Sternbergia is a genus containing mostly remarkable autum flowering taxa within Amaryllidaceae. Its distribution ranges from the Mediterranean region through the Irano-Anatolian region to Caucasus and Central Asia. In Flora of Iraq, the information about the occurrence, habitat, and distribution of its species is outdated or incomplete. The main aim of this study has been to contribute with new data from the field in order to update its status in the Kurdistan Region. Botanical field surveys were mostly carried out between 2013 and 2015 in autumn and spring. The main result of this study has been the occurrence of 3 species of Sternbergia: S. colchiciflora, which is reported in this study for the first time for the Kurdistan Region and therefore for Iraq; S. clusiana, which has been rediscovered in Iraq; and S. vernalis, which has been found again in the Berwarya Mountains, after being considered a lost species in Iraq over the last 80 years. These 3 observed species occur in the mountains of Amadiya District, making this area the richest territory for Sternbergia in the country. Due to certain factors that currently threaten their natural habitats, they are rare species and could be regarded as potentially endangered at regional level according to the IUCN criteria. Sternbergia contiene, sobre todo, extraordinarios táxones con floración otoñal de las amarilidáceas. Su distribución abarca desde la región mediterránea, a través de la región irano-anatólica, hasta el Cáucaso y el Asia central. En la Flora de Iraq, la información sobre la presencia, el hábitat y la distribución de sus especies está obsoleta o incompleta. El principal objetivo de este trabajo ha sido contribuir con datos nuevos tomados en el campo a actualizar su estatus en la Región del Kurdistán. Las expediciones botánicas al campo fueron llevadas a cabo entre los años 2013 y 2015, durante el otoño y la primavera. El principal resultado de este estudio ha sido la localización de 3 especies de Sternbergia: S. colchiciflora, que ha sido citada por primera vez en este estudio para la región del Kurdistán y, por tanto, para Iraq; S. clusiana, que ha sido redescubierta en Iraq; y S. vernalis, que se ha encontrado de nuevo en las Montañas Berwarya, después de que se haya considerado extinta en Iraq durante los últimos 80 años. Estas 3 especies viven en las montañas del distrito de Amadia y hacen de esta área el territorio más rico en especies de Sternbergia del país. Debido a ciertos factores que amenazan actualmente sus hábitats naturales, estas especies son raras y podrían ser consideradas potencialmente amenazadas a nivel regional de acuerdo con los criterios de la UICN.
Prospero seisumsianum (Rukšans & Zetterl.) Yıldırım, a species recently described in southeastern Turkey, was recorded for the first time in the flora of Iraq based on samples collected from the Amadya and Duhok areas (northern Iraq). Our contribution here will be to find out more about its description, cytology, and chorology. The specimen collected from the Mesopotamian dry plain differs slightly from those collected from the mountainous Zagros forest area, but converges after a cultivation period. Both are treated here as P. seisumsianum and have the same genome size (2C = 8.77 ± 0.24 pg) corresponding to a diploid level. Three chromosome counts gave the same 2n = 2x = 14 karyotype. We hypothesize here that all the historical mentions of P. "autumnale" in Iraq actually correspond to P. seisumsianum. Comparative morphological description, genome size, ecological niche, and biogeography of the related taxa, and a revised key for Prospero taxa from the Irano-Anatolian enlarged to its Mediterranean border are given in the present study.