Articles
Morphological diversity of flowers of Pulsatilla halleri (All.) Willd. subsp. taurica (Juz.) K. Krause
Article number
1288_12
Pages
85 – 88
Language
English
Abstract
Pulsatilla halleri (All.) Willd. subsp. taurica (Juz.) K. Krause is endemic of the mountainous Crimea, a polycarpic summer green grass, aeropedophyte, lithophyte, mesoxerophyte, heliophyte.
Conservation status: rare.
The plant is highly decorative during the flowering period (February-May) and decorative during the fructification period (May-June). It was introduced into the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in 2002. It is of interest for cultivation in rockeries and rock gardens.
A study of the morphological diversity of flowers in places of natural growth has been conducted.
Flowers of Pulsatilla halleri subsp. taurica are unisexual; the genus is apokarpic; stamens are numerous.
The perianth is simple, actinomorphic, goblet-bell-shaped, consisting of six free large purple, silky-villous on the outside petal-like tepals.
Upon examination of natural populations, the plants with abnormal structural variants (teratological changes) of flowers have been discovered.
Four groups of anomalies have been identified: the change in the number of tepals (from 4 to 13); the change in the shape and size of tepals (emergence of double and triple divided tepals, tepals with a notched edge, tepals of varying length in one perianth, the change in the tepals’ width from 1 to 1.7 cm); petalization of stamens and carpels, as well as a group with combinations of the types considered.
The most common combination (37.5% of cases) featured changes in one perianth, both in number and in the form of tepals.
As a rule, the emergence of additional tepals of the perianth occurred asymmetrically.
The described morphological diversity demonstrates the plasticity of flowers Pulsatilla halleri subsp. taurica, tendency to form double-petalled flowers, and high potential of this plant for ornamental gardening and breeding.
Conservation status: rare.
The plant is highly decorative during the flowering period (February-May) and decorative during the fructification period (May-June). It was introduced into the Nikitsky Botanical Garden in 2002. It is of interest for cultivation in rockeries and rock gardens.
A study of the morphological diversity of flowers in places of natural growth has been conducted.
Flowers of Pulsatilla halleri subsp. taurica are unisexual; the genus is apokarpic; stamens are numerous.
The perianth is simple, actinomorphic, goblet-bell-shaped, consisting of six free large purple, silky-villous on the outside petal-like tepals.
Upon examination of natural populations, the plants with abnormal structural variants (teratological changes) of flowers have been discovered.
Four groups of anomalies have been identified: the change in the number of tepals (from 4 to 13); the change in the shape and size of tepals (emergence of double and triple divided tepals, tepals with a notched edge, tepals of varying length in one perianth, the change in the tepals’ width from 1 to 1.7 cm); petalization of stamens and carpels, as well as a group with combinations of the types considered.
The most common combination (37.5% of cases) featured changes in one perianth, both in number and in the form of tepals.
As a rule, the emergence of additional tepals of the perianth occurred asymmetrically.
The described morphological diversity demonstrates the plasticity of flowers Pulsatilla halleri subsp. taurica, tendency to form double-petalled flowers, and high potential of this plant for ornamental gardening and breeding.
Authors
E.V. Khaylenko, Yu.V. Plugatar, V.K. Zykova, S.A. Plugatar
Keywords
endemic species, tepals, teratological changes of a flower, petalization, ornamental horticulture
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