Satureja bachtiarica Bunge

Bordbar, Firouzeh & Mirtadzadini, Mansour, 2024, A morphological re-evaluation of the taxonomic status of Satureja L. (Lamiaceae, Nepetoideae, Mentheae) from flora of Iran, Adansonia (3) 46 (7), pp. 45-63 : 50-52

Satureja bachtiarica Bunge

( Fig. 1 C-F)

In Mémoires de l’Académie impériale des Sciences de Saint Pétersbourg , ser. 7, 21: 37 ( Bunge 1873). — Type : Iran • Persiae australis districtus Bachtiarici montosis supra Abergun ; s.d.; Haussknecht s.n.; lecto-, G, G-BOIS; isolecto-, JE [ JE00013739 image!, JE00013740 image!], W [ W0031749 image!] .

Satureja kermanshahensis Jamzad , The Iranian Journal of Botany 16 (2): 214 ( Jamzad 2010). — Type : Iran • Kermanshah, between Eivan and Sumar, Chehelzari ; alt. 1100 m; Assadi & Nikchehre 76300 (holo-, TARI!) , syn. nov.

PHENOLOGY. — Flowering September to October and fruiting October to December.

DISTRIBUTION AND ECOLOGY. — Endemic species, widely distributed in western and south-western region of Iran ( Fig. 4A ). Dry rocky limestone slopes.

SPECIMENS EXAMINED. — Iran • W Iran, Bakhtiari Prov., Tshoghakhor , NE of Mt. Kallar; 31°51’44.9”N, 50°54’27.0”E; alt. 2858 m; 30.IX.2017; Mirtadzadini 3025 ( MIR) • Bakhtiari, N of Ardal, Darkash canyon ; 32°03’08.7”N, 50°39’43.3”E; alt. 2721 m; 27.X.2016; Mirtadzadini 1991 ( MIR) • SE of Tshelgerd , 2 km SE of Ahmadabad; 32°24’49”N, 50°09’07”E; alt. 2550 m; 25.IX.2022; Mirtadzadini & Bordbar 4151 ( MIR) • Tshelgerd, Marbore area , E of Mt. Zardkuh; 32°20’06”N, 50°10’37”E; alt. c. 2300 m; 25.IX.2022; Mirtadzadini & Bordbar 4152 ( MIR) • Ilam Prov., 1 km to Sumār from Tshehelzar’i village ; 34°00’02.2”N, 46°02’55.7”E; alt. 1164 m; 03.X.2017; Mirtadzadini 3026 ( MIR) • Kordestan Prov., Dezli to Auraman , Kalam defile ; 35°20’15.52”N, 46°13’9.54”E; alt. 1690 m; 05.X.2017; Faruqinia 3024 ( MIR) • Kermanshah Prov., Kerend, near Asiab-Tanureh village ; 34°29’40.14”N, 46°08’39.07”E; alt. 1874 m; 03.XI.2016; Bordbar 1995 ( MIR) • Kermanshah, Kerend ; 34°30’07.39”N, 46°07’53.72”E; alt. c. 1880 m; 03.XI.2016; Bordbar 1994 ( MIR) • C Iran, Yazd Prov.; 13 km from Mehriz to Tang-e Tshenar; 31°30’38.0”N, 54°21’30.3”E; alt. 1946 m; Mirtadzadini 1987 ( MIR) • SW Iran, Fars Prov., east of Niriz ; 29°11.633’N, 54°25.747’E; alt. 2539 m; 25.VIII.2016; Bordbar 1944 ( MIR) • South west of Estahban, Kuhbehesht ; 29°06’43.16”N, 54°02’03.55”E; alt. 1829 m; 14.X.2016; Bordbar 1952 ( MIR) • Persia australis , Schiraz in montibus calc .; alt. 1700 m; 21.X.1892; Bornmüller 4264 ( P [ P02998216 , P02998218 , P02998219 ]) • East of Shiraz, 6 km east of Dariun , on stony slopes; 29°34’20.8”N, 52°50’17.5”E; alt. 1606 m; 15.IX.2011; Mirtadzadini 2038 ( MIR) • NW of Shiraz, Bamu national Park , Dasht-e Ahoo ; 29°42’17.4”N, 52°41’51.6”E; alt. 1720 m; 04.X.2010; Khosravi & Sajjadi 3030 ( MIR) • Bamu national park , road of Pasgah to Cheshmeh Fil ; 29°42’32.9”N, 52°37’48.3”E; alt. 1770 m; 29.IX.2010; Khosravi 3031 ( MIR) • Sisakht, near Tsheshme-Mishi ; 30°51’12.0”N, 51°31’10.0”E; alt. c. 2500 m; 26.X.2016; Mirtadzadini 1992 ( MIR) • Sepidan, east of Margun waterfall ; 30°29’24.81”N, 51°53’52.34”E; 07.IX.2014; Mirtadzadini 1950 ( MIR) • Kogiluyeh Prov., NW of Sisakht, before Dashtak ; 18.VII.2000; Mirtadzadini 1949 ( MIR) • Ibid.; 30°53’34.9”N, 51°24’44.6”E; alt. 2343 m; 26.X.2016; Mirtadzadini 1988 ( MIR) • Yasuj toward Dezhkord ; 30.IX.2022; Mirtadzadini & Bordbar 4158 ( MIR) • Esfahan Prov., south of Isfahan , on stony and rocky slopes near Semirom ; 26.IX.2014; Mirtadzadini 1967 ( MIR) • Semirom, 6 km from Semirom toward Vanak ; 31°26’48.34”N, 51°30’07.62”E; 26.IX.2014; Mirtadzadini 1993 ( MIR) .

DESCRIPTION

Aromatic perennial, 10-45 cm high. stems erect- procumbent, covered with white short retrorse or spreading hairs and sessile glands on young parts, length of lower internodes 5-12 mm, length of inflorescence internodes 3-9 mm. Leaves entire, sessile, recurved, conduplicate, cauline leaves mostly linear-narrow elliptic, rarely linear or narrow elliptic or oblanceolate, 6-15 mm long, 1-3.5 mm wide, blade tip obtuse or acute, covered with short hairs and sessile glands on both surfaces, floral leaves similar in shape to the cauline leaves and shorter. Verticillasters distant, sometimes approximate at upper parts of stem, with 2-6 flowers, flowers mostly sessile, peduncle and pedicel 0.7-1.5 mm (if present). Calyx green to dark purple, campanulate, covered with short hairs and sessile glands on the outside, 2.5-3 mm, calyx teeth wide triangular to narrow triangular, inferior teeth 0.7-1.4 mm, superior teeth 0.5- 0.8 mm. Corolla white sometimes with violet or yellow lines, spots or smears, 4-6.5 mm long. Stamens exserted from the tube, the anterior pair longer. Style exserted from the tube, 4.5-6.5 mm. Nutlets elliptic, 1.2-1.5 mm long, 0.5-0.7 mm wide, brown to dark brown.

REMARKS

Satureja kermanshahensis was described by Jamzad (2010) from a single specimen growing in a single locality in Kermanshah Province, and no other specimens from this species have been reported since then. By the exploring the species in the type locality, we found only Satureja bachtiarica . In the first description, the former species is compared with S. bachtiarica , and differs in morphological characters, namely: habit (ascending vs erect), verticillasters (two-flowered, approximate vs many-flowered, distant at the lower parts), calyx (2.5-3 mm vs 1.5 mm), and corolla (pink-purple vs white). For the following reasons S. kermanshahensis is reported here as a synonym for S. bachtiarica : (1) the habit of S. bachtiarica is erect-procumbent which may seems ascending. (2) Verticillasters are 2–6 flowers in S. bachtiarica . (3) The length of calyx is 2.5-3 mm in S. bachtiarica . (4) Violet smears are seen among the flowers of S. bachtiarica especially in the populations from Kermanshah and Kordestan Province. (5) The verticillasters are not all close to each other and are distant in the lower parts of the stems in the type of S. kermanshahensis (Assadi & Nikchehre 76300) similar to those of S. bachtiarica .

Among the studied taxa, S. bachtiarica has the widest distribution in Iran, and shows high morphological and genetical diversity ( Saidi et al. 2013; Khadivi-Khub et al. 2014, 2015; Bordbar et al. 2020). However, Bordbar et al. (2020) do not believe in any infraspecific classification for this species. It can be distinguished by the campanulate calyx 2.5-3 mm long and the whitish corolla 4.3-6 mm long.

S. bachtiarica was reported from southern Iran, Bushehr Province, Kuh-e Khormuj in Flore de l’Iran ( Parsa 1949) and Flora Iranica ( Rechinger 1982) based on two herbarium specimens Nábělek 1622, deposited in the herbarium SAV [SAV0002657, SAV0002658] (http://www.nabelek.sav.sk). These specimens were collected in February, and hard to identify as far as their inflorescence has fallen and only few calyces remained. However, in our opinion the remaining parts resemble those of Gontscharovia popovii distributed in south of Iran.

Figures

FIG. 1. — Habit and close-up of inflorescence of Satureja L. species from flora of Iran: A, B, S. avromanica Maroofi (Mirtadzadini 3029); C, D, S. bachtiarica Bunge (Mirtadzadini & Bordbar 4151); E, S. bachtiarica (Bordbar 1995); F, S. bachtiarica (Bordbar 1944); G, S. longiflora Boiss. & Hausskn. (Mirtadzadini 2031); H, S. longiflora (Bordbar 2032); I, S. longiflora (Advay 4155); J, S. longiflora (Mirtadzadini & Bordbar 4153); K, S. intermedia (Mirtadzadini 1980); L, M, S. isophylla Rech.f. (Mirtadzadini 1978).

FIG. 4. — Distribution map of Satureja L. species in Iran: A, S. bachtiarica Bunge; B, S. avromanica Maroofi (circle), S. hortensis L. (naturally grows) (square); C, S. kermanica Payandeh, Bordbar & Mirtadz. (circle), S. intermedia C.A.Mey. (square); D, S. khuzistanica Jamzad (circle), S. isophylla Rech.f. (square).