Development of New Ornamental Plants and Germplasm Selection in Mediterranean Native Species

Seed Germination of Arbutus unedo, A. andrachne and Their Natural Hybrid A. andrachnoides in Relation to Temperature and Period of Storage

“…A. 3andrachnoides, apart from its potential value as a landscape plant, is suitable for cut foliage production, because its growth speed is higher than A. unedo, the production of flowers and fruits is low, and has 90-d vase life (Cervelli et al, 2012). All three species could be used in Mediterranean parks and gardens contributing to high biodiversity and sustainability and emphasizing the traditional character of the area (Diekelmann and Schuster, 2002).…”

“…Clonal propagation of these three species by cuttings is difficult (Al-Salem and Cervelli et al, 2012;Metaxas et al, 2004). There is a number of reports on in vitro propagation, most of them concerning A. unedo (El-Sayed El-Mahrouk et al, 2010;Gomes and Canhoto, 2009;Mereti et al, 2002) and a few A. andrachne and A.…”

Micropropagation ofArbutus unedo,A. andrachne, and their natural hybrid,A.xandrachnoidesfrom seedling explants

“…(Flora Europaea, 1996), are the three Arbutus species (Ericaceae family) found in the macchia of the eastern Mediterranean, while A. unedo is also found in Western Europe, up to the south coast of England. All three species have potential ornamental, forestry, and medicinal value (Bertsouklis and Papafotiou, 2013;Cervelli et al, 2012;Issa et al, 2008;Konstantinides et al, 2006;Pawlowska and De Leo, 2006). They can be propagated from seed (Bertsouklis and Papafotiou, 2013), while clonal propagation by cuttings is difficult (Al-Salem and Karam, 2001;Metaxas et al, 2004;Cervelli et al, 2012).…”

“…All three species have potential ornamental, forestry, and medicinal value (Bertsouklis and Papafotiou, 2013;Cervelli et al, 2012;Issa et al, 2008;Konstantinides et al, 2006;Pawlowska and De Leo, 2006). They can be propagated from seed (Bertsouklis and Papafotiou, 2013), while clonal propagation by cuttings is difficult (Al-Salem and Karam, 2001;Metaxas et al, 2004;Cervelli et al, 2012). More efficient protocols for in vitro propagation could facilitate the use of these species (Cervelli et al, 2012), make their propagation independent of season, and prevent collection from the wild, as well as permit rapid shoot multiplication from small quantities of initial explant material.…”

“…They can be propagated from seed (Bertsouklis and Papafotiou, 2013), while clonal propagation by cuttings is difficult (Al-Salem and Karam, 2001;Metaxas et al, 2004;Cervelli et al, 2012). More efficient protocols for in vitro propagation could facilitate the use of these species (Cervelli et al, 2012), make their propagation independent of season, and prevent collection from the wild, as well as permit rapid shoot multiplication from small quantities of initial explant material. The latter would be particularly useful in countries where these species are listed as endangered plants (Šatović, 2004).…”