The conservation status of Leutea avicennae in Iran

Leutea avicennae is a perennial and saxicolous species of the Apiaceae family. This species is endemic to Iran and was first introduced by Mozaffarian based on a specimen collected from Qolaibad Mountain in Hamedan province. Then another sample of the second habitat of this plant was collected in Ghaflankouh Mountain in East Azerbaijan province. So far, another sample of this species, except the two habitats, has not been reported from Iran. In this paper, the conservation status of this species was determined in accordance with the IUCN's style sheet, using three criteria of presence, occupation and population size. The area of occupancy (AOO) of Leutea avicennae, using GeoCAT software, was estimated to be 0.06 km2</sup> and the extent of occurrence in its habitats (EOO) was 257.67 km2. According to the results of this study, Leutea avicennae is defined as a critically endangered (CR) species, according to the IUCN criteria. In order to protect this endemic species, stone harvesting from its habitats should be stopped and these areas must be under special environmental and grazing prohibitions.