Abstract
The variability of metric traits has been studied in 20 Kazakhstan populations of three Nitraria species (N. schoberi L., N. sibirica Pall., and N. komarovii Iljin & Lava ex Bobrov). According to the results, N. sibirica differs from N. schoberi and N. komarovii in small leaves, fruits, and seeds, as well as in the structural features of inflorescences and flowers. N. sibirica is characterized by a greater number of flowers per inflorescence (25–66 on average) than N. schoberi and N. komarovii (14–28 on average). Additionally, N. sibirica differs from N. schoberi by narrower (1.3×) petals and smaller anthers (1.46× in length and 1.2× in width) and pistils (1.25× in length and 1.44× in width). N. komarovii differs from N. schoberi by narrower leaves (1.7×). N. komarovii is characterized by relatively large (especially in width) size of anthers that, together with smaller petals, makes it possible to distinguish this species during flowering. Flowers of N. komarovii are bright yellow, while those in N. schoberi and N. sibirica are white and light purple, respectively. N. komarovii fruits are orange, pale red, or bright red. Fruits of N. schoberi and N. sibirica are dark burgundy and black, respectively. At the intraspecific level, most of the studied metric traits (except for the habitus of N. sibirica plants) are stable and do not depend on the 16 climatic parameters of plant habitats. At the same time, a number of morphological features have been revealed in N. sibirica plants from the Ili Depression. In these populations, N. sibirica plants form shrubs up to 1.8 m in height with a large (up to 90) number of flowers per inflorescence, large petals (3.5 mm in length and 2.2 mm in width on average), small (~0.6 mm) anthers, small (5–5.5 mm in length) fruits, and small (~4 mm in length) narrow ovate stones. These features indicate the ecological–geographical differentiation of N. sibirica under the extra-arid conditions of the stony desert of the depression and evidence a separate taxonomic rank of these populations.
Highlights
The genus Nitraria L. consists of ~10 species of halophytic shrubs from steppe, semidesert and desert regions of Asia, North Africa, Southeastern Europe (Romania), and Australia
N. sibirica differs from N. schoberi and N. komarovii in some details of the inflorescence structure
Climatic parameters of habitats influence only on the habitus of N. sibirica plants (Figs. 11, 12), as we have shown previously for Siberian populations of this species (Banaev et al, 2017)
Summary
The genus Nitraria L. consists of ~10 species of halophytic shrubs from steppe, semidesert and desert regions of Asia, North Africa, Southeastern Europe (Romania), and Australia. Despite the smallness of the genus, scientists have no clear ideas about the number, chorology, or genesis of Nitraria species. Insignificant differences in the metrical traits of vegetative and generative organs serve as a reason for some authors to recognize extreme variants as independent species, while others consider them intraspecific forms or ecological races (Ilyin, 1944; Bobrov, 1946, 1965; Lukanenkova, 1964; Petrov, 1972; Vasilyeva, 1974). Two Nitraria species, N. schoberi L. and N. sibirica Pall, are mentioned in the special literature for the studied region (Pavlov, 1963; Abdulina, 1998; Baitenov, 1999, 2001). In our earlier study of the Balkhash-Alakol depression, we first discovered N. komarovii Iljin & Lava ex Bobrov on the territory of Kazakhstan (Tomoshevich et al, 2019)
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