Studies on the genus scandix L. (apiaceae) I: Scandix verna spec. nov. the new identity of the common scandix species in Israel

Verification of the identity of the common Scandix L. species in Israel, locally named S. iberica M. Bieb., revealed that it is a taxon that has not been previously described. The new species is named Scandix verna O. Cohen and its diagnosis is attached. It includes also a variety with hirsute fruit—var. eriocarpa. The species is limited in its distribution to the Mediterranean territory of the Levant. Studies of the taxonomic history of the binomial Scandix iberica, as well as the distribution of the true S. iberica in the Levant, show that the misapplied name for the Israeli taxon has been used for more than one hundred years. The main stages in the floristic studies of the Levant are presented, and the necessity of verifying many of the recorded species in the Levant Floras, as exemplified in this study, is discussed.