Agro-morphological diversity of Salvia mirzayanii Rech. F. & Esfand. (Lamiaceae) populations grown wild in Iran: the first step in plant conservation and domestication
Keywords:
Salvia sp., Medicinal plant, Diversity, Conservation, Germplasm, Cluster analysisAbstract
The genus Salvia L. (Lamiaceae) comprises approximately 900 species distributed worldwide. Iran is home to 58 annual and perennial Salvia species, 17 of which—such as Salvia mirzayanii Rech. f. & Esfand—are endemic. This species predominantly grows in the southern regions of Iran, particularly in the Fars and Hormozgan provinces. Traditionally, S. mirzayanii has been used for treating gastrointestinal disorders including gastric irritation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and poisoning, as well as for relieving headaches and promoting wound healing. In the present study, morphological diversity among seven populations of S. mirzayanii (SMPs), collected from various geographic regions—Bavanat (SMP1), Sarvestan (SMP2), Darab (SMP3), Lar (SMP4) Tange-Zagh (SMP5), Sarchahan (SMP6), and Sirmand (SMP7)—was assessed as a fundamental step for conservation, domestication, and breeding efforts. Eighteen qualitative and quantitative traits related to yield were evaluated. The Darab population (SMP3) exhibited the greatest leaf length and width, while the Sirmand population (SMP7) showed the highest values for peduncle length, internode length, and bract width. Factor analysis revealed that the first three factors accounted for 51.784% of the total variance. Key traits contributing to the observed variation among populations included corolla length, filament length, anther length, pistil length, bract length, and bract width. Cluster analysis based on morphological traits grouped the SMPs into two main clusters. The first cluster comprised the Sarchahan (SMP6), Sirmand (SMP7), Tange-Zagh (SMP5), Darab (SMP3), and Sarvestan (SMP2) populations, while the second cluster included the Bavanat (SMP1) and Lar (SMP4) populations. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for selecting superior genotypes suitable for in-situ and ex-situ conservation, as well as for future use in agricultural systems.
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