Abstract
Karyological, flow-cytometric and molecular analyses indicate that the genus Leucanthemum Mill. (Compositae, Anthemideae) is represented in Corsica (Corse) by two species: the tetraploid L. ircutianum DC. and the hexaploid L. corsicum (Less.) DC. The indication of the occurrence of the diploid L. vulgare Lam. on the island and of a tetraploid chromosome number for L. corsicum, given in former treatments of the genus for Corsica, could not be corroborated. AFLP fingerprinting further suggests that the infraspecific taxonomy of L. corsicum with two subspecies (L. corsicum subsp. corsicum and subsp. fenzlii) and three forms (L. corsicum f. corsicum, f. pinnatifidum and f. eschenlohrianum), which is mainly based on differences in the degree of leaf dissection, is not backed by genetic discontinuities. Owing to the observed little variation in leaf dissection within populations in the wild and the constancy of these features under cultivation, we propose the rank of varieties to taxonomically acknowledge these different stages in the broad spectrum of leaf-dissection grades exhibited by L. corsicum. As a consequence, the two new combinations L. corsicum var. eschenlohrianum (Gamisans) Vogt, Hugot & Oberpr. and L. corsicum var. fenzlii (Gamisans) Vogt, Hugot & Oberpr. are proposed.
Highlights
The genus Leucanthemum Mill. comprises 42 flowering plant species (Euro+Med, 2006+) distributed all over the European continent and represents an attractive system for studying reticulate evolution on the diploid (Ober prieler & al. 2014; Konowalik & al. 2015; Wagner & al. 2017) and polyploid level (Oberprieler & al. 2011, 2014, 2018; Greiner & al. 2012, 2013; Vogt & al. 2018)
All 66 accessions of L. corsicum, irrespective of their infraspecific classification, revealed considerably higher DNA contents ranging between 26.2 pg and 30.5 pg arguing for a hexaploid ploidy level realised in this species (Table 1)
This interpretation was confirmed by mitotic chromosome counts on individuals raised from seed originating from populations 434 and 436 of L. corsicum subsp. fenzlii of the present study and cultivated plants from the same subspecies collected in 2011 close to our present population 434 (Table 2, Fig. 2)
Summary
The genus Leucanthemum Mill. (marguerites, ox-eye daisies; Compositae, Anthemideae) comprises 42 flowering plant species (Euro+Med, 2006+) distributed all over the European continent and represents an attractive system for studying reticulate evolution on the diploid (Ober prieler & al. 2014; Konowalik & al. 2015; Wagner & al. 2017) and polyploid level (Oberprieler & al. 2011, 2014, 2018; Greiner & al. 2012, 2013; Vogt & al. 2018). Flora Corsica (Jeanmonod & Gamisans 2013), this genus is represented in Corsica by two species: L. vulgare Lam. and L. corsicum (Less.) DC. The former is widely distributed throughout Europe and even introduced and naturalised on other continents, while the latter is an endemic species to the Corsican flora. This lack of karyological information for infraspecific taxa of L. corsicum and the complete ignorance about the chromosome number of the other species of Leucanthemum in Corsica (i.e. L_vulgare s.l.) motivated us to subject the Corsican populations of this genus to a more comprehensive sampling of populations for genome-size analyses by flow-cytometry, complemented and validated by chromosome counts
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