A Comparative Study of Anatomical and Taxonomical of Juniperus Species Grown in Northern Iraq

Abstract

This comparative anatomical taxonomic study was conducted for 3 species belonging to the genus Juniper of the Cupressaceae family that grow wild in northern Iraq, in 7 sites distributed over the governorates of Nineveh, Dohuk and Sulaymaniyah, and these species are (Juniperus oxycedrus L., Juniperus polycarpos K. Koch and a new species that was recorded for the first time in the Flora of Iraq by the same researchers, which is Juniperus macrocarpa Sibth and Sm.). The study included the chemical separation of wood Maceration, the results showed the variation of the studied species in the dimensions of the tracheids (like length, diameter of the tracheids and wall thickness) and in the Runkel ratio as well as the variation in the dimensions of the Borderd pits. It was possible to diagnose and isolate the two species of J. oxycedrus and J. Macrocarpa that have similar phenotypes, as the species J. macrocarpa had longer, wider and thicker tracheids than those of J. oxycedrus, while the species J. Polycarpos had the lowest average tracheids length, diameter and thickness; Thus, it was isolated from the previous two species. Regarding the Runkel ratio, the results showed that all types of juniper studied are suitable for the manufacture of pulp and paper. And that is because they have Runkel ratios that have fallen within the approved range for the best production and quality of the paper pulp, as the values for the studied species were limited to between (0.425 - 0.922). The lined click diameters were also varied according to species. It was also found that the qualitative characteristics of the tracheids have a prominent role in the diagnosis of the studied species, as they are constant genetic characteristics of the species, as it was found that there are variations in the qualitative characteristics between the studied species, such as the presence of Thickening Helical in the tracheids of J. oxycedrus, in addition to the presence of Dentate in the walls His tracheids and their absence in the other two species, as well as the presence of two rows of bordered pits in the tracheids of juniper, which is called the Biseriate, and their absence in the other two species. It was evident from these results that the anatomical characters of the wood have a great taxonomic importance that contributed to the diagnosis of Juniper species. This is the first time in the Iraqi country that an anatomical diagnostic key has been placed for the wood of Juniperus L. species growing in northern Iraq . The woods of this studied species.