The presented research aimed to study the numerical taxonomy of the genus Rosa L. and to identify and differentiate its various species grown in different regions in Kurdistan, Iraq. This study proceeded in the 2021–2022 season at the College of Education of Pure Science, University of Mosul, Mosul, Iraq. Forty morphological quantitative and qualitative characteristics, including vegetative and reproductive traits (leaves, flowers, fruits, seeds, and pollen grains), gained taxonomic analysis. From there, selection of 12 morphological features finally drew polygonal shapes for the concerned species. The analysis of the polygonal shapes revealed the species owned significant variations in these forms. The similarity among these species ranged between 0.5% to 91.0%, and the highest level of similarity (91.0%) occurred between the two species Rosa canina var. ‘canina,’ and Rosa canina var. ‘verticillacantha,’ and the lowest (0.05%) emerged from the species. R. elyamaitica and R. dumalis subsp. boissieri. From the cluster analysis, the UPGMA dendrogram separated the 13 species into three main groups and subgroups. The first main groups, divided into two subgroups, included the species R. canina var. ‘canina,’ R. canina var. ‘verticillacantha,’ R. canina var. ‘dumetorum,’ R. canina var. ‘deseglisei,’ and R. dumas subsp. boissieri. The second main groups included the species R. eiyamaitica and R. heckeliana subsp. orientalis. The second subgroup included the species R. gallica, R. centifolia, and R. damascena. Moreover, the third main group included the species R. foetida, R. foetida var. bicolor, and R. hemisphareaca.
Rosa L. (Rosaceae), numerical taxonomy, species, genetic variations, quantitative and qualitative traits, cultivars, UPGMA, cluster analysis
Using numerical taxonomy helped identify and differentiate the 13 taxa of the genus Rosa L. (Rosaceae), grown in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, based on quantitative and qualitative parameters, comprising vegetative morphological and reproductive traits.