Data from: Phytogeography of Genu and Homag, two mountains with an Irano–Turanian flora in the Saharo–Sindian regional zone, south Iran

The Saharo-Sindian regional zone encompasses the flat and arid areas of
North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, southern Iran and the deserts of
Pakistan and W India. There are some scattered mountains situated within
this area like Hoggar in Sahara, Saint Catherine in Sinai and Genu and
Homag in southern Iran. These highlands serve as interglacial refugia for
cold adapted plant species. In the present study, phytogeographical
patterns and relationships of the flora of Genu and Homag mountains are
assessed and discussed in comparison to the phytogegraphy of the flora of
low-lying Hormoz Island. According to chorological assesments of the
flora, Genu and Homag mountains belong to theIrano-Turanian region with
59% of the species restricted to this area. However the surrounding
lowland plains are part of the Saharo-Sindian area with a rather high
proportion of the widespread species (17%) and Somalia-Masai linking
elements (20%). It is noteworthy that several Turanian enclaves also occur
in the lowland zone. Furthermore, the distributional evidences imply that
the mountainous Irano-Turkestanian region is an integrated area which is
supposedly distinct from the Turanian lowland areas in the North and the
Saharo-Sindian lowland areas in the South. On the other hand, the
expansive floras of Turanian and Saharo-Sindian regions are linked to each
other. Endemic species in lowland areas in S Iran are mostly either frost
sensitive vicariants of cold adapted Turanian species or of Saharo-Sindian
origins, while the highland endemics in the area trace their origins to
the Irano-turkestanian region.