Morphometric variation of two endangered Bulgarian medicinal plant species Alchemilla mollis (Buser) Rothm. and Alchemilla achtarowii Pawł. (Rosaceae)
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Date
2025-03-21
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Publisher
Plovdiv University Press "Paisii Hilendarski"
Abstract
Morphometric variation of the protected in Bulgaria species Alchemilla mollis (Buser) Rothm. and A. achtarowii Pawł. (Rosaceae) was investigated based on ten morphometric characters under in-situ and ex-situ environmental conditions. Plant materials originating from Bulgarian localities of A. mollis and A. achtarowii in Central Balkan Mountains (1100-2000 m a.s.l.) were compared to others, harvested from experimental live collection, grown in Sofia (570 m a.s.l.). Abiotic factors like water regime, and temperature had strong influence on the performance of both species in-situ and ex-situ. A distinctive difference in some morphometric characters of A. mollis in nature over the past 40 years was found. When exposed to prolonged temperature and drought stress A. achtarowii showed considerable variability regarding flower diameter and epicalyx indentation. The presented study should be used as a practical example of how some high mountain apomictic species react to changes in the environment and what are the resulting implications related to their traditional taxonomic treatment and conservation.
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Keywords
Alchemilla, apomicts, plant stress, climate change