A contribution to the variability of Prunus spinosa L. in the vicinity of the mediaeval Castle Kolno, S-W Poland

Abstract

The variability of fruit stone characteristics of medieval fossil forms and modern ones was analysed in a small Prunus spinosa (blackthorn) population in the vicinity of Castle Kolno near Stare Kolnie in Opole Province. A modern putative hybrid resulting from natural crossing with cultivated plums was discovered, corresponding to some fossil morphotypes. The analysis of the correlations of features indicated developmental relationships between them. The pattern of variability of the examined stones in the ordination space confirmed the development of the Prunus spinosa-Prunus domestica complex as an element of a dynamic syngameon. The population also showed variations in leaf morphotypes, which may be used in taxonomic analysis.

To be browsed or not to be browsed: differences in nutritional characteristics of blackthornPrunus spinosasubject to the long-term pressure of herbivores

“…Blackthorn is insect-pollinated, and the seeds are commonly dispersed by birds and mammals that eat the fruits (Popescu and Caudullo 2016), although the species can also propagate by means of vegetative root suckers (Leinemann et al 2014; Brown et al 2022). Blackthorns have a higher level of morphological variability (Kobendza 1955; Browicz and Zieliński 1975; Hanelt 1997; Kosina 2023) and a larger inter-population heterogeneity than other woody species (Mijnsbrugge et al 2013; Leinemann et al 2014; Mijnsbrugge et al 2016). Although there are not many studies on the growth and phenology of blackthorns (Mijnsbrugge et al 2022), Leinemann et al (2014) suggest that vegetative propagation and the long-distance zoo-dispersal of seeds are possible reasons for its considerable variability.…”