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Plants , with all their characteristics and values, have the most important role in continuation of lives of all other creatures specially the human being. They arc, therefore, considered as the most valuable natural resources of each country.
Local cultivated varieties or landraces a well as the wild relatives which make the main part of the national plant floras are used as the most efficient tool by plant breeders in their breeding programmes.
Iran, as a large country with very variable climatic condition and its very specific geographical loculity, owns one of the richest p]ant genetic variation and green coverages.
This valuable resource, unfortunately is under very serious and dramatic genetic erosion due to various erotic causes and factors.
The botanical activities including study of national floras and establishment of herbariums, despite their scientific values, have unfortunately no direct role in continuation and protection of plant species. Therefore, very serious and rapid activities must be done for a permanent protection, conservation and utilization of our plant species.
The newly established national plant gene bank of Iran with its network and national cooperative activities on identification, collection, conservation, rejuvenation, evaluation and data documentation of all plant species has the responsibilities of the above mentioned goals.
Serious warming should be given to all countrymen, plant scientists and specially to our government that we ill certainly lose more than 50% of our plant species before being able to identify them scientifically in our publishing floras if the gene bank activities are not considered and supported seriously.