engleski

Morphological and cytological relationships and distribution of the Alpine-Dinaric taxons of the Genus Iris L., series Pallidae (A. Kern.) Trinajstić (Iridaceae)

Because of the morphological variability of the Alpine-Dinaric populations of the genus Iris L., series Pallidae (A. Kern.) Trinajstić, taxonomic problems are related to the justifiability of attributing specific or sub-specific status to individual population groups. The description of different numbers of taxa of this complex points to the possibility of the recent differentiation of the series Pallidae in the Alpine-Dinaric region, which it was attempted to clarify with the help of comparative morphological, cytological and statistical methods. Material for investigations was picked up from the whole area of the series, and includes 34 wild Alpine-Dinaric populations, and 6 cultivated populations of the series Pallidae. All quantitative results were statistically worked out (methods of univariate and multivariate statistics), and with results of the analysis of referent cultivated species I. pallida compared. The comparative morphological analysis also included plants growing up for longer time in the Botanical Garden in Zagreb, and herbarium specimens from several Herbaria. Results showed up that all investigated populations of the series Pallidae have some morphological and cytological features that justify their grouping in one series. Those parameters are: dry spatha, violet color of flowers (permanent in cultivation), reticulate pollen sculpture and chromosome number 2n=24 (in spite of morphological variability of chromosomes). Multivariate analysis of all parameters, separating populations into four groups, irrespective of the interpopulation variability present, and showed that the same taxonomic ranks have to be adopted for all four taxa and tend to confirm opinions about the existence of four species grouped in the series Pallidae: I. pallida Lam. (cultivated), I. cengialti Ambr.(Alpine populations), I. illyrica Tomm. (northern Adriatic Littoral populations) and I. pseudopallida Trinajstić (southern Adriatic Littoral populations). Between last two species intermediate forms were established. The most significant features for those grouping turned out to be: length of steam, longest length of the biggest leaf, and, the greatest width of the largest and the smallest leaf. All those results showed that the same taxonomic ranks have to be adopted for all four taxa and tend to confirm opinions about the existence of four species grouped in the series Pallidae. Also, on the basis of the literature, herbarium specimens and own investigations, the distribution map of the Alpine-Dinaric species of the series Pallidae was done.

taxonomy; genus Iris; series Pallidae

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