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Astragalus L. is the largest genus of flowering plants in Iran and has various complicated taxonomical difficulties in its classification. Astragalus sect. Hololeuce Bunge. with its closely related section (Sect. Onobrychoidei DC.) comprise a taxonomically complex group within bifurcate hair ones. Delimitation of mentioned sections is the most challenging issues. In this study, 9 species of Hololeuce plus 10 species of Onobrychoidei were analyzed phylogeneticaly using 38 morphologic characters. Some new morphological characters were represented as results for simple classification of the studied sections. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that the bulk of two sections constructed a monophyletic group but some taxonomic revisions were suggested.

In this research, total of 15 species belonging to Astragalus section Ornithopodium as well as its closely related ones were analyzed using morphological and molecular data. A. frigidus and A. stocksii were selected as outgroups based on previous studies. Based upon our results, species of sect. Ornithopodium along with those of sect. Onobrychoidei were placed within a single large clade with high support and are closely related taxa. Species from section Dissitiflori formed a distinct clade from the two other studied sections. Based on our molecular and morphological data, Astragalus pravitzii Podlech, which had been recently transferred to the section Ornithopodium from the section Dissitiflori, was not affiliated with that section.

The emergence of new pathogens and the increase in the number of multidrug-resistant strains in well-established pathogens during the past decade represent a growing public health concern globally. Therefore, it is important to introduce and replace new sources of drug such as medicinal plants with antimicrobial properties. The aim of the present sturdy was to evaluate the antibacterial effects of areal parts extract of Epilobium species collected from Iran. The results revealed that extract of all species studied, except (E. roseum subsp. subsessile) could inhibit the growth of bacteria. Based on our results, gram positive test bacteria showed the most susceptibility to the extracts compared to gram negative ones. None of the extracts could affect the growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Enterococcus faecalis. We found that the willow herb extract inhibited the growth of bacteria in culture more effectively than related common antibiotics. Given that aerial parts of plant extract was utilized for this study, further investigation is recommended to determine which specific part of the plant (i.e., leaves, stem, and flowers) possess the antibacterial properties.