Author: navidcod 
Nepeta crassifolia Boiss. & Buhse
Parvin Salehi Shanjani, Mohsen Nasiri, Masoumeh Remezani Yeganeh and Seyed Esmael Seyedian
Natural Resources Gene Bank, Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization, Tehran, Iran.
Uploaded at August 2021
Scientific editors: Valiullah Mozaffarian and Masoumeh Izadpanah
Seed Storage
The storage behavior of this species is orthodox (desiccation-tolerant seeds); dry to 15-20% eRH and store at -20°C.
Germination requirements
The seeds of this species are non-dormant. Sterilize seeds before placing them on wet germination paper. Then germinate under an alternating temperature regime of 15/20ºC (the higher temperature for 16 hours of light and the lower one for 8 hours of dark).
Morphology
Fruit: Nut
Seed: Nutlets, ellipsoid-oblong, dorsal side slightly convex, ventral side angular with distinct rib, areole (whitish hilum at the base) bi-lobed. Surface tuberculate, dull, black.
Seed size: Length: 1.9-2 mm, width: 1-1.2 mm in an accession from Damavand, Tehran with 1000 seed weight 0.8 g, which was collected in 2013 by Habibi, and the cultivated sample was identified by Ziba Jamehzad with accession number 40230.
1000 seed weight: 0.8 g.
Biological features
Life form: Perennial, woody at base, stem erect, branched at the base.
Inflorescence and flower type and pollination mechanisms: Inflorescence spaced verticillasters with short pedicel. Flowers hermaphrodite, zygomorphic, corolla blue-purple, 10-18 mm long. Plant monoecious, cross-pollinate. Pollination is carried out by insects.
Flowering Period: Spring to late summer
Time of seed ripening: Summer to early autumn
Seed dispersal methods: The seeds are displaced by weight.
Geographical distribution: Endemic to Iran. Typus from Qazvin near Manjil.
Distribution in Iran: In North, Northwest, North East and center. Mazandaran, Azarbaijan, Semnan, and Tehran.
Taxonomy
Family: Lamiaceae
Subfamily: Nepetoideae
Genus: Nepeta
Species: crassifolia
Persian name: Punehsae alborzi
References and Links
Bojňanský, V. and Fargašová, A. 2007. Atlas of seeds and fruits of central and East-European flora: the region of the Carpathian Mountains. Springer, Dordrecht, the Netherlands, 1046 pp.
Ghahraman, A. Flore of Iran. Research Institute of Forests and Rangelands with the university of Tehran publication. https://floraofiran.net/index.php.
Harrington, J.F. 1972. Seed storage and longevity. In: Seed Biology. Vol. III. T. Kozlowski (Ed.). Academic Press, New York, 145-245.
Hassan, T. and Dar, G. H. 2012. Nutlet micromorphology in selected species of Nepeta L. (Lamiaceae) in Kashmir Himalaya. Iranian Journal of Botany, 2: 262-269.
Jamzad, Z. 1391. Flora of Iran, No. 76: Lamiaceae. Agricultural Research, Education and Promotion Organization, Research Institute for Forests and Rangelands of Iran, Tehran, 1066 p.
Jamzad, Z., Ingrouille, M and Simmonds, M. 2003. Three new species of Nepeta (Lamiaceae) from Iran. Taxon, 52: 93-98.
Kaya, A. and Dirmenci, T. 2008. Nutlet surface micromorphology of the genus Nepeta L. (Lamiaceae) in Turkey. Turkish Journal of Botany, 32. 103-112.
Mozaffarian, V. 2012. A Pictorial Dictionary of Botany. Farhang Moaser publisher, 1088 pp.
Mozaffarian, V.A. 1998. Dictionary of Iranian Plants Names. Moaser Publisher, Tehran Farhang, 671 pp.
Naghibi, F. 2005. Labiatae family in folk medicine in Iran from ethnobotany to pharmacology. Iranian Journal of Pharmaceutical Research, 2: 63-79.
Sharma, O.P. 2009. Plant taxonomy 2E. Tata McGraw-Hill Education, New Delhi, 563 pp.
