engleski

Fruit morphology of Illyrian-Apennine populations of the species Seseli tommasinii Rchb. f. (Apiaceae)

Morphometric analysis of the fruits of Italian and Croatian populations of the species Seseli tommasinii has been carried out with the purpose to define possible determination value of fruit morphology, as well as its implication on taxonomical treatment of the Italian populations as an Illyrian or Illyrian-Apennine endemic taxa. Results of the analysis of nine morphometric traits of the semimature (the most commonly accessible) and mature fruits showed that no more than five characters of the semimature and mature fruits, different values among the analysed groups were established: length of the fruit, width of the fruit, hight of the juga primaria, width of the juga primaria and width of vallecula. According to an analysis of them it was determined that semimature fruits cannot with any certainty be employed for diagnostic purposes. The same characters of the mature fruits do cause a certain grouping of the observed population groups, but this is most likely caused by their phenotype plasticity. We can conclude that the groups of the Croatian and Italian populations do not show, in the characters of their fruits, sufficient differences for being ascribed the status of different taxa, and we take the species S. tommasinii to be an Illyrian-Apennine endemic.

Seseli tommasinii; Illyrian-Apennine endemic plant; Morphometric analysis

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