Iris postii Mouterde (1966: 309)

Boltenkov, Eugeny V. & Govaerts, Rafaël, 2017, Typification of names and nomenclatural notes on juno irises (Iridaceae) from Western Asia, Western Europe, and North Africa, Phytotaxa 303 (2), pp. 125-140 : 132

16. Iris postii Mouterde (1966: 309)

≡ Juno postii (Mouterde) Soják (1982: 138)

Protologue citation:—“Qasr-el-Hair, leg. Pabot (Herbier Mouterde, P 64)”.

Type (holotype):— SYRIA. [Homs Governorate], Qasr el Haïr, [fl.], 11 March 1952, Pabot s.n. ( G 00164470, isotype G 00164469).

Notes:— Iris postii was described by Mouterde (1966) based on plants collected by M. H. Pabot in the Syrian Desert near Qasr al-Hayr, central Syria. In the protologue to I. postii , the author indicated I. palaestina var. caerulea Post as a synonym for this name. One gathering from his personal herbarium, currently conserved at G, was cited by Mouterde (1966: 310) as “Typus” in the original description of I. postii . The original material of I. postii is represented by at least two specimens ( G 00164469 & G 00164470). One of them, the sheet of which bears the number “ P 64” cited in the prologue, is indicated here as holotype. The specimen that refers to the isotype is represented by one plant, which is mounted on the same sheet with plants from other gathering (“ S. de Qaryatein [Al-Qaryatayn], [fr.], 8 May [19]53”). According to Mathew (2012: 263), I. postii is probably related to I. stocksii ( Baker 1876: 723) Boissier (1882) and its allies. However, this assumption contradicts the results of the molecular analysis ( Ikinci et al. 2011, Mavrodiev et al. 2014). The chromosomal study by Badr & Gasim (1992) shows that the somatic number, 2n = 14, and the karyotype morphology of I. postii distinguish it from other western juno irises.