Abstract

Within this study, an optical microscope and a dissecting microscope were used to study the morphological characteristics of species of the genus Scandix from the Apiacece (Umbelliferae(. In this study, we were able to separate the three species and give the precise characteristics of each species. The results also showed that the studied species varied in leaf dimensions and the presence or absence of the Involucre, as it was lost in the species S.stellata, while it differed in shape and dimensions between the other two species. As for the flowers, the three species were characterized by their small white flowers located on compound inflorescences, and the species S.stellata was characterized by the presence of hermaphrodite flowers only, while the other two species contain male and female flowers according to their location within the inflorescence. The three species of the genus Scandix have an elongated ovary, with the fertile part in the lower third, while the beak is the upper two-thirds of the ovary and is thinner than the fertile part. The research has proven that these species are protandrous, as the stamens do not develop until late in flowering, and the early appearance of the stamens is compensated for by the stylopodium, which contains nectar glands, as pollen grains stick to its surface until the stamen appears and matures. The fruit in the studied classes is schizocarpae, cremocarp, after ripening the fruit splits lengthwise into two small fruiting units known as mericarp, but it remains connected to the tip of a thin thread known as the carpophore, each fruit contains ridges or edges, the number of which varies according to the species, separated by grooves extending along the length of the fruit.