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.