Untangling the Taxonomy of Rorida (Cleomaceae) in Iran

This work presents the first comprehensive revision of Iranian Rorida J. F. Gmel. based on extensive field surveys, herbarium visits, literature review, and micromorphological investigations. Our taxonomic assessment shows that these taxa can be delimited from each other by a combination of habit, leaf size and morphology, indumentum type, details of floral structure, fruit shape and size, and seed color. We recognize five species of Rorida for the flora of Iran and propose two new combinations: R. dolichostyla (Jafri) Khorasani & Naqinezhad and R. fimbriata (Vicary) Khorasani & Naqinezhad. Moreover, two new records of Rorida for the flora are reported, R. tomentella (Popov) Thulin & Roalson and R. droserifolia (Forssk.) Thulin & Roalson. An identification key to all Iranian Rorida, nomenclature, and comprehensive descriptions are provided for each species, along with notes on taxonomy and ecology (phytogeography, habitat, and conservation status), illustrations, and distribution maps.