The Iranian Journal of Botany
Volume:24 Issue: 2, Summer and Autumn 2018

Genus Hesperis L. belongs to Brassicaceae (Cruciferae) family including 46 species in the world, of which seven taxa are distributed in Iran. Pollen and seed macro- and micromorphological features of the Iranian taxa belonging to three sections, including sects. Hesperis, Diaplictos and Pachycarpos were examined for the first time using light (LM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Data analyses were performed using PAST (ver. 3.14) software. The results showed that in Hesperis pollen grains are radially symmetrical, monad, isopolar, tricolpate and have a small size. Pollen grain shape is elliptic to circular in equatorial view and circular in polar view. The exine ornamentation is reticulate in all studied specimens. Seed sculpturing pattern revealed two main groups based on the presence or absence of papillae. This study clarified that both pollen and seed macro- and micromorphological characters are significant features in taxonomic classification of the genus Hesperis. Unweighted Pair Group Method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) and Principle Component Analysis (PCA), strongly supported the sectional delimitation of taxa for most characters but not for seed qualitative characters. The results are mostly in agreement with the previous studies.

Pollen morphology of 10 Allium L. taxa growing in Iran, representing three subgenera and six sections, were investigated via scanning electron microscopy. Pollen morphological characteristics indicated that pollen grains are monosulcate, heteropolar, and ellipsoidal. Polar axis revealed variation between 13.84 and 20.01 µm while Equatorial axis ranged from 20.4 to 42.37 µm. The forms of pollen grains were oblate, peroblate, and suboblate (mean of P/E ratio was 0.43 to 0.80). The aperture type and exine ornamentation were not homogeneous among the studied species. It was also observed that the sulcus extended from distal to proximal in two species of sect. Allium and one species of sect. Melanocrommyum. The exine was semitectate and the tectum was perforate. The variation in the main pollen characteristics in the investigated taxa allowed for recognizing two types of pollen grains in subg. Allium, Melanocrommyum and Amerallium: The first type had perforate rugulate trimming and high density of pollen perforations while the second type had perforate-striate-rugulate ornamentation and a low number of exine surface perforations.

Onobrychis sanandajensis is described as a new species from W. Iran. This taxon belongs to sect. Onobrychis. The new species differs from O. megataphros, O. shahpurensis and O. neychalanensis by the number of pairs, shape and size of leaflets; calyx size; corolla size and features of pod. The description of the new taxon along withthe illustrations are given. An identification key comparing the new species with the closest species is presented.

The presence of 2 species of genus Codonopsis in the flora of Middle Asia was traced. Description of a new species found in the western part of Uzbekistan is given.

Ferula hindukushensis Kitamura which was formerly known from Afghanistan and Pakistan, is reported here as a new record for the flora of Iran from Kuh-Mish Mount in Sabzevar, Khorassan Razavi province. Notes on its morphology, taxonomy, distribution and conservation status is presented.

Saponaria species are morphologically very similar so that their taxonomy has been a challenging subject for a long time. In order to clarify the taxonomy of the genus, materials deposited in the herbaria (TARI, IRAN and FUMH) of Iran were examined. Seed micro-morphology of 10 speceis of the genus Saponaria L. (Caryophyllaceae) were studied. Averag Linkage clustering filamentograms based on about 14 quantitative and qualitative traits were identified and coded to be very close to morphological cluster phonograms, and quantitative traits related to the seeds were carefully measured using the software, also PCA analysis was performed and the most variable characteristics were determined, including seed shape, cell shape and, cell margin shape, length to grain width ratio and length to cell width ratio. The micro-morphological characters of the seeds were evaluated as possible taxonomical characteristics of the species. Seed micro-morphology varied among the species and its taxonomic value was significant in distinguishing taxa at the species level.

Aanatomical features as revealed from cross-sections of leaf blades and midribs in 21 taxa of Gypsophila representing its currently recognized seven sections distributed in Iran as well as four species of Saponaria, two species of Allochrusa and one species of Ankyropetalum as its closely related genera are examined. In total nine quantitative and five qualitative characters were selected and measured. The most important characters include general shape of leaves (assessed only for narrow leaves) in transverse section, type of mesophyll (dorsi-ventral vs. isobilateral), thickness of sclerenchyma surrounding the vascular bundles, shape of central vascular bundle, number of parenchyma layers in midrib, thickness (number of layers) and structure of mesophyll, density and distribution of druses. In general, leaf anatomy does not provide any unique feature supporting the separation of genera Ankyropetalum and Allochrusa from Gypsophila. The number of spongy layers provides support at least for separation of Gypsophila (more than two layers) from most species of Saponaria (only one layer). Our results show that leaf anatomical features provide reliable evidence for subgeneric classification of Gypsophila and could be taxonomically valuable.

Karyological studies of seven populations of Buxus hyrcana Pojark. from different habitats are presented. We found one usual basic chromosome number in this species x=14. All populations were diploid (2n = 2x = 28). The results of kryotypic analysis made it possible to categorize different populations of a species and make a logical comparison among them.

Savory as an aromatic plant has traditionally been used in folk medicine as well as a spice of foods, showing inhibition against bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. There is interest in providing a new focus to contribute, from the perspective of genomic content, towards a better understanding of the Satureja adaptation. Using flow cytometry (FCM), nuclear DNA content of five Satureja (Lamiaceae) species, collected from different locations were analyzed for the first time. Linear regressions of 2C values were evaluated with ecological and morphological parameters. Flow cytometry measurements showed that 2C DNA contents varied from 1.30 to 1.47 pg in diploid species, and with a 2C value of 2.54 pg being obtained for the tetraploid species, S. spicigera. There were significant relationships between genome size and 18 morphological traits and climatic characteristics. These relationships could be resulted from geometrical scaling constraints. The obtained results will enhance the knowledge of the genus Satureja and constitute an important source of information for future researches.