Flora – The Flora diversity of Iraq was partially treated in a series of publications published by the MOA with support from the Kew Botantical Gardens. The publication of the Flora of Iraq was to be comprised of nine volumes between 1966 and 1988 by Guest and Townsend covering over 3000 species. Only six volumes were ever completed (on 1783 species), several of which are now out of print.
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 1
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 2- Introductory Taxonomic Material
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 3: Leguminales
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 4 Part 1: Cornaceae - Resedaceae
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 4 Part 2: Cornaceae - Resedaceae
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 8: Monocotyledones
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Flora of Iraq, Volume 9: Gramineae
The remaining volumes exist as partially completed manuscripts within the Kew Botanical Gardens. In a presentation prepared in 2008, Kew stated that the three remaining volumes contained a total of 1520 species and ranged between 24% and 97% complete.
Iraqi Plant Families included and missing from the existing Flora of Iraq.
Family Name
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Family Name
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Missing Families
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Aceraceae
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Loranthaceae
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Amaranthaceae (Amaranth)
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Alismataceae
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Malvaceae
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Apiaceae (Parsley Family--Umbelliferaceae)
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Amaryllidaceae
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Meliaceae
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Asteraceae (Composites)
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Anacardiaceae
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Moraceae
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Boraginaceae (Borage)
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Angiosperms
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Muscaeae
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Campanulaceae (Harebell)
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Apocynaceae
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Myrtaceae
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Caryophyllaceae (Pink)
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Araceae
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Najadaceae
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Convulvulaceae (Morningglory)
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Araliaceae
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Nyctaginaceae (9 O’clock)
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Crassulaceae (Stonecrop)
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Aristolochiaceae
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Nymphaeaceae
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Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot)
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Asclepiadaceae
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Oleaceae
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Dipsacaceae (Teasel)
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Balanophoraceae
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Orchidaceae
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Eleagnaceae (Olive)
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Berberidfaceae
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Paeoniaceae
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Ephedraceae (Ephedra)
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Betulaceae
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Palmaceae
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Ericaceae (Heather)
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Bignoniaceae
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Papaveriaceae
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Geraniaceae (Geranium)
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Bombacaceae
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Passifloraceae
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Onagraceae (Evening Primrose)
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Butomaceae
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Pedaliaceae
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Orobanchaceae (Broomrape)
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Cactaceae
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Periplocaceae
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Polygonaceae (Buckwheat)
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Cannabaceae
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Pittosporaceae
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Portulacaceae (Purslane)
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Cannaceae
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Plantanaceae
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Primulaceae (Primrose)
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Capparidaceae (Caper)
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Poaceae (Graminae)
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Scrophulariaceae (Figwort)
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Caprifoliaceae
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Polygalaceae
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Solanaceae (Nightshade)
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Casuarinaceae
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Potamogetonaceae
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Valarianiaceae (Valarian)
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Ceratophyllaceae
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Proteaceae
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Cistaceae
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Pteridophyta
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Cleomaceae
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Punicaceae
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Combretaceae
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Rafflesiaceae
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Cornaceae
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Ranunculaceae
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Corylaceae
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Resedaceae
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Cruciferae
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Rhamnaceae
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Curcurbitaceae (Squash)
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Rosaceae
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Cyperaceae
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Rubiaceae
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Datiscaceae
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Ruppiaceae
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Dioscoreaceae
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Ruscaceae
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Ebenaceae
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Rutaceae
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Ehretiaceae
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Salicac eae (Willow)
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Elaeagnaceae
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Santalaceae
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Euphorbiaceae
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Sapindaceae
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Fabaceae
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Simaroubaceae
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Fagaceae (Oak)
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Sparganiaceae
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Frankeniaceae
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Sphenophyta
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Gymnosperms
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Sterculiaceae
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Helleboraceae
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Tamaricaceae (Tamarisk)
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Hydrocharitaceae
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Thymelaeaceae
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Hypericaceae
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Tiliaceae
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Iridaceae
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Typhaceae
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Juglandaceae (Walnut)
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Ulmaceae
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Juncaceae
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Urticaceae
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Juncaginaceae
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Verbenaceae
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Lemnaceae
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Violaceae (Violet)
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Leonticaceae
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Vitaceae
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Liliaceae
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Zannichelliaceae
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Linaceae
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Zygophyllaceae
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In 2009, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh conducted a review of the Flora of Iraq and the Flora Iranica to develop a preliminary flora checklist for Iraq that consisted of over 4500 plants. This list has been used as part of the KBA Plant Database. Currently there are plans by the MOA to complete the old volumes with Kew but there are considerable challenges given the significant taxonomic changes since the Flora of Iraq was first published and the access to new technology that allows for the creation of more modern, interactive floras. TRI and the MOE are involved with several international institutions in a project to create a new modern Flora of Iraq.
Habitats - The mapping of Iraqi habitats and development of an Iraqi habitat classification system were initiated under the Mesopotamian Marshlands Habitat Project of NI with a focus on developing a classification system for the proposed Mesopotamian Marshlands National Park in the Central Marshes. This project took place between 2007 and 2008, and although not completed, a provisional habitat classification system was created. In terms of the terrestrial habitat, the classification system was not well elaborated (see table below).
Provisional Iraqi Marshlands Habitat Classification System
TERRESTRIAL HABITATS
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1. Desert
1.1 Desert shrub
1.2 Unvegetated desert
1.3 Unvegetated saline lands
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2. Woodlands
2.1 Woodland, forest and other wooded area
2.2 Shrub
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3. Herbaceous vegetation
3.1 Grassland
3.2 Steppe
3.3 Sparsely vegetated land
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Fauna – The IUCN Red List provides a list of terrestrial species that have been assessed on the basis of their conservation status. The numbers of assessed species are listed below by class.
Class
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No. of assessed species
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Class
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No. of assessed species
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AMPHIBIA
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6
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MAMMALIA
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75
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AVES
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293
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REPTILIA
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23
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INSECTA
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18
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Little is known about Iraqi insects, amphibian, and reptile species, and no comprehensive check list has been done for these species. But NI has prepared an up-to-date checklist of all Iraqi bird species based on the KBA Project surveys (2005-2010), which will be published later this year as a provisional list. The list contains 414 species and provides referenced information on conservation status, breeding status, and Iraqi status. Conservation concern species are shown in the table below.
Conservation Concern Species
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Breeding Status
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Iraq Status
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78 Conservation Concern Species
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179 confirmed breeding bird species
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Approximately 123 resident species
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6 probable breeding bird species
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Approximately 232 migrant and/or visiting species
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30 possible breeding bird species
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35 vagrant or rare visitors
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199 species with unknown breeding status
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A review of the literature for Iraq was released by NI, which provided a list of 10 amphibian species or species groups, 98 reptile species and 74 mammal species found throughout all habitats of Iraq (Amr, 2009a, b). The World Wildlife Fund maintains a species list for all ecoregions, but to date, little work has been done to evaluate these species categories and develop habitat ranges within their related ecoregion based on species-habitat relationships.
Available information &/or datasets:
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Information/Data Sources:
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KBA Project (2005-2010) & Bird, Mammal, and Reptile Checklists
Mesopotamian Marshlands Habitat Project (2007/2008)
IUCN Red List
Wildfinder Database
Herbariums & other collections holding Iraqi flora and fauna
Encylopedia of Life Project
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Nature Iraq
World Conservation Union (IUCN)
World Wildlife Fund
MoA & International Herbariums
Iraqi & International Museums of Natural History
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