Genetic differentiation of Allium sibiricum L. populations in Poland based on their morphological and molecular markers

Allium sibiricum is one of the rarest plant species in the Sudetes and Carpathians. Inter simple sequence repeat DNA (ISSR) and morphological analyses were conducted to study the biogeographical relationships between geographically disjunctive populations of A. sibiricum in the Carpathians and Sudetes. The results clearly differentiated the Carpathian and Sudetes populations, but also showed a relatively high level of genetic similarity in specimens within certain groups of the Sudetes and Carpathian populations. The plants collected in the Karkonosze probably belong to a mountain form of A. schoenoprasum morphotype C which inhabits natural sites there. In contrast, the study found morphologically and genetically different plants inhabiting Pilsko Mt in the Carpathians. The plants from the Carpathians were present in scattered sites probably due to the activity of Vlach shepherds and the formation of large pastures. The species enlarged its local range due to this type of anthropopressure and likely hybridized with the cultivated Allium plants introduced by the shepherds. This may indicate that the populations on Pilsko Mt are of a partly anthropogenic character.