Morphological, essential oil and biochemical variation of Dracocephalum moldavica L. populations

To determine the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of five dragonhead populations at five habitats (Salmas, Uremia, Khoy, Maragheh and Tabriz), an experiment was conducted as completely randomized design with three replications in 2013. The results showed that the tallest plant height (92 cm) and the highest contents of nitrogen (2.3%), phosphorus (0.22%), chlorophyll (1.9 mg g−1 FW), carotenoids (0.68 mg g−1 FW) and essential oil (0.61%) were obtained from Salmas population. Number of secondary branches varied from 5.7 to 22.7, while number of flowering branches ranged from 4.6 to 14.0. The major components of the essential oil were geraniol, geranial, nerol and geranyl acetate. The highest and the lowest values of neral + geraniol + geranial were observed in Tabriz and Maragheh populations, respectively. The levels of neral, geranial and geraniol were greater for Salmas population followed by Tabriz population. The present study increased knowledge about the morphological and phytochemical properties of dragonhead populations and can be useful for domestication, breeding, industrial and medicinal uses.