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Review
. 2022 Jan 29;19(3):1552.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19031552.

Diversity and Distribution Patterns of Endemic Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Iran: Implications for Conservation and Habitat Management

Mohammad Bagher Hassanpouraghdam  1 , Hamideh Ghorbani  1 , Marzieh Esmaeilpour  2 , Mac H Alford  3 , Maciej Strzemski  4 , Sławomir Dresler  4   5
Affiliations
Review

Diversity and Distribution Patterns of Endemic Medicinal and Aromatic Plants of Iran: Implications for Conservation and Habitat Management

Mohammad Bagher Hassanpouraghdam et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Irano-Anatolian Hotspot; biodiversity hotspots (BHs); conservation; endemism; extinction; medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs).

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The species number of the ten most endemic-rich families of Iranian medicinal and aromatic plants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The frequency of endemic and non-endemic species of the 30 most endemic-rich genera of the Iranian medicinal and aromatic plants.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The plant parts of the Iranian endemic medicinal and aromatic plants in common use for curing the diverse maladies.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The distribution pattern of Iranian endemic medicinal and aromatic plants across the provinces.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Distribution patterns of the endemic medicinal and aromatic plants of Iranian flora by endemism area.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Topogeographic map of Iran indicating phytogeographical regions and distribution of endemic medicinal and aromatic plants.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Two biodiversity hotspots regions of Iran (adopted from https://biodiversity.doe.ir/portal/home/?778961/ (accessed on 26 January 2022). Note: (A) shows Irano-Anatolian biodiversity hotspot, and (B) shows the Caucasus biodiversity hotspot.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Climate map of Iran showing the location of endemic medicinal and aromatic plants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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