Nezahat Kandemir - Department of Biology, Education Faculty, Amasya University, Amasya, ۰۵۱۸۹ TURKEY.

Leaf anatomical characters of eight Iris L. taxa were compared and their relations were determined. Iris danfordiae, Iris celikii, Iris histrioides, Iris pamphylica and Iris histrio ssp. aintabensis are endemic to Turkey. Iris bakeriana, I. celikii, I. histrioides, I. pamphylica, I. histrio ssp. aintabensis and Iris histrio ssp. histrio have limited distribution in Turkey. The differences were seen especially in the mesophyl layer of the leaves. Mesophyll of I. reticulata and I. histrioides have an unifacial ensiform structure. Whereas mesophyll of the other investigated taxa have a bifacial ensiform structure. Leaf outline structure of all taxa are quadrangular structure (excluding I. bakeriana-terete structure). In mesophyll of leaves, hexagonal crystals (I. histrioides, I. danfordiae, I. bakeriana, I. histrio ssp. histrio, I. histrio ssp. aintabensis and I. pamphylica) and crystalline granules (I. reticulata, I. bakeriana, I. celikii, I. danfordiae, I. histrio ssp. histrio, I. histrio ssp. aintabensis and I. pamphylica) were found. The layer number of spongy and palisade parenchyma also vary among taxa. In the leaf anatomic characters of I. histrio ssp. histrio, I. histrio ssp. aintabensis, significant differences were not obseved. Based on the above leaves anatomical characters, we suggest that (۱) I. reticulata and I. histrioides should be independent species with close relationships; (۲) ssp. histrio and ssp. aintabensis should be homonym of I. histrio, rather than of its subspecies; (۳) I. danfordiaeand I. celikii should be independent species with close relationships; (۴) I. pamphylica and I. bakeriana are different species of the subgenus.

Iris taxa, rare endemics, leaf anatomy, Turkey