A new species of Cephalaria, known locally as "pelemir," has been discovered in southwestern Türkiye after being spotted by a retired science teacher during a nature hike, adding to Anatolia’s rich biodiversity.
Rıfat Özdemir, a retired teacher living in the Fethiye district of Muğla province with a long-standing interest in plant species, noticed an unusual pelemir plant while hiking two years ago in Denizli province. Suspecting it might be a previously unidentified species, Özdemir contacted botanists at Ege University and Akdeniz University.
Detailed examinations of the plant’s leaves, flowers and overall structure showed that it did not match any known species, researchers said. Molecular analyses conducted by Prof. Ergun Kaya of Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University confirmed that the plant is a distinct species.
The findings were published in Phytotaxa, an international scientific journal regarded as an authority in the field of botany.
The species, found in a limited area between Denizli’s Çameli district and Muğla’s Fethiye district, was named Cephalaria cameliensis and entered the scientific literature with the Turkish name “Çameli pelemiri.”
Prof. Hasan Yıldırım, director of the Ege University Botanical Garden and Herbarium Research and Application Center, said the Cephalaria genus is represented by about 100 species worldwide.
“Türkiye is a major center of diversification for this genus,” Yıldırım told Anadolu Agency (AA). “Nearly half of these species are found in our country. With this discovery, the number of pelemir species in Türkiye has reached 49, 25 of which are endemic and found nowhere else in the world.”
Yıldırım said the newly identified species grows at elevations of about 1,350 to 1,850 meters and is mainly found along roadsides, making it vulnerable to damage from road construction. Overgrazing also poses a threat, as animals feed on the plant, he said.
“Because it has a very narrow distribution area, this is a species that needs to be protected,” Yıldırım added.
