Centaurea peltieri Homrani-Bakali & Susanna, sp. nov. (Figs. 1–5) Diagnosis Centaurea peltieri belongs to C. sect. Melanoloma (Cass.) DC. and is close to C. takredensis, the only species from the section with epappose achenes (Tab. 1). It differs from C. takredensis by the arachnoid bracts especially above, and the middle bracts ended in a spinescent, pinnate, recurvate appendage (Fig. 2 to 5). Description Perennial, woolly-tomentose, rosulate multicaulescent herb, stemless (sometimes with peduncles up to 5 cm), green, unarmed except for the involucral bracts. Base of the stems usually covered with remains of old leaves. Rosette leaves oblong, lyrate-pinnatipartite up to 8 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, decreasing in size inwards; margins entire; 1–5 lateral lobes oblong to ovate, terminal lobe ovate-lanceolate, rounded; inner cauline leaves entire, undulate, narrowly lanceolate, pubescent with simple conic trichomes and sessile glands. Capitula solitary in the center of the rosettes, ovoid, 19–30 × 15–25 mm; outer florets sterile, central ones hermaphrodite; involucral bracts imbricate, apparently arranged in 6–8 rows, greenish or greenish-yellow, gradually increasing in length inwards, inconspicuously blackveined and arachnoid in the upper part; appendages of the middle bracts sericeous, fimbriate, usually reflexed, with a pinnate-spinose apical appendage with 2–12 denticules, terminated in a short spine. Corolla of hermaphrodite florets 24–28 mm long, yellow to yellowish, 8–10 mm long, limb 9–11 mm long, whitish at the base and yellow towards the apex, with 3–5 lobes, sparsely glandular; stamens with papillose filaments, anthers 6–7 mm long, creamy. Style yellowish with stigma branches separated at the apex. Achenes epappose, black to creamy white, 3.1–5 × 1.5–2.1 mm, columnar-ovoid, slightly compressed, elliptical in section, sparsely covered with white hairs (0.1–0.2 mm long) on the faces and with more or less dense hairs around the basal part. Flowering from May to June. Type:— MOROCCO. Maasker mountains, Province of Midelt, rural commune of Tounfite, at a place called Tatroute Assaka Gorge in Maasker mountain, elevation 1950 m, coordinates (WGS84): 32°21’47.5”N, 5°21’40.5”E, June 2020, A. Homrani Bakali (Holotype: RAB-111957; Fig. 1). Eponymy: —The specific epithet honours Prof. Jean-Paul Peltier, an excellent expert in the Moroccan flora, in regard to his efforts in supervising the first author’s botanical research. Distribution and ecology:—The plant occurs in the Tatroute gorges (Assaka, Tounfite), at elevations of 1950–2800 m a.s.l., between upper-mesomediterranean and lower supramediterranean vegetation types. Semi-arid bioclimates. In all known populations, the species was found growing on cracks in shady calcareous vertical cliffs. Known distribution:—The species appears to be endemic to a small area in the Maasker mountains (Fig. 6), High Atlas. This territory corresponds to the geographical unit “HA-6: Oriental High Atlas” of Fennane (2016). The species has been found on many shady cliffs; the overall population could exceed 200 individuals. Conservation:—The known populations of C. peltieri are strictly limited to specific ecological conditions. As we go outside the shady cliffs, we don’t find the plant anymore. However, more surveys should be made to circumscribe the distribution of the species.

Published as part of Bakali, A. Homrani & Susanna, A., 2021, Centaurea peltieri (Asteraceae), a new endemic species from the Oriental High Atlas of Morocco, pp. 192-198 in Phytotaxa 523 (2) on pages 193-195, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.523.2.6, http://zenodo.org/record/5585474