MORPHOLOGICAL VARIABILITY OF LEAVES OF VIOLA IRINAE, V. JENISEENSIS AND V. PRIONANTHA (VIOLACEAE)
Victoria N. Yakk1, Tatiana V. Elisafenko1, Olga V. Dorogina1,2
1Central Siberian Botanical Garden SB RAS, Novosibirsk, Russia
2Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia
Keywords: Violaceae, Viola irinae, V. jeniseensis, V. prionantha, introduced population, morphological variability of the leaf, quantitative features, CSBG SB RAS
Abstract
The paper presents the results of a comparative morphological analysis of six quantitative and four qualitative leaf traits studied in closely related species from the Violidium (K. Koch) Juz. section of the genus Viola L.: V. irinae Zolot., V. jeniseensis Zuev, and V. prionantha Bunge. The analysis was carried out using samples from introduced populations of Viola species growing in the Altai Republic, Altai Krai, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, the Republic of Khakassia, and Amur Oblast. Morphological variability was studied at the individual, intrapopulation, interpopulation, and interspecific levels. Under introduced conditions, V. irinae is characterized by an ovoid leaf with a truncated base. Seasonal variability in the shape and base of leaf blades was revealed in plants of the V. jeniseensis and V. prionantha species. Spring leaves were ovate with a truncated base, while summer and autumn leaves were oblong-ovate with a cordate, subcordate, or truncated base. Variability in leaf surface pubescence was found to be a distinctive feature of V. prionantha. In V. jeniseensis and V. prionantha, lanceolate stipules are semi-fused with the leaf, while seasonal variability in the degree of stipule fusion was noted for V. irinae . Leaf blades of all studied species had a crenate-serrate margin and an acute apex. Among the studied characteristics, the greatest variability was found for petiole and stipule length. Blade length and total leaf length showed a moderate degree of variability. Allometric traits of leaf index and blade index were found to be characterized by low to moderate levels of variation, but did not differ significantly across species. During introduction, quantitative leaf parameters of the species under study were influenced by weather conditions. The qualitative and quantitative traits studied varied, making them inappropriate for diagnostic use. To determine the taxonomic status of V. irinae, V. jeniseensis, and V. prionantha, it is necessary to evaluate their genetic variability in addition to morphological variability.
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