Some Autecological Properties of Medicinal Plant of Salvia hydrangea L. in Mazandaran, Iran

Abstract

The study of plant under environmental conditions leads to an appreciation of their physical and chemical requirements for growth and reproduction. It contributes to increase the knowledge of where the plants grow. This study was conducted to determine the main autecological characteristics of <em>Salvia hydrangea</em> L. which is an endemic plant distributed in Mazanadarn province, Iran. The habitats of this species (altitude of 1100, 1700 and 2000m) were identified (2014) and then, the climatic and edaphic characteristics of habitats were determined. Surveys of the plant in the habitats were done along the transect (100m) within quadrant (4m²) with a systematically randomized method during major phenological stages of the plant. Phenological stages and some plant characteristics such as density, canopy cover, plant height and root system were studied. Results showed that in lower altitudes, vegetative growth starts in the middle of February and follows the flowering at the end of May whereas in higher altitudes, the plant starts vegetative growth in the early March and reaches fully flowered at the end of June. The mean annual rainfall and temperature of the habitats ranged from 383–540 mm and 21–24°C, respectively. Results showed that the plant density and canopy cover decreased slowly with increasing altitude while reaching the minimum value in the altitude of 2000m. The root depth of plant in the loamy sand soils was deeper than the clay loamy soils. Density and other measured vegetal factors ofplant decreased with decreasing the nutrient content of soil. Loamy sand and clay loamy soils of the habitat had pH near neutral and EC varying from 0.43 to 0.90 dS m^-1. It was concluded that the plant generally prefers the climate conditions with high temperature and high rainfall. In lower altitudes with more soil nutrients, there are more optimal conditions for the domestication and harvesting of <em>S. hydrangea</em> L. as a medicinal plant.