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.