov, Araksya H. Elbakyan, Hripsik K. Kosyan, Mehdi M. Dehghani, Alexander V. Rudov

Turczaninowia, 2026

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DOI 10.14258/turczaninowia.29.2.4
Data confidence 85 high
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Abstract

This article presents new floristic records for vascular plant species in the Eastern Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, and Armenia, based on field surveys conducted between 2018 and 2024 and a critical revision of herbarium specimens deposited in the collections of LE, ERE, TAD, PPIU, DAG, and MHA. In total, approximately 40 new localities are documented for 24 species, encompassing endemic, Red Data Book, and alien taxa. In Tajikistan (Eastern Gissar and Central Zeravshan subregions), five new populations of endemic species were recorded: Nepeta subhastata, N. odorifera, N. gontscharovii, Eminium alberti. In Kazakhstan (Inder Solyanokupolnyy Province [belongs to the Caspian Lowland; located within the Inder District in the north of the Atyrau Region of Kazakhstan], West Kazakhstan Region), seven species are reported as new to the regional floras, including Astragalus sareptanus, A. astrachanicus, Matthiola superba, Zygophyllum ovigerum, Rorippa wolgensis, and Jurinea persimilis; most of these findings are associated with karst landscapes that served as refugia during the Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea. In the Russian Federation, Tanacetum macrophyllum and Digitalis ferruginea subsp. schischkinii are reported for the first time for Dagestan, Poacynum sareptanum – for Kalmykia (based on herbarium re-identification), and the North American invasive Grindelia squarrosa – for the Astrakhan Region, where it is actively spreading along roadsides. In Armenia, twelve new locality records are provided for eight species across several floristic regions, including the endemic Ferula dseghica (Yerevan floristic region), the relict Monotropa hypopitys (Sevan floristic region), new records of Parnassia palustris for the Zangezur floristic region, and the adventive Digitaria ciliaris for the Yerevan floristic region. The results highlight the conservation significance of karst landscapes in Kazakhstan and subalpine habitats in Tajikistan as refugia for rare endemics and underscore the active expansion of alien species along transportation corridors in the Caspian lowlands. The data contributes to updateing regional floristic checklists and Red Data Books.