Morphological and genome size variations within populations of Edraianthus graminifolius “Jugoslavicus” (Campanulaceae) from the central Balkan peninsula

Abstract

The E. graminifolius complex is widely distributed in the continental part of the central and western Balkan Peninsula and is characterized by pronounced morphological variability. Plants grow on different geological substrates, span a wide altitudinal range and inhabit heterogeneous microclimatic conditions. The aim of this study was to compare morpho-anatomical and genome size variations among 31 populations of E. graminifolius, and to correlate morphoanatomical characteristics of plants with the geomorphologic and bioclimatic characteristics of their habitats. For these purposes, multivariate statistical analyses were performed. Results showed that most of morphological variability could be explained as the adaptive responses of plants to diverse environmental conditions that accompany life at different altitudes. Populations from SE Serbia had larger genome size in respect to other investigated populations. Genome size was bigger in sympatric populations of Edraianthus then in allopatric ones. Apart from the general morphological variability, plants from the Ovcar-Kablar Gorge are particularly morphologically specific.