Analysis of the variability of the quantitative traits of the generative shoot of two white-flowered carnation species (Dianthus awaricus, Dianthus fragrans) under the conditions of Dagestan

Mountain Botanical Garden DFRS RAS, 367000, str. 75 Yaragskogo, Makhachkala, Russian Federation

^* Corresponding author: ru.osmanov@mail.ru

Abstract

The paper presents the results of assessing the quantitative traits of generative shoots of two white-flowered carnation species from four geographically isolated points: Dianthus awaricus (Oboda, Khvarada) and Dianthus fragrans (Khindakh, Charoda). Comparative analysis showed that, in general, the average values of most morphological characters are higher in D. fragrans, and the width of the petal and the number of lobe denticles are higher in D. awaricus. According to the results of two-way analysis of variance, the greatest contribution to the differentiation of species according to the relative components of variance (h2) is made by the traits “number of serrature on a petal” (73.2%), “cup length” (64.7%) and “petal index” (45.8%); unreliable traits (0.0–1.2%) – “flower length”, “flower diameter”, “flower mass” and “internode index”. Growing conditions significantly affect the characteristics of the apical flower: length (53.6%), diameter (40.1%) and its mass (46.3%). Squares of Mahalanobis distances showed the similarity of D. fragrans cenopopulations and significant isolation in D. awaricus, which is possibly associated with significant differences in the complex of ecological-cenotic conditions and possible microevolutionary processes occurring in highly isolated populations. Between the two species, there is a clear separation in space of the two roots of canonical analysis and complete self-identification according to the classification matrix. Such studies contribute to the identification of similarities and differences between closely related species in contrasting environmental conditions.