Abstract
Sambucus is a medicinal plant with approximately 25 accepted taxa in the world from which two are present in Iran, S. nigra and S. ebulus. In order to evaluate the affinities and relationships in Sambucus and resurrect subspecies or verities in these two species, the micro-morphological, anatomical and molecular properties of Sambucus species of Iran have been studied. Pollen and seed surfaces of two species were examined with scanning electron microscope. In micro-morphological studies, the pollen shape is prolate-spheroidal in S. nigra but subprolate in S. ebulus. The exine sculpture is microperforate in S. nigra and is reticulate-microechinate in S. ebulus. The surface of the seed in S. nigra is smooth, not elongated and no clear organizational pattern is discernable and the anticlinal walls are shallowly undulate. In S. ebulus, the seeds have a microperforate surface and the anticlinal walls are observed deeply undulate. Petiole anatomical studies show that vascular bundles and existence of druse crystals are diagnostic characters in studied species. Using nuclear (nrDNA ITS) marker, we reconstructed phylogenetic relationships within two species of Sambucus. The ITS dataset was analyzed by phylogenetic methods including Bayesian inference, maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony. In phylogenetic analyses, all members of this genus form a well-supported clade (PP = 1, ML/BS = 100/100). The Sambucus clade is composed of two clades. Clade I includes the populations of S. nigra and the clade II comprises the rest of the species of Sambucus (S. ebulus). NeighborNet diagram demonstrated separation of the studied populations. In general, molecular studies supported micro-morphological findings. Pollen, seed-coat characters and molecular phylogeny support the separation of S. nigra and S. ebulus.
Highlights
Sambucus L. (Caprifoliaceae) is a small genus of approximately 25 species of deciduous shrubs, small trees and a few perennial herbs (Mabberley 2008)
Equatorial axis (E) length of pollen grains ranged from the smallest size in S. nigra (13.36 μm) to the largest size in S. ebulus (17.74 μm)
Sambucus has gained little attention in previous micro-morphological and phylogenetic studies, this study presents the first comprehensive investigation of this genus in Iran
Summary
Sambucus L. (Caprifoliaceae) is a small genus of approximately 25 species of deciduous shrubs, small trees and a few perennial herbs (Mabberley 2008). (Caprifoliaceae) is a small genus of approximately 25 species of deciduous shrubs, small trees and a few perennial herbs (Mabberley 2008). It is mainly distributed in temperate and subtropical regions of the Europe, Asia, North Africa, and naturalized in the United States. The species of Sambucus are distributed in north, northwest and northeast of Iran (Jamzad 1993). These plants are deciduous shrub or more rarely a small tree to 10 m, often with straight, vigorous erect shoots from the base. The genus has been used for their diaphoretic, laxative and diuretic properties (Uncinimanganelli et al 2005; Merica et al 2006) and to treat various illnesses such as stomach ache, sinus congestion, constipation, diarrhea, sore throat, common cold and rheumatism (Novelli 2003; Uncinimanganelli et al 2005)
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