Untangling the Taxonomy of Rorida (Cleomaceae) in Iran

This work presents the first comprehensive revision of Iranian Rorida J. F. Gmel. based on extensive field surveys, herbarium visits, literature review, and micromorphological investigations. Our taxonomic assessment shows that these taxa can be delimited from each other by a combination of habit, leaf size and morphology, indumentum type, details of floral structure, fruit shape and size, and seed color. We recognize five species of Rorida for the flora of Iran and propose two new combinations: R. dolichostyla (Jafri) Khorasani & Naqinezhad and R. fimbriata (Vicary) Khorasani & Naqinezhad. Moreover, two new records of Rorida for the flora are reported, R. tomentella (Popov) Thulin & Roalson and R. droserifolia (Forssk.) Thulin & Roalson. An identification key to all Iranian Rorida, nomenclature, and comprehensive descriptions are provided for each species, along with notes on taxonomy and ecology (phytogeography, habitat, and conservation status), illustrations, and distribution maps

2006: Three new species of the genus Acantholimon (Plumbaginaceae) from

Acantholimon albocalycinum is described from SE Iran. It is from the sect. Glumaria and is characterized by having a white calyx. The new species is related to A. subulatum, that it is compared with. A. kermanense is described from Kerman province, Iran. It is from the sect. Acantholimon and seems to be related to A. chrysostegium, A. hyalinum and A. mirtadzadinii and is compared with them. A. sirchense is described from SE Iran. The new species is from the sect. Glumaria and seems to be again related to A. subulatum

Pollen morphology of Amygdalus L. [Rosaceae] in Iran

Pollen grain of 16 species and three hybrids of the genus Amygdalus L., representing two subgenera and two sections distributed in Iran were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. All pollen grains are tricolporate. The shape of grains varies from subprolate through prolate. Regarding outline, in polar view, pollen grains are triangular-circular and in equatorial view, elliptic. Regarding sculpturing of exine, the frequent type like many members of family Rosaceae is striate with or without perforations that can be subdivided into three subtypes: type I (A-B), type II (A-B) and type V. In three species, A. trichamygdalus, A. spinosissima and A. orientalis, exine sculpture type is completely different. In the first species is rugulate, in the second species is reticulate and in A. orientalis, it is gemmate-perforate. Ornamentation of ridges (muri) in the striate sculpture is parallel to ectocolpus. Number of perforations in tectum, diameter of them, striae intervals and the thickness of ridges varies among studied taxa. The striae have different depth and slope. Results showed that among pollen grain characters, shape is useful character solely for separating of taxonomic ranks in Iranian Amygdalus specially in subgeneric or section level

The toxicity evaluation of salvia rhytidea and glycine max extracts versus the biochemical and histological indices of liver and kidney functions in mice

Background: The safety of the use of medicinal plants is a general challenge among consumers. To improve the use, it is necessary to provide complete profiles of the natural medications for quality control and the therapeutic and toxicity effects. This study was conducted to evaluate the structural and functional toxicity of the methanolic extracts of Salvia rhytidea and Glycine max plants in mice. Methods: After determining the LD50, NMRI mice with mean weight of 25-30 g were treated intraperitoneally with 100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, and orally with 800 mg/kg of the extracts for 7 consecutive days. After the last treatment, the serum samples were prepared and used for the biochemical assays. The liver and left kidney were removed from the animals and fixed in 10 formalin for histopathological examinations. Results: The results indicated that the biochemical parameters of liver and kidneys were not significantly different among the experimental and control groups (P>0.05). Mild degenerative changes in the liver and kidneys were observed at the IP dose of 400 mg/kg and oral dose of 800 mg/kg of both extracts. Conclusion: The use of these plants' extracts did not induce severe toxicity in the short-term; however, caution should be exercised with the long-term use. © 2020 Iranian Journal of Toxicology