Lavandula coronopifolia Poir., Encycl. Meth. Bot.

Bordbar, Firouzeh & Upson, Tim M., 2021, TAXONOMIC REVIEW AND PHYLOGENETIC INVESTIGATIONS OF LAVANDULA FROM IRAN AND OMAN, Edinburgh Journal of Botany 78 (347), pp. 1-16 : 4-7

Lavandula coronopifolia Poir., Encycl. Meth. Bot. 3: 308 (1813). –

Type: Egypt, dans le Desert de Suez , Val de l’Egaremont, Delile s.n. (lectotype P; isolectotype K, P).

Figure 3 .

Description. See Rechinger (1982), Upson & Andrews (2004) and Jamzad (2012).

Phenology. Flowers February to April, fruits March to May.

Distribution. Occurring from the Cape Verde Islands, across northern Africa, western Asia and the western Arabian Peninsula to southern Iran ( Upson & Andrews, 2004). This is the most widespread distribution of any Lavandula species. In Iran, Lavandula coronopifolia was previously known from Hormozgan and Bushehr Provinces, and this study extends this to Kerman Province further to the east ( Figure 4 ).

Habitat and ecology. The distribution pattern of this species follows that of the Saharo-Arabian floristic region of Iran ( Zohary, 1973). It typically grows on stony slopes, along river margins and at the edges of farms and cultivated areas ( Jamzad, 2012).

Conservation status. Lavandula coronopifolia has an extent of occurrence (EOO) of

53,467 km 2 (an estimate based on previous records of this species; Jamzad, 2012) and an area of occupancy (AOO) of 3200 km 2 in Iran. It is treated as Near Threatened (NT) in Iran, and Least Concern (LC) globally.

Ethnobotany. No uses are recorded in Iran or elsewhere.

Specimens examined. IRAN. South, Hormozgan Province: Gavbandi , 18 iii 1998, Jaafari & Qasemi 2906 ( MIR); NW of Bandar-e Abbas, Mt Genu , 27.368608°N [27°22′06.99′′N], 56.162597°E [56°09′45.35′′E], 1 v 2015, Mirtadzadini 2904 ( MIR); Kerman Prov., Mijan , 3 v 2000, Mirtadzadini 2905 ( MIR).

Recorded as Lavandula stricta in Flora Iranica ( Rechinger, 1982) and Flora of Iran ( Jamzad, 2012), the accepted name by priority is L. coronopifolia ( Upson & Jury, 2002) . The highly branched peduncles and long, often-interrupted, almost wispy flower spikes make this species readily recognisable (see Figure 3A,B ). Its short bracts and calyx lobes of equal size are characteristic.

This widespread species reaches its most easterly point of its distribution in Iran.

Figures

Figure 3. Lavandula coronopifolia. A, Habit and base; B, inflorescence. Photographs: A, M. Mirtadzadini; B, M. Doostmohammadi.

Figure 4. Distribution of Lavandula in Iran: L. coronopifolia (circles), L. pubescens (diamond) and L. sublepidota (triangle).