A taxonomic revision of the genus Cirsium Mill. sect. Cirsium(Asteraceae: Cardueae) in Turkey

Abstract

The name Cirsium originates from the Greek word "khirsos", which means "swollen vein", referring to diseases of veins. Tournefort, citing Dioscorides, reported that the roots of this plant were used against diseases of veins. In addition, the use of this plant in varicose disease for pain relief was reported (Tournefort, 1694;Charadze, 1963). The name Cirsium was used by botanists in the pre-Linnean period (Bauhin, 1596; Tournefort, 1694). In Species Plantarum, the species of the genus Cirsium were treated given under the names of the genera of Serratula L., Carduus L., and Cnicus L. by Linnaeus (1753).The history of the genus Cirsium is given below chronologically in terms of taxonomy:The first comprehensive study was carried out in "Prodramus Sytematis Naturalis" by Candolle (1838). In this study, the genus was represented by 137 species belonging to 6 sections: C. sect. Lophiolepis Cass. (4 species), C. sect. Eriolepis Cass. (38 species), C. sect. Orthocentron Cass. (6 species), C. sect. Corynotrichum DC. (3 species), C. sect. Cephalonoplos (Necker) DC. (5 species), and C. sect. Onotrophe Cass. (81 species). In Flora Orientalis, 74 species belonging to 4 sections, C. sect. Epitrachys DC. ex Duby (38 species), C. sect. Chamaelon DC. (28 species), C. sect. Lamyra Cass. (7 species), and C. sect. Breea Less. (1 species), were given by Boissier (1875).Sommier and Levier (1895) reported 53 species (including the NE of Turkey) without separating them into sections in their work Cirsium del Caucaso.In addition, 111 species belonging to 16 subsections and 7 sections were given by Charadze (1963) in Flora of the USSR, 60 species belonging to 3 sections were given by Werner (1976) in Flora Europaea, and 36 species belonging to 7 subsections and 5 sections were given by Petrak (1979) in Flora Iranica. A comprehensive study about New World

Innovative Biochemometric Approach to the Metabolite and Biological Profiling of the Balkan Thistle (Cirsium appendiculatum Griseb.), Asteraceae

“…Cirsium). It includes about 250 species spread throughout Europe, North Africa, East Asia, Central Asia, SW Asia and North and Central America [3,4]. Its species have been used for many years as a traditional herbal medicine.…”

“…Its species have been used for many years as a traditional herbal medicine. As the origin of the name suggests ("khirsos" in Greek means "swollen veins"), the genus Cirsium has been known for centuries for its usage against varicose diseases, to relieve pain [4]. According to the ethnopharmacological relevance, the species is also valued for the treatment of numerous ailments due to its diuretic, astringent, anti-inflammatory, anti-melanogenesis, anti-tumor and anxiolitic activities as well as its activity against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease [5,6].…”

Cirsium greimleri

“…having a brush shape. Among European thistles, this colour is almost unknown, although it occurs in the West Asian C. hypoleucum, which is distributed in Gruziya and Turkey and rarely in the European part of Turkey near Istanbul (Yildiz et al 2016). Diploid C. hypoleucum resembles C. greimleri in its nodding capitula, which are smaller than those of C. greimleri.…”

“…Flower colour is a stable taxonomic character in species of Cirsium (Wagenitz 1987, Yildiz et al 2016. In Europe, most species of Cirsium (»80%) have purple, and the remaining ones have white or pale yellow flowers (Werner 1976).…”

“…Based on recent critical taxonomic revisions (e.g. Menitskij 1996, Keil 2006, Zhu & Greuter 2011, Yildiz et al 2016) and the new species described in recent decades (particularly from Turkey and Japan), the estimated richness could be between 400 and 450 species (Roskov et al 2017). Cirsium species occupy a wide range of open habitats in the Northern Hemisphere, where they are Carpathians (Bieszczady Zachodnie) and then confirmed by Pashuk (1987) in the Carpathians in western Ukraine (Chernogora).…”