Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 98 B Suppl. 97 - 105 Wien, Dezember 1996 Studies on the flora and vegetation of the Golestan National Park, NE Iran, I: A new species and some new plant records H. Akhani' Abstract Laser rechingeri AKHANI (Umbelliferae) is described as an isolated new species from limestone cliffs in the Golestan National Park, NE Iran. The following are new additions to the Iranian flora: Cousinia leucantha, Erysimum kerbabaevii, Jurinea antonowii, Mattiastrum turcomanicum, Melilotus dentatus, Ononis spinosa ssp. antiquorum, Tragopogon capitatus. Key words: Umbelliferae, Laser, new species; Flora of Golestan National Park, Iran, new records. Zusammenfassung Laser rechingeri AKHANI (Umbelliferae) wird als eine neue, isolierte Art von Kalkfelswänden des Golestan Nationalparks im Nordosten Irans beschrieben. Folgende Sippen werden zum ersten Mal für den Iran aus demselben Gebiet nachgewiesen: Cousinia leucantha, Erysimum kerbabaevii, Jurinea antonowii, Mattiastrum turcomanicum, Melilotus dentatus, Ononis spinosa ssp. antiquorum, Tragopogon capitatus. Introduction The Golestan National Park, situated in northeast Iran in the three provinces of Mazandaran, Khorasan and Semnan (Fig. 1), covers 91895 hectares. The altitude varies from ca. 400 m s.m. in Tang-e Rah to 2411 m s.m. at the summit of Divar Kaji moun- tain (Aq-Mazar). The geographical position of the area, between the south Caspian forest belt, the Juniperus woodlands and the steppe of northwestern Khorasan, provides a unique area with very diverse vegetation and wildlife (FREY & KÜRSCHNER 1977, HASSAN-ZADEH KIABI & al. 1994). The vegetation has been studied by FREY (1980) on the basis of physiognomical and ecological features, and a list of known bryophytes was provided by FREY & KÜRSCHNER (1977). About 20 years ago, Rechinger & Wendelbo planned to provide a list of the flowering plants of the Park, based on their collections and field notes. However, this never materialized because of the Iranian revolution and the death of Prof. P. Wendelbo (RECHINGER 1989: 335). Nevertheless, there are many reports of the plants of the area in Flora Iranica, particularly those published after 1976. ZEHZAD (in HASSAN-ZADEH KIABI & al. 1994) listed 584 species from the published volumes of Flora Iranica or others published work, and a few species added by him. H. Akhani, Institut für Systematische Botanik der Universität München, Menzinger Str. 67, D-80638, München, Germany. ©Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, download unter www.biologiezentrum.at