Abstract
This paper presents the results of leaves parameters measuring of Oriental plane tree (Platanus orientalis L.), a rare tree species of Bulgarian flora naturally occurring only along the river streams in the southern part of the country. Based on morphometric parameters, the variability of the leaves of the oriental plane tree in 8 natural habitats (Asenovgrad, Topolovo, Sandanski, Melnik, Petrich, Slavyanka, Gotse Delchev and Ivaylovgrad) of the species in Bulgaria has been investigated. A higher degree of variability was observed between half-sib offspring than between populations. Eight parameters of the leaves were measured, in most cases the population from Asenovgrad is superior to the other origins. The results show that the most differentiated features are the length of the leafstalk (LD) and the length of the middle lobe (L). The size and shape of the leaves are relatively homogeneous and this makes difficult to determine individual origins only by leaves.
Highlights
In Bulgaria Platanus orientalis L. reaches the northernmost limit of its natural distribution [3]
Leaf variability was established on the basis of the following morphometric parameters (Fig. 1): leafstalk length (LD), leaf length (L), leaf width (D), median length (ML), width of the middle particle at its widest part (MLW), the width of the middle particle at the base (MLB), the length of the left axial partition (LNL), and the length of the right axial partition (LND), with each individual leaf was measured to the nearest 0.1 cm
The same tendency is observed for ML and MLW parameters, while Gotse Delchev has the lowest value for MLB
Summary
In Bulgaria Platanus orientalis L. reaches the northernmost limit of its natural distribution [3]. In Bulgaria, it is found only in the southern part of the country along the river basins and is the only naturally occurring representative of the Platanaceae family. On a longer time scale, there is the possibility that morphological modifications will occur through natural selection in response to environmental conditions, resulting in local adaptation and maintaining species persistence and integrity and adaptive population divergence [4]. For this reason, it is of great importance, in parallel with genetic studies, to investigate the changes that occur in the basic morphological characteristics of a species that develops and propagates in natural conditions
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