HYDROCHARIS DUBIA (HYDROCHARITACEAE), A NEW RECORD FOR THE FLORA OF IRAN, CONFIRMED BY nrDNA ITS SEQUENCE DATA

A population of Hydrocharis dubia of Hydrocharitaceae was discovered as a new record from the Caspian Sea coast in Mazandaran province. Phylogenetic analyses of both maximum parsimony and the maximum likelihood of DNA sequence data from the internal transcribed spacer region evidently confirmed the occurrence of H. dubia in Iran. We speculate that the verification of H. dubia in Iran out of its up to now reported range represents a non-indigenous introduction presumably caused by migratory waterfowl visiting the province while facilitating long seed dispersal. Regular monitoring is recommended to be applied in order to follow up its establishment and adaptation in the area, to control it as a potential noxious weed.