Morphological Characterization and Conservation Status for the Herbarium Specimens of Orchidaceae in Kurdistan Iraq

This study was contacted on Orchidaceae, it is a second largest family in flowering plants, comes after Asteraceae, and approximately has 25,000–30,000 species in 750–800 genera in the world. This study included 10 genera, Anacamptis (five species), Androrchis (two species), Cephalanthera (one species), Dactylorhiza (three species), Epipactis (two species), Himantoglossum (two species), Limodorum (one species), Neotinea (one species), Ophrys (seven species ), and Orchis (four species). The name abbreviation of authors of plant names follows the International Plant Name Index (IPNI) (https://www.ipni.org/). Images of type collections of most species were checked on virtual herbaria (https://herbarium.univie.ac.at/database/search.php) and JSTOR Global Plants (https://plants.jstor.org/). The taxonomic status, geographical distribution, and the conservation status for all taxa were provided.

Herbs perennial. Tubers 2-3-fid, cylindrical to napiform, sessile,. Stems up to 65 cm tall, thin, weakly ridged, fistular, with several membranous sheaths below, bearing subterranean stolons at the base, just above the tubers. Leaves 3-6, rosulate, cauline, linear or narrowly lanceolate. Inflorescences few-many-flowered; bracts dark pink to purplish red, greenish white in albino forms. Flowers pink to purple; sepals oblong ovate, ovate-elliptic, narrowly elliptic; petals oblong to obliquely ovate; labellum spotted and flecked with dark purple, obovate or suborbicular in outline, 3-lobed; spur pale pink to purple, spur narrowly cylindrical, slender, ± acute, shorter than the ovary; ovary cylindrical, slightly curved, twisted, glabrous. Habitat: above timberline, subalpine, wet places among shrublands, rocky-clay soil; elevation 1700-2600 m. Flowering: June-July. Occurrence: very rare. Conservation issues: This species significantly impact by ecological condition, human use, and overgrazing in late season in high mountain. Ggeographical range of the species is very restrict and it might be desapear in very near future. Distribution: Kurdistan Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, Greece, and Cyprus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia.

5-Epipactis Zinn.
Etymology: Epipactis, a name used by Theophrastus for a plant of uncertain identity possibly a hellebore-which was used by the Greeks to curdle milk. Herbs perennial. Rootstock rhizomatous, rhizome short, thickened, creeping, horizontal or vertical. Stem erect, robust or slender. Leaves flat to plicate, unspotted. Inflorescence often secund, fewmany-flowered, lax to dense; bracts leafyFlowers spreading or pendent, often partially or totally autogamous; sepals and petals spreading or connivent, arranged into a campanulate perianth.Petals slightly shorter than the sepals; labellum not spurred, ; ovary pedicellate, clavate, glabrous or minutely papillose, slightly twisted. Epipact has ca. 30 species in Europe, eastwards through temperate Asia to Japan, southwards to tropical Africa (Ethiopia) , one species native to N. America, and represented by 2 species in Kurdistan Iraq. Epipactis, a name used by Theophrastus for a plant of uncertain identity, possibly a helleborewhich was used by the Greeks to curdle milk. Tow sections: Section 1: Epipactis, Flowers small to medium-sized, Hypochile semiglobose, concave, Epichile not hinged, connected to the hypochile by means of a rigid fold, Column short, fleshy, [ E, helleborine (L.) Crantz.]. Section 2: Cymbochilium Schltr, Flowers relatively large, Hypochile narrowly cymbiform, Epichile ovate-lanceolate, Column slightly elonagate. Epipactris veratirifolia subsp. veratrifolia was discovered by Youssef et al. [12] and current study, new morphological, geographical, and collections added for this species and its subspecies to the flora of Kurdistan.

7-Limodorum Boehm.
Herbs perennial. Saprophytes with very little or no chlorophyll. Roots rhizomltous, rhizome short and thick. Stem erect, clothed with violet scale-like sheaths, green leaves absent. Peduncle glabrous. Inflorescence an erect, spike-like raceme. Flower purple, dark pink dark blue violet to violet-purple; perianth segments free; dorsal sepal erect or curving forward, convex; lateral sepals spreading, ±flat, Petals spreading; labellum spurred, entire or obscurely bilobed at the apex, horizontal or deflexcd, margin unoulate, ecallose, glabrous. Distribution: Two species distributed in central and southern Europe, S.W, Asia, N. Africa and represented in Kurdistan Iraq by one specie.
-subsp. tridentate Inflorescence up to 10 cm long; flowers pale rose ; sepals and petals coherent or connivent, forming a loose helmet with sepals divergent at the top; labellum (7 to 10 mm long) deeply 3lobed that are devoid of hair white, pale rose or pale reddish-violet, spotted purple, mid-lobe cuneate. Habitat: mountain side, oak woodlands, grasslands, rocky soil, elevation 1000-1450 Flowering : April Occurrence: rare (Supp. Fig. 2

9-Ophrys L.
Herbs perennial. Rootstock tuberous, tubers 2-3, globose or ovoid, sessile or stipitate. Stem glabrous Leaves basal, rosulate and/or cauline, unspotted Perianth segments free, ± spreading, the 3 outer sepals larger, usually glabrous, the 2 inner petals smaller, often hirsute, Labellum without a spur, entire or 3-lobed, glabrous or velutinous, often strongly convex;column having a minute rostellum with the position of the staminodes often indicated by coloured points Some 30 species distributed throughout Europe, W. Asia and N. Africa and Mediterranean region . Represented by seven species in Kurdistan Iraq. Bornm. (Figure 1.4). Herbs perennial. Stems 15-40 cm tall. Tubers 2, sessile or stipitate. Leaves 3 or 4, grouped at base, narrowly elliptic to narrowly obovate, 6-12 × 1.3-3 cm. Inflorescences 2-15-flowered; bracts ovate-elliptic, usually longer than ovary. Flwers pale yellow or pale pink; sepals pale green or whitish green, sometimes flushed with pink, ovate oblong or ovate-elliptic, obtuse; petals triangularovate, 1-2 mm long, pubescent; mid lobe of lip slightly convex or somewhat flattened, broadly ovate to suborbicular, 7-12 mm long; lateral protuberances of lip prominent, to 3 mm long; speculum reduced to a short-branched H-shaped or to 2 spots only; anther connective very short; labellum brown to purplish-brown, becoming paler towards the margin, broadly ovate, suborbicular, quadrate or trapeziform-flabellate and emarginate in outline, 7-12 mm long. Habitat: mountain side, oak woodland, grasslands, , sandy soil; elevation 750-1300 m. Flowering : April-May. Occurrence: very rare. (Supp. Fig. 2 Conservation issues: This species highly impact by rapid loss the ecological condition of the wetlands in the forest zone and foothills. This species grows in very restricted riverine woodlands, it might be disappear due to climit change.
Conservation issues: This species highly impact by rapid loss the ecological condition of the wetlands in the forest zone and foothills. This species grows in very restricted riverine woodlands, it might be disappear due to climit change.
-subsp. reinholdi Speculum reduced, usually consisting of two separate spots or commas arising from the sinus between the mid and lateral lobes of the labellum.

4-Orchis punctulata
Steven ex Lindl. Herbs perennial. Tubers 2, oblong or ellipsoid, stipitate. Stems up to 75 cm tall. Leaves 3-9, glossy green. unspotted. mostly rosulate except for 1 or 2 just above the main rosette, oblong. oblongligulate or narrowly elliptic. Inflorescences many-flowered, cylindrical; bracts green suffused with pale reddish-purple, narrowly elliptic, acute, enclosing and usually equaling the ovary, the lowermost exceeding the ovary. Flowers dark purple, sometimes pink, rarely pure white; sepals yellowish-green. yellow or brownish-yellow. rarely flushed with pink; Petals yellowish-green. linear ob oblong, 8-9 mm long yellowish-green at the base. ochre to brown or brownish-violet towards the ends of the lobes. with numerous tufts of violet-red papillae. Habitat: Foothill side, oak woodlands, silty soil; elevation 600-837 m.