TMU Researchers Discover New Habitat for Endangered Plant Species in Iran

The research team of Tarbiat Modares University (TMU), including Mansour Pouramin, Engineer Salman Zalkani, Karim Shir Mohammadi, Mehran Qazvini and Hamed Yousafzadeh, recently succeeded in identifying and discovering a new habitat for lily species, known as the Lilium ledebourii, which is an endangered plant species.

Abbas Esmaili, a member of the TMU research team told Iranian media that the two-decade efforts at TMU’s research group has resulted in maintaining biodiversity, securing optimal and excellent conditions away from human interference for the survival and development of habitats for rare species such as Mazandarani maples and Lilium ledebourii.

Lilium ledebourii plant is one of plants in the world that is in danger of extinction. It grows in few regions of Iran. It belongs to the fourth geological period and is considered one of the rarest natural plants in the world from a genetic perspective.

The plant, which is considered the rarest species of lily, grows in very limited areas of Ardabil, Mazandaran and Gilan provinces in Iran and is said to have been seen in Lankaran region in Azrbaijan Republic as well. There is 4-hectare protected area in Damash village in Northern Iranian Gilan Province as the habitat of Lilium ledebourii.

Hamed Yousefzadeh, an associate professor of the TMU Faculty of Natural Resources said in an interview with the Iranian media that Lilium ledebourii is the first plant species identified as an indigenous plant to Iran since its first habitat was identified in Amarlu district in Gilan province about half a century ago.

"We managed to identify the new habitat of the Lilium ledebourii in the Do Hazar district in Tonkabon in Mazandaran province [next to Gilan province], in an area where there is a river full of water, abundant springs, and dense forest in the heart of the rocks and steep mountainous areas,” The professor continued.

 “In our studies, we identified a new habitat in Nosha region, located 25 kilometers Southwest of Tonkabon city,” Yusufzadeh emphasized.

According to him, in Nosha's region, Do Hezar heights in Tenkaben is the new habitat of the , which in his words is also called Pearly of Hyrcanian forest.

The TMU professor further said that the area of this identified habitat is less than three hectares, adding, “In this habitat, Lilium ledebourii was identified along with other medicinal species such as  Paeonia daurica subsp.

"Recently, we discovered a new habitat of this endangered plant in the vicinity of Malakolai village in Nowshahr [in Mazandaran Province]," He continued. 

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