MORPHOLOGICAL AND ANATOMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF REDLEAF HAZELNUT SEEDLINGS AND CHIMERAS

The redleaf hazelnut (Corylus avellana L.) has a natural tendency to produce reversible and irreversible anthocyanic mutants (chimeras). During a 10-year period, five reverse mutants with green leaves were recorded from redleaf plants.
The M2VL chimera proved to be stable on the mother plant and also in the vegetative progeny.
It has green leaves, green involucre, and green kernel integuments, and tends to have a round nut shape.
The layers in which the mutation occurred and the type of chimera have yet to be determined for M2VL. For some shoots, the chimeras seem sectorial, yet over time become periclinal. Corylus avellana ‘Red Filbert’ was crossed with several green-leaf cultivars resulting in both red and green phenotypes. ‘Ennis’ x ‘Red Filbert’ and ‘Hall’s Giant’ x ‘Red Filbert’ were phenotypically green-leafed after 1-2 years, yet began producing redleaf suckers.
In early summer, the color was intense red.
The morphological changes persisted even if the suckers remained attached to the mother plant and were localized to the meristems from which suckering occurred.
The expression of red leaf color in Corylus avellana L. is complex as evidenced by the wide range of genetic variability seen in the progeny.

V International Congress on Hazelnut

M. Botu, I. Botu, E. Turcu

Corylus avellana, filbert, anthocyanin

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2001.556.31