The leaves of Arum conophalloides (ARACEAE) were used in some west areas of Iran as a dessert. The aerial parts of the herb were collected from Sahneh Mountains, Kermanshah Province, west of Iran and was hydrodistilled by Clevenger-type apparatus. Composition of the essential oil was determined by GC and GC/MS. Totally, 18 components (92% of total essential oil) were identified. The oil contains mainlyΤ-muurolol (%25. 4), Ionone (%12. 6), nonanal (%17. 7), Τ-cadinol (%8. 9), Fitone (%7. 9), and Methyl palmitate (%7. 0). The chemical composition of essential oils from the herbs is being reported for the first time.

The family ARACEAE includes 2500 species within 110 genera they protect themselves from weeds and animal predators by forming insoluble salts in the form of calcium oxalate crystals in specialized cells called idioblasts. This research investigates the types of calcium oxalate crystals in three species of the ARACEAE family, namely Arum palaestinum, Arum dioscoridis, and Arisarum vulgare. Based on the transverse section of different plant parts including tubers, leaves, spathe, appendix, male flowers, and female flowers five forms including raphide crystal, star crystal, prismatic crystal, styloid crystal, and sand crystal were identified. Raphides were uniformly present in all parts of the three species, but the positions of other crystal forms varied within their organs. This study also confirmed different types of specialized cells (idioblasts) containing raphid crystals. Idioblasts are unaltered cells with wide, elongated, tubular, and spindle shapes, housing simple, compound, and oblique-overlapping bundles. Additionally, certain plant parts displayed calcium oxalate crystals on their exterior surfaces, detached from the tissues.

So far, three species of Ceroplastes Gray (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha, Coccidae) are currently known from Iran: Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock, C. rusci (Linnaeus) and C. sinensis Del-Guercio. Another Ceroplastes species, namely C. rubens Maskell has been recorded as new species on Aglaonema commutatum (ARACEAE) from Iran. This species probably has arrived on ornamental plants that escaped quarantine inspections. The diagnostic characters, an illustration based on slide-mounted adult female and color photos of C. rubens are presented. In addition, the dichotomous key to species of Ceroplastes recorded in Iran is provided.

This study aimed to describe the post-seminal development, evaluate how the available water, light and temperature influence seed germination and to describe the vegetative propagation by selecting one of the collected plants of Pistia stratiotes. The plant material was collected in a tributary of the Rio Igaraç u, Parnaí ba, Piauí State, Brazil. A botanical description of the species was made using individuals collected in the study area. For the germination tests, a total of 1400 seeds were harvested and three experiments were conducted, varying the amount of available water, light and temperature. The results showed that the highest percentage of germination is occurred with seeds pre-washed with distilled water, sown on filter paper with abundant water (enough to form a sheet of water) and exposed to alternating light at an average temperature of 37° C. Germination began on the fourth day after sowing, marked by the appearance of the cataphyll. After 22 days, the seedling stage was completed. Vegetative propagation of this species is efficient and fast. In 50 days, a total of 134 new vegetative shoots were recorded in just one individual. The results showed that the germination rate is related to the amount of light and temperature.

Acorus calamus has already been reported based on a single specimen collected from Guilan province. Yet, this species has not been reported during last 50 years in Iran and thus, its herbarium specimen is not available. A sample of the species was collected from southern area of Sari during a study on aquatic plants of Mazandaran province. According to the new finding, the natural occurrence of the species was confirmed in Iran. Complementary botanical description, photographs of plant habitat and distribution map of the species were presented. Although, according to the Flora Iranica and Flora of Iran Acorus was considered as a genus of ARACEAE the recent phylogenetic study considered its taxonomic position in Acoraceae as a distinct family. Therefore, Acoraceae is introduced as a new family to the Flora of Iran with a single representative i. e. Acorus calamus.

In order to study the conservation status of the plant species and ecosystems of Gilan province (North of Iran ), an alien species was observed in some ponds in the east of Rasht, which covered the surface of ponds. The plant samples were collected and photographed; also the relevant environmental data were recorded in situ. The collected specimens were studied with various scientific resources and led to the identification of the species as Pistia stratiotes which is commonly known as “ water lettuce” . This species is recorded for the first time from Iran. The plant is pan-tropical and is considered to be one of the most widely distributed aquatic invasive plants in the world. The paper presents data on taxonomic remarks of this plant along with some notes on its geographical distribution and habitat. This report also highlights the need for implementing early control measures with special emphasis on all freshwater habitats in the northern parts of the country.

Leaf explants of kaladium dwubarwneCaladium bicolor (Aiton) Vent., were culturedin vitro on MS media supplemented with 25 different concentrations of BAP and NAA in order to determine the appropriate concentrations for micropropagation. All combinations induced callus formation on explants. Callus production on leaves explants grown on control medium was very low. The medium enriched with 4 mg l-1 BAP+0.5 mg l-1 NAA was the most effective for callus formation. The highest number of shoots (6.43 per explant) and roots (5.56 per explant) were regenerated on media containing 1 mg l-1 BAP+0.5 mg l-1 NAA and 3 mg l-1 BAP+0.5 mg l-1 NAA, respectively. The regenerated plantlets were grown in a greenhouse and acclimatized successfully.