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Issue: Vol. 356 No. 4: 18 June 2018
Type: Article
Published: 2018-06-18
DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.356.4.1
Page range: 241–266
Abstract views: 23
PDF downloaded: 1

A taxonomic revision of the genus Aethionema s.l. (Brassicaceae) in Iran

Department of Botany, Research Center for Plant Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P.O. Box 91779-48974, Mashhad, Iran
Missouri Botanical Garden, P.O. Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri, 63166-0299, U.S.A.
Centre for Organismal Studies, Heidelberg University, Im Neuenheimer Feld 345, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany; & South‑Siberian Botanical Garden, Altai State University, Lenin str. 61, 656049 Barnaul, Russia
Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), P.O. Box 13185-116, Tehran, Iran
Herbarium Haussknecht, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Fürstengraben 1, 07737 Jena, Germany
Department of Botany, Research Center for Plant Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P.O. Box 91779-48974, Mashhad, Iran
Department of Botany, Research Center for Plant Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, P.O. Box 91779-48974, Mashhad, Iran
Aethionema Cruciferae Iranian flora lectotypification synonymy systematic revision Eudicots

Abstract

The present revision focuses on the enigmatic Southwest Asian genus Aethionema in Iran based on taxonomic literature, fieldwork, and study of over 400 herbarium specimens. As a result of the present study, A. diastrophis and A. transhyrcanum are newly found for Iran. The former is morphologically closer to A. membranaceum and A. kopetdaghi rather than to A. spinosum, under which it was previously synonymized. Aethionema edentulum and A. levandowskyi are placed in the synonymy of A. membranaceum and A. grandiflorum, respectively. The genus is represented in Iran by 16 species, of which six are endemic. Detailed descriptions, distribution maps, IUCN conservation status assessments, and illustrations of the species are provided. The lectotypes of A. cordatum, A. elongatum, A. fimbriatum, A. grandiflorum, A. koenigii, A. moricandianum, A. pallidiflorum, A. pulchellum, A. recurvum, A. schelkownikowii, A. sintenisii, A. spinosum, A. stenopterum, A. umbellatum, A. virgatum, A. woronowii, Lepidium intricatum, and Moriera gracilis are designated.