Department of Horticultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Maragheh, Maragheh 55181-83111, Iran.
Department of Geography, University of Maragheh, Maragheh 55181-83111, Iran.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jan 29;19(3):1552. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031552.
Iran, with its unique climatic and topographic conditions, is home to about 8200 species of vascular plants. Approximately 2300 of the 8200 species are popularly characterized as medicinal or aromatic. Here, we compile information about the endemic medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) of Iran and map their distributions. Our survey found 180 endemic species of MAPs, belonging to 10 families and 30 genera. The majority of species are found in Lamiaceae, Fabaceae, and Apiaceae, with 86, 30, and 18 species, respectively. Approximately 70% of these plants have been recorded in the 10 provinces of Esfahan, Kerman, Fars, Tehran, Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari, East Azarbaijan, Lorestan, West Azarbaijan, Hamadan, and Mazandaran. These provinces are located in the Iran-o-Turanian region, one of the three major phytogeographic regions in Iran, which covers five areas of endemism (i.e., Azarbaijan, Zagros, Kopet Dagh-Khorassan, Alborz, and Central Alborz). So, Iran-o-Turanian region is the main center of diversity for the Iranian endemic MAPs. The north, center and western parts of Iran are rich in MAPs and could be considered as the dominant biodiversity hotspots of Iran more seemingly due to the diverse climatic and geographic assortment which generates the highest frequency and distribution of MAPs. Many of these MAPs are at the edge of extinction due to the unwise, unscientific harvesting and/or global climate change. Therefore, there is an urgent need to conserve and propagate some of these important MAPs to save them from extinction and also to ensure the availability of raw materials for their use and future research into their efficacy. Furthermore, identifying the areas of endemism (AEs) is an essential part of ongoing regional conservation management programs in Iran and worldwide.
伊朗拥有独特的气候和地形条件，是大约 8200 种维管植物的家园。在这 8200 种植物中，约有 2300 种被普遍认为具有药用或芳香特性。在这里，我们编译了有关伊朗特有药用和芳香植物（MAPs）的信息，并绘制了它们的分布图。我们的调查发现了 180 种特有药用植物，隶属于 10 科 30 属。大多数物种属于唇形科、豆科和伞形科，分别有 86、30 和 18 种。大约 70%的这些植物在伊斯法罕、克尔曼、法尔斯、德黑兰、恰哈马哈勒和巴赫蒂亚里、东阿塞拜疆、洛雷斯坦、西阿塞拜疆、哈马丹和马赞达兰等 10 个省份都有记录。这些省份位于伊朗-图兰地区，这是伊朗三个主要植物地理区之一，涵盖了五个特有分布区（即阿塞拜疆、扎格罗斯、科佩特达格-霍拉桑、阿尔伯兹和中央阿尔伯兹）。因此，伊朗-图兰地区是伊朗特有 MAPs 的主要多样性中心。伊朗的北部、中部和西部富含 MAPs，可以说是伊朗生物多样性的主要热点地区，这主要是由于其多样化的气候和地理组合，使得 MAPs 的分布频率和分布范围达到最高。由于不合理、不科学的收获和/或全球气候变化，许多这些 MAPs 处于灭绝的边缘。因此，迫切需要保护和繁殖其中一些重要的 MAPs，以防止它们灭绝，并确保为它们的使用和未来研究其功效提供原材料。此外，确定特有分布区（AEs）是伊朗和全球正在进行的区域保护管理计划的重要组成部分。
