A TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE GENUS PAEONIA (PAEONIACEAE) IN IRAN

The genus Paeonia L. is the single genus of Paeoniceae family and contains ca. 40 species worldwide, mostly Eurasian elements. The number of species in Iran and the name of them are variable in different literature. A taxonomic revision of the genus was done in Iran. Different available herbaria were visited and the plants compared with the description and partly available photographs of the herbarium specimens. Morphological characters were recorded based on herbarium specimens and living materials in the field. Paeonia wittmanniana usually is reported as a more widespread species in northern Iran seems not occur in Iran, but instead P. tomentosa is the most common species well distributed in northern Iran. Presence of two other species namely P. wendelboi and P. mascula formerly recorded from Iran is confirmed.