Investigation of the flora, life forms and chorotypes of the plants in the Meymand Protected Area, Kohkilouyeh va Boyer Ahmad provice, Iran

Floristic studies have great importance as it represent the existence and the status of all plant species in an area. This study aimed to investigate the flora of Meymand Protected Area, located in central Zagros and in Kohkilouyeh va Boyer Ahmad provice with an elevation range of 1806 to 2730 meters from sea level. Plant families, genera and species were identified using taxonomic methods and available resources. According to the results, the flora of this area included 279 plant species belonging to 198 genera from 48 families. The richest families were Asteraceae with 50 species (17.9%), Poaceae, Lamiaceae with each 23 species (8.2%) and Fabaceae with 22 species (7.8%). The dominance of hemicryptophytes and therophytes (totally, 82%) life forms in the flora, were the characteristics of mountainous regions in central part of Iran. The high proportion of hemicryptophytes plants in the flora also indicated the dominance of a cold and montinious climates in the study area. The chorotypes of plants species showed that 57 percent (160 species) of the plant species belonged to Irano-Touranian zone but other remaining species (119 speciecs) grew in other geobotanical zones too. There were 5 vulnerable, 24 lower risks and 1 data deficient species in this protected area.