Morphological variation and effects of cutting time in different genotypes of Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl.

Stachys lavandulifolia Vahl. is one of the most important medicinal plants with different applications in pharmaceutical and sanitary industries as well as high distribution in Iran. In order to assess the morphological variation and cutting times in S. lavandulifolia genotypes, an experiment was carried out in a randomized block design with three replicates on 41 genotypes belonging to four regions including Ferydoonshahr, Damaneh, Semirom and Shahrekord. According to analysis of variance, significant differences were observed among all traits studied, while no significant differences were observed among replications. The results of mean comparison revealed that the genotype Damaneh7 in the second cutting time possessed the highest dry weight. Shahrekord 6 in the first cutting time had the highest days to flowering with 100 days. Moreover, Damaneh20 genotype in the third cutting time had the highest essential oil content (3.11%), while the lowest was obtained for Damaneh17 genotype in the first cutting time (0.04%). In general, a significant variation was observed between genotypes and different cutting times. Finally, according to cluster analysis, genotypes were divided into different clusters based on different cutting times.