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Floral polymorphism in common primrose (Primula vulgaris Huds., Primulaceae) of the Northeastern Black Sea coast

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Abstract

The common primrose (Primula vulgaris, Primulaceae) has several color morphs. Two of them, traditionally treated as subspecies, vulgaris with white and yellow flowers, and polymorphic sibthorpii with the predominance of dark (anthocyanin-containing) flowers, often occur at the same places along the eastern Black Sea coast, stretching over 250 km between Novorossiysk and Pitsunda. Seventy-one primrose populations were sampled on almost every 10-km interval of this line. We found a significant trend of increase in the proportion of dark flowers in the populations from northwest to southeast, with an abrupt (60 km) transitional zone. Within this zone, we found significant spatial trends correlated with altitude and distance from seashore. No reliable morphological differences between color forms were found. The observed large-scale geographical structure may be a joint result of the recent contact of previously isolated color morphs, heterogeneity of pollinator preferences, and genetic drift.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to all the members of the spring field practices (headed by S. Glagolev) of Moscow South-West High School, who collected most of the material in the field, and personally, to E. Sysovskaya and P. Buntman, who assisted with the initial stages of data analysis, and to P. Petrov and A. Mushegian for their valuable comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Minot State University, 500 University Ave W, Minot, ND, 58707, USA

    Alexey Shipunov

  2. Biological Department, Botanical Gardens, Moscow State University, Prospect Mira 26, 129090, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Yana Kosenko

  3. Biological Department, Moscow State University, Vorobyevy Gory, 119899, Moscow, Russian Federation

    Polina Volkova

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  1. Alexey Shipunov
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  2. Yana Kosenko
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  3. Polina Volkova
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Correspondence to Alexey Shipunov.

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Shipunov, A., Kosenko, Y. & Volkova, P. Floral polymorphism in common primrose (Primula vulgaris Huds., Primulaceae) of the Northeastern Black Sea coast. Plant Syst Evol 296, 167–178 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00606-011-0484-5

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