In studying and identification of herbarium materials of the genus Echinops available in “IRAN” herbarium, a specimen collected from Khorasan Province (Shirvan, Kouseh, Alkhas, 1900-2100, 17.7.1986, Termeh, Mousavi & Tehrani, IRAN-51576) with the following morphological characters were seen:
Perennial plant, more than 80 cm high. Stem solitary, longitudinally leafy, branched from above the middle, branches long, one headed; main stem thick, sulcate, brownish in lower and middle parts, deprived of arachnoid-tomentose hairs, sparsely covered with sessile glands: branches loosely arachnoid-tomentose with sparsely sessile glands, below the heads for a distance of 5-6 cm densely white tomentose. Leaves leathery-herbaceous, bicolor, green with sparsely sessile glands above, very loosely arachnoids at margins, appressed white tomentose below, becoming glabrous along the protruding main nerve; basal leaves lanceolate-oblong in outline, including spines ±26 x 10 cm, pinnatisect, with ca. seven segments on each sides, segments triangular; wide at base or often with asymmetric lobes, terminated to spines up to 20 cm long, lower and median stem leaves very similar to basal ones, sessile, attenuate towards base with remotely spines; upper and uppermost leaves decrescent, sinuate, sessile, terminated to a long spine up to 2-2.5 cm. Heads cornigerous, consisting of lower non-cornigerous and upper cornigerous capitulum. Involucral bracts ca. 14 in number, glabrous; outers lanate, linear at base, subrhombiform above, mucronate at tip, dentate-spinose along margin; medians wider and longer, terminating to a long stiff spine, membranous at margin; inners tightly connate forming a dark pentahedral leathery tube, libber at tip (Fig. 2). Based on the above morphological characteristics and referring to Flora Iranica, No. 139 A (RECHINGER 1979), the specimen was identified as Echinops transcaspicus Bornm. According to the tight connation of inner involucral bracts, this species is placed under the sect. Oligolepis Bunge. Also, this species is more readily distinguishable from other species of this section by having cornigerous heads, green color of upper surface of leaves because of existing of only sessile glandular hairs, the glabrous stem in a long length, only outer bracts which are lanate and short brush hairs comparing with length of involucre (shorter than half).Except Type specimen which is imperfect and has been collected from Saratovka in Ashgabat (Turkmenistan, near Iranian border) by SINTENIS in 1902 (BABROV 1962, Flora of the USSR, Vol. 27), the only other specimen, belongs to Flora of Afghanistan, collected by Freitag from Maimana in NW of Afghanistan (boundary region between Afghanistan and Turkmenistan). Therefore, the above-mentioned species is considered as a record from Iran. This is worthy to mention that, the studied specimen is not only morphologically complete, but some more explanations are also added to the previous description.