Erbilkızanı (Cousinia Mazu-shirinensis)

Erbilkızanı is a species belonging to the genus Cousinia of the family Asteraceae (daisies). According to the Compositae Global Database, the genus Cousinia is represented by approximately 700 taxa worldwide. In the flora of Türkiye, this genus includes 39 species distributed across six sections, 26 of which are endemic. The species was first described in 1972 by Karl Heinz Rechinger in Flora Iranica.^【1】 It was originally described based on specimens collected in 1961 from the Kani Mazu Şirin region of Erbil Province in Iraq by A.D.Q. Agnew, Hadač and Wheeler-Haines.

^{Erbilkızanı (}AA⁾

Cousinia mazu-shirinensis is a biennial or perennial monocarpic herb. It grows to a height of 25–46 cm and is typically branched from the base. The stem is slender, cylindrical, and covered with sparse arachnoid hairs at the base and fewer hairs toward the upper parts. Leaves are firm-textured, reticulate-veined and toothed; the lower surfaces are densely covered with arachnoid hairs while the upper surfaces have sparse hairs. Basal leaves are elliptic or broadly lanceolate, measuring 15–30 × 4–7 cm; they may be simple or divided into two or three lobes. Stem leaves are lobed at the base and become simpler toward the apex, with winged margins up to 4.5–10 mm wide.

Flowers occur in 6–12 heads, each solitary at the tips of branches. Each head contains 40–60 florets; the involucre is ovoid to globose, measuring 20–35 × 20–55 mm. Phyllaries are arranged in multiple rows, with outer ones broad and inner ones narrow and elongated. Appendages are 8–16.5 × 4–15 mm in size, prominently ridged and ending in spines 1–3.5 mm long. Florets are wine-purple in color; anther tubes are of the same color and glabrous. Pappus bristles are 3.5–5.5 mm long. Achenes are blackish-brown, inversely ovate, and measure 4.5–5.5 × 2–3.5 mm.

Cousinia mazu-shirinensis occurs in oak woodlands and open steppes. The species is naturally found on rugged and exposed slopes at elevations between 950 and 1520 meters.

In Türkiye, the genus Cousinia is commonly known as “Kızan”. The scientific name of the species is Cousinia mazu-shirinensis, first described from the Kani Mazu Şirin region of Erbil Province in Iraq. After its documentation in Türkiye, researchers named the species “Erbilkızanı” to honor the location of its original discovery in Erbil.

The first specimens of Cousinia mazu-shirinensis were collected in 1961 from the Kani Mazu Şirin region of Erbil Province in Iraq by A.D.Q. Agnew, Hadač and Wheeler-Haines. The species was scientifically described by Karl Heinz Rechinger in 1972 in Flora Iranica. Its presence in Türkiye was confirmed in 2024 through field surveys conducted by Mehmet Fidan, Süleyman Mesut Pınar, Hüseyin Eroğlu and Metin Armağan in Şırnak Province.^【2】

Individuals of the species were first encountered during doctoral research conducted in Şırnak Province in 2012; limited numbers were observed in the same region in 2015. During fieldwork carried out between 2018 and 2019 under the “National Biological Diversity Inventory and Monitoring Project (UBENİS)” by the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, a widespread population of the species was detected. As a result of these studies, the species was formally published in 2024 in the KSÜ Journal of Agriculture and Nature, thereby being added to the flora of Türkiye.

^{Visual from the Discovery Process (}AA⁾

Cousinia mazu-shirinensis has been recorded as a new addition to the flora of Türkiye, increasing the number of taxa in the genus Cousinia to 42, of which 28 are endemic.

Specimens of Cousinia mazu-shirinensis are preserved in the Flora and Fauna Center Herbarium at Siirt University (SUFAF) and the Herbarium of Van Yüzüncü Yıl University (VANF). The holotype is housed at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh (E00383837); isotypes are deposited at the Kew Herbarium (K000778377) and the Vienna Herbarium (W19720001074).^【3】 The plant is also conserved in the Botan Herbarium. These herbarium specimens are accessible to researchers and are used in taxonomic identification and comparative studies.