Plant story
Iris sofarana
• endemic to Lebanon
• threatened
Iris sofarana is an endemic from the higher mountains in Lebanon.
Iris sofarana ssp. kesrwana (Photo: S. Khairallah)
This species, as well as other Iris species that occur in the country, such as the truly montane Iris cedreti , is threatened because its showy flowers make it popular with unlicensed and uncontrolled amateur collectors. Picking Iris will generally be in the form of just removing the flowers (thus preventing seed setting and development), or of taking the whole rhizome away for planting elsewhere: in gardens of local people, but also in another country when they were taken by or for professional traders.
Iris sofarana ssp. kesrwana (Photo: S. Khairallah)
The additional threats at the location in central Lebanon where Iris sofarana was found are
(1) grazing, until ongoing (2) agricultural development is materialised, while (3) housing is also under development as the area is becoming more and more popular as a skiing resort.
In addition it can also be said, as a general characteristic of
Iris species that they do not easily set seed, making survival of
populations into the next year less easy than for many other species.
The threat for Iris cedreti may be less
urgent, but this species is found high in the mountains at one of
Lebanon’s best known skiing areas, where a similar development
of chalets and hotels is taking place.
Iris sofarana seeds
Seeds from both Iris species have in recent years been collected in the frame of a long-term collaboration between the Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute (LARI) and the Millennium Seed Bank (MSB) at Kew. These collections are now conserved under storage conditions that should guarantee their long-term survival, leaving the possibility for future re-introduction when needed.
Iris sofarana was collected in small amounts by Simon Khairallah from LARI and Dr Michiel van Slageren from the MSB in July 2001 and July 2003, while Iris cedreti was more recently collected in July 2004. Their identity was confirmed by Iridaceae-expert Dr Thomas Fietz from Germany, who joined field trips during the flowering stages with Simon Khairallah in 2002 and 2003.
Story by Simon Khairallah, LARI, Tel Amara, Lebanon