Floristic study of Ghareche region in NE Khorasan Razavi Province

The Ghareche region with about 9000 hectares، is located in northeast of Khorasan and 45 km northwest of Quchan. Elevation range varies between 1310 and 2300 m above sea level. Mean annual precipitation and temperature is 319. 1 mm and 13˚C، respectively. In order to identify the flora، life form and chorology، plants of the region were collected during the growing seasons of 2011 and 2012. A total number of 396 vascular plant species belonging to 252 genera and 62 plant families were identified from the region. The largest plant families with highest number of species in the region included: Asteraceae (63 species)، Fabaceae (32 species)، Brassicaceae (28 species)، Lamiaceae (25 species) and Apiaceae (22 species). Astragalus with 14 species، Centaurea، Cousinia and Euphorbia each with 7 species، Rosa with 6 species and Convolvulus and Silene each with 5 species، were the genera with the highest number of species. The main life forms were: Hemicryptophytes with 43%، Therophytes with 28%، Chamaephytes with 12%، Geophytes with 11% and Phanerophytes with 6%. The high percentage of Hemicryptophytes indicated that the region had a cold mountain climate. The largest proportion of the chorological elements belonged to Irano-Turanian floristic region (60. 55%)، followed by Pluriregional elements (12. 21%)، which indicated that the area was strongly influenced by Irano-Turanian floristic elements. Two species، including Colchicum soboliferum and Ranunculus caucasicus، were identified and recorded for the first time in Khorasan Razavi Province.