Numerical taxonomy of the Thymus (Lamiaceae) in Northeast of Iran

The genus Thymus is investigated to find the best morphologically differentiating characters in Northeast of Iran. In this study, we examined more than 480 herbarium and field-collected specimens from different populations and measured 34 quantitative and qualitative (vegetative and generative) characters. The results of the multivariate analysis (principal component analysis) and nonparametric Test (K independent samples) indicated that the morphological characters such as number of pair lateral vein and aristati and ciliate of upper lobe calyx differentiate the species under study. For the first time, the taxa Thymus fedtschenkoi, T. linearis subsp. linearis, T. kotschyanus var. eriophorus, T. carmanicus and T. kotschyanus var. glabrescens and T. eriocalyx, are reported for the flora of Khorassan provinces. In Flora of Turkey, T. kotschyanus var. glabrescens is a valid taxon, but in Flora iranica this variety is synonymed under T. eriocalyx.