Morphological and Anatomical Study to The Colchicum szovitsii from Colchicaceae Family in Iraq

Background: Colchicum szovitsii it is a wild perennial herbaceous plant grows in Iraq, it is medical and poisonous herb contain colchicine (alkaloid have cytotoxic effects) especially in corm and seeds. All parts are highly toxic if eaten. Handling of corms may cause skin allergy. Methods: This investigation present morphological and anatomical features of this plant for the first time in Iraq. (3) Results: The corm shape oblong to oblong-ovoid, the shape of the leaf is linear to oblong-lanceolate, undifferentiated perianth with 6 white oblanceolate tepals, the stamens epiphyllous. The anatomical study observed isolateral leaf, uniseriate epidermis and anomocytic stomata, and the mesophyll consisting many layers of irregular spongy paranchyma (chloranchyma), the type of vascular bundle is collateral. Conclusions: In this study we found that C. szovitsii distributed in Iraq have different morphological and anatomical features from the same species in Turkey and Iran like the dimension of corms, leaves, stamens, filament, anthers and capsule.