''Turgeniopsis'' is a

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s belonging to the family

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

. It contains only one known species, ''Turgeniopsis foeniculacea''. The earlier

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

''Glochidotheca'' is also used as the accepted genus name, but

Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. History Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...

states that it was not validly published.

Description

It is an

annual Annual may refer to: *Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year **Yearbook **Literary annual *Annual plant *Annual report *Annual giving *Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco *Annuals (band), a ...

. It has erect and branched, stems which grow up to high. It has leaves which are 3–4-pinnate, with very fine capillary segments. It blooms between April and May. The white, about 1 mm across flowers, are compound umbels on long peduncles and it has 2–3 rays of partial umbels with 2–3

hermaphrodite A hermaphrodite () is a sexually reproducing organism that produces both male and female gametes. Animal species in which individuals are either male or female are gonochoric, which is the opposite of hermaphroditic. The individuals of many ...

and several male flowers in the centre. After it has flowered, between May and June, it produces a seed capsule (fruit). It is about 8 by 3.5 mm, are elliptic (in shape), with hooked spines. It is

pollinated Pollination is the transfer of pollen from an anther of a plant to the stigma of a plant, later enabling fertilisation and the production of seeds. Pollinating agents can be animals such as insects, for example bees, beetles or butterflies; bird ...

by insect. Reproduction is carried out by seeds, which are dispersed through

zoochory In spermatophyte plants, seed dispersal is the movement, spread or transport of seeds away from the parent plant. Plants have limited mobility and rely upon a variety of dispersal vectors to transport their seeds, including both abiotic vectors, ...

(by animals) or barochory (dropping by gravity).

Taxonomy

The name ''Glochidotheca'' was published in 1843 by

Eduard Fenzl Eduard Fenzl (1808, in Krummnußbaum – 1879, in Vienna) was an Austrian botanist. Life and contributions An obituary notes " ewas Professor of Botany and Director of the Imperial Botanical Cabinet, a member of the Vienna Academy of Sciences, ...

, earlier than ''Turgeniopsis'' was published by

Pierre Edmond Boissier Pierre Edmond Boissier (25 May 1810 Geneva – 25 September 1885 Valeyres-sous-Rances) was a Swiss prominent botanist, explorer and mathematician. He was the son of Jacques Boissier (1784-1857) and Caroline Butini (1786-1836), daughter of Pierr ...

in 1844, and some sources use ''Glochidotheca'' as the accepted genus name. However

states that ''Glochidotheca'' was not validly published and so uses ''Turgeniopsis''. The genus name of ''Turgeniopsis'' is in honour of

Alexander Turgenev Alexander Ivanovich Turgenev (; (27 March April1784, Simbirsk - 3 5December 1845, Moscow) was a Russian statesman and historian. Biography Alexander Turgenev was born in Simbirsk in 1784. His father, Ivan Petrovich Turgenev (1752-1807) was ...

(1784–1845), a Russian statesman and historian. The Latin

specific epithet In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

of ''foeniculacea'' is derived from ''

Foeniculum ''Foeniculum '' is a genus of flowering plants in the carrot family. It includes the commonly cultivated fennel, ''Foeniculum vulgare.'' ;Species *'' Foeniculum scoparium'' Quézel - North Africa *'' Foeniculum subinodorum'' Maire, Weiller & ...

(fennel). It is placed in subfamily ''Apioideae'' and tribe '' Scandiceae'' subtribe ''Torilidinae''.

Range and habitat

It is native to Bulgaria and parts of western Asia: Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. In 2011, it was found in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. It is listed as

critically endangered An IUCN Red List critically endangered (CR or sometimes CE) species is one that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild. As of December 2023, of t ...

in Bulgaria, and is threatened by he poor competitive ability of the species and its small population;

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

and strong soil erosion. It grows in stony

grasslands A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge ( Cyperaceae) and rush ( Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur ...

and scrubland, on screes, hillsides, on limestone bedrock, usually on shallow soil in the oak-forests belt. It grows at altitudes of above sea level. It can be found growing with '' Inula aschersoniana'', '' Agropyron brandzae'', '' Koeleria simonkaii'', '' Polygala rhodopea'', ''

Medicago rhodopea ''Medicago'' is a genus of flowering plants, commonly known as medick or burclover, in the legume family (Fabaceae). It contains at least 87 species and is distributed mainly around the Mediterranean Basin, and extending across temperate Eurasi ...

'', '' Galium rhodopeum'', '' Jasminum fruticans'', and others.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q29527500, from2=Q28936775, from3=Q17582044 Apioideae Apioideae genera Monotypic Apiaceae genera Plants described in 1844 Flora of Bulgaria Flora of Western Asia