Iris bismarckiana in Israel and JordanNew findings and taxonomic remarks

Abstract

Iris bismarckiana (Iris section Oncocyclus) was found for the first time in the west Gilead in Jordan. This discovery was utilized to shed some light on the taxonomic relationships among the light-colored irises in the Levant. Morphometric quantitative analysis of the Jordanian population compared to I. bismarckiana allies in Israel (I. bismarckiana in the Galilee and I. hermona in the Golan) suggests that the Jordanian population is I. bismarckiana, despite the large distance from the main distribution area. Cluster analysis, based on the morphology, revealed that some of the populations of I. bismarckiana have closer affinities to I. hermona than to each other. Populations of I. hermona and I. bismarckiana in Jordan and Israel do not differ statistically from each other in morphological traits, and should not be treated as two independent species.