Tetraploid European paeonies (Paeonia) show a homogeneous karyotype asymmetry and structure

Within a practical course of cytotaxonomy organized in Pisa (Italy) on February 2024 by the Group for Floristics, Systematics and Evolution of the Italian Botanical Society, we tested whether relevant differences in karyotype asymmetry and structure occur in four tetraploid European taxa from Paeonia sect. Paeonia (P. mascula subsp. russoi, P. officinalis subsp. huthii, P. officinalis subsp. italica, and P. peregrina ). Our results point towards a homogeneous karyotype asymmetry and structure among studied tetraploid species, with no statistically significant difference among taxa and high overlap in variation highlighted by PCA.