Cytotaxonomical notes on some rare endemic species of Allium (Alliaceae) from Greece

Abstract

-Five Greek endemic species of Allium (A. meteoricum, A. parnassicum, A. pilosum, A. luteolum and A. frigidum) are examined. The study, based on field and herbarium investigations, allowed to better define the morphology, karyology and chorology of these critical taxa as well as their relationships.

Allium albanicum (Amaryllidaceae), a new species from Balkans and its relationships with A. meteoricum Heldr. & Hausskn. ex Halácsy

“…Chromosomes have a total length varying from 8.90 ± 2.5 µm of the longest chromosome to 5.16 ± 0.8 µm of the shortest one, while the relative length ranges from 8.01% to 4.73%. As already emphasised by Tzanoudakis (1983) and Brullo et al (2001), A.meteoricum also has a diploid chromosome complement with 2 n = 16 (cf. Brullo et al 2001, Fig.…”

“…As already emphasised by Tzanoudakis (1983) and Brullo et al (2001), A.meteoricum also has a diploid chromosome complement with 2 n = 16 (cf. Brullo et al 2001, Fig. 6A), which is characterised by 5 metacentric chromosome pairs, two of which microsatellited on the short arm, 2 msm pairs and one submetacentric microsatellited pair (cf.…”

“…Alliummeteoricum s. str. was described from Meteora in Central Greece by Halácsy (1904) and later also recorded from Assopos, Greece (Tzanoudakis 1983, Tzanoudakis and Vosa 1988, Brullo et al 2001). Extensive morphological investigations, carried out on herbarium material and living specimens coming from Albania (Devoli river near Berat on serpentines) and Greece (Meteora on sandstones), allowed us to verify that the Albanian populations are very different from those of Meteora, which is the locus classicus of A.meteoricum .…”

“…In the context of cytotaxonomical research on the genus Allium in the Mediterranean territories, especially regarding the subgen. Allium (Bogdanović et al 2008, 2009, 2011a, 2011b, Brullo et al 1997a, 1997b, 1999, 2001, 2003a, 2003b, 2004, 2007, 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2010, 2014, 2017, 2018, Özhatay et al 2018), a peculiar population occurring in Albania, previously attributed to A.meteoricum Heldr. & Hausskn.…”

Allium therinanthum (Amaryllidaceae), a new species from Israel

“…Allium. Many taxonomical studies have been focused on this section over the last decades, whose main outcomes were the assessment of some critical taxon or even the description of several new species (Bogdanović et al 2008, 2011, Brullo et al 2001, 2003a, 2003b, 2004, 2007, 2008b, 2010, Tzanoudakis 2000, Tzanoudakis & Tan 2000, Biel et al 2006, Peruzzi 2007, Tzanoudakis et al 2008, Özhatay et al 2010, Trigas et al 2010, Koçyiğit & Özhatay 2012. Among From the morphological point of view, Allium therinanthum is well differentiated from the above-mentioned species especially for a series of character-state combinations that allow a clear separation of all of them.…”