Mitotic study of some species of Onobrychis sect. Hymenobrychis DC. in Iran

The genus Onobrychis Miller is a large genus belonging to Fabaceae family and comperises 9 sections. The genus is distributed mainly in north temperate regions, but centers of its diversity are in the eastern Mediterranean area and south-western Asia. Many species of the genus are cultivated as fodder or for ornamental value. Onobrychis sect. Hymenobrychis DC. with about 12 species is one of important sections of the genus. In this study, chromosome number of 5 species belonging to the section, Onobrychis sintenisii Bornm., Onobrychis subnitens Bornm., Onobrychis chorassanica Bunge, Onobrychis hohenackeriana C. A. Mey. and Onobrychis michauxii DC. were analyzed. This report is the first cytogenetic analysis of these taxa. Results showed that all taxa are diploid and possess 2n = 2x = 14 chromosome number.