Comparative Anatomy of Carpinus orientalis Mill. (Betulaceae) Populations in Iran.

Abstract. Natural populations of Carpinus orientalis Mill. Shrub lands occur mainly in high and middle altitudes of the Hyrcanian forests, N. Iran, particularly on steep rocks and forest outcrops. There are some discrepancies on the intra-specific delimitation of this important woody species. The aim of the current study was to examine the anatomical variation of stems and leaves of sixteen populations of Carpinus orientalis collected in four north and northeastern provinces of Iran for the first time. Also this study show that anatomical characters of stem showed the highest correlation to climatic factors include temperature, altitude and precipitation and midrib anatomical characters did not show any relationship.

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Key words: anatomical characters ، Carpinus orientalis ، Hyrcanian forest ، populations