A Study of Flora and Plant Life Forms in PardisRegion of Shiraz, Fars Province1

The natural environment and the genetic resources of Pardis region, five kilometers from
Sadra-Shiraz road, have undergone rapid and extreme changes due to the construction and development projects which are conducted over the past years. The vegetation of the region was explored in an experimental study, carried out in 2012-2013, and the existing plants were collected during different seasons. The plants were identified through microscopic studies and with the help of the library and Internet resources on Iranian flora. In an attempt to keep and preserve the plant resources of the region, the samples were added to the Herbarium of Islamic Azad University, Shiraz branch, after identification and classification. The results of this experiment indicated that Pardisfloraincluded 289 species which belonged to 47 plant families. One Pteridophyte, one Gymnospermes, and 44 Angiospermes (including 40 Dicotyledones and 4 Monocotyledones) were identified. The highest number of species belonged to Fabaceae, Poaceae and Asteraceae,Brassicaceae, and Lamiaceaefamilies respectively with 49, 38, 19,and 15 species. The most frequent species belonged to three genera namely, Astragalus, Vicia, and Amaranthuswith 10, 8, and 6 species, respectively. The plant life forms across the region included 63.40% therophyte, 21.63% hemicryptophyte, 6.20% chamephyte, 4.45% cryptophyte, 2.33% phanerophyte, and 1.99% geophyte. The results of this study indicated that the floristic composition of plant species inPardisof Shiraz is rich despite the limited area of the region.