Indigenous and synanthropic populations of Galanthus nivalis L. in Baden-Württemberg

Abstract

Galanthus nivalis L. is a widely distributed species. The boundaries of its natural area of distribution, however, are fuzzy due to cultivation and naturalisation. For Germany, indigenous populations have been reported from Baden-Wurttemberg and Bavaria. To establish the genetic identity of the populations from Baden-Wurttemberg, we performed molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nuclear marker ITS and on chloroplast marker trnL-trnF spacer. In addition to that, morphometric data of indigenous and synanthropic plants were analysed. Our results indicate that the indigenes are genetically distinct from the synanthropes. Furthermore, a close relationship of the indigenes to specimens from the supposed centre of origin for the species has been suggested. Morphometrically, the identity of synanthropes and indigenes is hard to establish and contradicts findings from previous studies.