Suaeda iranshahrii, a new species of Suaeda subgenus Brezia (Chenopodiaceae) from the Persian Gulf coasts

Suaeda iranshahrii Akhani & Freitag, previous specimens cited as S. maritima,is described as a new species of sect. Brezia endemic to the coasts of the Persian Gulf; it is subdivided into the type variety distributed along the Persian side and var. arabica Freitag from the Arabian shore. The new species is named in honour of Dr. Musa Iranshahr, the eminent Iranian botanist to whom this Festschrift is dedicated on the occasion of his 90th birthday. The species is an important component of plant communities on tidal mudflats. Molecular, anatomical and caryological evidence pointed to S. crassifolia as the closest relative and putative progenitor.