The “Potentilla collina problem”- a chemotaxonomic approach

The Potentilla collina complex is intermediate between P. argentea and P. tabernaemontani and is thought to have arisen through hybridization between these or closely related species. As most taxa within the parental species and their close relatives are apomictic, as well as the Collinae, cytogenetic investigations have not so far given any clear evidence on the origin of P. collina. In the present study, the material comprised 38 apomictic biotypes belonging to the species P. argentea, collina, tabernaemontani and crantzii. The distribution of phenolic compounds in leaves was studied by means of two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography. Among the approximately 100 spots observed in the chromatograms, the blue fluorescent spots had a somewhat chance distribution, while the non-blue spots seemed to be of greater taxonomic significance. Comparisons between chromatograms indicated a close relationship between P. collina and tabernaemontani, and also clear affinities between the collina biotypes and the heterogeneous argentea material. P. crantzii displayed similarities only to P. tabernaemontani and did not seem to be involved in the origin of P. collina.