NOTES ON THE GENUS CISTANCHE (OROBANCHACEAE) IN IRAN

The genus Cistanche Hofmmg. & Link. has seven species in Iran of which one taxon is endemic to area of “Flora Iranica”. During reconsidering of Orobanchaceae for the Farsi version of Flora of Iran we found a new subspecies of Cistanche which is described as C. flava (C. A. Mey.) Korsh. subsp. bicolor Saeidi & Shahi. Moreover, C. eremodoxa Bornm., previously reported from Khorassan province, is proposed as a synonym of C. ambigua (Bunge) G. Beck. A diagnostic key to all species of Cistanche distributed in Iran is also provided. For each species, ecology and some taxonomic remarks are presented.