A New Record of Paracaryum shepardii Post & Beauv. (Boraginaceae) in Iraq

Abstract

Paracaryum shepardii Post & Beauv. is a new record to Boraginaceae in Iraq, found in Hasarost mountain (north-east of Erbil) within Rowanduz district (MRO). The collected plant specimens differ from the three-other species that already present in Iraq, where P. shepardii differs from P. rugulosum (DC.) Boiss., P. sintenisii Hausskn. ex Bornm. and P. strictum (C. Koch.) Boiss in that the wings of the nutlets are flat and not covering the disc, while in the other three species the wings are strongly incurved and partly covering the discs, as well as some other characters. Identification and morphological study was done, these clarified by photographs. In addition, some characters of the pollen grains such as shapes, colors, sizes, sculptures and numbers, together with stomatal complex characters of the leaf have been studied.